Unit II (Part - One):

Single Degree of Freedom Systems

(Free Vibration)
 Unit II (Part - One) Outline
 Introduction
 Free Vibration of an Undamped Translational System
 Equation of Motion Using Newton’s Second Law of Motion
 Equation of Motion Using Other Methods
 Equation of Motion of a Spring-Mass System in Vertical Position
 Solution of the equation of motion for undamped free SDF vibration
system
 Free Vibration of an Undamped Torsional System
 Damped Free SDF Vibration System
 Viscous Damping
 Energy Dissipated by Viscous Damping
 Equation of motion for viscously damper free SDF vibration system
 Solution of the equation of motion for damped free SDF vibration
system
 Torsional Systems with Viscous Damping
 Graphical Representation of Characteristic Roots and Corresponding
Solutions
 Free Vibration with Coulomb Damping
 Torsional Systems with Coulomb Damping
 Free Vibration with Hysteretic Damping
 Stability of Systems
 Introduction
• Free vibrations are oscillations about a system’s equilibrium position in
the absence of an external force.
• It is the result of imparted kinetic energy (KE) in the system and the
displacement that leads to potential energy (PE) difference from the
equilibrium position.

• The figure shows a spring-mass system that represents the simplest

possible vibratory system.
• It is called a single-degree-of-freedom system, since one coordinate (x)
is sufficient to specify the position of the mass at any time.
• There is no external force applied to the mass; hence the motion
resulting from an initial disturbance will be free vibration.
• A mass is displaced by xo with the force of kxo and potential energy ½
kxo2, and then released from rest.
 Continued …
• Then, cyclic motion occurs in the absence of any dissipative
mechanisms (i.e. the system returns to same position at the end of every
cycle).
• Since there is no element that causes dissipation of energy during the
motion of the mass, the amplitude of motion remains constant with time;
it is an undamped system.
• In actual practice, except in a vacuum, the amplitude of free vibration
diminishes gradually over time, due to the resistance offered by the
surrounding medium (such as air). Such vibrations are said to be
damped.
• 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.
• Several mechanical and structural systems can be idealized as single-
degree-of-freedom systems.
 Continued …
• Similarly, the structure shown in figure can be considered a cantilever
beam that is fixed at the ground.
 Free Vibration of an Undamped Translational System
Equation of Motion Using Newton’s Second Law of Motion:
• The procedure 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 freebody diagram.
• Newton’s second law of motion can be stated as: The rate of change of
momentum of a mass is equal to the force acting on it.
 Continued …
• 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 (For rigid body undergoing linear motion):

• If mass m is constant, this equation reduces to,

Where: is the acceleration of the mass.

• For a rigid body undergoing rotational motion, Newton’s law gives,

• Where 𝑀(𝑡) is the resultant moment acting on the body 𝜃(𝑡) and
𝑑 2 𝜃(𝑡)
𝜃 𝑡 = and are the resulting angular displacement and angular
𝑑𝑡 2
acceleration, respectively.
• These equations represent the equation of motion of the vibrating system.
 Continued …

• The procedure is now applied to the undamped single-degree-of-freedom

system shown in Figure (a).
• Here the mass is supported on frictionless rollers and can have
translatory motion in the horizontal direction.
• When the mass is displaced a distance 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 Figure (c).
• The application of the equation to mass m yields the equation of motion:
Or

Examples: (Using Newton’s Second Law of Motion)

 Equation of Motion Using Other Methods:
• The equations of motion of a vibrating system can be derived using
several methods.
• The applications of D Alembert s principle, the principle of virtual
displacements, and the principle of conservation of energy can also be
considered.
D’ Alembert’s Principle
• The equations of motion, derived using Newtonian approach, can be
rewritten as:

• These equations can be considered equilibrium equations provided that

𝑚 𝑥 𝑡 and 𝐽 𝜃 𝑡 are treated as a force and a moment.
• This fictitious force (or moment) is known as the inertia force (or inertia
moment) and the artificial state of equilibrium implied by above
equations is known as dynamic equilibrium.
• This principle, implied in the equations, is called D’ Alembert’s principle.
• Applying it to the system, shown in Figure(c) above, yields the equation
of motion:
 Continued …
Principle of Virtual Displacements
• The principle of virtual displacements states that if a system that is in
equilibrium under the action of a set of forces is subjected to a virtual
displacement, then the total virtual work done by the forces will be zero.
• Here the virtual displacement is defined as an imaginary infinitesimal
displacement given instantaneously.
• It must be a physically possible displacement that is compatible with the
constraints of the system.
• The virtual work is defined as the work done by all the forces, including
the inertia forces for a dynamic problem, due to a virtual displacement.
 Continued …
• Consider a spring-mass system in a displaced position as shown in
Figure (a), where x denotes the displacement of the mass.
• Figure (b) shows the free-body diagram of the mass with the reactive and
inertia forces indicated.
• When the mass is given a virtual displacement ẟx as shown in Figure (b),
the virtual work done by each force can be computed as follows:

