5.

Vibration under General Forcing Conditions

1. Introduction
If the excitation is periodic but not harmonic, it can be replaced by a sum of
harmonic functions using the harmonic analysis procedure as discussed. By the
principle of superposition, the response of the system can then be determined
by superposing the responses due to individual harmonic forcing functions. On
the other hand, if the system is subjected to a suddenly applied nonperiodic
force, the response will be transient, since steady-state vibrations are not usually
produced. The transient response of a system can be found using what is known
as the convolution integral.
2. Response Under a General Periodic Force
When the external force F(t) is periodic with period = 2/, it can be
expanded in a Fourier series:

(1)
where

, j = 0, 1, 2 . . .

(2)

and

, j = 1, 2 . . . (3)
The equation of motion of the system can be expressed as

(4)
The right-hand side of this equation is a constant plus a sum of harmonic
functions. Using the principle of superposition, the steady-state solution of Eq.
(4) is the sum of the steady-state solution of the following equations:

(5)
(6)
(7)
Noting that the solution of Eq. (5) is given by

(8)
and we can express the solutions of Eqs. (6) and (7), respectively, as

(9)

(10)
where

(11)
and

(12)
Thus the complete steady-state solution of Eq. (4) is given by

(13)
It can be seen from the solution, Eq. (13), that the amplitude and phase shift
corresponding to the jth term depend on j. If j = n, for any j, the amplitude of
the corresponding harmonic will be comparatively large. This will be particularly
true for small values of j and. Further, as j becomes larger, the amplitude
becomes smaller and the corresponding terms tend to zero. Thus the first few
terms are usually sufficient to obtain the response with reasonable accuracy.
The solution given by Eq. (13) denotes the steady-state response of the
system. The transient part of the solution arising from the initial conditions can
also be included to find the complete solution. To find the complete solution, we
need to evaluate the arbitrary constants by setting the value of the complete
solution and its derivative to the specified values of initial displacement x(0) and
the initial velocity

x (0). This results in a complicated expression for the

transient part of the total solution.

Example No. 1 Periodic Vibration of Hydraulic Valve
In the study of vibrations of valves used in hydraulic control systems, the valve
and its elastic stem are modeled as a damped spring-mass systems as shown in
Fig. 1(a). In addition to the spring force and damping force, there is a fluid
pressure force on the valve that changes with the amount of opening or closing
of the valve. Find the steady-state response of the valve when the pressure in

the chamber varies as indicated in Fig. 1(b). Assume k = 2500 N/m, c = 10 Ns/m., and m = 0.25 kg.

Given:
Hydraulic control valve with m = 0.25, k = 2500 N/m. and c = 10 N-s/m and
pressure on the valve as given in Fig. 1(b).
Required:
Steady-state response of the valve, xp(t).
Solution:
Find the Fourier series expansion of the force acting on the valve. Add the
responses due to individual harmonic force components.
The valve can be considered as a mass connected to a spring and a damper on
one side and subjected to a forcing function F(t) on the other side.
The forcing function;
(a)
where A is the cross sectional area of the chamber, given by

(b)
and p(t) is the pressure acting on the valve at any instant t. Since p(t) is periodic
with period = 2 seconds and A is a constant. F(t) is also a periodic function of
period = 2 seconds.
The frequency of the forcing function is = (2/) = rad/sec.
F(t) can be expressed in a Fourier series as:
3

(c)
where ai and bi are given by Eqs. (2) and (3). Since the function F(t) is given by

(d)
the Fourier coefficients ai and bi can be computed with the help of Eqs (2) and
(3):

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

(i)

(j)

(k)
Likewise, a4 = a6 = . . . = b4 = b5 = b6 = . . . = 0.
By considering only the first three harmonics, the forcing function:

(l)
The steady-state response of the valve to the forcing of Eq. (m) :

(m)
Natural frequency of the valve:

(n)
4

Forcing frequency :

