UNDAMPED FREE VIBRATION

The motion of linear SDF systems, visualized as an idealized one-story frame or a mass–spring–
damper system, subjected to external force p(t) is governed by Eq. (1.5.2).

(1.5.2)

Setting p(t) = 0 gives the differential equation governing free vibration of the system, which for
systems without damping (c = 0) specializes to:

(2.1.1)

Free vibration is initiated by disturbing the system from its static equilibrium (or undeformed,
u = 0) position by imparting the mass some displacement and velocity at time zero,
defined as the instant the motion is initiated:

(2.1.2)

Subject to these initial conditions, the solution to the homogeneous differential equation is
obtained by standard methods.

The solution of Eq. (2.1.1), a linear, homogeneous, second-order differential equation with
constant coefficients, has the form:

(a)

where the constant λ is unknown. Substitution into Eq. (2.1.1) gives

The exponential term is never zero, so

(b)

Known as the characteristic equation, Eq. (b) has two roots:

(c)

where

The general solution of Eq. (2.1.1) is

(d)

where and are complex-valued constants yet undetermined. By using the Euler relations,

and

Equation (d) can be rewritten as

(e)

where A and B are real-valued constants yet undetermined. Equation (e) is differentiated to
obtain

(f)

Evaluating Eqs. (e) and (f) at time zero gives the constants A and B in terms of the initial
displacement and initial velocity :

and (g)

Substituting for A and B from Eq. (g) into Eq. (e) leads to the solution given in Eq. (2.1.3).

(2.1.3)
where

(2.1.4)

Equation (2.1.3) is plotted in Fig. 2.1.1. It shows that the system undergoes vibratory (or
oscillatory) motion about its static equilibrium position; and that this motion repeats itself after
every seconds. In particular, the state (displacement and velocity) of the mass at two time
instants, and , is identical: and . These
equalities can easily be proved, starting with Eq. (2.1.3). The motion described by Eq. (2.1.3)
and shown in Fig. 2.1.1 is known as simple harmonic motion.

The portion a–b–c–d–e of the displacement–time curve describes one cycle of free vibration of
the system. From its static equilibrium (or undeformed) position at a, the mass moves to the
right, reaching its maximum positive displacement uo at b, at which time the velocity is zero and
the displacement begins to decrease and the mass returns back to its equilibrium position c, at
which time the velocity is maximum and hence the mass continues moving to the left, reaching
its minimum displacement -uo at d, at which time the velocity is again zero and the displacement
begins to decrease again and the mass returns to its equilibrium position at e. At time instant e,

seconds after time instant a, the state (displacement and velocity) of the mass is the same as it
was at time instant a, and the mass is ready to begin another cycle of vibration.

The time required for the undamped system to complete one cycle of free vibration is the natural
period of vibration of the system, which we denote as Tn, in units of seconds. It is related to the
natural circular frequency of vibration, ωn, in units of radians per second:

(2.1.5)

A system executes 1/Tn cycles in 1 sec. This natural cyclic frequency of vibration is denoted by

(2.1.6)

The units of fn are hertz (Hz) [cycles per second (cps)]; fn is obviously related to ωn through

(2.1.7)

The term natural frequency of vibration applies to both ωn and fn. The natural vibration
properties ωn, Tn, and fn depend only on the mass and stiffness of the structure; see Eqs. (2.1.4)
to (2.1.6). The stiffer of two SDF systems having the same mass will have the higher natural
frequency and the shorter natural period. Similarly, the heavier (more mass) of two structures
having the same stiffness will have the lower natural frequency and the longer natural period.
The qualifier natural is used in defining Tn, ωn, and fn to emphasize the fact that these are natural
properties of the system when it is allowed to vibrate freely without any external excitation.
Because the system is linear, these vibration properties are independent of the initial
displacement and velocity. The natural frequency and period of the various types of structures of
interest to us vary over a wide range, as shown in Figs. 1.10.1, 1.10.2, and 2.1.2 a–f.

The natural circular frequency ωn, natural cyclic frequency fn, and natural period Tn defined by
Eqs. (2.1.4) to (2.1.6) can be expressed in the alternative form

Let , where is the acceleration due to gravity then (2.1.4) to (2.1.6) can be written as:

, , (2.1.8)

This is the static deflection of the mass m suspended from a spring of stiffness k; it can be
visualized as the system of Fig. 1.6.1 oriented in the vertical direction. In the context of the one-
story frame of Fig. 1.2.1, δst is the lateral displacement of the mass due to lateral force mg.

The undamped system oscillates back and forth between the maximum displacement uo and
minimum displacement −uo. The magnitude uo of these two displacement values is the same; it is
called the amplitude of motion and is given by

(2.1.9)

The amplitude uo depends on the initial displacement and velocity. Cycle after cycle it remains
the same; that is, the motion does not decay. We had mentioned in Section 1.1 this unrealistic
behavior of a system if a damping mechanism to represent dissipation of energy is not included.