Intro to Physical Systems and Dynamical Systems

Assignment 8 Dynamical Systems Chapter 7

Group:
Name

Student number

Josef Moucachen

s1524771

Robin Schmidt

s1589873

Jan Filimon

s1528459

Yi Liu

s1600141

Juliette Hoedemakers

s1423592

Materials needed:

Job van Amerongen,

Dynamical Systems for Creative Technology
, Chapter 7,
2012

Software: 20-sim 4.5

Lecture slides of lecture 8

Chapter 7. Mechanical Systems

Exercise 7.37
Find two examples of systems that store the potential energy of a spring and the kinetic energy of
a rotating mass.

Answer:
1.the shock-absorption system in a vehicle
2.trampoline

Exercise 7.38 Lever

Give an example of such a system.

Answer:
bicycles

Exercise 7.39 MART

For this question you can make use of the 20-SIM file: Exersize7_39_MartRobot.emx that has
also been posted on Blackboard. Simulate this system and play with the compliances and damping
of the suspension system. See the book for the parameters.
Note that the total weight of the mobile robot is fixed due to other constraints.
a) However, the distribution of the weight over the upper and lower frame is within certain
bounds not fixed. Use the numerical values of table 7.2 to start with. Select the start and stop
times of pulse such that the bump has a height of 10 [cm].
Answer:

Figure 1 damper system - like a low pass filter

b) Focus amongst others on the vibrations in the upper part and in the lower part and the coupling
between them (do all vibration frequencies in the lower part also reach the upper part?). Can you
recognize a certain filtering action here in the mechanical domain (low pass, high pass, band pass,
band stop filtering)?
Answer:
No, not all of the vibration frequencies in the lower part reach the upper part. And yes, it seems to
be like a low pass filter in the mechanical domain.

Additional Exercises: more mechanical systems.

The exercises below shine some more light on the analogies between electrical domain and the
mechanical domain. Furthermore, the final questions prepare you for the final lab session in which
you will analyse a moving pendulum.

First, we consider the buffer elements in the electrical domain and the mechanical domain. A
capacitor stores charge Q and the relationship between effort (voltage in the electrical domain)
and flow (current in the electrical domain) is:

The analogous buffer element in the mechanical domain is the spring. The effort variable in the
mechanical domain is Force F and the flow variable is velocity v.
AE1.
a. What does the spring store?
Spring stores distance.

b. What is the relationship between effort and flow variable for a spring?
F(t)=1/c
v(t)dt

Buffers can obtain energy and release it. So far, we didnt look at the equations for energy in the
buffers. For the buffers in the electrical domain these are not part of the exam material. They are,
however, for the mechanical domain. Again, we will see that there are similarities between the
domains.

The energy stored in a capacitor is

Note that the energy in a capacitor can be regarded as potential energy, it has the ability to set
something in motion and to deliver work. You can also see 2 (equivalent) forms of the potential
energy. There is a form with the element parameter C in it and the effort variable; the alternative
form has also the element parameter C in it and contains the quantity that is stored.
In the mechanical domain the energy that is stored in a spring is also called potential energy, as
just as for the capacitor, nothing is moving yet but the energy has the ability to set something in
motion, i.e. it has potential to set something in motion.

AE2.

Provide the equation for the energy stored in a spring.

The second buffer element is characterized by the phenomenon of inertia. Elements that display
inertia will resist a change in motion (velocity, current, flow) by generating a force (Force, Voltage,
Pressure) that will oppose the change. An inductor stores magnetic flux as we have seen in
Chapter 3 (and part 1 of this course). The relationship between flow (current in the electrical
domain) and effort (voltage in the electrical domain) is:

The analogous buffer element in the mechanical domain is the mass. The effort variable in the
mechanical domain is Force F and the flow variable is velocity v.
AE3.
a. What does the mass store?
The mass stores momentum.
b. What is the relationship between flow and effort variable for a mass?

v(t)=1/m
F(t)dt

The energy stored in an inductor is

Note that the energy in an inductor can be regarded as kinetic energy. It is the energy of the
flowing electrons (the current). Again, you can also see 2 (equivalent) forms of this kinetic energy.
There is a form with the element parameter L in it and the flow variable; the alternative form has
also the element parameter L in it and contains the quantity that is stored.
In the mechanical domain the energy that is stored in a mass (a moving object) is also called
kinetic energy..

AE4.

Provide the equation for the energy stored in a mass.

Ekin=0.5mv^2
Momentum(p)=m*v
Ekin=p^2*0.5/m

We hope you have seen that all equations for energy stored in buffer elements in the electrical
and mechanical domain have the form of:
2
E = parameter (variable)

Way Sign Off Moment

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AE5. Also introduced in chapter 7 were mechanical transformers like gear boxes, levers and
belt-pulley systems.
a. Can an ideal mechanical transformer store energy?
No, all the energy flows in, immediately flows out

b. Ok, now for the practical case. There are no ideal transformers. If you would
model a practical mechanical transformer you need the element of the
transformer but what kind of element(s) would you add in the model to resemble
practical cases better?
I would add a mass. It is an energy buffer in an non ideal case.