(o)
Thus, frequency ratio:

(p)
and damping ratio:

(q)
The phase angles 1 and 3 can be computed as follows:

(r)
and

(s)
In view of Eqs. (b) and (n) to (s), the solution can be written as
(t)
3. Response Under a Periodic Force of Irregular Form
In some case, the force acting on a system may be quite irregular and may
be determined only experimentally. Examples of such forces include wing-and
earthquake-induced forces. In such cases, the forces will be available in
graphical form and no analytic expression can be found to describe F(t).
Sometimes, the value of F(t) may be available only at a number of discrete
points t1, t2, . . ., tN. In all these cases, it is possible to find the Fourier coefficients
by using a numerical integration procedure, If F1, F2, . . . , FN denote the values of
F(t) at t1, t2, . . ., tN, respectively, where N denotes an even number of
equidistant points in one time period ( = Nt), as shown in Fig. 2, the
application of trapezoidal rule gives

(14)

, j = 1,2, . . . (15)

, j = 1,2, . . .

(16)

Once the Fourier coefficients a0, ai, and bi are known, the steady-state
response of the system can be found using Eq. (13) with

4. Response Under Nonperiodic Force

The periodic forces of any general wave form can be represented by Fourier
series as a superposition of harmonic components of various frequencies. The
response of a linear system is then found by superposing the harmonic response
to each of the exciting forces. When the exciting force F(t) is nonperiodic, such
as that due to blast from an explosion, a different method of calculating the
response is required. Various methods can be used to find the response of the
system to an arbitrary excitation. Some of these methods are as follows:
a. By representing the excitation by a Fourier integral;
b. By using the method of convolution integral;
c. By using the method of Laplace transformation;
d. By first approximating F(t) by a suitable interpolation model and then using a
numerical procedure; and
e. By numerically integrating the equations of motion.
5. Convolution Integral
A nonperiodic exciting force usually has a magnitude that varies with time; it
acts for a specified period of time and then stops. The simplest form of such a
force is the impulsive force. An impulsive force is one that has a large magnitude
F and acts for a very short period of time t. From dynamics we know that
impulse can be measured by finding the change in momentum of the system
caused by it. If

and

denote the velocities of the mass m before and

after the application of the impulse, we have

6

(17)
By designating the magnitude of the impulse Ft by F, we can write, in general,
(18)
A unit impulse (f) is defined as

(19)
It can be seen that in order for Fdt to have a finite value, F tends to infinity
(since dt tends to zero). Although the unit impulse function has no physical
meaning, it is a convenient tool in our present analysis.
5.1Response to an impulse
First consider the response of a single degree of freedom system to an
impulse excitation; this case is important in studying the response under
more general excitations. Consider a viscously damped spring-mass system
subjected to a unit impulse at t = 0, as shown in Fig. 3(a) and (b).

For an underdamped system, the solution of the equation of motion

(20)
is given as follows:

(21)
where

(22)
7

(23)

(24)
If the mass is at rest before the unit impulse is applied (x =

= 0 for t < 0

or at t = 0), we obtain, from the impulse-momentum relation,

(25)
Thus the initial conditions are given by

(26)
In view of Eq. (26), Eq. (21) reduces to

(27)
Equation (27) gives the response of a single degree of freedom system to a
unit impulse, which is also known as the impulse response function, denoted
by g(t). The function g(t), Eq. (27), is shown in Fig. 3(c).
If the magnitude of the impulse is F instead of unity, the initial velocity

is F/m and the response of the system becomes

(28)
If the impulse F is applied at an arbitrary time t = , as shown in Fig. 4(a), it
will change the velocity at t = by an amount F/m. Assuming that x = 0 until
the impulse is applied, the displacement x at any subsequent time t, caused
by a change in the velocity at time t, is given by Eq. (28) with t replaced by
the time elapsed after the application of the impulse, that is, t .

