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Partial Differential Equation (PDE) : Front Front

The partial differential equation called the wave equation governs one-dimensional transverse waves that travel along a stretched string or along a rod. The wave equation relates the displacement of the string/rod at a point in space and time to the second derivatives of the displacement with respect to space and time. It can be derived by applying Newton's second law to an element of the string/rod and taking the limit as the element length approaches zero. Solving the wave equation requires both boundary conditions that specify the displacement at the ends of the string/rod, as well as initial conditions that specify the initial displacement and velocity along the string/rod.

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60 views5 pages

Partial Differential Equation (PDE) : Front Front

The partial differential equation called the wave equation governs one-dimensional transverse waves that travel along a stretched string or along a rod. The wave equation relates the displacement of the string/rod at a point in space and time to the second derivatives of the displacement with respect to space and time. It can be derived by applying Newton's second law to an element of the string/rod and taking the limit as the element length approaches zero. Solving the wave equation requires both boundary conditions that specify the displacement at the ends of the string/rod, as well as initial conditions that specify the initial displacement and velocity along the string/rod.

Uploaded by

DeepshikhaSingh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Partial Differential Equation (PDE)

An ordinary differential equation is a differential equation


that has only one independent variable. For example, the
angular position of a swinging pendulum as a function of
time: =(t). However, most physical systems cannot be
modeled by an ordinary differential equation because they
usually depends on more than one variables.

A differential equation involving more than one independent


variables is called a partial differential equation. For
example, the equations governing tidal waves should deal
with the description of wave propagation varying both in
time and space. Wfront=Wfront(x,y,z,t).
The Wave Equation
Mechanical vibrations of a guitar string, or in the membrane of a
drum, or a cantilever beam are governed by a partial differential
equation, called wave equation, since they deal with variations
taking place both in time and space taking a form of wave
propagation. To derive the wave equation we consider an elastic
string vibrating in a plane, as the string on a guitar. Assume
u(x,t) is the displacement of the string away from its equilibrium
position u=0. We can derive a partial differential equation
governing the behavior of u(x,t) by applying the Newton’s
second law and several simple assumptions (see chapter 11.2 in
textbook)
u u(x,t)

x
x x+x T(x+x,t)


T(x,t)
From Newton's 2nd law: net force = mass  acceleration
 2u
Along the vertical direction, T(x+x,t)sin -T(x,t)sin =x 2  (1)
t
where  ,defined as the mass of string per unit length, is a constant.
On the other hand, T(x+x,t)cos =T(x,t)cos =T - (2) is a constant
since we assume there is only vertical motion with no horizontal accel.
T T
Therefore, from equ(2) T(x+x,t)= ,T(x,t)= 
cos  cos 
sin  sin   2u
from equ (1): T T  T  tan   tan    x 2  (3)
cos  cos  t
tan  is nothing but the local slope of the string at x+x
u u
tan = and tan =
x x x x x

1  u u    2u
Substitute into equ(3)   
x  x
x x x 
x T  t 2

 2u   2u 2  u
2
As we take the limit x  0, 2  c
x T t 2
t 2
 2u  2
u
This is the famious one-dimensional wave equation: 2  c 2

x t 2
In order to model the motion of the string, we need not only the wave equation
but also the boundary and initial conditions.
Since the equation is second order in both time and space, we will need two
boundary plus two initial cnditions.
Boundary condition example:
string is fixed at both ends u( x  0, t )  0, u( x  L, t )  0

Initial condition example:


given initial string displacement: u( x, t  0)  f ( x )
u
and initial string velocity: ( x, t  0)  g ( x )
t

Once the equation is solved a general solution with unknows will be


obtained. These unknown constants have to be determined by
using the boundary and initial conditions specified.

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