APPLIED MECHANICS DYNAMICS by GEORGE W. HOUSNER AND DONALD E. HUDSON Division of Engineering California Institute of Technology SECOND EDITION @ Copyright George W. Housner and Donald E. Hudson Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 59-1 111 1 No reproduction in any form of this book, in whole or in part (except for brief quotation in critical articles or re~iews), may be made without written authorization from the publishers. First Published April 1950 Seven Reprintings Second Edition August 1959 Reprinted October 1960, June 1962 Corrected Second Edition I980 Reprinted - 1991 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PREFACE The present edition incorporates a number of revisions and addi- tions which should improve its usefulness as a textbook without changing the basic organization or the general philosophy of presen- tation of the subject matter. The experience of the past few years at the California Institute of Technology and other schools indicates that the book has been useful to engineering students who wish to prepare for more advanced studies and applications of dynamics, and hence a new edition was felt to be justified. Among the additions and modifications the following may be mentioned to indicate the scope of the revision. The section on dimensional analysis has been rewritten and a brief treatment of the theory of models has been added. The section on impact problems has been revised, and a more extensive treatment of variable mass systems has been included. A more general discussion of the mo- ment of momentum equations for systems of particles has been added, and the general momentum and energy equations for rigid bodies have been more completely developed. The discussion of rotation about a fixed point and gyroscopic motion has been expanded and somewhat more complex systems have been considered, including problems on the stability of rolling motion. The problem of longi- tudinal waves in an elastic bar is discussed, and a comparison is made between wave propagation techniques and vibration methods for such problems. The discussion of generalized coordinates and La- grange's equations has been revised, and a general treatment of the problem of small oscillations of a conservative system has been added. The sections on the Calculus of Variations and Hamilton's Principle have been rewritten with some expansion. Over one hundred new problems have been added to increase the total number to some four hundred. All of the new problems have ... 111 iv PREFACE been thoroughly tested in classroom use. The number of illustrative examples has been increased and many of the original examples have been modified. As in the first edition, the main emphasis of the book is on particle and rigid-body dynamics, although some other aspects of the sub- ject have been included to show how the methods of classical me- chanics are applied to the various branches of engineering science. Some of these topics, such as fluid dynamics and the kinetics of gases, have been treated in a very brief fashion. Although the student will make a more complete analysis of these subjects in specialized courses, it is believed that the brief discussions will help him to acquire a broader view of the applied sciences. In all such instances care has been taken to use methods that can be extended later for more com- plete treatments, and the student has been informed of the limita- tions of the analyses. As a textbook the main emphasis has been on method and on development of fundamental principles. The problems form an essential part of the presentation, and important conclusions are sometimes given in problems and illustrative examples. The student should examine such problems and note the results, even if the de- tails of the proofs are not carried through. G. W. H. D. E. H. Pasadena, California May, 1959 CONTENTS Preface CHAPTER I. THEG ENERALP RINCIPLOFE SD YNAMICS 1.1. The Laws of Motion 1.2. Definitions 1.3. Frames of Reference 1.4. Fundamental and Derived Units 1.5. Dimensions 1.6. Dimensional Homogeneity 1.7. Dimensional Analysis 1.8. The Theory of Models 11. KINEMATICST:H ED ESCRIPTIOOF NM OTION 2 6 2.1. Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration 26 2.2. Angular Velocity 34 2.3. Motion Referred to a Moving Coordinate System 3 8 111. DYNAMICS PARTICLE OF A 3.1. Integration of the Equation of Motion for Particular Problems 3.2. The Equation of Impulse and Momentum 3.3. The Equation of Work and Energy 3.4. Potential 3.5. Potential Energy 3.6. The Conservation of Energy 3.7. The Solution of Problems in Dynamics PV. APPLICATIONOSF PARTICLDEY NAMICS 75 4.1. The Motion of a Body Falling Through a Resisting Medium 75 v v i CONTENTS CHAPTER 4.2. Projectile Motion 4.3. Planetary Motion 4.4. Impact 4.5. The Scattering of Particles 4.6. The Pressure in a Gas 4.7. Variable Mass Systems 4.8. Jet Propulsion Problems 4.9. Electron Dynamics 4.10. The Acceleration of Electrons 4.1 1. The Cathode-Ray Oscilloscope 4.12. The Equivalence of Mass and Energy V. DYNAMIOCF SV IBRATINSGY STEMS 5.1. The Vibration Problem 5.2. The Characteristics of the Forces 5.3. The Differential Equation of the Vibration Problem 5.4. Free Vibrations of an Undamped System 5.5. Damped Vibrations 5.6. Forced Vibrations 5.7. Vibration Isolation 5.8. The Design of Vibration Measuring Instruments 5.9. Vibrations with Non-periodic Forces 5.10. Oscillations in Electric Circuits VI. PRINCIPLOFE SD YNAMIFCORS SYSTEMOSF PARTICLES 6.1. The Equation of Motion for a System of Particles 6.2. The Motion of the Center of Mass 6.3. The Total Kinetic Energy of a System of Particles 6.4. Moment of Momentum 6.5. Summary VII. THED YNAMIOCFS R IGIDB ODIES 7.1. Kinematics of Rigid Body Motion 7.2. The Moment of Momentum of a Rigid Body CONTENTS vii CHAPTER PAGE 7.3. Moments and Products of Inertia 188 7.4. The Calculation of Moments and Products of Inertia 7.5. Translation of Coordinate Axes 7.6. Rotation of Coordinate Axes 7.7. Principal Axes 7.8. The General Equations of Motion for a Rigid Body 7.9. Equations of Motion for a Translating Body 7.10. The Rotation of a Rigid Body About a Fixed Axis 7.1 1. Plane Motion of a Rigid Body 7.12. Rotation About a Fixed Point 7.13. The Symmetrical Top and the Gyroscope 7.14. The Gyroscopic Compass 7.15. General Motion in Space. Rolling of a Disk 7.16. Stability of Rigid Body Motion. The Rolling Disk 7.17. D'Alembert's Principle VIII. NON-RIGIDS YSTEMOSF PARTICLES 8.1. Longitudinal Waves in an Elastic Bar 8.2. The Traveling Wave Solution 8.3. The Longitudinal Vibrations of a Bar 8.4. The Equations of Motion of a Non-viscous Fluid 8.5. The Energy Equation 8.6. Bernoulli's Equation by Euler's Method 8.7. The Momentum Equation 8.8. The Momentum Equation for an Accelerating Volume IX. ADVANCEMD ETHODSIN DYNAMICS 9.1. Generalized Coordinates 9.2. Lagrange's Equations for a Particle 9.3. Lagrange's Equations for a System of Particles 9.4. Oscillations of Two Degree of Freedom Systems viii CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 9.5. Principal Modes of Vibration 313 9.6. Small Oscillations of a Conservative System 3 19 9.7. The Potential Energy Function 320 9.8. The Kinetic Energy Function 32 1 9.9. The General Equations of Free Oscillations 323 9.10. Orthogonality of the Principal Modes 326 9.1 1. Example: The Calculation of Natural Frequencies and Mode Shapes 9.12. Forced Oscillations 9.13. The Calculus of Variations 9.14. Euler's Differential Equation 9.15. Hamilton% Principle 9.16. Hamilton's Canonical Equations of Motion APPENDIXI. BIBLIOGRAPHY 11. UNITSO F MASSA ND FORCE 111. VECTORP RODUCTS IV. PROPERTOIFE PSL ANSEE CTIONS PROPERTOIFE HS OMOGENBEOODUIESS Chapter 1 THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DYNAMICS . . . the whole burden of philosophy seems to consist in this, from the phenomena of motions to investigate the forces of nature, and from these forces to demonstrate the other phenomena.-I. Newton, Principia Philo- sophiae (1686). The science of mechanics has as its object the study of the motions of material bodies, and its aim is to describe the facts concerning these motions in the simplest way. From this description of observed facts, generalizations can be formulated which permit valid predictions as to the behavior of other bodies. The motions occurring in nature are the result of interactions between the various bodies which make up the system under con- sideration. That portion of the subject of mechanics which describes the motion of bodies, without reference to the causes of the motion, is called kinematics, while that portion which studies the relationship between the mutual influences and the resulting motions is called kinetics. These two subjects are usually combined under the name dynamics, and it is this general problem that is to be treated in this book. 1.1 The Laws of Motion. The principles of dynamics are founded upon extensive experimental investigations. The first note- worthy experiments were performed by Galileo (1564-1642). Other investigators followed Galileo, among them being Newton (1642- 1727), who, after carrying out a large number of experiments, formulated the statements which are now known as Newton's Laws of Motion : 1 THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DYNAMICS (1) Every body persists in a state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line, except in so far as it may be com- pelled by force to change that state. (2) The time rate of change of momentum is equal to the force producing it, and the change takes place in the direction in which the force is acting: n F = - ( mv) ; or, for constant m, F = ma dl (3) To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, or the mutual actions of any two bodies are always equal and oppositely directed. These statements may be regarded partly as definitions and partly as experimental facts. As a description of the behavior of bodies of ordinary size moving with velocities which are small compared with the velocity of light, these statements have remained to this day the most convenient expression of the fundamental principles of dynamics. 1.2 Definitions. The intuitive concepts which arise concerning such basic quantities of dynamics as force, mass, and time must be put into a precise form before they can serve as a foundation for the development of the subject. The following definitions prescribe the sense in which these words will be used in this book.* Force and Mass. The primary objective of the science of mechanics is the study of the interactions which occur between material bodies. These interactions are of various types and might be, for example, impacts, electrical or gravitational attractions, mechanical linkages, etc. Experience shows that during these inter- actions, the velocities of the interacting bodies are changed. We define force, by Newton's first law, as an action which tends to change the motion of a body. The fact that forces arise from mutual interactions and thus occur in equal and opposite pairs forms * A considerable difference of opinion has existed amongst various eminent authorities as to the most logical form in which to cast the basic definitions and principles of classical mechanics. Controversy has continued to the present day, and books and papers appear regularly which aim to give a final clarification to the matter. For a critical survey of this aspect of the subject, the classic book of E. Mach, Science of Mechanics (1893), is still of great interest.