Numerical method to solve a fourth order ODE

[rsluijs]

I've got the following ODE:

K*w''''+c*w = q

I can solve this with DSolve (from Matlab), but how can I solve this in a numerical way?

Thanks!

 

[tiny-tim]

Welcome to PF!

I've got the following ODE:

K*w''''+c*w = q

I can solve this with DSolve (from Matlab), but how can I solve this in a numerical way?

Thanks!

Hi rsluijs! Welcome to PF!

To solve K*w''''+c*w = 0, you can replace ' by the operator D, giving the "characteristic polynomial" (KD⁴ + C)w = 0,

and you factor that to (D + a)(D + b)(D + c)(D + d)w = 0,

and then solve each individual (D + a)w = 0 etc, and add linear combinations of those solutions.