Integration by parts and improper integral

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the evaluation of the improper integral \(\int_{0}^{H}x\sin(\frac{w}{x})\cos(\frac{x}{w})\cosh(\frac{H}{w})dx\). Participants explore potential methods for solving this integral, particularly focusing on integration by parts, while considering the implications of it being an improper integral.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses uncertainty about the best method to solve the integral and questions the applicability of integration by parts.
  • Another participant notes that the integral is improper and suggests that preliminary graphs indicate the discontinuity may be removable, implying the integral likely exists.
  • A different participant simplifies the problem by stating that the cosh term can be treated as a constant, but doubts the existence of a closed form solution for the remaining integrand.
  • One participant proposes setting \(H=w=1\) for numerical evaluation and suggests repeating the process for other values of \(H\), while expressing skepticism about finding an antiderivative.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the existence of a closed form solution for the integral. There are differing opinions on the feasibility of finding an antiderivative, and the discussion remains unresolved regarding the best approach to evaluate the integral.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention the integral's improper nature and the potential need to assess its existence after finding antiderivatives. There are also assumptions regarding the independence of \(w\) from \(x\) and the treatment of the cosh term as a constant.

David Fishber
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I would like to solve the following integral but I am unsure of the best way to solve it:
[itex]\int_{0}^{H}xsin(\frac{w}{x})cos(\frac{x}{w})cosh(\frac{H}{w})dx[/itex]

Is it possible to use integration by parts??

Thanks in advance
 
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Note 1: this is an improper integral so even if we find antiderivatives we'll need to figure out if the integral exists. Although a couple quick graphs seem to indicate that the discontinuity is removable so we're probably okay.

Note 2: Well the cosh term doesn't matter (assuming w is independent of x) so that's the first simplification. I took a stab at it letting dv=cos(x/w) and u=xsin(w/x) and obtained:

[tex] wx\sin(\frac{x}{w})\sin(\frac{w}{x})|_0^H-\int_0^H w\sin(\frac{x}{w})\sin(\frac{w}{x})-\frac{w^2}{x}\sin(\frac{x}{w})\cos(\frac{w}{x})[/tex]

I don't think this is going to go anywhere however. Do you need an exact value or just some approximate values? Are there any constraints on H?
 
I would set H=w=1 and solve numerically
Then repeat for 2 and so on.
I do not think an AntiDerivative can be found for this integrand, but I am not sure about that.
 
David Fishber said:
I would like to solve the following integral but I am unsure of the best way to solve it:
[itex]\int_{0}^{H}xsin(\frac{w}{x})cos(\frac{x}{w})cosh(\frac{H}{w})dx[/itex]

Is it possible to use integration by parts??

Thanks in advance

[itex]cosh(\frac{H}{w})[/itex]

is a constant.

But the remaining term probably does not have a closed form solution.
 

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