1

CHAPTER 2: TWO DEGREE OF FREEDOM SYSTEMS

The number of degrees of freedom (DOF) of a system is the number of independent coordinates
necessary to define motion. Also, the number of DOF is equal to the number of masses multiplied
by the number of independent ways each mass can move. Consider the 2 DOF system shown below.


From Newtons law, the equations of motion are:

( ) ( )
( ) ( )
1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 1
2 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2
m x k x c x k x x c x x F
m x k x c x k x x c x x F
= + + +
= +
(1)
Rearranging gives:

( ) ( )
( ) ( )
1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 1
2 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 1 2 1 2
m x c c x k k x c x k x F
m x c c x k k x c x k x F
+ + + + =
+ + + + =
(2)
These equations can be written in matrix form:

1 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
2 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2
0
0
c c c k k k m x x x F
c c c k k k m x x x F
+ + ( ( (
+ + =
` ` ` `
( ( (
+ +
) ) ) )
(3)
Defining:
{ } { }
| | | | | |
1 1
2 2
1 2 2 1 2 2 1
2 2 3 2 2 3 2
0
0
x F
x f
x F
c c c k k k m
M C K
c c c k k k m

= =
` `
) )
+ + ( ( (
= = =
( ( (
+ +


we get:
| |{ } | |{ } | |{ } { } M x C x K x F + + = (4)


Free Undamped Vibration

Setting the damping [C]and forcing {F}terms to zero, we get:

( )
( )
1 1 1 2 1 2 2
2 2 2 3 2 2 1
0
0
m x k k x k x
m x k k x k x
+ + =
+ + =
(5)
Solution: we can assume that each mass undergoes harmonic motion of the same frequency and
phase. This is proved on page 4. The solution is thus written as:

1 1
2 2
cos
cos
x X t
x X t
e
e
=
=
(6)

k
1
c
1
m
1
k
2
c
2
m
2
k
3
c
3
x
1
x
2
F
1
F
2
2
or:
{ } { }cos x X t e = (7)
where
{ }
1
2
X
X
X

=
`
)
(8)
Substituting into the equation of motion yields:

| |{ } | |{ } { } | | | | { } { }
2 2
0 0 M x K x K M x e e ( + = =

(9)
This is an eigenvalue problem. For a non-trivial solution, the determinant must vanish so we have:

| | | |
2
0 K M e = (10)
Or

2
1 1 2 2
2
2 2 2 3
0
m k k k
k m k k
e
e
+ +
=
+ +
(11)
For our problem, this results in:

( )( ) ( )( )
2 2
1 1 2 2 2 3 2 2
0 m k k m k k k k e e + + + + = (12)
combining terms we get:

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
2 2
1 2 1 2 3 2 1 2 1 2 2 3 1 3
0 m m m k k m k k k k k k k k e e + + + + + + = (13)
which is a quadratic equation in terms of e
2
. From this we can get:

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
1 2 3 2 1 2 1 2 3 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 3 1 3
2
1 2
4
2
m k k m k k m k k m k k mm k k k k k k
mm
e
+ + + + + + + +
= (14)
These values of e are the natural frequencies of the system. The values of X
1
and X
2
remain to be
determined. To simplify the analysis, let m
1
=m
2
=m and k
1
=k
2
=k
3
=k. The determinant will be:

2
2
2
0
2
k m k
k k m
e
e

=

(15)
yielding the characteristic equation:

( )
2
2 2
2 0 k m k e = (16)
which has the solutions:

1 2
3
,
k k
m m
e e = = (17)
Note that these values are the solutions to this particular case (masses are identical, springs are
identical).To determine X
1
and X
2
, we need to substitute into
| | | | { } { }
2
0 K M x e ( =


with the values of
1 2
and e e just obtained. Hence at
1
k
m
e e = = we have:
2
1 1 1
2
2 2 1
2
0 0
2
X X k k k m k
X X k k k k m
e
e
( (
= =
` ` ( (

) )

This has infinite number of solutions, but they must satisfy a certain ratio, namely:

1
1
2
1
1
X
X
e

=
` `
) )
(18)

Similarly, at e
2
we have:
3

2
1 1 2
2
2 2 2
2
0 0
2
X X k k k m k
X X k k k k m
e
e
( (
= =
` ` ( (

) )
(19)
so

2
1
2
1
1
X
X
e

=
` `

) )
(20)
The ratio of amplitudes
1
2
X
X

`
)
defines a certain pattern of motion called the normal mode of
vibration. The vectors
{ } { }
1 2
1 2
1 1
2 2
and
X X
X X
X X
e e
e e

= =
` `
) )

are called the modal vectors or eigenvectors. They define the mode shapes of the system. In this
particular case, if the system vibrates in its first mode, the masses will move in phase with the same
amplitudes, while in the second mode of vibration the masses move out of phase also with the same
amplitudes.

