Applied Dynamics

Haim Baruh
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August 28, 2013
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c Haim Baruh. All rights reserved.
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Contents
1 Introductory Concepts 5
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2 Particles, Rigid Bodies and Deformable Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 Degrees of Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4 Types of Forces and Motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5 Systems of Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.6 Linearization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.7 Dierential Equations and the Principle of Superposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.8 Dimensional Analysis and Nondimensionalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1.9 Numerical Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.10 What Is A Vehicle? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1.11 Cause and Eect Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.12 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1.13 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2 Kinematics Fundamentals 31
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.2 Position, Velocity and Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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2 CONTENTS
2.3 Reference Frames: Single Rotation in a Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.4 Column Vector Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.5 Commonly Used Coordinate Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.6 Moving Reference Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
2.7 Selection of Rotation Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2.8 Rate of Change of a Vector, Angular Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
2.9 Angular Acceleration and Second Derivatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
2.10 Relative Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
2.11 Instantaneous Center of Zero Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
2.12 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
2.13 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
3 Kinematics Applications 93
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
3.2 Motion with Respect to the Rotating Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
3.3 Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
3.4 Rolling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
3.5 Bicycle Model of a Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
3.6 Kinematic Dierential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
3.7 Topspin and Backspin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
3.8 Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
3.9 Instant Center Analysis for Linkages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
3.10 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
3.11 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
CONTENTS 3
4 Kinetics Fundamentals 127
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.2 Rigid Body Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.3 Linear and Angular Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.4 Resultant Force and Moment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
4.5 Laws of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
4.6 Forces and Moments Acting on Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
4.7 Force of Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
4.8 Contact and Reaction Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
4.9 Dry Friction Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
4.10 Aerodynamic Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
4.11 Spring Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
4.12 Dampers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
4.13 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
4.14 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
5 Kinetics Applications 175
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.2 Rolling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.3 Mechanical Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
5.4 Impulse and Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
5.5 Work, Energy and Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
5.6 Equations of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
5.7 Linearization, Equilibrium and Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
4 CONTENTS
5.8 Motion in the Vicinity of the Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
5.9 Collisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
5.10 A More Accurate Model of Rigid Body Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
5.11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
5.12 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
6 Response of Dynamical Systems 245
6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
6.2 The Unit Impulse and Unit Step Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
6.3 Homogeneous Plus Particular Solution Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
6.4 Laplace Transform Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
6.5 Response of First-Order Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
6.6 Review of Complex Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
6.7 Second-Order Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
6.8 Free Response of Undamped Second-Order Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
6.9 Free Response of Damped Second-Order Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
6.10 Underdamped Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
6.11 Damping Estimation by Logarithmic Decrement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
6.12 Response to an Impulsive Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
6.13 Step Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
6.14 Response to General Excitations - Convolution Integral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
6.15 Time Domain vs. Frequency Domain Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
6.16 Response to Harmonic Excitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
6.17 Resonance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
CONTENTS 5
6.18 Transmitted Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
6.19 Base Excitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
6.20 Harmonic Excitation Due to Imbalances and Eccentricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
6.21 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
6.22 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
7 Response of Multi Degree of Freedom Systems 321
7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
7.2 Modeling of Multi Degree of Freedom Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
7.3 Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
7.4 Free Motion of Undamped Multi Degree of Freedom Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
7.5 Solving for the Natural Frequencies and Modal Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
7.6 Beat Phenomenon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
7.7 Unrestrained Motion and Rigid Body Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
7.8 Orthogonality of the Modal Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
7.9 Expansion Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
7.10 Modal Equations of Motion and Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
7.11 Mode Participation and Isolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
7.12 Approximate Approach for Damped Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
7.13 Response to Harmonic Excitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
7.14 Vibration Reducing Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
7.15 First-Order Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
7.16 Numerical Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
7.17 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
6 CONTENTS
7.18 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
8 Analytical Mechanics 403
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
8.2 Generalized Coordinates and Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
8.3 Velocity Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
8.4 Virtual Displacements and Virtual Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
8.5 Virtual Displacements and Virtual Work for Rigid Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
8.6 Generalized Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
8.7 Principle of Virtual Work for Static Equilibrium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
8.8 DAlemberts Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
8.9 Hamiltons Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
8.10 Lagranges Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
8.11 Constrained Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
8.12 Kanes Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
8.13 Natural and Nonnatural Systems, Equilibrium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
8.14 Small Motions around Equilibrium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
8.15 Rayleighs Dissipation Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
8.16 Generalized Momentum, First Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
8.17 Impulsive Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
8.18 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
8.19 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
9 Kinematics and Geometry of Rigid Bodies 489
9.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
CONTENTS 7
9.2 Basic Kinematics of Rigid Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
9.3 Euler Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
9.4 Axisymmetric Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
9.5 Rolling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
9.6 Orientation Change by Successive Rotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
9.7 Interconnections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
9.8 44 Matrix Description of a General Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
9.9 Euler Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
9.10 Rodrigues Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
9.11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
9.12 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
10 Mass Moments of Inertia 559
10.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
10.2 Rigid Body Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
10.3 Mass Moment of Inertia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560
10.4 Transformation Properties of the Inertia Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
10.5 Principal Moments of Inertia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
10.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580
10.7 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580
11 Dynamics of Three-Dimensional Rigid Body Motion 585
11.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
11.2 Linear and Angular Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
11.3 Transformation Properties of Angular Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
8 CONTENTS
11.4 General Describing Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596
11.5 Description in Terms of Body-Fixed Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599
11.6 Angular Momentum Balance for Axisymmetric Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
11.7 Stability Analysis of Rotational Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612
11.8 Steady Precession of a Rolling Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614
11.9 Rotation about a Fixed Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
11.10Impulse and Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623
11.11Energy and Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625
11.12Analytical Equations for Rigid Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630
11.13Torque-Free Motion of Axisymmetric Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638
11.14References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648
11.15Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648
12 Vehicle Dynamics - Basic Loads and Longitudinal Motions 661
