Chapter 5.

1: Linear Models Spring/Mass System

5.1.1

Spring/Mass Systems: Free Undamped Motion

unstretched

equilibrium position

free motion

s
Fs

x=0
positive
direction

x
Fg

Fs

m
Fg

(a) an unloaded
spring

(b) the system

at rest

(c) the system

in motion

The figure shows a spring-mass system. In the unstretched position, the spring is
suspended from a rigid body and no forces act on the spring. A mass m is attached and
stretches the spring a distance s . The mass comes to an equilibrium position because the
force of gravity acting on the mass, Fg , balances the restoring force of the spring, Fs .
It is necessary to satisfy Newtons first law of motion to achieve equilibrium. The sum of
the forces acting on a body at rest must equal zero.

In the equilibrium position, Fg Fs 0

where Fg mg and Fs ks (Hookes Law) .
mg ks 0
By substitution in (2) ,
mg ks

(1)
(2)

(3)

Equation (3) states that the force of gravity acting on the mass is equal to the restoring
force of the spring.

Chapter 5.1: Linear Models Spring/Mass System

If the mass is displaced a distance x from the equilibrium position and released,
Newtons second law of motion gives the net force acting on the system, F ma . Fs
and Fg are not balanced so there is a net force, a resulting force that causes the system to
be in motion with a non-constant velocity. The dynamics of the system are governed by
the equation of motion
(4)
F ma
but

F Fs Fg

and

ma m

(5)

d 2x
dt 2

(6)

Substituting (5) and (6) into (4):

d 2x
m 2 Fs Fg
dt

(7)

Using Hookes Law, when the mass is displaced a distance x from the equilibrium
position, the restoring force of the spring is Fs k ( s x) . Assuming that there are no
other external forces acting on the system,
m

d 2x
k ( s x) mg
dt 2

d 2x
ks kx mg
dt 2

Substitute equation (3) and simplify:

d 2x
kx
dt 2

(8)

d 2x
m 2 kx 0
dt

(9)

d 2x k
x0
dt 2 m

(10)

Equation (10) is a second-order DE for simple harmonic motion or free undamped

motion. The motion has are no retarding forces acting on the system and that the mass
vibrates free of other external forces.

Chapter 5.1: Linear Models Spring/Mass System

2
Let

k
, then equation (10) gives
m

d 2x
2 x 0 ,
dt 2
General solution of equation (10) or (11) is:
x (t ) c1 cos t c2 sin t

(11)
(12)

An alternative form of (12) is:

x (t ) A sin(t )

c1
.
c2
A is the amplitude of free vibrations and is the phase angle.

with A c12 c2 2 , and tan

Equation (10) or (11) describes simple harmonic motion or free undamped motion
with period T

2
1

, and frequency f
.

T 2

When initial conditions such as x(0) x0 and x(0) x1 are used to determine the
constants c1 and c2 in (12), the resulting particular solution is the equation of motion.
5.1.2

Spring/Mass Systems: Free Damped Motion

Consider a mass suspended in a viscous medium. A damping force acts on the mass.
This damping force is assumed to be linearly proportional to the instantaneous
velocity,

dx
.
dt

d 2x
dx
( is a positive damping constant)
kx
2
dt
dt

d 2 x dx k

x0
dt 2 m dt m

(13)

(14)

or
d 2x
dx
2 2 x 0
2
dt
dt

where

k
and 2
m
m

The corresponding auxiliary equation of (15) is

m 2 2m 2 0

The roots are given by

Three possible cases:

2 2

(15)

Chapter 5.1: Linear Models Spring/Mass System

(a) Overdamped System

(the damping coefficient is large compared to the spring constant k )
There are two distinct real roots:
m1 2 2 and m2 2 2
General solution of equation (15) is
x(t ) c1e

2 2 t

c2e

2 2 t

The equation represents a smooth and nonoscillatory motion.

