Section outline

  • Vibratory phenomena deal with the oscillations of mechanical systems, which are well known for their significant importance in the field of physics. For example, the vibratory phenomenon that can affect civil engineering systems and structures is the earthquake. Indeed, physical quantities (displacement, velocity, angular frequency, etc.) are time-dependent variables. They are studied through the behavior of systems with one or multiple degrees of freedom, whether free or forced, and in the presence or absence of damping.

    In the “vibrations” section, the systems studied are characterized by equations of motion of the type: linear differential equations. This makes it possible to describe various important characteristics of vibrations.

  • CHAPTER 01: Generalities on Vibrations
    1. Definition of periodic motion
    2. Definition of an oscillation
    3. Definition of sinusoidal motion
    4. Degrees of freedom
    5. Complex representation of vibratory motion
    6. Definition of Fourier series
    CHAPTER 02: Undamped Free Oscillations with One Degree of Freedom

    II.1 Undamped free systems (free oscillators)
    II.2 Harmonic oscillator
    II.3 Equation of motion
    II.4 Kinetic energy and potential energy
    II.4.1 Kinetic energy

    II.4.2 Potential energy

    II.4.2.1 Gravitational potential energy
    II.4.2.2 Electrical potential energy
    II.4.2.3 Elastic potential energy
    II.5 Equilibrium conditions
    II.6 Equivalent systems
    II.6.1 Equivalent springs
    II.6.1.1 Springs in series
    II.6.2 Springs in parallel and a solid placed between two springs
    II.6.3 Case of a spring with non-negligible mass
    II.7 Moments of inertia of regular solids
    II.8 Solved exercises
    II.9 Additional exercises


    CHAPTER 03: Damped Free Oscillations with One Degree of Freedom

    III.1 Introduction
    III.2 Damped oscillator
    III.3 Friction and damping coefficient
    III.3.1 Viscous friction
    III.3.2 Solid friction
    III.4 Lagrange’s equation
    III.5 Regimes of the damped oscillator
    III.5.1 Aperiodic regime
    III.5.2 Critical regime
    III.5.3 Pseudo-periodic regime
    III.6 Logarithmic decrement
    III.7 Quality factor
    III.8 Mechanical energy
    III.9 Solved exercises
    III.10 Additional exercises


    CHAPTER 04: Forced Oscillations of Systems with One Degree of Freedom

    IV.1 Introduction
    IV.2 Differential equation of motion
    IV.2.1 Example of a damped forced system (mass–spring–damper system)
    IV.3 Solution of the differential equation of motion
    IV.3.1 Sinusoidal excitation
    IV.3.1.1 Calculation of amplitude

    IV.3.1.2 Calculation of phase

    IV.3.2 Resonance frequency
    IV.3.3 Bandwidth
    IV.3.4 Quality factor
    IV.3.5 Periodic excitation
    IV.4 Mechanical impedance
    IV.4.1 Mechanical impedances
    IV.5 Solved exercises
    IV.6 Additional exercises


    CHAPTER 05: Free Oscillations of Systems with Multiple Degrees of Freedom

    V.1 Introduction

    V.2 Two-degree-of-freedom systems
    V.2.1 Types of coupling
    V.2.1.1 Elastic coupling
    V.2.1.2 Inertial coupling
    V.2.1.3 Viscous coupling
    V.2.2 Differential equations of motion
    V.2.3 General method for solving equations of motion
    V.2.4 Study of a two-degree-of-freedom mechanical system
    V.2.4.1 Complex system (mass–spring systems)
    V.2.4.2 Study of normal modes
    V.2.4.3 Beat phenomenon

    V.3 Forced oscillations of two-degree-of-freedom systems
    V.3.1 Lagrange equations
    V.3.2 Differential equation of a forced two-degree-of-freedom system
    V.3.3 Study of sinusoidal steady-state regime (solving differential equations)
    V.3.4 Calculation of X2 in the case of weak damping
    V.3.4.1 Negligible damping
    V.3.5 Variation of amplitudes

    V.3.6 Application

    V.4 Oscillations of mechanical systems with N degrees of freedom
    V.4.1 Definition
    V.4.2 Lagrange method for formulating equations of N-degree-of-freedom systems
    V.4.3 Formulation of equations for N-degree-of-freedom systems
    V.4.3.1 General case of N degrees of freedom
    V.4.3.2 Normal vibration modes of a three-degree-of-freedom mechanical system

    V.5 Solved exercises
    V.6 Additional exercises 

  • CHAPTER 1

    Definition of periodic motion

    A motion is said to be periodic if it repeats itself identically over equal time intervals.

    Examples:

    • The Moon’s revolution motion: the Moon completes a full cycle around the Earth in about 29 days.
    • Heartbeats: a heartbeat is a sequence of contractions and relaxations of the heart muscles that activate valves and cause blood circulation throughout the body.

    Definition of an oscillation

    An oscillation is a motion that takes place around an equilibrium position