Matlab ode45 numerical solution

Question

I'm trying to solve a 2nd order differential equation, using the Runga Kutta's ode45 function in Matlab. It's for a bachelor project, where I'm trying to simulate the behavior of a spherical robot, with a pendulum swinging inside to cause it to roll.

So far it's limited to only roll in one direction and is tested where the pendulum is started at an angle of -pi/4 and should in this case just cause and oscillation, where the angle is measured in the equation.

The problem is, when I plot the graph, I always get some odd linear component. Tried the program on another computer, where it did not show up, so I'm kinda lost here. I also tried to simulate the pendulum itself, where the graph is as shown:

pendulum swing http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img801/1842/03s4.jpg

The sine with the greater amplitude is the displacement of the angle.

The program is as follows:

function xdot = pendulum(t,y);
xdot = zeros(2,1);

g = 9.82; L = 1;

xdot(1) = y(2);
xdot(2) = -(g*sin(y(1))/L;

x0 = [-pi/4 0 ];
[T Y] = ode45(@pendulum, [0 20], x0);
plot([T Y])

Hope that someone know how to correct this error, since it's making it nearly impossible to get an acceptable simulation, when I'm adding the sphere in the equations of motion.

Answer 1

Use plot(T,Y) instead of plot([T Y]). Also there are some other syntax errors that need correcting.

So to answer the person who downvoted me - what you are doing is overlaying the two graphs plot(T) and plot(Y). And of course plot(T) has a 'linear component.'