Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Instructors

Prof. Jonathan P. How
Prof. John Deyst

Course Objectives

  1. Review of the basic Newtonian dynamics
    • Focus on 3D motion
    • Gyroscopic and rotational dynamics
    • Formal approaches for handling coordinate transformations
  2. Lagrangian formulation of the equations of motion
  3. Analysis of aircraft flight dynamics and stability
  4. Analysis of spacecraft attitude dynamics

Administrative

  1. Review of Newtonian dynamics ≈ 6 lectures
  2. Lagrangian dynamics ≈ 6 lectures
  3. Rigid body motions in 3D ≈ 6 lectures
  4. Aircraft/spacecraft dynamics ≈ 6 lectures
    • Midterm exam #1 in class (1 hour) after Lecture 6 (15%)
    • Midterm exam #2 in class (1 hour) after Lecture 14 (20%)
    • Final exam at the end of the semester (30%)
    • Homework - Out Thursdays, due following Thursday at beginning of class (35%). Hand-in during class or drop-off at my office.
    • Collaboration: You can discuss problems with others, but you are expected to write up and hand in your own work.
    • You will definitely need access to MATLAB®

Textbooks

None required. Lecture notes will be handed out in class. But various books available for reference are:

  1. Meriam and Kraige. Engineering Mechanics - Dynamics. Wiley, 2001.
  2. Hibbeler. Engineering Mechanics - Statics and Dynamics. Prentice Hall.
  3. Beer and Johnston. Vector Mechanics for Engineers. McGraw-Hill.
  4. Greenwood. Principles of Dynamics. 2nd ed. Prentice Hall [RB dynamics].
  5. Williams, Jr. Fundamentals of Applied Dynamics. Wiley, 1996.
  6. Baruh. Analytical Dynamics. McGraw Hill [fairly advanced].
  7. Wells. Schaum's Outline of Lagrangian Dynamics. McGraw-Hill, 1967.
  8. Goldstein. Classical Mechanics. 2nd ed. Addison Wesley [very advanced].

Learning Objectives for Students Graduating from 16.61 will be Able to:

  1. Use methods of vector kinematics to analyze the translation and rotation of rigid bodies - and explain with appropriate visualizations.
  2. Identify appropriate coordinate frames and calculate the transformations between them.
  3. Formulate and solve for the equations of motion using both the Newtonian and Lagrangian formulations.
  4. Use the basic equations of motion to calculate the fundamental flight modes of an aircraft.
  5. Use the basic equations of motion to calculate the attitude motions of a low Earth orbit spacecraft.

Measurable Outcomes for Students Graduating from 16.61 will be Able to:

  1. Derive the equations of motion in accelerating and rotating frames.
  2. Solve for the equations of motion using both the Newtonian and Lagrangian formulations.
  3. Simulate and predict complex dynamic behavior of vehicles such as projectiles, aircraft, and spacecraft.
  4. Use MATLAB as a tool for matrix manipulations and dynamic simulation.
  5. Linearize the 6DOF motions associated with most dynamic behavior to establish the basic modes of the motion.