12.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661
12.2 Vehicle Coordinate Systems and Nomenclature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661
12.3 Loads on Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663
12.4 Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
12.5 Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669
12.6 More Advanced Model Including Wheel Inertia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672
12.7 Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
12.8 Rollover and Lateral Instability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687
12.9 Weight Shift and Statical Indeterminacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
12.10References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
CONTENTS 9
12.11Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
13 Vehicle Dynamics - Tire and Aerodynamic Forces 711
13.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711
13.2 Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711
13.3 Tire Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715
13.4 Lateral Forces and Tire Slip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
13.5 Tire Torques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
13.6 Slip Ratio and Longitudinal Tire Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
13.7 Rolling Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728
13.8 Camber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
13.9 Other Tire Eects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736
13.10Summary of Tire Force Eects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738
13.11Nondimensional Analysis of Tire Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740
13.12Aerodynamic Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741
13.13References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747
13.14Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747
14 Vehicle Dynamics - Lateral Stability 751
14.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
14.2 Kinematics - Steer Angle Denitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
14.3 Wheel Loads and Slip Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 758
14.4 Slip Angle Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766
14.5 Transient Motion Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 770
14.6 Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773
10 CONTENTS
14.7 Eigenvalue Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775
14.8 Mass-Spring-Damper Analogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778
14.9 Steady-State Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 781
14.10Yaw Velocity Gain and Curvature Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784
14.11Tangent Speed and Hydroplaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 786
14.12Neutral Steer Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788
14.13Driver Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790
14.14Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792
14.15Which Wheels Will Slide First? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 794
14.16References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
14.17Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
15 Vehicle Dynamics - Bounce, Pitch and Roll 801
15.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801
15.2 Sources of Excitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802
15.3 Unsprung vs. Sprung Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804
15.4 Simple Suspension Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805
15.5 Quarter-Car Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
15.6 Pitch and Bounce Motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
15.7 Olley Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825
15.8 Response to Harmonic Excitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 826
15.9 Roll Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834
15.10Roll Center Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 838
15.11Lateral Load Reduction due to Weight Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841
CONTENTS 11
15.12Roll Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844
15.13Introduction to Suspension Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 848
15.14Suspension System Terminology and Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 848
15.15Axle Suspensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 851
15.16Independent Suspensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 856
15.17Roll Center Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 860
15.18Force Analysis for Anti-Squat and Anti-Dive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 862
15.19Jacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868
15.20Scrub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869
15.21Anti-Roll Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870
15.22References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872
15.23Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873
Index 876
12 CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Introductory Concepts
1.1 Introduction
This chapter discusses introductory concepts for the study of motion. We classify objects as particles,
rigid bodies, and deformable bodies. We discuss systems of units, degrees of freedom, constraints,
linearization, dimensional analysis, and the cause and eect principle. The chapter presents a broad
classication of forces to which dynamical systems are subjected, as well as a preliminary discussion on
two problems of special interest to practicing engineers and scientists: vibrations and vehicle motion.
1.1.1 What is a System?
A term frequently used in dynamics is system. A system can be loosely dened as a collection of
bodies or components acting together as one. We also use the word system to describe the behavior
of a body with respect to its environment. We can choose to analyze a system as a whole or we can
split it into a series of subsystems and analyze each subsystem individually.
When an input (or excitation) is applied to a system, a certain output (or response) is obtained,
as illustrated in Fig. 1.1.
Figure 1.1: Schematic of a system.
For example, in the airplane in Fig. 1.2, the plane and its control surfaces are the system,
while the lift, drag, thrust and weight forces comprise the input. The motions of the airplane, such as
translations in the horizontal and vertical directions, rotations pitch, roll and yaw, and vibration of
13
14 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
the wings and tail are the outputs. An airplane is what is called a multi-input multi-output system.
Figure 1.2: An airplane as a system.
To understand the behavior of a system, we need to develop its mathematical model. This
process involves tools from mechanics as well as mathematics. Often, we make several assumptions,
such as neglecting part of the motion, linearization, or assuming a certain type of energy dissipation.
It is crucial to be aware of what system we are analyzing and isolating, as well as what
assumptions we are making, and to model the interactions between the system under consideration
with its environment and with other systems.
1.2 Particles, Rigid Bodies and Deformable Solids
When analyzing the motion of a body, the rst task is to identify the type of body. Many times, we
make assumptions regarding the type of body under consideration and we develop simplied models.
1
We will consider three types of bodies: particles, rigid bodies and deformable bodies. All three
are constant mass bodies. Mass is dened as the amount of matter contained in a body. It can also be
viewed as the resistance of a body to translational motion. Mass is an inertial quantity and, except for
relativistic mechanics problems (which involve speeds nearing the speed of light), it does not change.
A particle is dened as a body with no physical dimensions, or a body whose entire mass is
concentrated at one point. When studying particle motion the interest is in translational motion, as
we can not attribute any rotational motion to a point mass. The particle assumption is also used when
the rotational motion of a body is very small compared to its translational motion. For example, when
analyzing an airplane moving from one airport to another thousands of miles away, the interest is in
the trajectory and altitude of the airplane and treats the airplane as a particle. The pilot, on the
other hand, is also concerned with the attitude (orientation) of the airplane and treats the plane not
as a particle but as a rigid body. The pilot maneuvers the airplane so that the passengers experience
as little discomfort as possible. An object may be moving along a curved path and still exhibit only
translational motion.
A rigid body is dened as a body that has physical dimensions; hence a shape. The shape of
a rigid body does not change when forces are applied to it. That is, the distance between any two
1
One of the most important steps in analysis is to make accurate and valid assumptions. We must continuously
monitor and assess the validity of our assumptions.
1.3. DEGREES OF FREEDOM 15
points on the body does not change under the action of forces and moments. The motion of a rigid
body consists of translations as well as rotations.
A deformable body deforms when forces are applied to it. Such a body has elasticity, also
known as exibility or compliance. The body may or may not return to its original undeformed shape
when the load or force is removed. Fluids, which take the shape of their containers, are not included
among deformable bodies and are classied dierently. So are variable mass systems, such as a rocket.
Considering a body as rigid assumes that it has no exibility. The validity of such an as-
sumption should be continuously evaluated. The following episode from space mechanics is a case in
point. The Explorer satellites (Explorer I and III were launched in 1958) were each in the shape of
an axisymmetric rod, with protruding thin antennae, as shown in Fig. 1.3. Such satellites are sent
into space with an initial spin to give them attitude stability, the same way one throws an American
football. The energy dissipation due to damping of the antennae was not included in the mathematical
model. The unmodeled damping properties of the antennae dissipated energy, which caused the spin
rate to slow down and for unexpected nutational instabilities to occur.
2
Figure 1.3: Explorer satellite with its antennae.
1.3 Degrees of Freedom
Development of a mathematical model requires analysis of the dierent actual motions that are pos-
sible, as well as the amount of simplication that we wish to make. The term degree of freedom
(d.o.f.) is dened as the minimum number of independent variables required to describe the motion
completely. The net result of possible dierent actual motions minus restrictions on the motion minus
the simplications that are made gives the number of degrees of freedom of the system.
After determining the number of dierent ways a system can move, each dierent motion needs
to be described by a motion variable, such as position and angle. A set of independent variables that
can describe the motion of a body completely is called generalized coordinates. In general, there are
2
Chapter 11 discusses nutational instabilities that occur when there is energy dissipation in slender bodies.
16 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
as many generalized coordinates as degrees of freedom. An exception is non-holonomic systems, as
will be demonstrated later.
Figure 1.4: Bead sliding inside a hoop.
Consider a bead sliding inside a rotating hoop of radius R, as shown in Fig. 1.4. The position
of the bead with respect to the hoop can be described by the angle that the line joining the center
of the hoop and the bead makes with a line that is xed with respect to the hoop.
The number of degrees of freedom of this system depends on how we treat the rotation of the
hoop. If the rotation of the hoop is a specied quantity (for example, if there is a servomotor regulating
the angular velocity ), then the motion of the hoop is known and it is not a motion variable. On the
other hand, if the hoop is free to rotate (no motor to regulate its angular velocity), then the system
has two degrees of freedom. A second generalized coordinate is needed to model the rotation of the
hoop, say , so that =