• When the total virtual work done by all the forces is set equal to zero, we
obtain:

• Since the virtual displacement can have an arbitrary value, ẟx ≠ 0, the

equation gives the equation of motion of the spring-mass system as:
 Continued …
Principle of Conservation of Energy
• A system is said to be conservative if no energy is lost due to friction or
energy-dissipating nonelastic members.
• If no work is done on a conservative system by external forces (other
than gravity or other potential forces), then the total energy of the system
remains constant.
• Since the energy of a vibrating system is partly potential and partly
kinetic, the sum of these two energies remains constant.
• The kinetic energy T is stored in the mass by virtue of its velocity, and the
potential energy U is stored in the spring by virtue of its elastic
deformation.
• Thus the principle of conservation of energy can be expressed as:
Or

• The kinetic and potential energies are given by,

and
• Substituting yields the desired equation:

Examples: (Using Other Methods)

 Equation of Motion of a Spring-Mass System in
Vertical Position
• Consider the configuration of the spring-mass system shown in Figure(a).
 Continued …
• The mass hangs at the lower end of a spring, which in turn is attached to
a rigid support at its upper end. 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 + ẟst, where ẟst is the static
deflection the elongation due to the weight W of the mass m.
• From the Figure (a), we find that, for static equilibrium, we find that, for
static equilibrium,
where g is the acceleration due to gravity.
• Let the mass be deflected a distance from its static equilibrium position;
then the spring force is – k(x + ẟst), as shown in Figure (c).
• The application of Newton’s second law of motion to mass m gives:
and since kẟst = W, we obtain,

• Notice that this equation is identical to what we find for spring-mass

system in horizontal position.
• This indicates that when a mass moves in a vertical direction, we can
ignore its weight, provided we measure x from its static equilibrium
position.
 Continued …
• Note: The equation of motion of the system can also be derived using D’
Alembert’s principle, the principle of virtual displacements, or the principle
of conservation of energy.
• If we use the latter, for example, we note that the expression for the kinetic
energy, T, remains the same as the previous case; however, the
expression for the potential energy, U, is to be derived by considering the
weight of the mass.
• For this we note that the spring force at static equilibrium position is mg.
• When the spring deflects by an amount x, its potential energy is given by
(see Figure(d)):
• Furthermore, the potential energy of the system due to the change in
elevation of the mass, (note that +x is downward) is – mgx.
• Thus the net potential energy of the system about the static equilibrium
position is given by:

• Since the expressions of T and U remain unchanged, the application of

the principle of conservation of energy gives the same equation of motion.
Example: Spring-Mass System in Vertical Position
 Solution of the equation of motion for undamped
free SDF vibration system
 Harmonic
• The solution of Equation can be found by assuming: function of
time
where C and s are constants to be determined.
• Derivation and Substitution give:
• Since C cannot be zero, we have, and hence,

Where: and
• Equation (ms2 + k = 0) is called the auxiliary or the characteristic equation
corresponding to the differential the equation of motion.
• The two values of s are the roots of the characteristic equation, also
known as the eigenvalues or the characteristic values of the problem.
• Since both values of s satisfy the above equation, the general solution of
the motion equation can be expressed as:

where C1 and C2 are constants

 Continued …
• By using the identities,
• The above solution form can be rewritten as:
where A1 and A2 are new constants
• All the constants can be determined from the initial conditions of the
system.
• Two conditions are to be specified to evaluate these constants uniquely.
• Note that the number of conditions to be specified is the same as the
order of the governing differential equation.
• In the present case, if the values of displacement x(t) and velocity
are specified as and at t = 0, we have, from the
above solution form,

• Hence,
• Thus the solution of the motion equation subject to the above initial
conditions is given by:
 Continued …
Note:
• This equation is 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.
• Since this represents simple harmonic motion, the spring-mass system
itself is called a harmonic oscillator.
• The quantity given by ωn, represents the system s natural frequency of
vibration.
 Other Way of Representing the General Solution
• The general form of the solution equation can be expressed in a different
form by introducing the notation:

• where A and 𝛟 are the new constants, which can be expressed in terms
of A1 and A2 as:

• Introducing into the solution

the equation, equation
• This yields other form of the solution written as:
• Similarly, if one choose to use:

• The solution equation can also be expressed as:

Where: and
 Continued …
• The nature of harmonic oscillation can be represented graphically as in
Figure:
 Continued …
• If denotes a vector of magnitude A, which makes an angle
with respect to the vertical (x) axis, then the solution ,
can be seen to be the projection of the vector on the x-axis.
• The constants A1 and A2, are merely the rectangular components of
along two orthogonal axes making angles 𝛟 and with respect to
the vector .
• Since the angle is a linear function of time, it increases linearly
with time; the entire diagram thus rotates counterclockwise at an angular
velocity ωn.
• As the diagram (see the figure (a)) rotates, the projection of onto the
x-axis varies harmonically so that the motion repeats itself every time the
vector sweeps an angle of 2π.
• The projection of namely x(t), is shown plotted in Figure (b) as a function
of and as a function of t in Figure (c).
• The phase angle 𝛟 can also be interpreted as the angle between the
origin and the first peak.
 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.
• In a torsional vibration problem, the restoring moment may be due to the
torsion of an elastic member or to the unbalanced moment of a force or
couple.
• Figure shows a disc, which
has a polar mass moment
of inertia Jo , 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 also
represents 𝜃, 𝜃 the shaft s
angle of twist.
 Continued …
• From the theory of torsion of circular shafts, we have the relation:
where Mt is the torque that produces the twist 𝜃, G is the
shear modulus, l is the length of the shaft, and
• Io is the polar moment of inertia of the cross section of the shaft, given by:

and d is the diameter of the shaft.

• If the disc is displaced by 𝜃 from its equilibrium position, the shaft
provides a restoring torque of magnitude Mt.
• Thus the shaft acts as a torsional spring with a torsional spring constant:

Equation of Motion
• 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
before.
• By considering the freebody diagram of the disc (Figure (b)), we can derive
the equation of motion by applying Newton’s second law of motion:
 Continued …
• This equation can be seen to be identical to the linear system, if the polar
mass moment of inertia Jo, the angular displacement 𝜃, and the torsional
spring constant kt are replaced by the mass m, the displacement x, and
the linear spring constant k, respectively.
• Thus the natural circular frequency of the torsional system is:

• And the period and frequency of vibration in cycles per second are:
 Continued …
Solution:
• The general solution of motion equation can be obtained:

Where ωn is given by and A1 and A2 can be determined from the

initial conditions.

• If:

• The constants A1 and A2 can be found:

• Equation ( ) can also be seen to represent a

simple harmonic motion.
 Damped Free SDF Vibration System
Types of Damping
• In many practical systems, the vibrational energy is gradually converted
to heat or sound.
• Due to the reduction in the energy, the response, such as the
displacement of the system, gradually decreases.
• The mechanism by which the vibrational energy is gradually converted
into heat or sound is known as damping.
• Although the amount of energy converted into heat or sound is relatively
small, the consideration of damping becomes important for an accurate
prediction of the vibration response of a system.
• A damper is assumed to have neither mass nor elasticity, and damping
force exists only if there is relative velocity between the two ends of the
damper.
• It is difficult to determine the causes of damping in practical systems.
Hence damping is modeled as one or more of the following types.
 Continued …
1. Viscous Damping. Viscous damping is the most commonly used damping
mechanism in vibration analysis.
• When mechanical systems vibrate in a fluid medium such as air, gas, water, or
oil, the resistance offered by the fluid to the moving body causes energy to be
dissipated.
• In this case, the amount of dissipated energy depends on many factors, such as
the size and shape of the vibrating body, the viscosity of the fluid, the frequency
of vibration, and the velocity of the vibrating body.
• In viscous damping, the damping force is proportional to the velocity of the
vibrating body.
• Typical examples of viscous damping include (1) fluid film between sliding
surfaces, (2) fluid flow around a piston in a cylinder, (3) fluid flow through an
orifice, and (4) fluid film around a journal in a bearing.
2. Coulomb or Dry-Friction Damping. Here the damping force is constant in
magnitude but opposite in direction to that of the motion of the vibrating body.
• It is caused by friction between rubbing surfaces that either are dry or have
insufficient lubrication.
• Examples: Pendulum swinging in surrounding air and with pin which is not
properly lubricated.
• Solid friction between the housing and bearing without proper lubrication.
 Continued …
3. Material or Solid or Hysteretic Damping. When a material is deformed,
energy is absorbed and dissipated by the material.
• The effect is due to friction between the internal planes, which slip or slide
as the deformations take place. Example: Cantilever beam.

• When a body having material damping is subjected to vibration, the

stress-strain diagram shows a hysteresis loop as indicated in Figure (a).
• The area of this loop denotes the energy lost per unit volume of the
body per cycle due to damping.
 Continued …
• When the load applied to an elastic body is increased, the stress
and the strain in the body also increase.
• The area under the curve, given by:
denotes the energy expended (work
done) per unit volume of the body.
• When the load on the body is decreased, energy will be recovered.
• When the unloading path is different from the loading path, the area
ABC in Figure (b) the area of the hysteresis loop in Figure (a) denotes
the energy lost per unit volume of the body.
4. Radiation of energy into surrounding.
 Viscous Damping
A Linear Viscous damper model
• A plate sliding over a fixed reservoir of a viscous fluid, with small depth, h,
and for small, h, linear velocity profile is assumed.
• Consider two parallel plates separated by a distance h, with a fluid of
viscosity μ between the plates.
• Derive an expression for the damping constant when one plate moves with
a velocity v relative to the other as shown in Figure.

