Mechanical vibrations

ME 4253
 Chapter-2
Free Vibration of Single-Degree of Freedom Systems
 Free vibration of an undamped single-degree of-freedom (spring-mass) system
Free vibration means that the mass is set into motion due to initial disturbance with no
externally applied force other than the spring force, damper force, or gravitational force.

Some Examples
oscillations of the pendulum

vertical oscillatory motion felt by a

spring-mass system that represents the
bicyclist after hitting a road bump simplest possible vibratory system
single-degree-of-freedom system, since one coordinate (x) is
and the motion of a child on a swing sufficient to specify the position of the mass at any time
after an initial push There is no external force applied to the mass
Hence the motion resulting from an initial disturbance will be
free vibration
No element that causes dissipation of energy
Amplitude of motion remains constant with time; it is an
undamped system
The study of the free vibration of undamped and damped single-degree-of-freedom systems is
fundamental to the understanding of more advanced topics in vibrations
In many practical systems, the mass is distributed, but for a simple analysis, it can be approximated by a
single point mass

Modeling of tall structure as spring-mass system

Free Vibration of an Undamped Translational System
Equation of motion using Newton’s Second law of motion

Using Newton’s second law of motion, in this section we will consider the derivation of the equation of
motion. The procedure we will use can be summarized as follows

1. Select a suitable coordinate to describe the position of the mass or rigid body in the system. Use a
linear coordinate to describe the linear motion of a point mass or the centroid of a rigid body, and
an angular coordinate to describe the angular motion of a rigid body.

2. Determine the static equilibrium configuration of the system and measure the displacement of the
mass or rigid body from its static equilibrium position.

3. Draw the free-body diagram of the mass or rigid body when a positive displacement
and velocity are given to it. Indicate all the active and reactive forces acting on the
mass or rigid body.

4. Apply Newton’s second law of motion to the mass or rigid body shown by the free body diagram.
Newton’s second law of motion can be stated as follows:
The rate of change of momentum of a mass is equal to the force acting on it
 Thus, if mass m is displaced a distance
𝑥 𝑡 when acted upon by a resultant
force 𝐹 𝑡 in the same direction,
Newton’s second law of motion gives.

If mass m is constant, this equation

reduces to

For a rigid body undergoing rotational

motion, Newton’s law gives

The procedure is now applied to the undamped

single-degree-of-freedom system shown in Fig

mass is displaced a distance +x from its static equilibrium position, the force in
the spring is kx, and the free-body diagram of the mass can be represented as
shown in Fig
 Equation of motion using other methods

D’Alembert’s Principle

Principle of Virtual Displacements

Principle of Conservation of Energy

 Equation of motion of a Spring-mass System in Vertical position
Consider the configuration of the spring-mass system shown in Fig
At rest, the mass will hang in a position
called the static equilibrium position, in
which the upward spring force exactly
balances the downward gravitational
force on the mass
In this position the length of the spring is
𝑙𝑜 + 𝛿𝑠𝑡
where 𝛿𝑠𝑡 is the static deflection—the
elongation due to the weight W of the
mass m
for static equilibrium
Let the mass be deflected a distance +x from its static equilibrium position; then the spring force is –k( 𝑥 + 𝛿𝑠𝑡

The application of Newton’s second law of

motion to mass m gives
 Solution

The solution of Eq. (2.3) can be found by assuming (2.3)

(2.11)

where C and s are constants to be determined

Substitution of Eq. (2.11) into Eq. (2.3) gives

eigenvalues or the characteristic

values of the problem Since C cannot be zero, we have

Since both values of s satisfy

auxiliary or the characteristic equation
corresponding to the differential Eq 2.3
 The general solution of Eq. (2.3) can be expressed as (2.11)

(2.3)

where C1 and C2 are constants.

By using the identities

Eq. can be rewritten as

where A1 and A2 are new constants.

𝑥 𝑡 = 0 = 𝑥0 The constants C1 and C2 or A1 and
A2 can be determined from the
𝑥ሶ 𝑡 = 0 = 𝑥ሶ 0
initial conditions of the system
Note that the number of conditions to be specified is the same as the order of the governing
differential equation
Two conditions are to be specified
to evaluate these constants uniquely
𝑥 𝑡 = 0 = 𝒙𝟎
𝑥ሶ 𝑡 = 0 = 𝒙ሶ 𝟎

Harmonic functions of time

The motion is symmetric about the equilibrium position of the mass m
The velocity is a maximum and the acceleration is zero each time the mass passes through this position
at the extreme displacements, the velocity is zero and the acceleration is a maximum
The spring-mass system itself is called a harmonic oscillator
 Natural Frequency

The quantity 𝜔𝑛 given by Eq. (2.14),

represents the system’s natural frequency of vibration.