.
A particle in general motion has three degrees of freedom. A rigid body in space has six degrees
of freedom. A deformable body has, in theory, an innite number of degrees of freedom.
Figure 1.5: Objects on the XY plane: a) particle, b) rigid body.
A particle restricted to moving on a plane has two degrees of freedom and a rigid body in
plane motion has three degrees of freedom, as shown in Fig. 1.5. For the block in Fig. 1.5b we can
use the coordinates X
G
and Y
G
to denote the position of point G on the body and angle to denote
orientation of the body. Note that in dening the angle a line is drawn between points A and B.
1.3. DEGREES OF FREEDOM 17
Both points are xed on the body. The line joining A and B does not change with respect to the body
as the body moves.
One of the initial tasks when studying motion is the determination of the number of degrees
of freedom. In general, there are no given guidelines on how to determine the number of degrees of
freedom. The general relationship
d.o.f. = no. of possible motions - no. of restraints - no. of simplications
is a useful guide. Most of the time, we need to make reasonable assumptions regarding the number of
degrees of freedom.
1.3.1 Constraints
Parallel to the concept of degree of freedom, it is useful to consider the concept of a degree of restraint
(d.o.r.), which is dened as the number of possible motions minus the number of d.o.f. Consider the
door hinge in Fig. 1.6a. The hinge is attached on one side to the door frame and on the other side
to the door, usually by screws. If the hinge is built well and rmly attached to the door and the
door frame, a one degree of freedom system is the outcome, with the hinge permitting the opening
and closing of the door by rotation about the hinge axis. The hinge provides ve degrees of restraint
(or ve constraints) to the door, three translational and two rotational, as shown in Fig. 1.6b. These
constraints on the motion, are enforced by the forces in three directions and moments in two directions
generated by the hinge mechanism and screws connecting the hinge to the door and the frame.
Figure 1.6: a) Hinged door, b) forces on hinge.
It is important to have the supports and components of a system that provide restraints remain
as restraints during the lifetime of the system. If the restraints fail, the resulting system will possess
additional degrees of freedom. In general, we design mechanisms and machines so that they have as
many controllers as there are degrees of freedom. If a system gains additional degrees of freedom due
to failure of a restraint, it becomes impossible (or very hard) to control those additional degrees of
freedom. For example, when the screws connecting the hinge to the door or frame become loose, the
hinge begins losing its degrees of restraint and the door acquires undesirable motions, such as twisting
18 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
or translating. Such undesired motions make it harder and less accurate to open and close the door,
and they put additional stresses on the hinge.
When a car tire gets worn out and cannot hold the road, or a driver takes a turn at a high
speed, the car may start sliding. It thus loses a d.o.r., which is equivalent to adding a degree of
freedom. The vehicle is now uncontrollable.
3
All the driver can do is to wait for friction to eventually
overcome the sliding. though there are certain evasive measures the driver can take to minimize the
time it takes for the sliding to end.
A restraint or a constraint is the kinematical description of a restriction on the motion of a
body or of a system of bodies. For the constraint to be enforced, there has to be an accompanying
constraint force. This duality will be observed later on in this chapter, when discussing the cause and
eect principle, as well as in subsequent chapters.
Consider the free body diagram of a vehicle in plane motion in Fig. 1.7. The vehicle consists
of the body, two rear wheels on an axle and the steering in the front simplied into a single wheel,
like that of a tricycle.
4
Figure 1.7: Simple model of a vehicle (tricycle model).
The vehicle body has three degrees of freedom (rigid body in plane motion), and the steer
angle is an additional motion variable, for a total of four d.o.f. Assuming that friction is sucient to
prevent sliding of the wheels, each wheel has a velocity in the direction of its heading. The constraints
of the rear wheels can be combined by looking at the motion of the mid-point of the rear axle, point
A. The kinematic relationships that ensue are v
A
= v
A
i and v
B
= v
B
i

, and the two associated

constraints are
v
A
j = 0 v
B
j

= 0 (1.3.1)
3
One method that police frequently use to destabilize a eeing vehicle is to give it a small bump from the back. This
induces a sliding motion to the car. Sliding in a fast moving vehicle does not come to an end quickly. We will discuss
this loss of stability in Chapter 12.
4
We will see the reasoning for this simplication in Chapter 2.
1.3. DEGREES OF FREEDOM 19
When all wheels roll without slipping or sliding, there are 42 = 2 degrees of freedom. Forces
that act on the vehicle are the two constraint forces
5
R
A
and R
B
, which are perpendicular to the
velocity of the rear and front wheels, respectively, as well as the two propulsive forces F
1
and F
2
. In
a car, there is the propulsion and braking mechanism, which controls speed, and the steering wheel,
which controls direction. Hence, there are two degrees of freedom and two controls.
When discussing degrees of freedom and constraints, we need to distinguish between constraints
that aect position and constraints that aect velocity only. This issue will be discussed in more
detail in Chapters 2, 9 and 11. In general, when we discuss degrees of freedom, we refer to degrees of
freedom associated with velocity. For the vehicle above, four coordinates are necessary to describe the
position, orientation and steer of the vehicle; the two coordinates of the center of mass, X
G
and Y
G
,
the orientation angle and the steer angle . To describe the vehicle velocity and angular velocity,
only two velocity variables are needed, v
A
and