• According to Newton’s law of viscous flow, the shear stress (τ) developed
in the fluid layer at a distance y from the fixed plate is given by:

Where is the velocity gradient.

 Continued …
• The shear or resisting force (F) developed at the bottom surface of the
moving plate is:
where A is the surface area of the
moving plate.
• By expressing F as:
• Where the damping constant c can be found as:

• A more practical dashpot is a piston-cylinder arrangement, as shown in

Figure.

• The piston slides in a cylinder of viscous liquid. Because of the motion,

a pressure difference is formed across the head of the piston which is
proportional to the velocity of the piston.
• The pressure times the area of the head is the damping force.
 Continued …
A torsional viscous damper
• The shaft is rigidly connected to a point on a
body undergoing torsional oscillations.
• As the disk rotates in a dish of viscous liquid,
a net moment due to the shear stresses
developed on the face of the disk acts about
the axis of rotation.
• The moment is proportional to the angular
velocity of the shaft:

• where ct is the torsional viscous damping coefficient and has dimensions

of force-length-time.
• Any form of damping where the damping force is proportional to the
velocity is referred to as viscous damping.
• Viscous damping can be produced by a body moving through a magnetic
field, a body oscillating on the surface of a lake, or by the oscillations of a
column of liquid in a U-tube manometer.
 Continued ….
Journal Bearing is illustrated as an example of torsional viscous damper:
• A journal bearing is used to provide lateral support to a rotating shaft as
shown:

• If the radius of the shaft is R, angular velocity of the shaft is ω, radial

clearance between the shaft and the bearing is d, viscosity of the fluid
(lubricant) is μ, and the length of the bearing is l.
• Hence, it is required to derive an expression for the rotational damping
constant of the journal bearing.
• Assume that the leakage of the fluid is negligible.
• The damping constant of the journal bearing can be determined using the
equation for the shear stress in viscous fluid.
• The fluid in contact with the rotating shaft will have a linear velocity (in
tangential direction) of v = Rω, while the fluid in contact with the
stationary bearing will have zero velocity.
 Continued …
• Assuming a linear variation for the velocity of the fluid in the radial
direction, we have:

• The shearing stress (τ) in the lubricant is given by the product of the
radial velocity gradient and the viscosity of the lubricant:

• The force required to shear the fluid film is equal to stress times the area.
The torque on the shaft (T) is equal to the force times the lever arm, so
that: Where is the surface area of the shaft exposed
to the lubricant.
• Thus, the torque equation can be rewritten as:

• From the definition of the rotational damping constant of the bearing (ct):

• we obtain the desired expression for the rotational damping constant as:
 Continued …
• The schematic representation for
viscous damping when present in
mechanical systems is shown in
Figure (Dashpot model):
 Figure (a): Schematic of a viscous damper in a mechanical system.
 Figure (b): The viscous damping force is always drawn as the opposite of the
direction of positive velocity.
 Figure (c): When velocity is negative, the viscous clamping force is still drawn to
the left, but since it is negative, it goes toward the right.
• The force developed in the dashpot is equal to and opposite of the force from the
damper on the body.
• The force resists the motion of the system and is drawn to show it acting in the
opposite direction of the velocity.
• The direction of the force takes care of itself.
• If the velocity is negative, the actual damping force is acting in the direction of
positive velocity.
• However, it is drawn on the FBD in the direction of negative velocity and has a
negative value, thus being in the positive direction.
• The viscous damping force is the damping coefficient times the velocity of the point
where the dashpot is attached acting in the opposite direction of the positive velocity
of that point.
 Energy Dissipated by Viscous Damping
• Writing the principle of work and energy, applied to a system is:

• And shows that work done by non-conservative forces is the difference in

total energies.
• Viscous damping is a non-conservative force.
• After application of viscous damping, and the work done by
viscous damping is negative.
• The viscous damping force always opposes the direction of motion.
• The work done by a viscous damper between the initial position is
described by x = 0 and an arbitrary position:

• The work done by discrete viscous dampers in a SDOF system is the

sum of the work done by individual dampers.
• For a SDOF system, the displacement of all particles is kinematically
related.
• In a system with n viscous dampers, the displacement of the ith viscous
damper is related to the generalized coordinate by xi =γi x.
• The total work done by the viscous dampers is:
 Continued …
• This equation can be rewritten by introducing the relationship between xi
and x as:

• Now that the integrals all have the same variable of integration and limits,
the order of summation and integration are interchanged to yield:

• Hence, an equivalent viscous-damping coefficient can be determined for

any SDOF system.
• If an angular coordinate is used as a generalized coordinate, the above
equation is modified as:

where ct,eq is an equivalent, torsional viscous-damping coefficient.

