ECE 382 Fall 2012

Homework Set #1
SOLUTIONS
1.
(a) Applying the initial value theorem yields
f(0) = lim
s
sF(s) = lim
s
s(s + 6)
(2s + 3)(s + 4)
= 0.5
(b) The conditions of the nal value theorem are satised. Hence,
f() = lim
s0
sF(s) = lim
s0
3s + 2
s + 5
= 0.4
2. The two dierential equations describing the mechanical system can be easily obtained
if we isolate the two masses and mark the forces acting on them. For the rst mass we
obtain the diagram shown in Figure 1. Summing the forces yields
Figure 1: Forces acting on the mass M
1
in Problem 2.
1
Figure 2: Forces acting on the mass M
2
in Problem 2.
M
1
x
1
+ B
1
( x
1
x
2
) + B
2
x
1
= F.
For the second mass, we obtain the diagram shown in Figure 2. Summing the forces
yields
M
2
x
2
+ kx
2
B
1
( x
1
x
2
) = 0.
Taking the Laplace transform of the above equations, assuming the initial conditions
are zero, and performing needed manipulations, we obtain
X
1
(s)
F(s)
=
M
2
s
2
+B
1
s+k
s[(M
1
s+B
1
+B
2
)(M
2
s
2
+B
1
s+k)B
2
1
s]
3. We rst introduce the auxiliary variable z that denotes the displacement of the spring
k
2
as shown in the Figure 3. We next draw a diagram in which we mark the forces
acting on the mass M as shown in Figure 4. Summing the forces yields
M y + B( y z) = k
1
(x y).
We obtain the second equation by considering the connection between the spring k
2
and the damper B. To help ourselves in obtaining the second equation that involves
2
Figure 3: Introducing the auxiliary variable z in Problem 3.
Figure 4: Forces acting on the mass M in Problem 3.
3
the variable z, we assume that there is a zero mass at the point connecting the spring
k
2
and the damper B. We then apply Newtons second law at this point to obtain
k
2
z B( y z) = 0.
Taking the Laplace transform of the above equations, assuming the zero initial condi-
tions, and performing some manipulations yields
Y (s)
X(s)
=
(sB+k
2
)k
1
s
3
BM+s
2
Mk
2
+sB(k
1
+k
2
)+k
1
k
2
4. (a) We take the Laplace transform of both sides of the equation, and compute Y (s).
We obtain
Y (s) =
6(s + 2)
s
2
+ 7s + 12
U(s) =
6(s + 2)
s(s
2
+ 7s + 12)
because U(s) = 1/s. Performing partial fraction expansion gives
Y (s) =
1
s
+
2
s + 3

3
s + 4
.
Taking the inverse Laplace transform yields the response
y(t) = 1 + 2e
3t
3e
4t
(b) Performing similar manipulations as in (a), we obtain
Y (s) =
3
s + 1
+
4
s + 2
+
1
s + 3
.
The inverse Laplace transform gives
y(t) = 3e
t
4e
2t
+ e
3t
One can verify that the same result is obtained if the derivative of r(t) is computed
rst and then the Laplace transform of the computed derivative is taken and
the result is substituted into the dierential equations for further manipulations.
Indeed, using the sampling theorem, we obtain
r(t) = 2e
t
u(t) + 2e
t
(t) = 2e
t
u(t) + 2(t).
4
The Laplace transform of the above function is
L

2e
t
u(t) + 2(t)

=
2
s + 1
+ 2 =
2s
s + 1
.
Observe that we would obtain the same result if we used the fact that dierenta-
tion in the time domain corresponds to multiplication by s in the s-domain. In
other words, if R(s) = L(r(t)), then, if r (0

) = 0, we have
sR(s) = L( r(t)) =
2s
s + 1
.
5. Applying the KVL, after the switch is closed, yields
L
di
dt
+ Ri +
1
C

i(x)dx = 0.
Substituting the parameter values, dierentiating both sides, and rearranging, we ob-
tain
d
2
i
dt
2
+ 4
di
dt
+ 3i = 0.
The initial conditions are
i

= i

0
+

= 0, v
C

= v
C

0
+

= 2.
We need di (0
+
) /dt, rather than v
C
(0
+
). At t = 0
+
the current in each element of the
circuit must be zero. Therefore,
v
L

0
+

= v
C

0
+

= 2,
where
v
L
= L
di
dt
.
Hence,
di (0
+
)
dt
= 2.
We now use the Symbolic Math Toolbox to determine the current i for t > 0. We use
the command
5
y=dsolve(D2y+4*Dy+3*y=0,Dy(0)=2,y(0)=0,t)
to obtain the solution
i(t) = e
t
e
3t
Note that we used y to denote the current, rather then the symbol i which is reserved
for the imaginary unit. A plot of the current versus time is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: A plot of the current versus time in Problem 5.
6