Constitutive Relationships for Basic

Mechanical Elements
Element Translational Rotational
Mass/ x
F T
M J
Inertia θ

F = m v& = m x&& & = J&θ&

T = Jω
x1 x2 θ1 θ2
Spring F T T
ME3015, System Dynamics & Control

F = k ( x1 − x 2 ) T = K ( θ1 − θ 2 )
x1 θ1 θ2
Damper x1 T T
F F
F = b ( x& 1 − x& 2 ) T = B ( θ& 1 − θ& 2 )
 Modeling Procedure

1. Draw a Free-Body-Diagram of each element

showing all the forces/moments acting on it.
2. Write down the constitutive relationship between the
exerted or transmitted force (or torque) and the
corresponding motion variables for each element
ME3015, System Dynamics & Control

including power transforming elements.

3. Eliminate auxiliary variables to obtain a system of
differential equations for the system with the same
number of equations and unknowns.
4. If desired, reduce the system of diff. eqs. in (3) to a
single differential eq. relating the output to the input
of the system.
 Mass-Damper Example
Derive a mathematical model relating B
the angular velocity of the rotor to the
T
input torque of the rotor shown J
Free-Body-Diagram: ω
ME3015, System Dynamics & Control

T Tb Tb
J
ω ω 0
T − Tb = Jω
& Tb = B ( ω − 0 )

Jω
& + Bω = T
 Other Examples

„ Mass-Spring-Damper System
„ 2-Degree of Freedom Systems
‹ Trnslational
ME3015, System Dynamics & Control

‹ Rotational

„ Gear Train Example

 George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology

ME3015 Modeling of Mechanical Systems

________________________________________________________________________

Mathematical Modeling of Mechanical Systems

Objective: Use applicable physical laws to derive a set of differential equations

describing the behavior of a mechanical system.

Basic Elements: Mass or Inertia, Spring, Damper

Modeling Procedure:
1. Draw the free-body-diagram of each element.
2. Write down the constitutive relationship between the exerted or transmitted force (or
torque) and the corresponding motion variables for each element including power
transforming elements.
3. Eliminate auxiliary variables to obtain a system of differential equations for the
system with the same number of equations and unknowns.
4. If desired, reduce the system of diff. eqs. in (3) to a single differential eq. relating the
output to the input of the system.
 George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology

ME3015 Modeling of Mechanical Systems

________________________________________________________________________
Example (Inertia-Spring-Damper System with Gear Train): Tm
Jm
K
Develop a differential equation relating θ l to the input torque Tm .
θ 1:n
m gear
Solution:
Jl B
Step 1: The free-body-diagram of the system is given below:
θ
l

Jm
Tm
T K T
k k

F θm θm 0
T =r F T12
12 1
T =r F
21 2
F
B T
T T B
21 B

θ θ 0
l l

Jl

gear ( n = r2 / r1 ):
Step 2: Constitutive relationships: T21 = nT12 ( 3)
J m : J m&&
θ m = Tm − Tk − T12 (1) θ l = (1 / n ) θ m ( 4 )
K: Tk = Kθ m (2)
J l : J l &&
θ l = T21 − TB (5)
B: TB = Bθ& l (6)
Step 3:
Combining eqs. (5) and (6) gives:
J l &&
θ l + Bθ& l = T21 (7)
To find T21 , substitute eqs. (1) and (2) into (3) to get:
by eq. (4)
T21 = n(Tm − J m&& θ m − Kθ m ) = n(Tm − nJ mθ && − nKθ ) (8)
l l
Substituting for T2 from eq. (8) into (7) gives:
J eff &&
θ l + Bθ& l + (n 2 K )θ l = nTm , J eff = J l + n 2 J m
This is equivalent to a mass spring damper with inertia J eff , spring constant n 2 K , and
damping coefficient B.