Thus we obtain
(29)
This is shown in Fig. 4(b).

5.2Response to general forcing condition

Now consider the response of the system under an arbitrary external force
F(t), shown in Fig. 5

This force may be assumed to be made up of a series of impulses of varying

magnitude. Assuming that at time , the force F() acts on the system for a
short period of time t, the impulse acting at t = is given by F(). At any
time t, the elapsed time since the impulse is t , so the response of the
system at t due to this impulse alone is given by Eq. (29) with F = F():
(30)
The total response at time t can be found by summing all the responses due
to the elementary impulses acting at all times :
(31)
Letting 0 and replacing the summation by integration, we obtain
(32)
By substituting Eq. (27) into Eq. (32), we obtain

(33)
which represents the response of an underdamped single degree of freedom
system to the arbitrary excitation F(t). Note that Eq. (33) does not consider
the effect of initial conditions of the system. The integral in Eq. (32) or Eq.
(33) is called the convolution or Duhamel integral. In many cases the function
F(t) has a form that permits an explicit integration of Eq. (33). In case such
integration is not possible, it can be evaluated numerically without much
difficulty.

10

5.3Response to base excitation

If a spring-mass damper system is subjected to an arbitrary base excitation
described by its displacement, velocity, or acceleration, the equation of
motion can be expressed in terms of the relative displacement of the mass z
= x y as follows:
(34)
This equation is similar to the equation
(35)

with variable z replacing x and the term m y replacing the forcing function
F.
Hence all of the results derived for the force-excited system are applicable to
the base-excited system also for z when the form F is replaced by m y . For
an underdamped system subjected to
displacement can be found from Eq. (33).

base

excitation,

the

relative

Example No. 2 Compacting Machine Under Linear Force

Determine the response of the compacting machine shown in Fig. 6(a) when
a linearly varying force (shown in Fig. 6(b) is applied due to the motion of the
cam

11

Given:
Compacting machine, modeled as single degree of freedom system subjected
to ramp function.
Required:
Response of the system
Solution:
Evaluate the Duhamel integral with F(t) = Ft
The linearly varying force shown in Fig. 6(b) is known as the ramp function.
The forcing function can be represented as F() = F, where dF denotes the
rate of increase of force F per unit time. By substituting this into Eq. (33),
then

12

(answer)
For an undamped system,

Figure 6(c) shows the response.

6. Response Spectrum
The graph showing the variation of the maximum response (maximum
displacement, velocity, acceleration, or any other quantity) with the natural
frequency (or natural period) of a single degree of freedom system to a specified
forcing function is known as the response spectrum. Since the maximum
response is plotted against the natural frequency (or natural period), the
response spectrum gives the maximum response of all possible single degree of
freedom systems. The response spectrum is widely used in earthquake
engineering design.
Once the response spectrum corresponding to a specified forcing function is
available, we need to know just the natural frequency of the system to find its
maximum response.
Example No. 3 Response Spectrum of Sinusoidal Pulse
Find the undamped response spectrum for the sinusoidal pulse force shown in
Fig. 7(a) using the initial conditions x(0) =

13

x (0) = 0.

Given:
Single degree of freedom undamped system subjected to one-half period of a
sinusoidal force.
Required:
Response spectrum
Solution:
Find the response and express its maximum value in terms of its natural time
period
The equation of motion of an undamped system:

(a)
where

(b)
The solution of Eq. (a) can be obtained by superposing the homogeneous
solution xh(t) and the particular solution xp(t) as
(c)
that is,

(d)
where A and B are constants and n is the natural frequency of the system:

14

(e)

x (0) = 0 in Eq. (d), find the constants A and

Using the initial conditions x(0) =

B as

,
Thus the solution becomes

(f)

(g)