 Continued …
An other approach:
• In a viscously damped system, the rate of change of energy with time
(dW/dt) is given by:

• The negative sign in equation denotes that energy dissipates with time.
• Assume a simple harmonic motion as:
• (i.e. The loss of energy due to the damper is supplied by the excitation
under steady-state forced vibration) where X is the amplitude of motion
and the energy dissipated in a complete cycle is given by:

• This shows that the energy dissipated is proportional to the square of

the amplitude of motion.
• Note that it is not a constant for given values of damping and amplitude,
since ΔW is also a function of the frequency ωd.
 Continued …
• This equation is valid even when there is a spring of stiffness k parallel to
the viscous damper.
• To see this, consider the system shown in Figure.
• The total force resisting motion can be expressed as:

• If we assume simple harmonic motion:

• Then, F becomes:
• The energy dissipated in a complete cycle will be:

which can be seen to be identical with the previous equation.

• This result is to be expected, since the spring force will not do any
network over a complete cycle or any integral number of cycles.
 Continued …
• We can also compute the fraction of the total energy of the vibrating
system that is dissipated in each cycle of motion ΔW/W, as follows.
• The total energy of the system W can be expressed either as the
maximum potential energy (1/2kX2) or as the maximum kinetic energy
two being approximately equal for small values of
damping.

• Thus,

• The quantity is called the specific damping capacity and is useful in

comparing the damping capacity of engineering materials.
• Another quantity known as the loss coefficient is also used for
comparing the damping capacity of engineering materials.
• The loss coefficient is defined as the ratio of the energy dissipated per
radian and the total strain energy:

Examples for Energy Dissipated by Viscous Damping

 Equation of motion for viscously damper free
SDF vibration system
• The viscous damping force F is proportional to the velocity 𝑥 or v and can
be expressed as:
• where c is the damping constant or coefficient of viscous damping and the
negative sign indicates that the damping force is opposite to the direction
of velocity.
• A single-degree-of-freedom system with a viscous damper is shown in
Figure.

• If x is measured from the equilibrium position of the mass m, the application

of Newton’s law yields the equation of motion:
Or
Solution of the equation of motion for damped free
SDF vibration system
• To solve the equation of motion, we assume a solution in the form:
where C and s are undetermined constants.
• Inserting this function into the motion equation leads to the characteristic
equation:

• The roots of which are:

• These roots give two solutions to the motion equation:

• Thus the general solution of the motion equation is given by a

combination of the two solutions, x1(t) and x2(t):

Where C1 and C2 are arbitrary constants to be determined from the

initial conditions of the system.
 Continued …
Critical Damping Constant and the Damping Ratio
• The critical damping cc is defined as the value of the damping constant c
for which the radical in roots of the characteristic equation becomes zero:

Or
• For any damped system, the damping ratio δ is defined as the ratio of the
damping constant to the critical damping constant:
• From the above relations, we can write:
• And hence,

• Thus the solution can be written as:

• The nature of the roots s1 and s2 and hence the behavior of the solution
depends upon the magnitude of damping.
• It can be seen that the case leads to the undamped vibrations.
• Hence we assume that and consider the following three cases:
Underdamped, Critically damped, and Over damped cases.
 Case 1. Underdamped system

• For this condition, (δ2 - 1) is negative s1 and s2 the roots and can be
expressed as:

• And the solution can be written in different forms:

where are arbitrary constants to be determined

from the initial conditions.
 Continued …
• For the initial conditions: can be
found.

• And hence the solution becomes:

• The constants can be expressed as:

• The motion described by equation of x(t) is a damped harmonic motion

of angular frequency but because of the factor the
amplitude decreases exponentially with time, as shown in Figure.
 Continued …
• The quantity is called the frequency of damped vibration.
• It can be seen
that the frequency
of damped
vibration ωd is
always less than
the undamped
natural frequency
ωn.

• The decrease in the frequency of damped

vibration with increasing amount of
damping is shown graphically in Figure.

• The underdamped case is very important

in the study of mechanical vibrations, as it
is the only case that leads to an oscillatory
motion.
 Case 2. Critically damped system

• In this case the two s1 and s2 in are equal:

• Because of the repeated roots, the solution is given by:

• Comparison of motions with different types of damping:

 Continued …

• The application of the initial conditions

for this case gives:

• And the solution becomes:

• It can be seen that the motion represented is aperiodic (i.e., nonperiodic).
the motion will eventually diminish to zero, as indicated
in the figure.
 Case 3. Overdamped system

• Equation shows that the roots s1 and s2 are real

and distinct and are given by:

• With In this case, the solution can be expressed as:

• For the initial conditions constants

can be obtained:

and

• Equation shows that the motion

is aperiodic regardless of the initial conditions imposed on the system.
• Since roots s1 and s2 are both negative, the motion diminishes
exponentially with time, as shown in the figure showing comparison of
motions with different types of damping.
 Torsional Systems with Viscous Damping
• The methods presented in in the previous sections for linear vibrations with
viscous damping can be extended directly to viscously damped torsional
(angular) vibrations.
• For this, consider a single-
degree-of-freedom torsional
system with a viscous damper,
as shown in Figure (a).
• The viscous damping torque is
given by (Figure (b)):
• where ct is the torsional viscous damping constant, is the angular
velocity of the disc, and the negative sign denotes that the damping torque
is opposite the direction of angular velocity.
• The equation of motion can be derived as:

• where J0 = mass moment of inertia of the disc, kt = spring constant of the

system (restoring torque per unit angular displacement), and 𝜃 = angular
displacement of the disc.
 Continued …
• The solution of the above motion equation can be found exactly as in the
case of linear vibrations.
• For example, in the underdamped case, the frequency of damped
vibration is given by
• Where and , and c` is the critical torsional
damping constant.

