Math 238 Matlab Project 2

Due: Class time, April 18, 2019.

General guidelines for project submission:

• You can do this assignment in a group of up to a maximum of 3 members.

• You may interact with another group but you MAY not copy the other group’s solu-
tion.

• All group members need to sign their report and include a statement that this is their
work and that they have not consulted solution manuals.

• Please use a text editor such as word or LATEX to type the report. Each group submits
one hard copy by the deadline.

• The report must be neat and readable with a limit of 4 pages.

Instructions

• All figures must have axes labels and a legend using the graphing tools available in
Matlab (You can also use Mathematica or Maple if preferred).

• The project’s grade will be based on the correctness of the methods, the accuracy of
the results, their presentation, their discussion and the final concluding remarks all in
a report that cannot exceed 4 pages.

• Make sure that your project report conforms to the guidelines for project submission.
Print all function files used (excluding the ones in Blackboard) and turn in all labeled
graphs, and a thorough discussion of the results.

1
Mass-spring systems with aging springs and the phenomenon of resonance

A mass-spring motion is governed by the ordinary differential equation

dx2 dx
m + b + k(t)x = F (t),
dt2 dt
where m is the mass, b is the damping constant, k is the spring stiffness, and F (t) is the
external force.
1. Assume the following numerical values: m = 1 kg, k = 25 N/m, and F (t) = 0. We
consider the initial conditions x(0) = 1 and x0 (0) = 0 throughout the project. First
solve the IVP using paper and pencil for the following cases. Then solve the same
IVP for the same cases listed below numerically on the interval t ∈ [0, 20]. Prepare
time plots and phase plane plots, discuss and compare your findings and in particular
analyze the effect of damping on the motion of the mass using both time and phase
plots. (A phase plot is a plot of velocity dx/dt versus position x(t).)
(a) b = 0 (No damping).
(b) b = 6 (Under damping).
(c) b = 10 (Critical damping).
(d) b = 12 (Over damping).
2. Let m = 1 kg, F (t) = 0, and b = 0. We use the same initial conditions as in part 1.
and consider an aging spring whose spring stiffness depends on time as follows
k(t) = 25e−λt .
Predict through numerical simulations the motion of the mass, i.e. show time plots
and phase plane plots, and discuss your results for the following cases
(a) λ = 0
(b) λ = 0.2
(c) λ = 0.5
3. Set b = 1/5, k = 1/5 and assume a forcing F (t) = cos ωt,
(a) Refer to section §4.10 to calculate the resonance frequency.
(b) Use ODE45-solver to obtain the solution curves for several values of ω ranging
between 0.2 and 2. Plot the solutions and estimate the amplitude A of the steady
response in each case.
(c) Using the data from (b), plot the graph of A versus ω. For what frequency ω is
the amplitude A greatest? Is it consistent with your solution in (a)?