ASSIGNMENT I

Short questions
1. Consider the differential equation
Define in words and in terms of system parameters m, c, and k for (a) n and (b) .
2. List four differences between the free vibrations of an underdamped system and a system with
Coulomb damping.
3. Give two examples each of the bad and the good effects of vibration.
4. What are the three elementary parts of a vibrating system?
5. Define the degree of freedom of a vibrating system.
6. What is the difference between free and forced vibration?
7. What methods are available for solving the governing equations of a vibration problem?
8. Define spring stiffness and damping constant.
9. What are the common types of damping?
10. What is the difference between harmonic motion and periodic motion?
11. Define these terms: cycle, amplitude, phase angle, linear frequency, period, and natural
frequency.
12. What effect does a decrease in mass have on the frequency of a system?
13. Why does the amplitude of free vibration gradually diminish in practical systems?
14. How many arbitrary constants must a general solution to a second order differential equation
have? How are these constants determined?
15. What is critical damping and what is its importance?
16. Define these terms: damping ratio, logarithmic decrement, loss coefficient, and specific damping
capacity.
17. Define the hysteresis damping constant.
18. What assumptions are made in finding the natural frequency of a single degree of freedom
system using the energy method?
19. What effect does a decrease in the stiffness of the system have on the natural period?
20. Why is it important to find the natural frequency of a vibrating system?








ASSIGNMENT II
Short questions
1. Define the term magnification factor How is the magnification factor related to the frequency
ratio''
2. What will be the frequency of the applied force with respect to the natural frequency of the
system if the magnification factor is less than unity?
3. Show the various terms in the forced equation of motion of a viscously damped system in a
vector diagram.
4. What happens to the response of an undamped system at resonance?
5. Define these terms: beating, quality factor, transmissibility. complex stiffness, quadratic damping.
6. What assumptions are made about the motion of a forced vibration with nonviscous damping in
finding the amplitude?
7. What is the difference between the peak amplitude and the resonant amplitude?
8. Why is viscous damping used in most cases rather than other types of damping?
9. What is self-excited vibration?
10. Derive the equation of motion of a system subjected to base excitation.
11. What is a response spectrum?
12. What are the advantages of the Laplace transformation method''
13. Define these terms: generalized impedance and admittance of a system.
14. How do you determine the number of degrees of freedom of a lumped-mass system?
15. Define mass coupling, velocity coupling, and elastic coupling.
16. What are principal coordinates? What is their use?
17. Why are the mass, damping, and stiffness matrices symmetrical?
18. What is a node?
19. What is meant by static and dynamic coupling? How can you eliminate coupling of the equations
of motion?
20. Define the impedance matrix.









ASSIGNMENT III
Short questions
1. Define the flexibility and stiffness influence coefficients. What is the relation between them?
2. Write the equations of motion of a multidegree of freedom system in matrix form using A) the
flexibility matrix and B) the stiffness matrix.
3. What is a generalized mass matrix?
4. What is the difference between generalized coordinates and Cartesian coordinates?
5. State Lagrange's equations.
6. What is an eigenvalue problem?
7. What is a mode shape? How is it computed?
8. How many distinct natural frequencies can exist for an n degree of freedom system?
9. What is meant by the orthogonality of normal modes? What are orthonormal modal vectors?
10. When do we get complex eigenvalues?
11. How does a continuous system differ from a discrete system in the nature of its equation of
motion?
12. How many natural frequencies does a continuous system have?
13. State the possible boundary conditions at the ends of a string
14. What is the main difference in the nature of the frequency equations of a discrete system and a
continuous system?
15. Are the boundary conditions important in a discrete system? Why?
16. What is a wave equation? What is a traveling-wave solution?
17. What is a wave equation? What is a traveling-wave solution?
18. State the boundary conditions to be specified at a simply supported end of a beam if (a) thin beam
theory is used and (b) Timoshenko beam theory is used.
19. What is the basic principle used in Rayleigh's method?
20. What is Rayleigh's quotient?