. This is because the constraints discussed above
(v
A
j = 0 and v
B
j

= 0) constrain only the vehicle velocity but not the position or orientation of
the vehicle. Such constraints are known as non-holonomic.
1.3.2 Generalized Coordinates
After determining the number of degrees of freedom, the next step is selection of the motion variables
that are needed to uniquely describe the motion. The set of position and orientation variables that
describe a system are known as generalized coordinates. Selection of motion variables can be a complex
task and there are no strict guidelines, other than maintaining the uniqueness of the coordinates and
simplifying the description of motion. Experience also helps. The coordinate systems discussed in the
next chapter are dierent choices of generalized coordinates. The study of generalized coordinates will
continue throughout the text, especially when analytical mechanics is discussed in Chapter 8.
It is important to avoid ambiguities when selecting the motion variables. For example, the
simple pendulum of xed length L in Fig. 1.8 has one degree of freedom as long as the wire is taut.
The obvious choice for the generalized coordinate is the angle , as any position of the pendulum can
uniquely be described by . The other possibilities for the motion variable are the x or z coordinates
of the pendulum. The z coordinate (z = Lcos ) is ambiguous because, for a given value of z, there
are two possible orientations for the pendulum. Using x as the generalized coordinate (x = Lsin)
does not create ambiguities, but makes the description of the position and velocity more complicated
than when is used.
Example 1.1
Determine the number of degrees of freedom for the system shown in Fig. 1.9.
The cart has one degree of freedom, and because the block of mass 2m is attached to it with
a wire of xed length, the block does not add an additional degree of freedom as long as the wire is
taut. The block of mass m is connected to the upper block by a spring, so it has independent motion.
Hence, the d.o.f. for this system is two, assuming that the wire between the cart and the block of mass
2m is always taut.
5
RA represents the sum of the constraint forces on the rear wheels.
20 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
Figure 1.8: Simple pendulum.
Figure 1.9: Masses with a pulley.
1.4. TYPES OF FORCES AND MOTIONS 21
We can look at this problem also by rst counting the bodies that can move: three bodies, all
in rectilinear motion, for a total of three motions. Next we consider that the wire connecting the cart
to the upper block provides one constraint. Therefore, the d.o.f. = 3 1 = 2.
Example 1.2
How many degrees of freedom does the trailer in Fig. 1.10 have? Assume that none of the wheels slide.
Figure 1.10: A trailer.
The answer to be two, as the trailer is navigated by two controls: 1) propulsive and braking
forces to change speed, and 2) the steering to change direction. The tractor (powered vehicle) has
two degrees of freedom, as established in the previous section. The trailer, when not connected to the
powered front vehicle, has three degrees of freedom. The trailer has wheels in the back, which results
in one constraint (again, we assume the rear wheels do not slide).
The front of the trailer is connected to the tractor by a hitch which, in essence is a ball and
socket joint. In the plane of motion, the hitch behaves as a pin joint. The pin joint permits the trailer
to rotate about the hitch, but it does not permit any translation in the plane of motion. The pin joint
imposes two constraints. Hence, while the trailer adds three possible motions, the no sliding condition
of the rear wheels and the no translation relative to the tractor at the hitch provide three constraints,
resulting in a system that has 2 (tractor) + 3 (trailer) 3 (wheels and pin joint) = 2 degrees of
freedom.
1.4 Types of Forces and Motions
The forces acting on a body, or on a system of bodies, dictate the nature of the motion. We will
analyze commonly encountered forces in Chapter 4. Here, we present a broad classication of forces
that dynamical systems encounter, followed by the general nature of the ensuing motion.
Aerodynamic or hydrodynamic forces. These forces act on a body that is moving in air
22 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
or water or in another uid. Such forces are primarily resistive forces, except for lift forces in
aerodynamics.
Gravity. The force of gravity is the weight of a body. For a rigid body, the resultant of the
gravity force acts through the center of mass.
Restoring forces. Restoring forces always act against the motion of a body and have the eect
of bringing back the body to its original position. The presence of restoring forces causes repeti-
tive or vibratory motion. Springs generate restoring forces that are functions of the displacement
and they do not dissipate energy (or dissipate very small amounts of energy). Dampers generate
restoring forces that are functions of the velocity and they have the eect of dissipating energy.
In a pendulum, such as the one in Fig. 1.8, gravity is the restoring force.
Persistent forces. Such forces arise from imbalances in moving bodies and in bodies with
rotating components. For example, in vehicles, a driveline shaft or tires that have eccentricity
(being o-balance), or a vehicle moving on uneven road, results in persistent loading. Persistent
forces are usually periodic and they may lead to high motion amplitudes and resonances.
Impulsive forces. Impulsive forces are forces of large magnitude that are applied over a very
short period of time. Collisions between bodies, such as a bat hitting a baseball, and impact
forces are in this category. Impulsive forces cause sudden changes in velocity with very little (or
negligible) change in position.
Contact forces, as well as friction. Such forces come into existence when two bodies come
in contact with each other. Contact generates normal forces perpendicular to the plane of
contact and friction forces along the plane of contact. Friction forces are resistive forces and
they dissipate energy when the bodies in contact move against each other. Friction also makes
it possible to have rolling motion.
Internal forces, such as internal exibility, internal damping, and hysteresis. Internal
exibility, as in the exibility of a beam, has the eect of a spring, and creates restoring forces.
Hysteresis is due to the dierence in the force-displacement curve between loading and unloading.
Hysteresis and internal damping dissipate energy.
1.4.1 Vibratory Motion
A very commonly encountered form of motion, and one that is of particular interest, is vibration. A
system is said to vibrate (or oscillate) when its motion is repetitive and periodic. Vibrations occur
when one or more of the following forces act:
Internal restoring forces, due to exibility, damping and hysteresis, as would be encountered
in an elastic beam or rod;
External restoring forces, including components such as springs, dampers and elastic supports
connecting a body to other bodies, as well as gravity in the motion of pendulums;
Persistent external forces, such as wind gusts, vortex shedding, eccentricities and imbalances
in rotating components, such as imbalances in shafts and wheels, as well as road unevenness for
moving vehicles.
1.5. SYSTEMS OF UNITS 23
Any type of external force that acts on a system that has exibility or elastic components.
Because vibratory motion has periodicity, we wish to develop a mathematical model of the system
and also to analyze the nature of the response. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss the response of elastic bodies
that are subjected to the types loads discussed above.
1.5 Systems of Units
Two systems of units are widely used in dynamics, the Syst`eme International (SI), or metric, and
U.S. Customary. The primary dierence is that the SI system is universal, and absolute, and the U.S.
system is local (or gravitational). The SI system is more widely used. In certain industries, we can
nd both systems used side by side. An interesting example of this is tire labeling.
Three fundamental quantities are needed to describe motion. The SI system uses mass (M),
length (L) and time (T), while the U.S. system uses force (F), length (L) and time (T). Mass is dened
as the amount of matter contained in a body and it is an absolute quantity. We can also dene mass
as the amount of resistance of a body to translational motion (see Chapter 4). Force, on the other
hand, is an inertial quantity. Its value depends on the gravitational system it is in. For example, a
body on Mars weighs 3/8 of what it weighs on earth. Whichever the three fundamental quantities
used to describe motion are, they can be treated as independent of each other as long as the speeds
involved are not close to the speed of light.
Corresponding to each fundamental quantity there is a base unit (also referred to as dimen-
sion) that describes standard amounts of a fundamental quantity. Table 1.1 shows the fundamental
quantities and corresponding base units that are commonly used. For deformable bodies, the cause
and eect relationships are valid both in the interior of the body and at the boundaries.
Table 1.1: Base units in the SI and U.S. Customary systems
Quantity SI Units U.S. Customary Conversion
Mass kilogram (kg) slug (lb. sec
2
/ft) 1 slug = 14.5921 kg
Length meter (m) foot (ft) 1 foot = 0.3048 m
Time second (s) second (sec)
Force Newton (N = kg m/s
2
) pound (lb) 1 lb. = 4.4488 N
To relate the mass of an object to its weight, we use the gravitational constant g, which is
expressed in units of acceleration. Chapter 4 will discuss the general expression for the gravitational
constant. On earth, at sea level and at a latitude of 45

, g is approximated as g = 9.8066 m/s

2
=
32.174 ft/sec
2
. Using these values for g, on earth an object that weighs 1 lb. has a mass of 0.45359 kg.
In the SI system, force is a derived quantity. The base unit of force (F = ML/T
2
) is denoted
by a Newton (N), where 1 N = 1 kg m/s
2
. In the U.S. system, mass is a derived quantity and the
commonly used unit of mass is a slug, with 1 slug = 1 lb. sec
2
/ft.
24 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
An object of mass 1 kg has a weight of W = mg = 9.81 kgm/s
2
= 9.81 N. An object that
weighs 1 lb. has a mass of m = W/g = 1/32.17 lbsec
2
/ft = 1/32.17 slugs.
To describe rotational displacements, we commonly use degrees (

