ME 132, Spring 2005, UC Berkeley, A.

Packard 148

17 Mechanical Modeling

In this section we explore some simple translational mechanical models.

17.1 Ideal Translational Elements

We consider 3 ideal translational, mechanical elements:

1. A point mass, with mass m

2. An ideal linear spring, with unstretched length L0 , and spring constant k. The model
for the spring is that it is massless, hence the forces at the opposite ends must always
be equal. Also, it is modeled as linear, so that to stretch it by length ∆, a force k∆
must be applied.

3. An ideal linear damper, with damping coefficient c. The model for the damper is that
it is massless, hence the forces at opposite ends must always be equal. Also, it is
modeled as linear, so that the applied force f (t) is proportional to the rate-of-change
˙
of the length of the device, f (t) = cL̇(t) = c∆(t).

One suitable choice for state variables in mechanical systems is

• positions of all masses

• velocities of all masses

Why: The forces acting on each point mass are functions of the relative positions and
velocities of all of the point masses in the system, along with the external forces. Hence, via
Newton’s laws, state equations can be easily written.

Another choice of state variables in a mechanical system is

• velocities of all masses

• stretches in all springs

Why: The forces acting on each point mass are functions of the stretches in each spring
(relative positions of masses) and relative velocities of all of the point masses in the system,
along with the external forces. Hence, via Newton’s laws, state equations can be easily
written. Note that under this choice, the scalar quantity xT (t)x(t) is very close to the
energy in the mechanical system.
ME 132, Spring 2005, UC Berkeley, A. Packard 149

17.2 Multiple degree-of-freedom Oscillator

As an example, consider a two degree-of-freedom mass/spring/damper with external forces

acting on each mass. This is shown below.

The coordinates we use are

• w1 (t), position of mass 1, measured from the equilibrium position of mass 1. Hence,
when w1 = 0, spring #1 is unstretched.

• w2 (t), position of mass 2, measured from the equilibrium position of mass 2. Hence,
when w1 = w2 , spring #2 is unstretched.

The coordinate system is shown below.

So, w1 is the stretch in spring #1, and w2 −w1 is the stretch in spring #2. The rate-of-change
of length of damper #1 is ẇ1 , and the rate-of-change of length of damper #2 is ẇ2 − ẇ1 .
Finally, the accelerations, relative to inertial frame (ground) of mass #1 and #2 are ẅ 1 and
ẅ2 respectively.
ME 132, Spring 2005, UC Berkeley, A. Packard 150

Free body diagrams of each mass are shown below:

Newton’s law gives

m1 ẅ1 (t) = k2 [w2 (t) − w1 (t)] − k1 w1 (t) + c2 [ẇ2 (t) − ẇ1 (t)] − c1 ẇ1 (t) + d1 (t)
m2 ẅ2 (t) = −k2 [w2 (t) − w1 (t)] − c2 [ẇ2 (t) − ẇ1 (t)] + d2 (t)
There are two obvious choices for state variables. These are detailed in the next two sections.

17.2.1 Positions and Velocities

One choice is positions and velocities of each mass. Hence

x1 (t) := w1 (t)
x2 (t) := ẇ1 (t)
x3 (t) := w2 (t)
x4 (t) := ẇ2 (t)
In this case, the state equations are easily written as
   
ẋ1 (t) 0 1 0 0 x1 (t) 0 0
  
−(k1 +k2 ) −(c1 +c2 ) 1 " #
k2 c2
ẋ2 (t) x2 (t) 0  d1 (t)
     
m1
   

=
 m1 m1 m1 m1  +
 
ẋ3 (t) 0 0 0 1 x3 (t)   0 0  d (t)
  
     2
k2 c2 1
ẋ4 (t) m2 m2
− m2 − mc22
k2 x4 (t) 0 m2

17.2.2 Velocities and Stretches

Another choice for state variables is the velocities of each mass, and the stretch in each
spring. Hence
ξ1 (t) := ẇ1 (t)
ξ2 (t) := w1 (t)
ξ3 (t) := ẇ2 (t)
ξ4 (t) := w2 (t) − w1 (t)
ME 132, Spring 2005, UC Berkeley, A. Packard 151

The state equations are easily written in matrix form as

ξ˙1 (t) −(c1 +c2 ) 1

     
− mk11 mc21 k2
ξ1 (t) 0

m1 m1 m1
ξ˙2 (t) 1 0 0 0 ξ2 (t) 0 0 
      
     
= +
ξ˙3 (t) 1
  
c2





 m2
0 − m2 − mk22
c2 
 ξ3 (t)  0
  m2


ξ˙4 (t) −1 0 1 0 ξ4 (t) 0 0

17.3 Example: Quarter-Car active suspension

A practical example of translational modeling is a 41 -Car model for an active suspension

system in an automobile. A diagram is shown below:

The model consists of four main components: wheel, car, active element, and passive sus-
pension system.

The wheel is modeled as three lumped elements: a spring, representing the tire’s flexibility;
a damper, representing the internal damping present in the rubber tire material; and a mass,
which represents the combination of the mass of the wheel and tire. Note, just as in the
DC motor, we have lumped the stiffness, damping and inertia into three separate elements,
though in reality, the tire’s mass, stiffness and dissipation are distributed throughout the
tire.