As t , x(t ) 0 . So, the motion decays to zero without oscillating.
Also, x(t ) 0 has at most one critical number, so it follows that the solution does
not oscillate.
(b) Critically Damped System
The roots are real and equal.
m1 m2

General solution of equation (15) is

x(t ) c1e t c2te t
As t , x(t ) 0 , and x(t ) 0 has at most one critical number, so this solution,
like the overdamped solution, decays to zero without oscillating. So, the motion
behaves quite similarly to that of an overdamped motion.

(c)

Underdamped System
(the damping coefficient is small compared to the spring constant k )
The roots are a complex conjugate pair:
m1 2 2 i and m2 2 2 i
General solution of equation (15) is:
x(t ) c1e t cos w2 2 t c2 e t sin w2 2 t
e t (c1 cos w2 2 t c2 sin w2 2 t )

5.1.3

The motion is oscillatory, but because of the coefficient e t , the amplitude of

vibration 0 as t .
Spring/Mass Systems: Driven Motion

(a)

DE of Driven (Forced) Motion with Damping:

m

d 2x
dx
kx f (t )
2
dt
dt

(16)

Chapter 5.1: Linear Models Spring/Mass System

d 2 x dx k
f (t )

x
2
dt
m dt m
m
2
d x
dx
or
2
2 x F (t )
2
dt
dt
where F (t ) f (t ) / m

(17)
(18)

In this case, there is an external force f (t ) that acts on a vibrating mass on a

spring.
Equation (18) is a non-homogeneous equation. When F is a periodic function,
the
general solution of (18) is the sum of a non periodic function xc (t ) and a
periodic
function x p (t ).
(b)

DE of Driven (Forced) Motion without Damping

d 2x k
f (t )
x
m
dt 2 m

(19)

or
d 2x
2 x F (t )
dt 2

5.1.4

Series Circuit Analogue

LRC Series Circuit
In an LRC series circuit, by Kirchhoffs second law, the impressed voltage E (t )
on a closed loop must equal the sum of the voltage drops in the loop:
di
1
Ri q E (t )
dt
C
dq
but i
, so (21) becomes
dt
L

d 2q
dq 1
R
q E (t )
2
dt
dt C

If E (t ) 0 , the electrical vibrations of the circuit are said to be free.

Auxiliary equation for (21) is
Lm 2 Rm 1 / C 0

The circuit is
(a)
overdamped if R 2 4 L / C 0
(b)
critically damped if R 2 4 L / C 0
(c)
underdamped if R 2 4 L / C 0

(20)

(21)

Chapter 5.1: Linear Models Spring/Mass System

The response of the circuit is simple harmonic (undamped) when E (t ) 0 and

R 0.
Examples:
1)
A force of 400 Newton stretches a spring 2 meters. A mass of 50 kg is attached to
the end of the spring and released from equilibrium position with an upward
initial velocity of 10 m/s. Find the equation of the motion of the mass.
Find the value of the spring constant:
F ks 400 k ( 2) k 200
Eqn of motion:
d 2x

k
d 2 x 200
x F (t )

x0
50
dt 2 m
dt 2
d 2x
dt 2

4x 0

; x(0) 0, x '(0) 10

m2 4 0 x c1 cos 2t c2 sin 2t
x(0) 0 c1 0
x ' 2c1 sin 2t 2c2 cos 2t
x '(0) 10 2c2 10 c2 5
Equation of the motion is: x(t ) 5 sin 2t
2)

When a mass of 2 kg is attached to a spring whose constant is 32 N/m, it comes to

rest in the equilibrium position. Starting at t = 0, a force equal to 36 cos 2t is
applied to the system. Find the equation of the motion.

