Altair Twin Activate® Challenge #1: Signal based modelling of a mass-spring-damper system
Altair EmployeeAltair Activate is an environment for block-level diagram modeling and system-of-systems integration, useful for simulating at different levels of fidelity, from simple signal-based modeling to robust Multiphysics applications and digital twin solutions.
In this first challenge, you will learn how to build and execute a simulation of a simple system consisting of a mass, a spring, and a damper, like this:
The equation that defines the behavior of the system is:
Where m is the system mass, b and k are the damper and spring constants, F is the input force and a, v and x are the acceleration, velocity, and displacement of the mass, respectively.
Modelling continuous systems from their equations is very straightforward in Activate using blocks like integrators, gains, and trigonometric functions. For this, the system equation can be rearranged as:
Your task in this challenge is to build the required diagram for modeling this system. Start from the attached template so you can connect the output of the system to the input and signal visualizer present there. Some values for the system parameters are also defined in the model initialization tab, you can have a look and play around with the parameters here:
Note that Activate uses OML as its scripting language, same as Compose.
Tip: Integrator blocks allow you to set an initial condition for the system. You will need to look at the initialization script and set the initial conditions of the integrators you use accordingly.
Example: Look at the attached simple dampened pendulum model. It will give you a head start on how to translate equation into block diagrams.
Level: Easy
Product Required: Activate 2020 or later version (including Personal Edition)
The solution can be attached in the comment section of this post. The desired output format is a JPG or PNG picture of the output scope, containing both the displacement and velocity of the system’s mass.
The solution to Challenge Plotting in Compose with different types of axes can be found here.
If you would like to solve more challenges and get regular challenge release updates, Subscribe to the Altair Community Challenge forum.
Edit: The solution to this challenge has been attached as another model. Try to solve it on your own before looking at it!
Comments
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Pictures uploaded.
After 20 seconds it became a steady state vibration.
I had a lot of fun playing with it.
Thanks for posting this challenge.
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Xiaolei Song_21874 said:
Pictures uploaded.
After 20 seconds it became a steady state vibration.
I had a lot of fun playing with it.
Thanks for posting this challenge.
Hi Xiaolei. Well done!
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Vojtech Rulc_21484 said:
Image in attachment
Good job, Vojtech!
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Thank you for the cues! It's a pretty interesting exercise, I like the analogy between the mass-spring-samper systems and RLC circuits!
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It was nice prepared template with cues. Thank you.
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Enrique San Juan said:
Thank you for the cues! It's a pretty interesting exercise, I like the analogy between the mass-spring-samper systems and RLC circuits!
Good job, Enrique. The analogy you mention will be relevant in upcoming challenges.
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Thank you for the challenge.
It was interesting to build and visualize the mass-spring-damper systems practically.
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