) or radians (rad). Going

around a full circle takes 360 degrees or 2 radians and is referred to as a revolution. The angle of 1
radian =
360
2
= 57.2958

represents the value of the angle = 1 rad so that the arc length R is equal
to the radius R. The relationship between arc length and radius is depicted in Fig. 1.11.
Figure 1.11: Arc length and radius.
Other base units also nd widespread use. For example, the speed of ships and airplanes is
customarily described by knots (1 knot = 1 nautical mile/hr, where 1 nautical mile = 1.1508 mile =
1.8520 km). Also, pound-mass (lbm) is sometimes used (especially in the thermal sciences) to describe
mass. An object of mass 1 lbm has a weight of 1 lb. Hence 1 lbm =
1
32.17
slugs.
It is important to check that the dimensions of the quantities being manipulated match. Each
term in a kinematic expression, force and moment balance equation, or other dynamical relationship
must have the same dimension. Checking dimensional homogeneity is a good way of spotting errors.
We must also be careful in rounding o numbers. Many engineering problems require an
accuracy of one thousandth or better. Accordingly, in most problems in this text, four signicant
digits (e.g., 0.1234, 1.234, 12.34) will be considered. Be careful to match the accuracy of the solution
to the accuracy of the dierent terms used in the solution. If one of the terms in an expression is
only known to a certain level of accuracy, say 1%, the entire expression itself cannot be evaluated to
a higher level of accuracy, even if the other terms are known more accurately. Like the weakest link
in a chain, a mathematical expression can only be as accurate as its least accurate component.
1.6 Linearization
A useful analysis tool is approximation of a function by means of linearization. Nonlinear functions
are harder to analyze and nonlinear equations are much harder to solve than their linear counterparts.
Dealing with linear expressions makes it possible to use a variety of well-known and powerful analysis
methods, such as the method of superposition. Linearized models nd widespread use in all branches
of science and engineering. Two notable examples from dynamics involve steering angles and vibration
amplitudes.
1.6. LINEARIZATION 25
A function f (x), where x is the independent variable and f is the dependent variable (depend-
ing on x, in this case), is said to be linear if it can be expressed in the form f (x) = mx +b, where m
and b are constants. Geometrically, a linear function is represented as a straight line, where m is the
slope and b is the point where the function crosses the f axis.
6
Consider the function f (x) in Fig. 1.12 and approximate f (x) with a straight line in the
vicinity of a point of interest, say at x = x
0
. A good straight line approximation to f (x) at x = x
0
is
obtained by drawing a straight line that goes through the point (x
0
, f (x
0
)) and is tangent to f (x)
at x = x
0
.
Figure 1.12: Linearizing about points x
0
and x
1
.
Denoting the angle that the tangent line makes with the horizontal as m, where m =
df
dx

x = x
0
,
and introducing a local variable so that
x = x
0
+ or = x x
0
(1.6.1)
we can write the equation for the linear curve in terms of the local variable as
f (x) f (x
0
) +m or f (x) f (x
0
) +
df
dx

x = x
0
(1.6.2)
How good is the linearization approximation? Or, for what range of will the straight line
approximation to f (x) be close to the actual value of f (x)? The answer depends on the shape of the
function f (x) at x = x
0
. We can observe this by drawing two circles about x
0
. Inside the inner circle
the tangent line is very close to the function, but there is a deviation when considering at the outer
circle.
Let us now consider another point, say x
1
in Fig. 1.12, and draw the tangent line at f(x
1
) and
draw the same size circles. Here, the tangent begins to deviate from the function much faster. This is
because the function f (x) is changing more rapidly at x = x
1
.
6
The denition of linearity, which states for two arbitrary numbers a and b the relationship f(a) + f(b) = f(a + b),
is only applicable when every term in f (x) is an explicit function of x.
26 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
The linearization approximation can also be derived mathematically. Consider the Taylor
series expansion of the function f (x) about x = x
0
f (x) = f (x
0
) +
df
dx

x=x
0
(x x
0
) +
1
2!
d
2
f
dx
2

x=x
0
(x x
0
)
2
+ +
1
n!
d
n
f
dx
n

x=x
0
(x x
0
)
n
+. . . (1.6.3)
The Taylor series is an innite series. When an innite number of terms are used, it is an
exact expansion. The rst two terms of the series give the linear approximation
f (x) f (x
0
) +
df
dx

x=x
0
(x x
0
) (1.6.4)
which is recognized to be the same as Eq. (1.6.2).
The Taylor series expansion can also be used for functions of more than one variable. For
example, linearization of a function f (x, y) of two variables about x = x
0
, y = y
0
is
f (x, y) f (x
0
, y
0
) +
f
x

x=x
0
y=y
0
(x x
0
) +
f
y

x=x
0
y=y
0
(y y
0
) (1.6.5)
An alternate, but mathematically equivalent, method of linearizing is to substitute the small
displacement terms directly into the nonlinear expression. To linearize f (x) about x = x
0
, introduce
the variable where x = x
0
+ and substitute x
0
+ into f (x). Then, eliminate all terms nonlinear
in from the expression f (x
0
+). To this end, we can make use of well-known relationships, such as
small angle formulas and the binomial expansion.
The binomial series expansion is given by
(a +x)
n
= a
n
+na
n1
x +
n(n 1)
2!
a
n2
x
2
+
n(n 1) (n 2)
3!
a
n3
x
3
+. . . (1.6.6)
where n is any number. For linearization in x the rst two terms are retained, giving
(a +x)
n
a
n
+na
n1
x (1.6.7)
We can also expand (a +x)
n
as
(a +x)
n
= a
n
_
1 +
x
a
_
n
a
n
_
1 +
nx
a
_
= a
n
+na
n1
x (1.6.8)
When linearizing a function that is complex or lengthy, we can make use of an interesting
property of Taylor series. Consider a function f(x) that can be expressed as the product of two
functions, f(x) = f
1
(x)f
2
(x). The Taylor series expansion of f(x) about a certain point, say x
0
, is
equal to the product of the Taylor series expansions of f
1
(x) and f
2
(x) about x = x
0
. Hence, we can
linearize f
1
(x) and f
2
(x) separately and multiply the two to get the linearization of the entire function.
Linearity, in general, is not a property of a system but rather of the range of operation. Most
natural or man-made systems are nonlinear. Usually, we are interested in the behavior of a system
in a certain range so we linearize the describing equations in that range. Always check the range in
which the linearization approximation is accurate.
1.6. LINEARIZATION 27
Example 1.3
Derive the small angle approximations for the sine and cosine functions.
Using the variable , rst evaluate f () = sin about =
0
. Let =
0
and note that is
measured in radians. Using the rst two terms of the Taylor series expansion
sin sin
0
+ cos
0
[a]
For the special case of linearization about zero,
0
= 0, introducing the variable =
0
= , the
above expression reduces to the well-known small angle approximation
sin sin0 + cos 0 = = [b]
The small angle approximation is valid until reaches a value of about 0.4 radians ( 25

