
chatter during turning operations is also considered and numerical determi-
nation of stability for this problem is illustrated. The forced responses of sin-
gle degree-of-freedom systems are addressed in Chapters 5 and 6.
For all linear single degree-of-freedom systems, the governing equation
can be put in the form of Eq. (3.22), which is repeated below.
(4.1)
A solution is sought for the system described by Eq. (4.1) for a given set
of initial conditions. This type of problem is called an initial-value problem.
Since the system inertia, stiffness, and damping parameters are constant with
respect to time, the coefficients in Eq. (4.1) are constant with respect to time.
For such linear differential systems with constant coefficients, the solution
can be determined by using time-domain methods and the Laplace transform
method
1
, as illustrated in Appendix D. The latter has been used here, since a
general solution for the response of a forced vibratory system can be deter-
mined for arbitrary forms of forcing. However, a price that one pays for gen-
erality is that in the Laplace transform method the oscillatory characteristics
of the vibratory system are not readily apparent until the final solution is de-
termined. On the other hand, when time-domain methods are used, the ex-
plicit forms of the solutions assumed in the initial development allows one to
readily see the oscillatory characteristics of a vibratory system. In order to
provide a flavor of this complementary approach, time-domain methods are
summarized in Appendix D.
The ease with which we can use Laplace transforms to solve linear, ordi-
nary differential equations is illustrated by solving for the response of a sys-
tem with a Maxwell material later in the chapter and by solving for the re-
sponse of a two degree-of-freedom system in Chapter 8. We also show how
to use Laplace transforms to solve for the free responses of thin beams in
Chapter 9. An advantage of using the Laplace transform approach is the con-
venience with which one can see the duality of the responses in the time do-
main and the frequency domain; this is important for understanding how the
same information can be expressed in the two different domains.
In this chapter, we shall show how to:
• Determine the solutions for a linear, single degree-of-freedom system that
is underdamped, critically damped, overdamped, and undamped.
• Determine the response of single degree-of-freedom systems to initial con-
ditions and use the results to study the response to impact and collision.
• Determine when a system is stable and how to use the root-locus diagram
to obtain stability information.
• Obtain the conditions under which a machine tool chatters.
• Use different models for damping: viscous (Voigt), Maxwell, hysteretic.
• Examine systems with nonlinear stiffness and nonlinear damping.
d
2
x
dt
2
2zv
n
dx
dt
v
2
n
x
f 1t 2
m
128 CHAPTER 4 Single Degree-of-Freedom System
1
See Appendix A.