The solution for the vibration of the system at the first mode is:


( )
( )
( )
1
1 1
1 1 1
2 2
cos
x t X
A t
x t X
e
e |



= +
` `
)
)
(21)
and for the second mode:

( )
( )
( )
2
1 1
2 2 2
2 2
cos
x t X
A t
x t X
e
e |



= +
` `
)
)
(22)
so the general solution is:

( )
( )
( ) ( )
1 2
1 1 1
1 1 1 2 2 2
2 2 2
cos cos
x t X X
A t A t
x t X X
e e
e | e |



= + + +
` ` `
) )
)
(23)

where A
1
, A
2
, |
1
and |
2
are 4 constants to be determined from the initial conditions.
4
Proof: It was noted that the solution of the equations
( )
( )
1 1 1 2 1 2 2
2 2 2 3 2 2 1
0
0
m x k k x k x
m x k k x k x
+ + =
+ + =

takes the form:
1 1 2 2
sin , sin x X t x X t e e = =
meaning the masses undergo harmonic motions of the same frequency with no phase difference
between them. In order to justify this, let us re-write the equations of motions in a more general
form:
1 11 1 12 2
2 21 1 22 2
0
0
x a x a x
x a x a x
+ + =
+ + =

Now assume a general solution in the form:
1 1 1 2 2 2
sin , sin( ) x X t x X t e e | = = +
where e
2
is taken to be different from e
1
.There is no loss of generality in assuming no phase for x
1

and only a phase difference | between the two motions. We wish to prove that
1 2
e e = and 0 | = .
Substituting into the equations of motion yields:
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2
11 1 1 1 12 2 2
2
21 1 1 22 2 2 2
sin sin 0
sin sin 0
a X t a X t
a X t a X t
e e e |
e e e |
( + + =

( + + =


These relations must be valid for all t. Setting t=0 in the first equation gives:
( )
12 2
sin 0 a X | =
since a
12
and X
2
cannot be zero, we must have 0 | = . Thus there can be no phase difference between
the harmonic motions of the two parts.
The first expression may then be written as:
( ) ( )
2
11 1 1 1 12 2 2
sin sin 0 a X t a X t e e e ( + =


or
( )
( )
2
1 11 1
2
1 12 2
sin
constant
sin
a X
t
t a X
e
e
e
(

= =

Since the left hand side must be constant for all values of t, we must have e
2
=e
1
and consequently
the harmonic motions occur at the same frequency.
5
Example
For various initial conditions, obtain the free response of the previous system having m = 1 and k =
1.
Solution
Recall the natural frequencies were
1 2
3
1 , 3
k k
m m
e e = = = =
and the mode shapes were
1 2
1 1
2 2
1 1
,
1 1
X X
X X
e e

= =
` ` ` `

) ) ) )

and the general solution is:
( )
( )
( ) ( )
1 2
1 1 1
1 1 1 2 2 2
2 2 2
sin sin
x t X X
A t A t
x t X X
e e
e | e |



= + + +
` ` `
) )
)

hence
( )
( )
( )
( )
1
1 1 2 2
2
1 1
sin sin 3
1 1
x t
A t A t
x t
| |



= + + +
` ` `

) )
)

Differentiating w.r.t. time we get:
( )
( )
( )
( )
1
1 1 2 2
2
1 1
cos 3 cos 3
1 1
x t
A t A t
x t
| |



= + + +
` ` `

) )
)

For the initial conditions
1 1
2 2
(0) 5 (0) 0
(0) 0 (0) 0
x x
x x
= =
= =

we have:
1 1 2 2
1 1 2 2
1 1 2 2
1 1 2 2
5 sin sin
0 sin sin
0 cos 3 cos
0 cos 3 cos
A A
A A
A A
A A
| |
| |
| |
| |
= +
=
= +
=

from which we get:
1 2
1 2
2
5 2 A A
| | t = =
= =

hence the solution is:
( ) ( )
1 2
5 5
cos cos 3 , cos cos 3
2 2
x t t t x t t t
( (
= + =


6

Modes of vibration contribute equally to the solution.

