Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?

Undergraduate

Project Type

group

Campus

Daytona Beach

Authors' Class Standing

Bianca Gerity, Sophomore Arineh Shahbazi, Sophomore

Lead Presenter's Name

Bianca Gerity

Lead Presenter's College

DB College of Engineering

Faculty Mentor Name

Dr. Jorge Gonzalez

Abstract

A seiche oscillation is a standing wave that oscillates in an enclosed body of water, like a lake or pool. Seiches are caused by strong winds, earthquakes, and rapid atmospheric changes. Seiches are an excellent real-world example of damped harmonic motion. The physics of these unique vibrations can actually be modeled using a second-order differential equation for damped oscillators of the general form mx''+cx'+kx=0, where m represents the mass of the vibrating water column, c represents the energy dissipation due to friction and viscosity, and k represents the force governed by gravity and the basin's geometry. The objective of this project is to connect this general equation to real-world data from the analyzed seiche oscillations, analyze this data under overdamped, underdamped, and critically damped scenarios, and connect each scenario to physically observable wave behavior in enclosed bodies. A MATLAB program will be developed to simulate and visualize surface displacement under varying damping conditions over time. This project demonstrates that the second-order ordinary differential equation general form for damped oscillators provides a wide lens for modeling wave attenuation with many broad implications.

Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?

No

Share

COinS
 

Modeling Seiche Oscillations using Damped Vibration Differential Equations

A seiche oscillation is a standing wave that oscillates in an enclosed body of water, like a lake or pool. Seiches are caused by strong winds, earthquakes, and rapid atmospheric changes. Seiches are an excellent real-world example of damped harmonic motion. The physics of these unique vibrations can actually be modeled using a second-order differential equation for damped oscillators of the general form mx''+cx'+kx=0, where m represents the mass of the vibrating water column, c represents the energy dissipation due to friction and viscosity, and k represents the force governed by gravity and the basin's geometry. The objective of this project is to connect this general equation to real-world data from the analyzed seiche oscillations, analyze this data under overdamped, underdamped, and critically damped scenarios, and connect each scenario to physically observable wave behavior in enclosed bodies. A MATLAB program will be developed to simulate and visualize surface displacement under varying damping conditions over time. This project demonstrates that the second-order ordinary differential equation general form for damped oscillators provides a wide lens for modeling wave attenuation with many broad implications.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.