Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/paper-1/3/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2014 Paper 1 3 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Kernel conditions. The clamped-beam Green function must obey . Away from , . At the load point, are continuous andA jump in any lower derivative would create a derivative of the Dirac delta, rather than the single point load required by .
Construction. A particularly simple representation isIt already enforces the left-end conditions and the correct source jump. The right-end conditions give and , henceFor this is already factored; for , expanding and refactoring givesThe formulas agree at the junction. The forced displacement is obtained by integrating this kernel against ; for continuous loads it satisfies the equation and all four end conditions. Uniqueness follows because a cubic with zero value and slope at both ends is identically zero.
Reciprocity. In terms of and , the same expression isIt is visibly symmetric under interchange of and . Thus the reciprocity of the clamped-beam Green function givesEquivalently, two integrations by parts show self-adjointness of under the clamped conditions, with bilinear form .
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