Examples on Solution of the equation of motion for damped free

SDF vibration system
 Graphical Representation of Characteristic
Roots and Corresponding Solutions
Roots of the Characteristic Equation:
• The free vibration of a single-degree-of-freedom spring-mass-viscous-
damper system governed by:

• whose characteristic equation can be expressed as:

Or

• The roots of this characteristic equation, called the characteristic roots

or, simply, roots, help us in understanding the behavior of the system.
• The roots given by:

Or
• The roots can be plotted in a complex plane, also known as the s-plane,
by denoting the real part along the horizontal axis and the imaginary part
along the vertical axis.
 Continued …
• Noting that the response of the system is given by:
where C1 and C2 are constants.
• Then, the following observations can be made by examining these
equation:
1. Because the exponent of a larger real negative number (such as e-2t)
decays faster than the exponent of a smaller real negative number (such
as e-t), the roots lying farther to the left in the s-plane indicate that the
corresponding responses decay faster than those associated with roots
closer to the imaginary axis.
2. If the roots have positive real values of s that is, the roots lie in the right
half of the s-plane the corresponding response grows exponentially and
hence will be unstable.
3. If the roots lie on the imaginary axis (with zero real value), the
corresponding response will be naturally stable.
4. If the roots have a zero imaginary part, the corresponding response will
not oscillate.
5. The response of the system will exhibit an oscillatory behavior only when
the roots have nonzero imaginary parts.
6. The farther the roots lie to the left of the s-plane, the faster the
corresponding response decreases.
 Continued …
7. The larger the imaginary part of the roots, the higher the frequency of oscillation
of the corresponding response of the system.
• Figure shows some representative locations of the characteristic roots (⦁) in the s-
plane and the corresponding responses.

• The characteristics that describe the behavior of the response of a system include
oscillatory nature, frequency of oscillation, and response time.
• These characteristics are inherent to the system (depend on the values of m, c, and
k) and are determined by the characteristic roots of the system but not by the initial
conditions.
• The initial conditions determine only the amplitudes and phase angles.
 Free Vibration with Coulomb Damping
• In many mechanical systems, Coulomb or dry-friction dampers are used
because of their mechanical simplicity and convenience.
• Also, in vibrating structures, whenever the components slide relative to
each other, dry-friction damping appears internally.
• Coulomb damping arises when bodies slide on dry surfaces.
• Coulomb’s law of dry friction states that, when two bodies are in contact,
the force required to produce sliding is proportional to the normal force
acting in the plane of contact.
• Thus the friction force F is given by:
• where N is the normal force, equal to the weight of the mass (W = mg) and
μ is the coefficient of sliding or kinetic friction.
• The value of the coefficient of friction (μ) depends on the materials in
contact and the condition of the surfaces in contact.
• For example μ ≈ 0.1, for metal on metal (lubricated), 0.3 for metal on metal
(unlubricated), and nearly 1.0 for rubber on metal.
• The friction force acts in a direction opposite to the direction of velocity.
• Coulomb damping is sometimes called constant damping, since the
damping force is independent of the displacement and velocity; it depends
only on the normal force N between the sliding surfaces.
 Equation of Motion
• Consider a single-degree-of-freedom system with dry friction as shown in
Figure (a).
• Since the friction force varies with the direction of velocity, we need to
consider two cases, as indicated in Figures (b) and (c).

• Case 1. When x is positive and dx/dt is positive or when x is negative

and dx/dt is positive (i.e., for the half cycle during which the mass moves
from left to right), the equation of motion can be obtained using Newton
s second law (see Figure (b)):

• This is a second-order nonhomogeneous differential equation.

