The Motion of a Flat-Plate Pendulum in a Viscous Fluid

The motion of an infinite, flat plate undergoing free oscillations as a submerged pendulum in a viscous fluid is analyzed. An analytical solution has been obtained through a simultaneous solution of the equation of motion for the plate, the drag force relationship, and the boundary-layer equations for the case of laminar, incompressible, unsteady flow. Expressions for the displacement and velocity of the plate appear as the sum of a damped harmonic oscillation and a particular solution which decays asymptotically to zero with increasing time. The period and logarithmic decrement are expressed as functions of a single parameter which contains the physical properties of the fluid and dimensions of the system. Predicted values of plate displacement, plate velocity, amplitude ratio, and damped oscillation period are compared to the results of an experimental investigation performed in water and a light oil.