ASE 365

Structural Dynamics Name:

Dr. Jeremiah Palmer

Final Exam
May 14, 2016
Duration: 3 hours, Total Points: 100

Answer all questions. You are allowed two cheat sheets. No calculators.

Please answer each question on your own paper. Write your name on this page. When you turn in
your final, staple this page to your work.

Problem 1: The system in Figure 1 models a person with questionable intellect participating in
bungee jumping. The person has mass m, the unstretched length of the bungee cord is L, and
the equivalent spring and damping constants of the bungee cord are k and c, respectively. Let x
represent the elongation of the cord and represent the angle that the person has from the vertical.

Figure 1: System for Problem 1

(a) Determine the kinetic energy, potential energy, and the generalized non-conservative
forces of the system. Measure the gravitational potential energy of the system from
the pivot point of the pendulum. (This means that the gravitational potential energy of
the jumper is always negative.) (10 pts.)

(b) Using Lagranges Equations, determine the bungee jumpers equations of motion. (5 pts.)

(c) The maximum value of that the jumper reaches during oscillation decreases over time.
Let one of these maximum values be max . Beginning with the equation of motion,
derive a formula that gives the acceleration of as a function of x at max . (5 pts.)
 (d) The jumpers motion will stop eventually. Start with the x equation of motion and
derive the static response due to gravity. (5 pts.)

Problem 2: An undamped single-degree-of-freedom system (with mass m and stiffness k) is sub-

jected to periodic forcing. A single period of the forcing is shown in Figure 2.

(a) Derive the Fourier representation of the periodic force. (15 pts.)

(b) Determine the response of the system to the periodic force. (5 pts.)

(c) Determine the magnitude of the responses velocity at t = 0. (5 pts.)

Figure 2: Periodic Forcing for Problem 2

Problem 3: A paint can mixing machine is modeled in the system shown in Figure 3. The box
in the center represents the paint can of mass m, both springs have stiffness k, and both dashpots
have a damping constant of c. The walls of the machine move according to y1 (t) = A sin(t) and
y2 (t) = A cos(t). The can moves in the x1 (t) and x2 (t) directions. The rollers ensure that the
springs and dashpots only exert purely vertical or purely horizontal forces. Assume that gravity is
into the page.

Figure 3: System for Problem 3

(a) What are the equations of motion for the system? (5 pts.)

(b) Write the equations of motion in matrix form. Is the system coupled or uncoupled? (5
pts.)

(c) Determine the responses x1 (t) and x2 (t). (10 pts.)

q
k
(d) Calculate the kinetic energy of the system when = m
. (5 pts.)
Problem 4: The string in Figure 4 is fixed on the left and has an elastic restraint on the right.
The spring constant k = TL . Determine the natural frequencies and natural modes of the system.
During this process, you should derive a non-analytic equation that can only be solved numerically.
Write this equation in its simplest form, then describe how the natural frequencies are determined
in terms of the numerical solutions. (25 pts.)

Figure 4: System for Problem 4

EXTRA CREDIT: The mass, stiffness, and eigenvector matrices of a system are determined to
be      
2m 0 3k k 1 1
M= ,K = , and U = .
0 m k k 2 1
Mass normalize the eigenvector matrix. (10 pts. No partial credit.)