For the initial conditions
1 1 2 2
(0) 1 (0) 0 (0) 1 (0) 0 x x x x = = = =
we get
1 2 1 2
2, 1, 0 A A | | t = = = =
hence the solution is:
( ) ( )
1 2
cos , cos x t t x t t = =
i.e. the masses move in-phase with the same amplitude and frequency 1 rad /s (mode 1)





7
For the initial conditions
1 1 2 2
(0) 1 (0) 0 (0) 1 (0) 0 x x x x = = = =
we get
1 2 1 2
2, 0, 1 A A | | t = = = =
hence the solution is:
( ) ( )
1 2
cos 3 , cos 3 x t t x t t = =
i.e. the masses move out-of-phase with the same amplitude and frequency 3 rad /s (mode 2)

8
Forced vibration analysis

Consider the shown system


The equations of motion are:

1 1 1 1 0
2 2 2 2
0
sin
0 0
m x k k k x F
t
m x k k k x
e
+ ( (
+ =
` ` `
( (
+
) ) )
(24)
or:
| |{ } | |{ } { }sin M x K x F t e + = (25)
Seeking a steady-state solution in the form
{ } { }sin x X t e = (26)
yields:

| | | | { } { }
2
sin sin K M X t F t e e e ( =

(27)
hence:

2
1 0 1 1
2
2 2 2
0
X F k k m k
X k k k m
e
e
( +
=
` ` (
+
) )
(28)
which can be solved for the unknown amplitudes. For our special case where m
1
=m
2
=m and
k
1
=k
2
=k, we have:

2
1 0
2
2
2
0 2
X F k m k
X k k m
e
e
(
=
` ` (

) )
(29)
thus:

1
2
1 0
2
2
2
0 2
X F k m k
X k k m
e
e

(
=
` ` (

) )
(30)
This results in:

( )
2
0
1
2 2 2
2
0
2
1
3
k m F
X
k k X
m
kF
m m
e
e e

=
` `
| || |
)


| |
)
\ .\ .
(31)
or:

( )
( )( ) ( )( )
2
0
0
1 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
1 2 1 2
2
,
k m F
kF
X X
m m
e
e e e e e e e e

= =

(32)
where
1 2
3
,
k k
m m
e e = =
are the natural frequencies obtained earlier. Plotting the amplitudes of the masses reveals that
resonance occurs when the frequency of excitation coincides with either of the two natural
frequencies of the system.

k
1
k

k
2
m
1
m
2
F
0
sinet
9

e
1
e
2
10
Dynamic vibration absorber

Consider the primary system shown, which is a model of a single DOF
vibrating structure, acted upon by a harmonic force.

Suppose that the exciting frequency, e, is constant and is equal to the natural frequency of the
system, i.e.
1
1
k
m
e =
We wish to reduce the vibrations of m
1
at the exciting frequency e.
We can do this by adding a secondary system, consisting of a mass
m
2
and spring k
2
as shown.



If we derive the equations of motion, we will get:
1 1 1 2 2 1 0
2 2 2 2 2
0
sin
0 0
m x k k k x F
t
m x k k x
e
+ ( (
+ =
` ` `
( (

) ) )


Substituting into
| | | | { } { } { } | | | | { }
1
2 2
K M X F X K M F e e

( ( = =


yields:

1
2
1 0 1 2 1 2
2
2 2 2 2
0
X F k k m k
X k k m
e
e

( +
=
` ` (

) )

or:
( )( )
2
1 0 2 2 2
2 2 2 2
2 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 2 2
1
0
X F k m k
X k k k m k k m k m k
e
e e e
(
=
` ` (
+ +
) )

hence:

( )
( )( )
( )( )
2
0 2 2
1
2 2 2
1 2 1 2 2 2
0 2
2
2 2 2
1 2 1 2 2 2
F k m
X
k k m k m k
F k
X
k k m k m k
e
e e
e e

=
+
=
+




k
2
m
2
m
1
F
0
sinet
k
1
k
1
m
1
F
0
sinet
11
now define
1 2
11 22
1 2
,
k k
m m
e e = =
For the primary system (without absorber), resonance occurs when
1
11
1
k
m
e e = =
For X
1
to be zero at this frequency, we must have
2 2
2 2 22
2
0
k
k m
m
e e e = = =
Therefore if k
2
and m
2
are chosen such that
1 2
1 2
k k
m m
=
then X
1
will be zero at e=e
11
. This is what we call a tuned dynamic absorber, in which
11 22
e e =
At this frequency, the displacement of X
2
will be:
0 2 0
2
2 2
1 2
1 2 1 2 2 2
1 2
F k F
X
k k k
k k m k m k
m m
= =
| || |
+
| |
\ .\ .


