Delos Santos, Matthew M.

BSCE 4-1

1. A heavy table is supported by flat steel legs. Its natural period in lateral vibration
is 0.5 sec. When a 50-lb plate is clamped to its surface, the natural period in lateral
vibration is lengthened to 0.75 sec. What are the weight and the lateral stiffness of
the table?

𝑇𝑛 = 2𝜋√𝑚/𝑘 = 0.5 𝑠𝑒𝑐 → (𝐸. 1)

50
𝑚+ 𝑔
√
𝑇′𝑛 = 2𝜋 = 0.75 𝑠𝑒𝑐 → (𝐸𝑞. 2)
𝑘

50
√𝑚 + 𝑔
𝑇𝑛′ 2𝜋 𝑘
=
𝑇𝑛 𝑚
2𝜋√
𝑘
50
𝑇𝑛′
2 𝑚+ 𝑔
( ) =
𝑇𝑛 𝑚
50 0.75 2
1+ =( )
𝑚𝑔 0.5
𝒎𝒈 = 𝟒𝟎 𝒍𝒃𝒔

40
𝑘 = 16𝜋 2 𝑚 = 16𝜋 2 (386) = 𝟏𝟔. 𝟑𝟔 𝒍𝒃𝒔/𝒊𝒏
2. An electromagnet weighing 400 lb and suspended by a spring having a stiffness
of 100 lb/in (Fig. a) lifts 200 lb of iron scrap (Fig. b). Determine the equation
describing the motion when the electric current is turned off and the scrap is
dropped (Fig. c).

𝑘 = 100 𝑙𝑏/𝑖𝑛
400
𝑚= 𝑙𝑏 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐2/𝑖𝑛
386

𝑘 100
𝜔𝑛 = √ =√ = 9.82 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝑚 400
386
200
𝑢(0) = → 𝑢(0) = 2 𝑖𝑛
100
𝑢(𝑡) = 𝑢(0)𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑛 →
𝒖(𝒕) = 𝟐𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟗. 𝟖𝟐𝒕)

3. Consider a diver weighing 200 lb at the end of a diving board that cantilevers out
3 ft. The diver oscillates at a frequency of 2 Hz. What is the flexural rigidity EI of
the diving board?
 200 𝑙𝑏 − sec 2
𝑚= = 6.211
32.2 𝑓𝑡
𝑓𝑛 = 2 𝐻𝑧
3𝐸𝐼 3𝐸𝐼 𝐸𝐼
𝑘= 3
= 3
→ 𝑘=
𝐿 (3) 9

1 𝑘
𝑓𝑛 = ( ) √
2𝜋 𝑚

𝐸𝐼
1 √ 9
2=
2𝜋 6.211
𝐸𝐼 = (4𝜋)2 (9)(6.211) = 𝟖𝟖𝟐𝟕. 𝟐𝟐 𝒍𝒃 − 𝒇𝒕𝟐

4. The stiffness and damping properties of a mass-spring-damper system are to be

determined by a free vibration test; the mass is given as m = 0.1 lb-sec2/in. In this
test the mass is displaced 1 in by a hydraulic jack and then suddenly released. At
the end of 20 complete cycles, the time is 3 sec, and the amplitude is 0.2 in.
Determine the stiffness and damping coefficients.

1 𝑢1 1
𝜁= 𝑙𝑛( )= 𝑙𝑛(10.2) = 0.0128 × 100% = 1.28%
2𝜋𝑗 𝑢𝑗 + 1 2𝜋(20)
3
𝑇𝐷 = = 0.15 sec
20
𝑇𝑛 ≈ 𝑇𝐷 = 0.15 sec
2𝜋
∴ 𝜔𝑛 = = 41.89 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠𝑒𝑐
0.15
𝑘 = 𝜔𝑛2 𝑚 = (41.89)2 (0.1)
𝒌 = 𝟏𝟕𝟓. 𝟓 𝒍𝒃𝒔/𝒊𝒏
𝑐𝑐𝑟 = 2𝑚𝜔𝑛 = 2(0.1)(41.89) = 8.377 𝑙𝑏 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐/𝑖𝑛
1.28
𝑐 = 𝜁𝑐𝑐𝑟 = ( ) (8.377)
100
𝒄 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟎𝟕 𝒍𝒃 − 𝒔𝒆𝒄/𝒊𝒏
5. A system is modeled by two freely vibrating masses m1 and m2 interconnected by
a spring having a constant k as shown. Determine for this system the differential
equation of motion for the relative displacement ur = u2 – u1 between the two
masses. Also determine the corresponding natural frequency of the system.

m1ü1 m2ü2
k(u2-u1)

∑𝐹 = 0

𝑚1 ü1 – 𝑘(𝑢2 − 𝑢1 ) = 0 → 𝐸𝑞. 1
𝑚2 ü2 + 𝑘(𝑢2 − 𝑢1 ) = 0 → 𝐸𝑞. 2
𝑚1 𝑚2 (ü1 ü2 ) − 𝑘(𝑚1 + 𝑚2 )(𝑢2 − 𝑢1 ) = 0
Let y = 𝑢2 − 𝑢1
Let y = 𝑢2 − 𝑢1
Let y = 𝑢2 − 𝑢1
𝟏 𝟏
ÿ− 𝒌( + )𝒚 = 𝟎
𝒎𝟏 𝒎 𝟐

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
Natural Frequency, f = 𝟐𝝅 √𝒌 (𝒎 + 𝒎 )
𝟏 𝟐