 Continued …
• The solution can be verified by substituting the following equation into the
above equation:

• Where is the frequency of vibration and A1 and A2 are constants

whose values depend on the initial conditions of this half cycle.
• Case 2. When x is positive and dx/dt is negative or when x is negative and
dx/dt is negative (i.e., for the half cycle during which the mass moves from
right to left), the equation of motion can be derived from Figure (c) as:

• The solution of the above equation is given by:

• Where A3 and A4 are constants to be found from the initial conditions of

this half cycle.
 Continued …
• The term appearing in the solution equations is a constant
representing the virtual displacement of the spring under the force μN, if
it were applied as a static force.
• These equations indicate that in each half cycle the motion is harmonic,
with the equilibrium position changing from every half cycle,
as shown in Figure below.
 Solution
• The two equations of the solution can be expressed as a single equation
(using N = mg):

• where sgn(y) is called the signum function, whose value is defined as 1

for y > 0, - 1 for y < 0 and 0 for y = 0.
• The above equation can be seen to be a nonlinear differential equation
for which a simple analytical solution does not exist.
• Numerical methods can be used to solve this equation conveniently;
however, can be solved analytically if we break the time axis into
segments separated by 𝑥 = 0 (i.e., time intervals with different directions
of motion).
• To find the solution using this procedure, let us assume the initial
conditions as:

• That is, the system starts with zero velocity and displacement x0 at t = 0.
• Since x = x0 the motion starts from right to left. Let x0, x1, x2, x3, … denote
the amplitudes of motion at successive half cycles.
• Using the equation of solution and the initial conditions, we can evaluate
the constants A3 and A4:
 Continued …
• Thus the solution equation becomes:

• This solution is valid for half the cycle only, that is, for
• When the mass will be at its extreme left position and its
displacement from equilibrium position can be found from the above
equation as:

• Since the motion started with a displacement of x = x0 and, in a half

cycle, the value of x became the reduction in magnitude
of x in time is
• In the second half cycle, the mass moves from left to right, so the
following equation of the solution is to be used.

• The initial conditions for this half cycle are:

And
 Continued …
• Thus the constants in the solution equation become:

• And the solution equation can be written as:

• This equation is valid only for the second half cycle that is, for

• Using this equation, at the end of this half cycle the value of x(t) is:

and
• These become the initial conditions for the third half cycle, and the
procedure can be continued until the motion stops.
• The motion stops when since the restoring force exerted by the
spring (kx) will then be less than the friction force μN.
• Thus the number of half cycles (r) that elapse before the motion ceases is
given by:

• That is,
 Note the following characteristics of a system
with Coulomb damping:
1. The equation of motion is nonlinear with Coulomb damping, while it is
linear with viscous damping.
2. The natural frequency of the system is unaltered with the addition of
Coulomb damping, while it is reduced with the addition of viscous
damping.
3. The motion is periodic with Coulomb damping, while it can be nonperiodic
in a viscously damped (overdamped) system.
4. The system comes to rest after some time with Coulomb damping,
whereas the motion theoretically continues forever (perhaps with an
infinitesimally small amplitude) with viscous and hysteresis damping.
5. The amplitude reduces linearly with Coulomb damping, whereas it
reduces exponentially with viscous damping.
6. In each successive cycle, the amplitude of motion is reduced by the
amount so the amplitudes at the end of any two consecutive
cycles are related:
 Continued …
• As the amplitude is reduced by an amount in one cycle (i.e., in time
), the slope of the enveloping straight lines (shown dotted) in Figure is:

• The final position of the mass is usually displaced from equilibrium

position (x = 0) and represents a permanent displacement in which the
friction force is locked.
• Slight tapping will usually make the mass come to its equilibrium position.
 Torsional Systems with Coulomb Damping
• If a constant frictional torque acts on a torsional system, the equation
governing the angular oscillations of the system can be derived, similar
to linear vibration systems with coulomb damping, as:
and
• where T denotes the constant damping torque (similar to μN for linear
vibrations).
• The solutions are similar to those for linear vibrations.
• In particular, the frequency of vibration is given by:

• And the amplitude of motion at the end of the rth half cycle (𝜃r) is given by:

• where 𝜃0 is the initial angular displacement at t = 0 (with 𝜃 = 0 at t = 0 ).

• The motion ceases when

Examples for Coulomb Damped Free Vibration

 Free Vibration with Hysteretic Damping
• Consider the spring-viscous-damper arrangement shown in Figure.
• For this system, the force F needed to cause a
displacement x(t) is given by:

• For a harmonic motion of frequency ω and amplitude X,

• From the above Equations:

• When F versus x is plotted, this equation

represents a closed loop, as shown in
Figure.

• (Note: this equation has already be driven before)

 Continued …
• The damping caused by the friction between the internal planes that slip
or slide as the material deforms is called hysteresis (or solid or structural)
damping.
• This causes a hysteresis loop to be formed in the stress-strain or force-
displacement curve (see the Figure (a)).