Adding the secondary system (dynamic absorber) will result in zero vibrations of the primary mass
at e
11
=e
22
. However, two resonant frequencies e
n1
and e
n2
are introduced at which the amplitude
of X
1
becomes significantly large. Thus the dynamic absorber can only be useful when the
disturbing frequency is constant.

X
1
e
e
n1
e
22
e
11 e
n2
No
absorber
With
absorber
12
How to design the vibration absorber?

1. Based on space limitation. Choose k
2
and m
2
such that
1 2
1 2
k k
m m
=
noting that the amplitude of m
2
will be
0
2
2
F
X
k
=
2. Based on how far apart should the natural frequencies be. The two new natural frequencies of
the system can be obtained by setting the determinant equal to zero:

2
1 2 1 2
2
2 2 2
0
k k m k
k k m
e
e
+
=


which gives:
( )( )
2 2 2
1 2 1 2 2 2
0 k k m k m k e e + =
This gives:
4 2 1 2 2 1 2
1 1 2 1 2
0
k k k k k
m m m m m
e e
| |
+ + + =
|
\ .

which can be put in the form:
( )
4 2 2 2 2 2 2
11 22 22 11 22
0 e e e e e e e + + + =
where
2
1
mass ratio
m
m
= =
The roots of this equation e
n1
and e
n2
satisfy the relations:
( )
2 2 2 2
1 2 11 11
2 2 2 2
1 2 11 22
1
n n
n n
e e e e
e e e e
=
+ = + +

But for a tuned absorber we have
11 22
e e = hence
2 2
1 2
2 2
22 22
2 2
1 2
2 2
22 22
1
2
n n
n n
e e
e e
e e

e e
=
+ = +


As you increase the mass ratio (), the natural frequencies e
n1
and e
n2
will grow further apart. Note
that e
n1
is always closer to e
11
than e
n2
.
13



14
Systems with 2 or More Degrees Of Freedom

Systems having more than 2 degrees of freedom are easily studied using the same principles that are
applied for 2 DOF systems. Let us investigate 2 cases.

Unrestrained 2 DOF system
Consider an unrestrained system like the one shown below.
m
1
k
m
2
x
1
x
2


From Newtons law, the equations of motion are:

1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1
( ) 0 , ( ) 0 m x k x x m x k x x + = + = (33)
Which can be written in matrix form as:

1 1 1
2 2 2
0 0
0 0
m x x k k
m x x k k
( (
+ =
` ` `
( (

) ) )
(34)
as before, we have:

2
1 1
2
2 2
0
0
X m k k
X k m k
e
e
( +
=
` ` (
+
) )
(35)
to get the natural frequencies, we impose the determinant to zero:

2
1
2
2
0
m k k
k m k
e
e
+
=
+
(36)
which gives:

2 2
1 2 1 2
[ ( )] 0 mm k m m e e + = (37)
or:

2 2 1 2
1 2
1 2
( )
0,
k m m
mm
e e
+
= = (38)
When e = 0, use Eq. (3) to get:
Hence

1
2
0
0
X k k
X k k
(
=
` `
(

) )
(39)
or:

1 2
X X = (40)
This mode is called a rigid body mode, since it resembles rigid body motion, and is typical of
unrestrained systems.
Now recall that:

2 1 2
2
1 2
( ) k m m
m m
e
+
= (41)
If we let m
1
= m
2
= m then:

2
2
2k
m
e = (42)
15
so we get:

1
2
0
0
X k k
X k k
(
=
` `
(

) )
(43)
Or

1 2
X X = (44)
i.e. the masses move out of phase in this mode of vibration.

