
Substituting in Eq. (8.1c) and solving for the relative displacement δ
x
,
δ
x
= (1 − cos ω
n
t) (8.21c)
When the excitation is defined by a function of acceleration ü(t), it is often con-
venient to express the response in terms of the absolute acceleration ¨x of the system.
The force acting on the mass in Fig. 8.1C is −k δ
x
; the acceleration ¨x is thus −k δ
x
/m
or −δ
x
ω
n
2
. Substituting δ
x
=−¨x/ω
n
2
in Eq. (8.21c),
¨x = ü
c
(1 − cos ω
n
t) (8.21d)
The same result is obtained by letting ξ(t) ü(t) = ü
c
in Eq. (8.1d) and solving for ¨x.
Equation (8.21d) is similar to Eq. (8.21b) with acceleration instead of displacement
on both sides of the equation. This analogy generally applies in step- and pulse-type
excitations.
The absolute displacement of the mass can be obtained by integrating Eq. (8.21d)
twice with respect to time, taking as initial conditions x = ˙x = 0 when t = 0,
x =
− (1 − cos ω
n
t)
(8.21e)
Equation (8.21e) also may be obtained from the relation x = u +δ
x
, noting that in this
case u(t) = ü
c
t
2
/2.
Constant-Velocity Excitation (Simple Step in Velocity). This excitation, when
expressed in terms of ground or spring anchorage motion, is equivalent to prescrib-
ing, at zero time, an instantaneous change in the ground velocity from zero to a con-
stant value ˙u
c
. The excitation is ξ(t) u(t) = ˙u
c
t, and the solution for the differential
equation of Eq. (8.1b) is
x = (ω
n
t − sin ω
n
t) (8.21f )
For the velocity of the mass,
˙x = ˙u
c
(1 − cos ω
n
t) (8.21g)
The result of Eq. (8.21g) could have been obtained directly by letting ξ(t) ˙u(t) = ˙u
c
in Eq. (8.1e) and solving for the velocity response ˙x.
General Step Excitation. A comparison of Eqs. (8.21a), (8.21b), (8.21c), (8.21d),
and (8.21g) with Table 8.1 reveals that the response ν and the excitation ξ are related
in a common manner.This may be expressed as follows:
ν=ξ
c
(1 − cos ω
n
t) (8.22)
where ξ
c
indicates a constant value of the excitation. The excitation and response of
the system are shown in Fig. 8.7.
Absolute Displacement Response to Velocity-Step and Acceleration-Step
Excitations. The absolute displacement responses to the velocity-step and the
acceleration-step excitations are given by Eqs. (8.21f ) and (8.21e) and are shown in
Figs. 8.8 and 8.9, respectively.The comparative effects of displacement-step, velocity-
step, and acceleration-step excitations, in terms of absolute displacement response,
may be seen by comparing Figs. 8.7 to 8.9.
˙u
c
ω
n
ω
n
2
t
2
2
ü
c
ω
n
2
−ü
c
ω
n
TRANSIENT RESPONSE TO STEP AND PULSE FUNCTIONS 8.17
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