), as can be
seen by comparing the plots of and sin in Fig. 1.13.
Taylor series can be used in a similar way to linearize the cosine function with the result
cos cos
0
sin
0
[c]
and, for
0
= 0, the above expression reduces to cos 1.
!1 !0.8 !0.6 !0.4 !0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
!1
!0.8
!0.6
!0.4
!0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
! (rad)
s
i
n
(
!
)
Figure 1.13: Plot of sin vs .
Example 1.4
Linearize the expression f (x, y) = x
2
sin(y) about x = 3, y = /6.
Introduce the variables
x
and
y
x = 3 +
x
y =

6
+
y
[a]
and note that we can linearize the individual terms as
x
2
= (3 +
x
)
2
9 + 6
x
28 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
siny = sin
_

6
+
y
_
sin

6
+ cos

6

y

1
2
+

3
2

y
[b]
Multiplying the above terms and discarding the nonlinear terms gives
f(
x
,
y
) (9 + 6
x
)
_
1
2
+

3
2

y
_

9
2
+ 3
x
+
9

3
2

y
[c]
Example 1.5
Linearize the term f (x) = (2 + 5x)
1/3
about x = 0 by making use of the binomial expansion.
Rewrite the function as
f (x) = (2 + 5x)
1
3
= 2
1
3
_
1 +
5
2
x
_1
3
[a]
Introducing the variable y = 5x/2, the above expression can be approximated as
f(y) = 2
1
3
(1 +y)
1
3
2
1
3
_
1 +
1
3
y
_
[b]
and, converting the variable back, we obtain the linearized expression as
f (x) 2
1
3
_
1 +
1
3
y
_
= 2
1
3
_
1 +
5
6
x
_
[c]
1.7 Dierential Equations and the Principle of Superposition
Earlier, we learned how to linearize a nonlinear function about a point of interest. We now consider
linearizing dierential equations. Linearization of dierential equations permits us to use several
solution methods that are applicable only for linear systems, as well as the principle of superposition.
Consider a system described by a dierential equation in the form
Dx(t) = f (t) (1.7.1)
in which x(t) is the variable describing the system amplitude, or the output of the system, f (t) is the
excitation, or the input, and D is a dierential operator. For example, the operator associated with
the dierential equation a x(t) + b x(t) + c sinx(t) = F is D = a
d
2
dt
2
+ b
d
dt
+ c sin. The input-output
and operator D is schematically described in Fig. 1.14.
Let us denote by x
1
(t) the response, or output, of the system to an input F
1
(t). Likewise, let
x
2
(t) be the response to the input F
2
(t). The system is said to be linear if the input F
1
(t) +F
2
(t),
where and are arbitrary constants, results in the output x
1
(t) +x
2
(t).
A dierential equation is linear if all the terms involving the variable and its derivatives are
to the rst power, with no second or higher power terms, no square or cube or higher roots, no
1.7. DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS AND THE PRINCIPLE OF SUPERPOSITION 29
Figure 1.14: Input-Output of a system.
discontinuities, no transcendental terms or no absolute value functions. A linear n-th order ordinary
dierential equation can be written as
a
n
d
n
x(t)
dt
n
+a
n1
d
n1
x(t)
dt
n1
+ +a
0
x(t) = F (t) (1.7.2)
The coecients a
0
, a
1
, . . . , a
n
may be constant or they may be functions of time.
When linearizing an ordinary dierential equation of order two, such as the describing equation
of a dynamical system, we linearize about an operating point. Denoting the variable by x(t), we
linearize about a point x(t) = x
0
and x(t) = v
0
. Inroducing the variable , we express the position
and velocity as
x(t) = x
0
+ (t) x(t) = v
0
+ (t) (1.7.3)
The expression for acceleration can be written as x(t) = a
0
+ (t), where the value of a
0
depends on
the values of x
0
and v
0
.
Dealing with linear dierential equations has two distinct advantages:
Linearity permits us to use several methods for solving dierential equations, such as homoge-
neous and particular solution, Laplace transform solution, series expansions, and others.
Given a linear system subjected to more than one type of input (excitation), we can obtain the
solution to each excitation separately and then combine the individual solutions linearly to get
the total response. This property is known as the principle of superposition. Superposition
enables us to break a lengthy problem into smaller parts where each part can be solved more
easily. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 provide examples of linearization, selection of the operating point
about which we linearize an equation, and solving linear dierential equations by superposition.
The principle of superposition is also very useful when obtaining the response of multi degree
of freedom linear systems. As we will see in Chapter 7, superposition makes it possible to
manipulate a set of coupled dierential equations into a set of uncoupled equations that can be
solved individually.
Example 1.6
Is the dierential equation 3 x(t) 5| x(t) | + cos (x(t)) t
2
x(t) = 0 linear?
No, it is not. The term | x(t) | is not linear, as it involves the absolute value function. The
absolute value function is not linear as it has a discontinuous derivative at x(t) = 0. The term
30 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
cos(x(t)) is also nonlinear. Note that the term t
2
x(t) is linear in the variable x(t), so the dierential
equation 3 x(t) 5 x(t) t
2
x(t) = 0 is a linear ordinary dierential equation.
Example 1.7
Linearize the dierential equation x+3 x
3
+4 sinx = 0 about the operating point x
0
= , x
0
= v
0
= 0.
Let us introduce the local variable , where x(t) = x
0
+ = +. It follows that
x = v
0
+ = x = a
0
+ [a]
The value of a
0
is obtained by introducing x
0
and v
0
into the dierential equation, with the
result
a
0
+ 3v
3
0
+ 4 sinx
0
= 0 = a
0
= 3v
3
0
4 sinx
0
= 0 [b]
Introduction of these denitions into the dierential equation results in
+ 3
3
+ 4 sin( +) = + 3
3
+ 4 sin cos + 4 cos sin [c]
Note that sin = 0, cos = 1, and that the small angle approximation is sin . Furthermore,

