Question 4: Discontinuous Forcing Functions

Given below is the governing equation for a spring-mass system along with initial conditions and the system's corresponding response. If this system is subjected to a force represented by F ⁡ ( t ) = 6 ⁢ θ ⁡ ( t − 11 ) with the initial condition remaining the same, identify the plot that best represents the system's modified response.

y ″ ⁡ ( t ) + y ⁡ ( t ) = 0
y ⁡ ( 0 ) = 1
y ′ ⁡ ( 0 ) = 0



You can use the dynamic plot below to visualize the response:

[1] [0]

Step 1 of 6

The differential equation we have is:

y ″ ⁡ ( t ) + y ⁡ ( t ) = 6 ⁢ θ ⁡ ( t − 11 )

with initial conditions:

y ⁡ ( 0 ) = 1
y ′ ⁡ ( 0 ) = 0

This is a forced harmonic oscillator where the forcing turns on at t = 11 .

Step 2 of 6

Solve the homogeneous part.

For t ≤ 11 , we have y ″ ⁡ ( t ) + y ⁡ ( t ) = 0 with solution y h ⁡ ( t ) = c 1 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( t ) + c 2 ⁢ sin ⁡ ( t ) .

Step 3 of 6

Considering the initial conditions y h ⁡ ( 0 ) = c 1 = 1 and y ′ h ⁡ ( t ) = − c 1 ⁢ sin ⁡ ( t ) + c 2 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( t ) so y ′ h ⁡ ( t ) = c 2 = 0, we therefore have y h ⁡ ( t ) = cos ⁡ ( t ) .

Step 4 of 6

Solve the nonhomogeneous part.

For t > 11 , we have y ″ ⁡ ( t ) + y ⁡ ( t ) = 6 for which a particular solution is y p = 6 , so:

y nh ⁡ ( t ) = c 3 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( t ) + c 4 ⁢ sin ⁡ ( t ) + 6

Step 5 of 6

Since the displacement and velocity must be continuous at t = 11 , from the homogeneous part we have y ⁡ ( 11 ) = cos ⁡ ( 11 ) and y ′ ⁡ ( 11 ) = − sin ⁡ ( 11 ) .

Therefore, y nh ⁡ ( 11 ) = c 3 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( 11 ) + c 4 ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 11 ) + 6= cos ⁡ ( 11 ) and y nh ′ ⁡ ( 11 ) = − c 3 ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 11 ) + c 4 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( 11 ) = − sin ⁡ ( 11 ) .

Thus, the constants c 3 and c 4 are:

c 3 = 1− 6 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( 11 ) and c 4 = − 6 ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 11 )

Therefore, y nh ⁡ ( t ) = ( 1 − 6 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( 11 ) ) ⁢ cos ⁡ ( t ) − ( 6 ⁢ sin ⁡ ( 11 ) ) ⁢ sin ⁡ ( t ) + 6, which reduces to:

y nh ⁡ ( t ) = 6− 6 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( 11 − t ) + cos ⁡ ( t )

Step 6 of 6

The complete solution is:

y ⁡ ( t ) = { cos ⁡ ( t ) t ≤ 11 − 6 ⁢ cos ⁡ ( 11 − t ) + cos ⁡ ( t ) + 6 t > 11

The corresponding plot is: