TITLE:
Linear, Cubic and Quintic Coordinate-Dependent Forces and Kinematic Characteristics of a Spring-Mass System
AUTHORS:
Haiduke Sarafian
KEYWORDS:
Linear; Cubic and Quintic Nonlinear Oscillations; Semi-Analytic Solution to Equation of Motion; Mathematica
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Mechanics,
Vol.3 No.6,
August
23,
2013
ABSTRACT: By combining a pair of linear springs we devise a nonlinear vibrator. For a one dimensional scenario the nonlinear force is composed of a polynomial of odd powers of position-dependent variable greater than or equal three. For a chosen initial condition without compromising the generality of the problem we analyze the problem considering only the leading cubic term. We solve the equation of motion analytically leading to The Jacobi Elliptic Function. To avoid the complexity of the latter, we propose a practical, intuitive-based and easy to use alternative semi-analytic method producing the same result. We demonstrate that our method is intuitive and practical vs. the plug-in Jacobi function. According to the proposed procedure, higher order terms such as quintic and beyond easily may be included in the analysis. We also extend the application of our method considering a system of a three-linear spring. Mathematica [1] is being used throughout the investigation and proven to be an indispensable computational tool.