(h)

which can be rewritten as

(answer)

where

(i)
The solution given by Eq. (h) is valid only during the period of force application 0
t t0. Since there is no force applied for t > t0, the solution can be expressed
as a free vibration solution:
, t > t0
(j)
where the constants A and B can be found by using the values of x(t = t0) and

x (t = t0) given by Eq. (8), as initial conditions for the duration t > t0. This
gives

(k)

(l)
where

(m)
Equations (k) and (l) can be solved to find A and B as
15

(n)
Equations (n) can be substituted into Eq. (j) to obtain

t t0

(o) (answer)

Equations (h) and (o) give the response of the system in nondimensional form,
that is x/st is expressed in terms of t/n. Thus any specified value of t0/n, the
maximum value of x/st can be found. The maximum value of x/st, when plotted
against t0/n, gives the response spectrum shown in Figure 7(b). It can be
observed that the maximum value of (x/st) max = 175 occurs at value of (t0/n) =
0.75 (answer).
==
In the example, the input force is simple and hence a closed form solution
has obtained for the response spectrum. However, if the input force is arbitrary,
we can find the response spectrum only numerically. In such a case, Eq. (33) can
be used to express the peak response of an undamped single degree of freedom
system due to an arbitrary input force F(t) as

(36)
6.1Response spectrum for base excitation
In the design of machinery and structures subjected to a ground shock,
such as that caused by an earthquake, the response spectrum corresponding
to the base excitation is useful. If the base of a damped single degree of
freedom system is subject to an acceleration

y (t), the equation of motion,

in terms of the relative displacement z = x y, is given by Eq., (34) and the

response z(t) by Eq. 36. In the case of a ground shock, the velocity response
spectrum is generally used. The displacement and acceleration spectra are
then expressed in terms of the velocity spectrum. For a harmonic oscillator
(an undamped system under free vibration), we notice that
and
(37)
Thus the acceleration and displacement spectra Sa and Sd can be obtained in
terms of the velocity spectrum (Sv):

(38)
To consider damping in the system, if we assume that the maximum relative
displacement occurs after the shock pulse has passed, the subsequent
16

motion must be harmonic. In such a case, we can use Eq. (38). The fictitious
velocity associated with this apparent harmonic motion is called the pseudo
velocity and its response spectrum, Sv, is called the pseudo spectrum. The
velocity spectra of damped systems are used extensively in earthquake
analysis.
To find the relative velocity spectrum, we differentiate Eq. (36) and obtain

(39)
Equation (39) can be rewritten as

(40)
where
(41)
(42)
and

(43)
The velocity response spectrum, Sv, can be obtained from Eq. (40)

(44)
Thus the pseudo response spectra are given by

(45)
Example No. 4 Water Tank Subjected to Base Acceleration
The water tank, shown in Fig. 8(a), is subjected to a linearly varying ground
acceleration as shown in Fig. 8(b) due to an earthquake. The mass of the tank
is m, the stiffness of the column is k, and damping is negligible. Find the
response spectrum for the relative displacement, z = x y, of the water tank.

17

Given:
Water tank subjected to the base acceleration shown in Fig. 8(b).
Required:
Response spectrum of relative displacement of the tank.
Solution:
Model the water tank as an undamped single degree of freedom system.
Find the maximum relative displacement of the tank and express it as a
function of n.
The base acceleration

for 0 t 2t0

(a)

for t > 2t0

(b)

Response during 0 t 2t0: By substituting Eq. (a) into Eq. (36), the
response for an undamped system:

18

(c)

(d)
Maximum response zmax :

(e)
This equation gives the time tm at which zmax occurs:

(f)
By substituting Eq. (f) into Eq. (d), the maximum response of the tank :

(g)

(answer)

Response during t > 2t0: Since there is no excitation during this time,

(h)
Provided that we take the initial displacement and initial velocity as
and
(i)
using Eq. (g). The maximum of z(t) given by Eq. (8) can be identified as

where z0 and

(j)
0

(answer)

are computed as indicated in Eq. (i).

7. Laplace Transformation
The Laplace transform method can be used to find the response of a system
under any type of excitation, including the harmonic and periodic types. This
method can be used for efficient solution of linear differential equations,
particularly those with constant coefficients. It permits the conversion of
differential equations into algebraic ones, which are easier to manipulate. The
major advantages of the method are that it can treat discontinuous functions
without any particular difficulty and that it automatically takes into account the
initial conditions.

19

The Laplace transform of a function x(t), denoted symbolically as x (s) = Lx(t),

is defined as
(46)
where s is, in general, a complex quantity and is called the subsidiary variable.
The function e-st is called the kernel of the transformation. Since the integration
is with respect to t, the transformation gives a function of s. In order to solve a
vibration problem using the Laplace transform method, the following steps are
necessary:
a. Write the equation of motion of the system.
b. Transform each term of the equation, using known initial conditions.
c. Solve for the transformed response of the system.
d. Obtain the desired solution (response) by using inverse Laplace
transformation.
In order to solve the forced vibration equation
(47)
by the Laplace transform method, it is necessary to find the transforms of the
derivatives

and
These can be found as follows:

(48)
This can be integrated by parts to obtain

(49)
where x(0) = x0 is the initial displacement of the mass m. Similarly, the Laplace
transform of the second derivative of x(t) can be obtained:

(50)
where

x (0) =

is the initial velocity of the mass m. Since the Laplace

transform of the force F(t) is given by

(51)
we can transform both sides of Eq. (47) and obtain, using Eqs. (46) and (48) to
(51)
20

or
(52)
where the right-hand side of Eq. (52) can be regarded as a generalized
transformed excitation.
For the present, we take

x (0) and x(0) as zero, which is equivalent to

ignoring the homogeneous solution of the differential equation (47). Then the

ratio of the transformed excitation to the transformed response Z (s) can be

expressed as

(53)
The function Z(s) is known as the generalized impedance of the system. The
reciprocal of the function Z(s) is called the admittance or transfer function of the
system and is denoted as Y(s):

(54)
It can be seen that by letting s = i in Y(s) and multiplying by k, we obtain the
complex frequency response H(i) defined in Eq. (54). Equation (54) can also be
expressed as
(55)
which indicates that the transfer function can be regarded as an algebraic
operator that operates on the transformed force to yield the transformed
response.
To find the desired response x(t) from
Laplace transform of

x (s), we have to take the inverse

x (s), which can be defined symbolically as

(56)
In general, the operator L involves a line integral in the complex domain.
Fortunately, we need to evaluate these integrals separately for each problem;
such integrations have been carried out for various common forms of the
function F(t) and tabulated. In order to find the solution using Eq. (56), we
usually look for ways of decomposing x(s) into a combination of simple functions
whose inverse transformations are available in Laplace transform tables. We can
-1

decompose

x (s) conveniently by the method of partial fractions.

21

In the above discussion, we ignored the homogeneous solution by assuming

x(0) and

x (0) as zero. We now consider the general solution by taking the

initial conditions as x(0) = x0 and x(0) =x0. From Eq. (52), the transformed
response

x (s) can be obtained:

(57)
We can obtain the inverse transform of

x (s) by considering each term on the

right side of Eq. (57) separately. We also make use of the following relation:

(58)
By considering the first term on the right side of Eq. (57) as

(s) f

(s),

where

and

and by noting that f1(t) = L-1 f

(s) = F(t), we obtain

(59)
Consider the second term on the right side of Eq. (57), we find the inverse
transform of the coefficient of x0 from the table of Laplace transform.

(60)
where
(61)
Finally, the inverse transform of the coefficient of

x0

in the third term on the

right side of Eq. (57) can be obtained from table of Laplace transform:

(62)
Using Eqs. (47), (59), (60), and (62), the general solution of Eq. (47) can be
expressed as

22

(63)
END

23