In the electrical domain you learned the Kirchhoffs laws. Kirchhoffs current law states that the
total current in a node is zero, i.e. all currents entering a node should be equal to all currents
leaving a node. No charge can be destroyed or popping up miraculously in a node. Kirchhoffs
Voltage law states that when going round in a mesh the sum of all voltages is zero, i.e. all the
voltage rises in the mesh should be equal to the voltage drops in the mesh.
In the mechanical domain there is the dAlemberts law.
AE6.
a. State dAlemberts law.

F-ma=0
The principle states that the sum of the differences between the
forces acting on
a system of mass particles and the time
derivatives of the
momenta of the system itself
along any
virtual displacement
consistent with the constraints of the system, is zero.
b. Suppose the object is at rest (v = 0 m/s) and the time derivative of the impulse is
zero. Does dAlemberts law appear to be an analogy of Kirchhoffs current or
voltage law?
An analogy of the voltage law, because the voltage in a electric domain equals the the
force in the mechanical domain.

Lets get back to modeling again. We will derive and simulate a model for the pendulum, as it will
be used in the final lab session. To begin with we investigate the relationship again between block
diagrams and differential equations.

AE7. A block diagram can be seen as a graphical representation of a differential equation (DE).
Consequently, you can write the DE of a block diagram by inspecting the signals; and
conversely you can draw a DE in the form of a block diagram.
Consider the block diagram in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Block diagram representation of a linear differential equation.

a. If we label the signal indicated by b in the diagram by variable

x
, what is the
signal labeled by a?
First derivative of x = x

b. Similarly, what is the signal at e?

Second derivative of x = x

c. What are the signals at c and d, expressed in the signals we have already
defined, and the parameters K and b?
c=Kx, d=b*x
b: resistance coefficient
K: gravity

d. The plus/minus block at the left ties signals c, d and e together (with parameter
M). What is their relation at this point? For now, use c, d and e, and rewrite
the equation such that you have a right-hand-side equal to zero.
e=(-c-d)/M

Me=-c-d
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Me + c +d =0

e. Now fill in the signals that you found previously for c, d and e to obtain the DE!
This DE looks familiar: what does this DE (and hence the block diagram) represent
(domain + kind of system)?
Mx + Kx + b*x = 0
Mechanical translation domain
Suspension system

The pendulum equation.

In the next lab session, you will experiment with a pendulum. The lab manual contains the
derivation of the DE of the systemhere we will use that result and simulate it in 20-sim to get an
idea of what you might expect next lab session.

AE8.

Here we go
a. What is the DE for an unforced, undamped pendulum? Use the variable (t) to
denote the angle of the pendulum. Furthermore, the following parameters are
involved: m [kg] is the mass of the pendulum and L [m] is the length of the
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pendulum and g [m/s
] is the gravitational acceleration.
mL *d^2/dt^2 + mL = 0
g= acceleration due to gravity
I = length of pendulum
= angular displacement

b. Write the DE of the previous question into a block diagram representation. Hint: it
will be very similar to the block diagram in Figure 1, with different parameters for
K, M and b. (Note: this rewriting a DE into a block diagram is not part of the exam
skills and will not be tested).
Hint 2: A DE contains derivative operators; a block diagram uses integrator
operations. It may be insightful to rewrite the DE of the previous question into a
form with integrals instead of derivatives (i.e. integrate the DE twice to get rid of
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all derivative operations, then it is in a form which is a bit more easy translatable
into a block diagram)

Fig. 2: Block-diagram of pendulum

c. Simulate the block diagram, plotting , for the following parameters: L=0.5m,
2
M=1kg, g=9.8 m/s
. Give the pendulum an initial position of 0.5 rad.
What is the resonance frequency of the system?

Fig. 3 : angle of the pendulum in radians over time

Resonance frequency = 0.7Hz
Counted on the graph the waves

d. Execute a parameter sweep on the mass of the pendulum, varying it between 100
g and 10 kg. What happens to the resonance frequency?
Hint: do not forget to change the mass in 2 places in the block diagram.

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Fig. 4: Parameter sweep on the mass of the pendulum

Resonance frequency stays the same.
e. Execute a parameter sweep on the length of the pendulum, varying it between 10
cm and 1 m. What happens to the resonance frequency?

Fig. 5: Parameter sweep on the length of the pendulum

The longer the length the lower the resonance frequency

f.

What would the resonance frequency of the original pendulum (

Q2.3
) be like
when carrying out the experiment on the moon? And on Jupiter? (Illustrate both
your answers with a simulation.)

On the moon the resonance frequency would be lower due to the lower gravity on the moon.

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2
Fig. 6: Pendulum on the moon( g=1.6 m/s
)

2
Fig. 7: Pendulum on Jupiter( g=24.8 m/s
)

On jupiter the exact opposite would happen since Jupiter has a stronger gravity force than earth.

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