3
0. Substituting these relationships to Eq. [b] yields the linearized equation
4 = 0 [d]
1.8 Dimensional Analysis and Nondimensionalization
Two valuable mathematical tools are dimensional analysis and the process of nondimensionalization.
Dimensional analysis is useful in experimental or numerical work, as well as in design. In dimensional
analysis, the goal is to reduce the complexity of the variables and parameters that describe a system.
The reduction is carried out by a compacting technique, such as scaling. In the process, we develop or
identify dimensionless ratios that often point to important relationships. For example, the damping
factor, derived in Chapter 6, quanties the amount of energy dissipation in oscillating systems.
In dimensional analysis there are two basic approaches. One is directly to attempt to nd
dimensionless parameters that inuence the behavior of a system. This approach is heavily used in
uid mechanics. The Reynolds number and the Prandtl number, for example, are two very important
dimensionless quantities that describe properties of uid ow. Dimensional analysis also enables us to
deal with scale models, which is very useful in experimentation. In the second approach, we nondi-
mensionalize the describing equations, and in the process identify important dimensionless quantities
that characterize the system behavior. This approach is especially useful for motion description.
When nondimensionalizing a describing equation, such as an equation of motion, we select a
set of reference constants that are characteristics of the particular problem. Several choices usually
exist for this selection. Be careful and consistent in order to avoid ambiguities and redundancies.
1.8. DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS AND NONDIMENSIONALIZATION 31
Initial values of variables and natural frequencies, especially when some kind of periodic motion is
involved, usually are good choices.
When nondimensionalizing an expression, it is customary to rewrite the expression in terms of
starred terms rst. For a derivative term, such as x, we need to nondimensionalize it with respect to
the displacement x and time t. The derivative is obtained term by replacing t with t

and x with x

x =
d
2
x
dt
2
=
d
2
x

dt
2
(1.8.1)
The nondimensional terms are written as
x =
x

x
0
t = t

(1.8.2)
where x and t are now nondimensional and x
0
and are the reference constants, having units of
displacement and 1/time, respectively. Dierentiation with respect to t

has the form

d
dt

=
d
d (t/)
=
d
dt
d
2
dt
2
=
2
d
2
dt
2
(1.8.3)
so that the second derivative term becomes
d
2
x

dt
2
= x
0

2
d
2
x
dt
2
(1.8.4)
Example 1.8
Figure 1.15: Simple model of a gantry crane.
Gantry cranes are used in loading and unloading container ships and other heavy loads. They
lift objects by a hoist which is tted in a trolley. The trolley can move horizontally on a rail or on a
pair of rails. A simple model of a gantry crane is shown in Fig. 1.15, where the trolley is modeled as
a cart and the crane by a pendulum. The interest is in the case when the trolley is moving, during
which time the length of the pendulum L is xed. The assumption is that the motion of the trolley,
denoted by x, is known or specied, leading to a one degree of freedom model. The linearized equation
of motion, in terms of the motion variable , where is measured in radians, can be shown to be

+
g
L
=
1
L
x [a]
32 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
The next step is to nondimensionalize the equation of motion. Two reference constants are
needed, one for x and the other for time. Note that is dimensionless. Using starred variables, the
equation of motion becomes
d
2

dt
2
+
g
L
=
1
L
d
2
x

dt
2
[b]
Two meaningful values for the reference constants are L and , where =
_
g/L, so that the
dimensionless quantities are x = x

