MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

ME 414 SYSTEM DYNAMICS
FALL 2007

HOMEWORK 1

Submit your solutions at the beginning of the lecture hour on October 8, 2007.

1. Determine the types of the systems represented by the following equations. Decide whether the
systems are
i. Lumped parameter or Distributed parameter
ii. Linear or Non-linear
iii. Free or Forced
iv. Time-Invariant or Time varying
v. Continuous-time or Discrete-time
vi. Deterministic or Stochastic (Random)
systems. Upon deciding the type, show the terms in the equations that cause non-linearity, time
dependency, forcing etc. with full reasoning if any such exists. . Assume that the system
parameters and initial conditions are known exactly. Note that t represents time in the equations.

a) The angular motion q(t) of a pendulum of length l, under the action of gravity, where g is the
acceleration of gravity is defined by following equation:
d 2θ g
+ sin θ = 0
dt 2 l
b) A mass, supported by a spring, is moving in a fluid. Its dynamic behavior is defined by the
following equation ;
..
⎛. .
⎞
m x + b ⎜ x + q x 2 ⎟ + k x 2 = f (t )
⎝ ⎠
c) Liquid-level system

dH Q(t ) K H
= −
dt C (t ) C (t )
where Q, C, H, and K are flow rate, capacitance of tank, head and a constant, respectively.

d) Following equation governs the current i(t) in an electrical circuit containing an inductor with
the inductance L, a capacitor with capacitor C, and an applied voltage source of strength E(t):

ME 414/Fall 2007/Homework 1/Rasim Aşkın DİLAN Page 1

 d 2i 1 dE
L 2
+ i=
dt C dt

e) yk +1 = (2 − kT 3 ) yk − yk −1 + T 2
where k=1,2,3,…
yk = y (kT )

f) The following equation represents vibration of a simply-supported elastic beam subjected to a

distributed transverse loading :

∂2y ∂y ∂4y
m + c + EI = p( x , t )
∂t 2 ∂t ∂x 4

g) The following equation represents the motion of a mass-damper system:

[v(kT ) − v{(k − 1)T }] ⎛ [x(kT ) − x{(k − 1)T }] ⎞
+c
2

=0
m ⎜ ⎟
T ⎝ T ⎠

where v : velocity,
m : mass,
c : viscous friction coefficient,
x : position,
T : sampling time,
k = 1, 2, 3,….

h) A vibrating membrane is governed by the following equation:

⎡ ∂2w ∂2w ⎤ ∂2w
T ⎢ 2 + 2 ⎥ + p ( x, y , t ) = ρ 2
⎣ ∂y ∂y ⎦ ∂t
where w : position coordinate perpendicular to the surface of the membrane,
x, y : position coordinates along the membrane,
T : tensile force per unit length of membrane,
p : external force applied on the membrane,
ρ : density per unit area of the membrane.

i) The following equation represents the motion of a variable-reluctance step motor:

d 2θ (t ) dθ (t )
J 2
+b = −i 2 (t ) Lp sin [2 pθ (t )]
dt dt
j) Wave equation (vibration of a string):
∂ 2 y ( x, t ) 1 ∂ 2 y ( x, t )
= 2 where y : position coordinate perpendicular to the string,
∂x 2 c ∂t 2
x : position coordinate along the string,
c : a constant.

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