• The energy loss in one loading and unloading cycle is equal to the area
enclosed by the hysteresis loop.
• The similarity between the loops for viscous and material damping shown
in the figures can be used to define a hysteresis damping constant.
 Continued …
• It was found experimentally that the energy loss per cycle due to internal
friction is independent of the frequency but approximately proportional to
the square of the amplitude.
• In order to achieve this observed behavior from , the damping
coefficient c is assumed to be inversely proportional to the frequency as:
where h is called the hysteresis damping constant.
• From the above two equations:
Complex Stiffness:
• As shown in the figure, the
spring and the damper are
connected in parallel, and
for a general harmonic
motion, the force
is given by:
 Continued …
• Similarly, if a spring and a hysteresis damper are connected in parallel, as
shown in Figure (b),

• The force-displacement relation can be expressed as:

Where: is called the complex stiffness of the

system and,
is a constant indicating a dimensionless measure of
damping.
 Continued …
Response of a Hysteretically Damped System
• In terms of β the energy loss per cycle can be expressed as:
• Under hysteresis damping, the motion can be considered to be nearly harmonic
(since ΔW is small), and the decrease in amplitude per cycle can be determined
using energy balance.
• For example, the energies at points P and Q (separated by half a cycle) in
Figure below are related as:

Or

• Response of a hysteretically damped system:

• Similarly, the energies at
points Q and R give:

• Multiplication of the above

two equations gives:
 Continued …
• The hysteresis logarithmic decrement can be defined as:

• Since the motion is assumed to be approximately

harmonic, the corresponding frequency is defined by:
• The equivalent viscous damping ratio δeq can be found by equating the
relation for the logarithmic decrement ẟ:

• Thus the equivalent damping constant ceq is given by:

• Note that the method of finding an equivalent viscous damping

coefficient for a structurally damped system is valid only for harmonic
excitation.
• The above analysis assumes that the system responds approximately
harmonically at the frequency ω.
Example Hysteretic Damped Free Vibration
 Stability of Systems
• Stability is one of the most important characteristics for any vibrating
system.
• Although many definitions can be given for the term stability depending on
the kind of system or the point of view, we consider our definition for linear
and time-invariant systems (i.e., systems for which the parameters m, c,
and k do not change with time).
• A system is defined to be asymptotically stable if its free-vibration
response approaches zero as time approaches infinity.
• A system is considered to be unstable if its free-vibration response grows
without bound (approaches infinity) as time approaches infinity.
• Finally, a system is said to be stable / marginally stable if its free-vibration
response neither decays nor grows, but remains constant or oscillates as
time approaches infinity.
• It is evident that an unstable system whose free-vibration response grows
without bounds can cause damage to the system, adjacent property, or
human life.
• Usually, dynamic systems are designed with limit stops to prevent their
responses from growing with no limit.
 Continued …
• The total response of a vibrating system, subjected to external
forces/excitations, is composed of two parts one the forced response
and the other the free-vibration response.
• For such systems, the definitions of asymptotically stable, unstable, and
stable systems given above are still applicable.
• This implies that, for stable systems, only the forced response remains
as the free-vibration response approaches zero as time approaches
infinity.
• Stability can be interpreted in terms of the roots of the characteristic
roots of the system.
• The roots lying in the left half-plane (LHP) yield either pure exponential
decay or damped sinusoidal free-vibration responses.
• These responses decay to zero as time approaches infinity.
• Thus, systems whose characteristics roots lie in the left half of the s-
plane (with a negative real part) will be asymptotically stable.
• The roots lying in the right half-plane yield either pure exponentially
increasing or exponentially increasing sinusoidal free-vibration
responses.
 Continued …
• These free-vibration responses approach infinity as time approaches
infinity.
• Thus, systems whose characteristic roots lie in the right half of the s-
plane (with positive real part) will be unstable.
• Finally, the roots lying on the imaginary axis of the s-plane yield pure
sinusoidal oscillations as free-vibration response.
• These responses neither increase nor decrease in amplitude as time
grows.
• Thus, systems whose characteristic roots lie on the imaginary axis of the
s-plane (with zero real part) will be stable.
 Notes:
1. It is evident, from the definitions given, that the signs of the coefficients
of the characteristic equation, determine the stability behavior of a
system.
• For example, from the theory of polynomial equations, if there is any
number of negative terms or if any term in the polynomial in s is missing,
then one of the roots will be positive, which results in an unstable
behavior of the system.
2. In an unstable system, the free-vibration response may grow without
bound with no oscillations or it may grow without bound with oscillations.
• The first behavior is called divergent instability and the second is called
flutter instability.
• These cases are also known as self-excited vibration
3. If a linear model of a system is asymptotically stable, then it is not
possible to find a set of initial conditions for which the response
approaches infinity.
• On the other hand, if the linear model of the system is unstable, it is
possible that certain initial conditions might make the response approach
zero as time increases.
• As an example, consider a system governed by the equation of motion
 Continued …
4. Typical responses corresponding to different types of stability are shown
in Figures (a) to (d).
 Continued …
5. Stability of a system can also be explained in terms of its energy.
• According to this scheme, a system is considered to be asymptotically
stable, stable, or unstable if its energy decreases, remains constant, or
increases, respectively, with time. (This idea forms the basis for
Lyapunov stability criterion in chaotic vibration system.)
6. Stability of a system can also be investigated based on how sensitive
the response or motion is to small perturbations (or variations) in the
parameters (m, c and k) and/or small perturbations in the initial
conditions.

Example on Stability