Chapter 5.1: Linear Models Spring/Mass System

spring constant: k 32, m 2, f (t ) 36 cos 2t
Eqn of motion:
d 2x
dt 2

32
36
d 2x
x cos 2t
16 x 18 cos 2t ; x( 0) 0, x '( 0) 0
2
2
dt 2

m2 16 0 xc c1 cos 4t c2 sin 4t
find x p : x p A cos 2t B sin 2t
x p 2 A sin 2t 2 B cos 2t , x p 4 A cos 2t 4 B sin 2t
d 2x

16 x 18 cos 2t
dt 2
4 A cos 2t 4 B sin 2t 16( A cos 2t B sin 2t ) 18 cos 2t

subt. into the eqn:

12 A cos 2t 12 sin 2t 18 cos 2t A 3 / 2

3
x p cos 2t
2
3
GS: x(t ) c1 cos 4t c2 sin 4t cos 2t
2
3
x(0) 0 c1
2
x ' 4c1 sin 4t 4c2 cos 4t 3 sin 2t
x '(0) 0 4c2 0 c2 0
Equation of the motion is:

3
3
x(t ) cos 4t cos 2t
2
2

Chapter 5.1: Linear Models Spring/Mass System

The DE to describe the spring motion is:

d 2 x dx k
f (t )

x
where
2
dt
m dt m
m

is a damping coefficient, m is a mass, k is spring constant and f(t) is an external force.

Initial conditions:

If mass is released from the equilibrium position, then x(0) 0 .

If mass is released from a point below the equilibrium position, then x(0) 0
If mass is released from a point above the equilibrium position, then x(0) 0 .
If mass is released from rest, then x(0) 0 .
If mass is released with a downward velocity, then x(0) 0 .
If mass is released with an upward velocity, then x(0) 0 .

Exercises
1.
A force of 100 N stretches a spring 2 meters. A mass of 10 kg is attached to the
end of the spring and is initially released from the equilibrium position with an
upward velocity of 10 m/s, with no external forces involved. Find the equation of
motion.
(Sem 1, 2012-13)

2.

A 1-kg mass is attached to a spring whose constant is 16 N/m. The mass is

released from its equilibrium position with an initial velocity of 1 m/s in the
upward direction and an external force equal to f (t ) 65 sin t is applied to the
system. Find the equation of motion if the surrounding medium offers a damping
force numerically equal to 10 times the instantaneous velocity
(Sem 3, 2011-12)

3.

A 5 kg mass is attached to a spring having spring constant 70 N/m. The mass is

placed in a surrounding medium with damping force numerically equal to 45
times the instantaneous velocity. The mass is initially released from the
equilibrium position with an upward velocity of 2 m/sec by applying an external
force f (t ) 10 sin t . Find the equation of motion.

4.

When a mass of 2 kg is attached to a spring whose constant is 32 N/m, it comes to

rest at a position of 1m below the equilibrium position. Starting at t = 0, a force
equal to f (t ) 2 cos 4t is applied to the system. Find the equation of motion in the
absence of damping.

(Sem 2, 2011-12)

(Sem 1, 2011-12)

Chapter 5.1: Linear Models Spring/Mass System

Newton's Law: F ma F m

d 2x
dt 2

Case 1:
At rest, the total force is zero (balance) Fg Fs 0
mg ks 0
If the mass is released x units from the rest and released:
F Fg Fs mg k ( x s )
The equation of the motion:
F m

d 2x
dt 2

mg k ( x s ) m
mg kx ks m
kx m

d 2x
dt 2
d 2x
dt 2
d 2x
dt 2

d 2x
dt 2

Case 2 :

d 2x
dt 2

kx 0

k
x0
m

If a mass submerged in a viscous medium, a damping force applied on the mass

dx
F Fg Fs Fd mg k ( x s )
dt
The equation of the motion:
m
m
m
m

d 2x
dt

d 2x
dt

d 2x
dt

d 2x
dt 2

mg k ( x s )
mg kx ks
kx

dx
dt

dx
kx 0
dt

dx
dt

dx
dt

Chapter 5.1: Linear Models Spring/Mass System

10

Case 3 : Forced vibration

If an external force applied on the mass
F Fg Fs Fd F (t ) mg k ( x s )
The equation of the motion:
m
m
m
m

d 2x
dt 2
d 2x
dt 2
d 2x
dt

d 2x
dt

d x
dt 2

mg k ( x s )
mg kx ks
kx

dx
F (t )
dt

dx
F (t )
dt

dx
kx F (t )
dt

dx k
x F (t )
m dt m

dx
F (t )
dt

dx
F (t )
dt