Equation

can be expressed in a different form by

introducing the notation

where A and  are the new constants, which can be expressed in terms of A1 and A2 as
By using the relations

Equation

can be expressed in a different form

From Eq. (2.21), the velocity 𝑥ሶ (t) and the acceleration 𝑥(𝑡)
ሷ of the mass m at time t can be obtained as
 Example 2.1
An undamped single-degree-of-freedom system has a mass of 1 kg and a stiffness of 2500 N/m. Find the magnitude and the
phase of the response of the system when the initial displacement is -2mm and initial velocity of 100 mm/s
 Example 2.2 harmonic response of a Water tank

The column of the water tank shown in Fig. 2.10(a) is 100 m high and is made of reinforced concrete
with a tubular cross section of inner diameter 2.5 m and outer diameter 3 m. The tank has a mass of
275,000 kg when filled with water. By neglecting the mass of the column and assuming the Young’s
modulus of reinforced concrete as 30 GPa, determine the following:

a. The natural frequency and the natural time period of transverse vibration of the water tank.
b. The vibration response of the water tank due to an initial transverse displacement of 25 cm.
c. The maximum values of the velocity and acceleration experienced by the water tank.

Solution: Assuming that the water tank is a point mass, the column has a uniform cross section, and
the mass of the column is negligible, the system can be modeled as a cantilever beam with a
concentrated load (weight) at the free end as shown in Fig. 2.10(b).
Selected Exercise Problems
 Exercise 2.3
A spring-mass system has a natural frequency of 10 Hz. When the spring constant is reduced by 800 N/m, the
frequency is altered by 45%. Find the mass and spring constant of the original system

1 Hz = 2π rad/s = 6.2831853 rad/s

 Exercise 2.6
The maximum velocity attained by the mass of a simple harmonic oscillator is 10 cm/s, and
the period of oscillation is 2 s. If the mass is released with an initial displacement of 2 cm,
find (a) the amplitude,
(b) the initial velocity,
(c) the maximum acceleration, and
(d) the phase angle
an initial displacement of 2 cm

an initial velocity unknown

Exercise 2.19
The natural frequency of a spring-mass system is found to be 2 Hz. When an additional mass of 1 kg is added to the
original mass m, the natural frequency is reduced to 1 Hz. Find the spring constant k and the mass m.
Problem 2.27

A bungee jumper, of mass 70 kg, ties one end of an elastic rope of length 65 m and stiffens 1.75 kN/m to a bridge and
the other end to himself and jumps from the bridge (Fig. 2.68). Assuming the bridge to be rigid, determine the vibratory
motion of the jumper about his static equilibrium position.
 Exercise 2.60

An undamped single-degree-of-freedom system consists of a mass 10 kg and a spring of

stiffness 1000 N/m. Determine the response of the system using Eq. (2.21) when the mass
is subjected to the following initial conditions:
 Exercise 2.71

An automobile is found to have a natural frequency of 20 rad/s without passengers and

17.32 rad/s with passengers of mass 500 kg. Find the mass and stiffness of the automobile
by treating it as a single-degree-of-freedom system
Exercise 2.72

A spring-mass system with mass 2 kg and stiffness 3200 N/m has an initial displacement of
xo= 0. What is the maximum initial velocity that can be given to the mass without the
amplitude of free vibration exceeding a value of 0.1 m
 Free Vibration of an undamped torsional System
If a rigid body oscillates about a specific reference axis, the resulting motion is called torsional vibration.

In this case, the displacement of the body is measured in terms of an angular coordinate

Figure 2.14 shows a disc

which has a polar mass moment of inertia J0
mounted at one end of a solid circular shaft, the other
end of which is fixed
Let the angular rotation of the disc about the axis of the
shaft be θ; θ also represents the shaft’s angle of twist
From the theory of torsion of circular shafts
The equation of the angular motion of the disc about its axis can be derived by using Newton’s second law or any of
the methods discussed in Section 2.2.2

Thus the natural circular frequency of the torsional system is

and the period in seconds and frequency of vibration

in cycles per second are