Mounted on the wheel mount are three components which support the weight of the car.
These three devices are not lumped approximations of a more complex device – they actually
each exist, and can be pointed to in a real car: the passive spring kS ; the passive damper
cS (called the shock strut); and the active element. The active element can exert a desired
force, u(t), between the wheel mount and the car.

Mounted on top of these three devices is the car body.

ME 132, Spring 2005, UC Berkeley, A. Packard 152

The road deviations are measured relative to a flat reference line.

The variables we use to describe the position of the masses are shown in the figure below:
They are

1. The vertical displacement of the road, xg (t). Note that this is actually y(h(t)), where
y is the vertical displacement of the road as a function of horizontal displacement, and
h(t) is the horizontal coordinate of the car, due to driving along the road).
2. The vertical displacement of the center of the wheel measured from an inertial equilib-
rium location, xw (t).
3. The vertical displacement of the car measured from an inertial equilibrium position,
xc (t).

Free-body diagrams of each mass are shown below

u
kS [xc − xw ] 6 cS [ẋc − ẋw ]
6

mw mc

kw [xw − xg ] ? ?
cw [ẋw − ẋg ] kS [xc − xw ] ? ?
cS [ẋc − ẋw ]
u
The equations of motion for the two masses are
mw ẍw (t) = kS [xc (t) − xw (t)] + cS [ẋc (t) − ẋw (t)] − kw [xw (t) − xg (t)] − cw [ẋw (t) − ẋg (t)] − u(t)
mc ẍc (t) = −kS [xc (t) − xw (t)] − cS [ẋc − ẋw ] + u(t)
ME 132, Spring 2005, UC Berkeley, A. Packard 153

17.4 State-variable choice #1

The first option is to take positions and velocities of each mass. Define

x1 (t) xw (t)
   
 x2 (t)   ẋw (t) 
 := 
   
x3 (t) xc (t)
 
   
x4 (t) ẋc (t)

This results in
   
ẋ1 (t) 0 1 0 0 x1 (t) 0 0 0
  
 
 − (kS +kw )
u(t)
ẋ2 (t) − (cSm+cw w ) kS cS
x2 (t) kw cw
      −1 
mw mw mw
   

=
 mw mw mw  +   xg (t) 
ẋ3 (t) 0 0 0 1 x3 (t) 0 0 0
   
     


 ẋ (t)
kS cS kS cS 1 g
ẋ4 (t) mc mc
−m − mc
x4 (t) mc
0 0
c

Note that both xg and ẋg appear explicitly in the state-equations.

17.5 State-variable choice #2

The second option for state-variables is velocities of masses, and stretches in springs. This
suggests defining
ξ1 (t) ẋw (t)
   
 ξ (t)   x (t) − x (t) 
 2  w g
 := 
 
 ξ3 (t)  ẋc (t)
 
 
ξ4 (t) xc (t) − xw (t)
which results in

ξ˙1 (t) − (cSm+cw w ) − mkww mcSw

    
0 mcww 

kS
ξ1 (t)
 −1
mw

mw u(t)
ξ˙2 (t) 1 0 0 0 ξ2 (t) 0 0 −1  
      
      
= +  xg (t) 

ξ˙3 (t) 1
 
cS cS kS
  
mc
0 − mc − m  ξ3 (t)   mc
0 0   ẋ (t)
c
    
g
ξ˙4 (t) −1 0 1 0 ξ4 (t) 0 0 0

Note that xg does not explicitly appear as an external input in this form of the equations.
ME 132, Spring 2005, UC Berkeley, A. Packard 154

17.6 Problems

1. A model for a tightrope walker is the two-link mechanism shown below

There is an internal moment, u(t), which is exerted between the two links.

(a) Verify that the equations of motion are

³ ´ ³ ´
IOP + mB L2 θ̈(t) = g mB L + mp L̄ sin θ(t) − u(t)
h i
IBG θ̈(t) + ψ̈(t) = u(t)

(b) Choose states x1 := θ, x2 := θ̇, x3 := ψ, x4 := ψ̇. Find a function f (which maps 5

numbers into 4 numbers) such that the equations of motion, in state-space form,
are
ẋ(t) = f (x(t), u(t))
Hint: The cleanest way to write the f2 and f4 is of the form
" #
f2 (x, u)
= [2 × 2constant matrix ] [messy 2 × 1vectorinvolving x, u]
f4 (x, u)

2. A ideal linear spring, and point mass are shown below. The mass slides without friction
in the guide. The unstretched length of the spring is L0 . The external force d(t) acts
as shown.

(a) Derive a differential equation governing the relationship between w and d.

ME 132, Spring 2005, UC Berkeley, A. Packard 155

(b) Choose state variables, and write down the state equations. Note: the state
equations are not linear.
(c) Let the normal force N (t) (exerted by the guide) be denoted an output. Write
down an expression for the N (t) as an explicit function of w(t) and d(t).