Systems with more than 2 DOF
The system shown below has 3 masses on a taught string. Let us study the free transverse vibration.
l l l l
x
1
x
2
x
3


To get the equations of motion, we can draw free body diagrams as shown, assuming the tension to
be uniform.
l l l l
x
1
x
2
x
3
T
T
T
T
T
T

The equations of motion are then:

1 2 1
1 1
3 2 2 1
2 2
2 3 3
3 33
x x x
T T m x
l l
x x x x
T T m x
l l
x x x
T T m x
l l
| |
+ =
|
\ .
| | | |
=
| |
\ . \ .
| | | |
=
| |
\ . \ .
(45)
which can be written in matrix form as:

1 1 1
2 2 2
3 3 3
0 0 2 0 0
0 0 2 0
0 0 0 2 0
m x T l T l x
m x T l T l T l x
m x T l T l x
( (

( (
+ =
` ` `
( (

( (
) ) )
(46)



16
If we let m
1
= m
2
= m, then the equations become:

1 1
2 2
3 3
1 0 0 2 1 0 0
0 1 0 1 2 1 0
0 0 1 0 1 2 0
x x
T
m x x
l
x x
( (

( (
+ =
` ` `
( (

( (
) ) )
(47)
We can get the natural frequencies and mode shapes from MATLAB using the command eig.
m = 3;
M = m*eye(3);
T = 100; L = 0.8;
K = T/L*[2 -1 0;-1 2 -1;0 -1 2]
[vec,val]=eig(inv(M)*K)


vec =
0.5000 -0.7071 -0.5000
0.7071 0.0000 0.7071
0.5000 0.7071 -0.5000
val =
24.4078 0 0
0 83.3333 0
0 0 142.2589


And the mode shapes can be plotted as shown below.


17
Recall that the equation of motion governing the free response of a multi-DOF system is written as:
| |{ } | |{ } { } 0 M x K x + = (48)
Imposing harmonic motion in the form:
{ } { }sin x X t e = (49)
we get:
| |{ } | |{ }
2
K X M X e = (50)
or:

| | | |{ } { }
1
M K X X

= (51)
which is a standard eigenvalue problem. Solving Eq. (52) using MATLAbs eig command yields
the system eigenvalues
i
and associated eigenvectors { }
i
X for 1, 2, , i n = , where n is the system
size, i.e. degrees of freedom.
18
Active Vibration Control

We have earlier seen how vibration can be passively isolated or absorbed through proper choice of
m, c and k or by adding a dynamic absorber. In active vibration control, we use external active
devices called actuators (e.g. hydraulic cylinder, electric motor, piezoelectric device, etc.) to
provide a force to the structure or machine whose vibration properties are to be changed. The figure
shows a feedback control system illustrating the required sensor and actuator setup for active
vibration control.
m
k
x
c
F
Actuator
u
Control law
electronics
Power supply
Control signal
Motion sensor


The equation of motion is:
mx cx kx F u + + = + (52)
A simple control law is called state-feedback, which for the case of a single degree of freedom
system utilizes the position and velocity measurements. The controller is designed to provide a
signal to the actuator proportional to the displacement and velocity. This is also called PD
(proportional plus derivative) control. The actuator is hence commanded to provide a force for the
mass in the form:

1 2
u g x g x = (53)
where g
1
and g
2
are called gains. These gains are determined by the sensor and actuator properties
and by the designers choice. In control system terminology, g
1
is called proportional gain and g
2
is
called derivative gain. The equation of motion with PD control becomes:
( ) ( )
2 1
mx c g x k g x F + + + + = (54)
We immediately see that the gain g
1
acts like an artificial stiffness and the gain g
2
like an artificial
damping. In this way, we can change the effective stiffness and damping by properly designing the
gains.

Example. Examine the free response of the system shown by varying the control gains g
2
and g
2
.
10 kg
200 N/m 50 Ns/m u

19

% Active vibration control
clear; %close all;
tspan = 0:0.05:10; % time span
x0 = [5;0]; % initial conditions
[t,x] = ode23('odefun3',tspan,x0);
plot(t,x(:,1));
xlabel('Time [s]')
ylabel('Displacement [m]')
grid

function f = odefun3(t,x)
f = zeros(2,1);
g1 = 30;
g2 = 5;
f(1) = x(2);
f(2) = -(200+g1)/10*x(1)-(5+g2)/10*x(2);


0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
Time [s]
D
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

[
m
]

Effect of derivative control (g
1
= 0, g
2
= 5)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
Time [s]
D
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

[
m
]

Effect of proportional control (g
1
= 30, g
2
= 0)
20

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
Time [s]
D
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

[
m
]

Effect of PD control (g
1
= 30, g
2
= 5)