/L, t = t

. Introduction of these values into Eq. [a] yields

+
g
L
=

2
L
L x =
2
x [c]
Since
2
= g/L, dividing each term above by
2
yields the nondimensional equation as

+ = x [d]
which is in much simpler form than Eq. [a]. It follows that we can analyze the motion of the crane and
carry out any necessary motion planning (it is important for the crane operator to move the trolley
so that there is as little sway as possible in the crane) by using the dimensionless equation [d] and not
in terms of a specic pendulum length.
1.9 Numerical Integration
An important tool for obtaining the response of a system is numerical integration. Developments in
computer hardware and software have made it very easy and desirable to use numerical techniques
for analysis as well as simulation. This section discusses numerical integration of ordinary dierential
equations which are commonly used to describe the motion of dynamical systems.
When a system is described by linear dierential equations, we can make use of powerful
solution techniques to obtain the response. These techniques are discussed in Chapters 6 and 7. When
the description of the system is in terms of nonlinear equations, one can either linearize the describing
equations, conduct an analytical study, or use numerical integration to obtain the response. Numerical
analysis also is very useful for obtaining the response linear systems, especially linear systems that
have several degrees of freedom.
Numerical integration software requires that the dierential equations be written in state form.
In state form, the dierential equations are of order one, there is a single derivative on the left side
of the equations and there are no derivatives on the right side. A system described by a higher-order
ordinary dierential equation has to be converted into one that is in state form.
Consider, for example, a system described by the second-order dierential equation
x + 3 x
3
+ sin(4x) 0.3x = 0 (1.9.1)
We convert this equation into two rst-order dierential equations by dening two variables,
y
1
(t) and y
2
(t) as
y
1
= x y
2
= x (1.9.2)
1.10. WHAT IS A VEHICLE? 33
The derivatives of these variables cast the dierential equation into state form
y
1
= x = y
2
y
2
= x = 3 x
3
sin(4x) + 0.3x = 3y
3
2
sin(4y
1
) + 0.3y
1
(1.9.3)
Example 1.9 - Matlab
c
Program ode45
The Matlab
c
ordinary dierential integration routine ode45 is a reliable program to integrate a set
of ordinary dierential equations. To numerically integrate a set of ordinary dierential equations, we
write two .m les, one describing the time span (range of integration) and initial conditions, while the
second .m le describes the ordinary dierential equations to be integrated.
Consider the dierential equation in the previous section and select the initial conditions as
x(0) = y
1
(0) = 1, x(0) = y
2
(0) = 0.7. There are two rst-order dierential equations to integrate.
The rst .m le has the form
tspan = [0 10] %(denes the range of the integration, selected here as from zero to 10 seconds)
yinit = [ 1; -0.7] %(denes the two initial conditions)
[t, y] = ode45(desceq, tspan, yinit) %(calls the m le named desceq, which contains the
description of the ordinary dierential equations)
Plotting commands or any other commands that you want for further analysis
The second .m le has the name desceq.m and its contents are
function ydot = desceq(t,y)
yd(1) = y(2)
yd(2) = -3*y(2)*y(2)*y(2) - sin(4*y(1)) + 0.3*y(1)
ydot = [yd(1) yd(2)]
1.10 What Is A Vehicle?
Loosely dened, a vehicle is a contraption designed and built for carrying a payload from one location
to another in an eective way. Dierent needs and dierent technologies have led to the development
of a tremendous variety of vehicles. A vehicle can be thought of being comprised of four major parts:
A cabin for carrying the payload and passengers, to shelter them from the elements and from
hazards, as well as to provide life support;
A power plant for generating the energy to move the vehicle;
A propulsion mechanism to convert the energy generated by the power plant into propulsive
forces and moments, as well as a braking system to slow down or stop the vehicle;
A steering mechanism to steer or guide the vehicle in the desired direction.
34 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
For example, in a car, the engine is the power plant; the propulsion mechanism consists of
the transmission, drive shaft, dierential, axles, suspension system, tires and brakes; and the steering
mechanism consists of the steering wheel, steering column, kingpin and steering rack (or equivalent
mechanism) to turn the wheels. The cabin is the passenger section and the trunk. Not only are
these systems interconnected, but there also are auxiliary systems, such as electrical, that assist every
function of the vehicle.
The distinction between the dierent parts of a vehicle sometimes get blurred. For example,
in an airplane, the turbines (or propellers) combine the power plant and propulsion mechanism. The
steering mechanism consists of the aerodynamic surfaces and the rudder. Note that, unlike in a boat,
the rudder on an airplane is not the primary steering mechanism; rather, it controls yaw.
For most vehicles, it is preferable to have one propulsion mechanism to give the vehicle dier-
ent speeds, and a steering mechanism for achieving change of direction, rather than several propulsion
mechanisms acting in dierent directions. In a spacecraft, however, propulsion and steering are com-
bined by using thrusters of dierent power. Certain newer boat designs also combine propulsion and
steering by means of two propellers.
Design of the components of a vehicle often creates conicts. For example, the cabin designer
will want to maximize the strength of the cabin, while the power plant designer would like to minimize
weight and power consumption. Competing interests have to be balanced.
1.11 Cause and Eect Principle
A fundamental principle of mechanics is the cause and eect principle. This principle basically says
the following:
1. If there is an eect (such as a displacement, deformation, acceleration, rotation, constrained
motion, sliding, etc.), there must be a cause (such as a force or torque) behind it. If there is a
cause, then there is an eect that results from it.
2. In a well-dened problem, if we know the magnitude of the cause, then we do not know the
magnitude of the eect, and if we know the the magnitude of the eect , we do not know the
magnitude of the cause, until the problem is solved.
While this principle seems obvious and logical, many times it is forgotten or overlooked. There
are several examples of cause and eect principle throughout the text. Table 1.2 shows common cause
and eect relationships encountered in mechanics. Considering the denitions of system and dierential
operator earlier, and Figures 1.1 and 1.14, in the cause-eect relationship table type describes the
system, cause is the input and eect is the output.
The units of cause multiplied by the units of eect have units of work and energy (energy per
volume for stress and strain). The work done can be written as the integral
Work =
_
Cause d (Eect)
1.12. REFERENCES 35
Table 1.2: Cause and eect relationships.
Type (System) Cause (Input) Eect (Output)
Rigid body translation Force Translational acceleration
Rigid body rotation Torque (Moment) Angular acceleration
Any type of body Constraint force Constraint relation
Sliding over a body Friction force Sliding or no sliding condition
Rolling motion Friction force at contact point Slip or no slip condition
Axial (extensional) spring Force Spring deection
Torsional spring Torque Spring deection
Deformable body Force (Stress) Axial deformation (strain)
Deformable body Moment or torque (Stress) Rotational deformation (strain)
Static problems Support forces and moments Zero deformation
There are certain types of causes that do not do any work, such as reaction forces, as will be discussed
in Chapter 5.
What about static problems involving rigid bodies? The rigid body assumption treats the body
as innitely rigid and held in place by innitely strong supports. The magnitude of any eect that
ensues becomes negligible and is taken as zero. The eect becomes the resistive force that develops at
the supports.
1.12 References
Baruh, H., Analytical Dynamics, McGraw-Hill, 1999.
Benaroya, H., Mechanical Vibration: Analysis, Uncertainties, and Control, 3rd Edition, CRC Press,
2010.
Gillespie, T. D, Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics, SAE Publications (R114), 1992.
1.13 Problems
Problems are marked by E - easy, M - moderate, and D - dicult.
Section 1.3 - Degrees of Freedom
1.1 (E) Calculate the number of degrees of freedom for the rod in Fig. 1.16a and 1.16b.
1.2 (E) Calculate the number of degrees of freedom for the cart-rod system in Fig. 1.17.
36 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
Figure 1.16: Figures for Problem 1.1.
Figure 1.17: Figure for Problem 1.2.
1.3 (M) The rod in Fig. 1.18 is suspended by two springs. Assuming the springs only move in the
vertical direction, the rod has two degrees of freedom. Suggest two sets of generalized coordinates that
can be used to describe the motion of the rod.
Figure 1.18: Figure for Problem 1.3.
Section 1.5 - Systems of Units
1.4 (E) A vehicle has a mass moment of inertia of I = 2500 lbftsec
2
. Calculate I in terms of the SI
system (kgm
2
).
1.5 (E) A damper has a constant of c = 12 Ns/m. Calculate the damping constant in U.S. units.
1.6 (E) An axial (extensional) spring has a constant of k = 50 lb/in. Calculate the spring constant in
the SI system, using units of Newtons and millimeters.
1.13. PROBLEMS 37
1.7 (E) How many Newtons are there in a pound?
1.8 (M) An average size apple has a mass of 100 grams. On Mars, where g
Mars
= 0.375g
Earth
, how
much would the apple weigh in Earth pounds?
Section 1.6 - Linearization
1.9 (E) Linearize the expression f() = sin about = /3.
1.10 (E) Linearize the expression f (x, y) = (1 +y)
3
cos (2x) about x = /6, y = 1.2.
1.11 (M) Use the binomial expansion to linearize the function f (x) = (2x + 3.5)
1/2
about x = 1.4.
1.12 (M) Linearize the expression f(x) =
_
1 x
2
_
2
sin(2x) about x = 0.25 by splitting f(x) into two
parts and by linearizing each part separately.
Section 1.7 - Dierential Equations and the Principle of Superposition
1.13 (M) Linearize the dierential equation x + 3 xcos ( x) + (x 2)
2
= 0 about x = 2, x = 0.
1.14 (M) Linearize the dierential equation x + 3 x
2
6x
3
+ 7 sinx = 0 about x = 0, x = 0.
1.15 (M) Linearize the dierential equation x + 7 x
2
+ 5x
3
= 0 about x = 2, x = 3.
Section 1.8 - Dimensional Analysis and Nondimensionalization
1.16 (M) The describing equation of a rst-order system is x(t) + kx(t) = 0, with initial condition
x(0) = A. The unit of x is position. Nondimensionalize this equation and initial condition.
1.17 (M) The describing equation of a second-order system is m x(t)+kx(t) = 0, with initial conditions
x(0) = A, x(0) = B. The unit of x is position and the unit of m is mass. Nondimensionalize this
equation and initial conditions.
1.18 (M) The describing equation of a second-order system is m x(t) + k
2
x
3
(t) = 0, with initial
conditions x(0) = A, x(0) = 0. The unit of x is position and the unit of m is mass. Nondimensionalize
this equation and initial conditions.
Section 1.9 - Numerical Integration
1.19 (E) The describing equation of a second-order system is m x(t)+k
2
x
3
(t) = F. Write this equation
in state form.
1.20 (M) The describing equation of a third-order system is 2
...
x + 5 x 6 x
2
+ 2x
3
= G. Write this
equation in state form.
1.21 (M) Consider Problem 1.13 and cast the dierential equation into state form.
38 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
1.22 (M) Consider Example 7.4 and cast the equations of motion that are obtained into state form.
1.23 (D) Consider Example 7.7 and cast the equations of motion into state form given the values
M = 4, m = 3, L = 1, k = 8, g = 10, c = 0.