Elements of Modelling

MECHANICAL SYSTEM ELEMENTS

• The motion of mechanical elements can be
described in various dimensions as translational,
rotational, or a combination of both.

• The equations governing the motions of mechanical

systems are often directly or indirectly formulated
from Newton’s law of motion.
Basic Types of Mechanical Systems

 Translational
 Linear Motion

 Rotational
 Rotational Motion

14
 Translational motion
• Translational motion takes place along a straight line

• Variables involved in describing a straight-line

motion are displacement, velocity and acceleration.

• Newton’s law of motion governs the linear motion.

• A c c o r d i n g t o t h i s l a w, t h e p r o d u c t o f m a s s a n d
acceleration is equal to the algebraic sum of forces acting
on it.
Elements of Translational Mechanical Systems
These systems mainly consist of three basic elements.
Those are mass, spring and dashpot or damper.

Translational Spring Translational Mass

Translational Damper

16
 Mass
• The function of mass in linear motion is to
strore kinetic energy.

• Mass cannot store potential energy.

• Translational Mass is an inertia element.

• we will assume other forces such as friction,

etc. to be zero.
• Mass, in physics, quantitative measure of inertia,
a fundamental property of all matter.
• It is, in effect, the resistance that a body of matter
offers to a change in its speed or position upon the
application of a force.
• The greater the mass of a body, the smaller the
change produced by an applied force.
Newton’s law of motion states that “the algebraic
sum of forces acting on a rigid body in a given
direction is equal to the product of the mass of the
body and its acceleration in the same direction”.
The law can be expressed as
Σ forces = M*a
where “M” denotes the mass and “a” is the
acceleration in the direction considered.
 Translational Mass
A mechanical system without mass does
not exist . If a force F is applied to a
mass and it is displaced to x meters
then relation b/w displacement and
force is given by Newton’s law. x (t )

F ( t)
=> M

=>

20
 Linear spring
 A translational spring is a mechanical element that can be
deformed by an external force such that the deformation is
directly proportional to the force applied to it.

Translational Spring

Translational Spring

21
• A spring can store potential energy.
• In a system, there may be a spring where
some components such as elastic string, cable,
etc. may work as a spring.
• Strictly speaking, a spring is a non-linear
element.
• However, we can assume it to be linear for
small deformations.
• Let us assume a spring has negligible mass and
connected to a rigid support as shown in Fig.
Spring is an element, which stores potential energy.
Fα x =>

 Where,
•F is the applied force
•Fk is the opposing force due to elasticity of spring
•K is spring constant
•x is displacement

24
 Dash Pot

If a force is applied on dashpot B, then it is opposed

by an opposing force due to friction of the dashpot.
 This opposing force is proportional to the velocity
of the body.
 Assume mass and elasticity are negligible.

25
 =>

=>

Where,
• Fb is the opposing force due to friction of dashpot
• B is the frictional coefficient
• v is velocity
• x is displacement
 Operating modes: push and
Dashpot pull rely on the change in air
pressure inside the cylinder.
In push mode, as the piston
moves farther into the cylinder,
the air inside the cylinder is
compressed, causing the pressure
to rise.
In pull mode, as the piston
retracts out of the cylinder, the
pressure inside the cylinder falls
and creates a partial vacuum.
Elements of Rotational Mechanical Systems
These systems mainly consist of three basic elements.
Those are moment of inertia, torsional spring and dashpot.
Moment of Inertia
In translational mechanical system, mass stores kinetic
energy. Similarly, in rotational mechanical system, moment
of inertia stores kinetic energy.

28
 =>

=>

 Where,
• T is the applied torque
• Tj is the opposing torque due to moment of inertia
• J is moment of inertia
• α is angular acceleration
• θ is angular displacement

29
 Torsional Spring
I n t r a n s l a t i o n a l m e c h a n i c a l s y s t e m , s p r i n g s t o r e s
potential energy. Similarly, in rotational mechanical system
torsional spring stores potential energy.
=>
Where,

• T is the applied torque

• Tk is the opposing torque due to elasticity of torsional
spring
• K is the torsional spring constant
• θ is angular displacement
30
 Dashpot
 If a torque is applied on dashpot B, then it is opposed by an
opposing torque due to the rotational friction of the dashpot.
=>

=>

 Where,
•Tb is the opposing torque due to the rotational friction of the
dashpot
• B is the rotational friction coefficient
• ω is the angular velocity
• θ is the angular displacement

31
Analogy between System
 Problems

Modelling of Systems
 Example#1 on MTS
 Consider the following system

 Free Body Diagram

f k f B

M f X (s) 1
F M

2
F ( s) Ms  Bs  k
F  fk  fM  fB

49
 Example#2 on MTS
 Find the transfer function of the mechanicaltranslationalsystem
given in Figure.
Free Body Diagram

f k f B

f(t) f M

X (s) 1
f(t )  fk  fM  fB 
2
F ( s) Ms  Bs  k

50