Mathematical and Computational Methods for Engineers

E155B, Spring 2004

Problem Set #2

(Eigenvalues, Eigenvectors, and Applications)

Date: 4/14/2004 Due: 4/21/2004

Reading: Kreyszig 6.6-6.7, 7.1-7.2, 7.3 (symmetric matrices only), 7.5

Exercises:

Kreyszig: Section 6.6: p. 349 Exercises 11, 19

Kreyszig: Section 6.7: p. 357 Exercises 3, 5, 10, 12

Kreyszig: Section 7.1: p. 375 Exercise 3

Kreyszig: Section 7.2: p. 379 Exercise 9

Kreyszig: Section 7.5: p. 397 Exercise 15

MATLAB workbook: Exercises 4, 5 (optional)

Problem 1 Use the method of eigenvalues and eigenvectors to solve the following system of coupled ordinary differential equations in two different ways.

a)Following one of the examples presented in lecture, determine a single solution corresponding to one of the two eigenvalues. Express the complete solution as a superposition of the real and the imaginary parts of

b)Solve for the two eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenvectors. Express your final answer as a linear superposition of the two solutions. Since the solution must be real, assume that the two constants of integration must be complex conjugates of each other. Show that this second method yields the same answer as that in part a).

Problem 2 Consider a simple model of the horizontal vibration of a four-story building, as illustrated below, subject to a wind that gives the building an initial displacement of . In modeling buildings it is known that most of the mass is in the floor of each section and that the walls can be treated as massless columns that provide lateral stiffness in proportion to the relative displacement. Assume, for simplicity, that all four masses and the spring constants are identical.

a) Derive the equations of motion for each of the four floors.

b) With kg and N/m, set up the matrix

eigenvalue problem in the form, where

c)Use MATLAB to determine all four eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenvectors. Make a sketch of the four mode shapes corresponding to each of the four eigenvectors

d)Write out the solution (displacement vector) in terms of eight constants of integration. For the initial displacement and the initial velocity evaluate these constants. You may find MATLAB helpful

.

Problem 3 Let . Compute by diagonalizing A in the form .

Problem 4 In certain cases, solution of the eigenvalue problem yields two identical eigenvalues with only one corresponding eigenvector . In such cases it is still possible to obtain two independent solutions by assuming the second one to be of the form: .

a)Show that in this case the two solutions corresponding to can be obtained by solving the following two equations for and respectively:

b)Use your result in part a) to solve the following system:

Problem 5 A salesman’s territory consists of three cities, A, B, and C. He never sells in the same city on successive days. If he sells in city A, then the next day he sells in city B. However, if he sells in either B or C, then the next day he is twice as likely to sell in city A as in the other city. In the long run, how often does he sell in each of the cities ?