Purbanchal University
Kantipur International College
Department of Civil Engineering Structural Dynamics
M.E. in Earthquake Engineering Semester: I, Year: 2024
ASSIGNMENT # 1
Last date of submission: August 25, 2024 (Sunday)
1. Assuming the beam to be massless, each system has a single DOF defined as the vertical
deflection under the weight w. The flexural rigidity of the beam is EI and the length is
L. Determine natural frequency.
2. For a cantilever berm L = 100 in. EI = 108 (lb.in2), W = 3000 lb, k = 2000 lb/in. If the
weight W has an initial displacement of 1.0 in and an initial velocity of 20 in/sec, determine
the displacement and the velocity 1 sec later.
3. A platform of weight 30kN is supported by four identical columns which are clamped at the
foundation as well as at the platform. A force of 10kN applied horizontally to the platform
produces a displacement of 5mm. Columns material damping is in the order of 5% of critical
damping. Determine: i) un-damped natural frequency ii) damping coefficient iii) logarithmic
decrement iv) number of cycles and time required for the amplitude of motion to be reduced
from an initial value of 5mm to 0.5mm.
4. A site supervisor is standing on a wood beam at its center. He is shaking up and down as he
does his job but eventually the beam fails. The site engineer is called over to analyze the
dynamic system to determine why the wood beam has failed. As part of her analysis, he first
decides to determine the stiffness of the beam. Determine the equivalent stiffness, k, for the
massless beam system shown below (the beam is indeterminate, so use compatibility and
linearity of the system to solve). Answer in terms of E, I and L. The degree of freedom is the
displacement of the beam in the down direction at the point indicated:
5. Consider a heavy mass of weight, W, on the following beam system:
EI = 106 k-in2
W =8 kips
Assume the damping ratio of the beam is ξ = 10%. If displacement, v(t), corresponds to the
displacement of beam at the location of the attached weight, and if the system is given an initial
displacement of 0.8 in and an initial velocity of 10 in/sec determine the following:
a. Write the equation of motion of the system – what type of system is it (i.e., under-
damped, critically damped, over-damped)?
b. The un-damped natural frequency (ω) and period (T) of the system
c. The damped natural frequency (ωD) and period (TD) of the system
d. The critical damping coefficient, cc
e. Phase angle of the vibrating motion, θ
f. The peak displacement at time t = TD + θ/ω
g. The peak displacement at time t = 2TD + θ/ω
h. The logarithmic decrement, δ
6. With a purpose to determine the dynamic properties of a frame system, it is decided to do a free
vibration test of the frame system. With the help of a hydraulic jack, a jacking force is applied to
displace the frame. With a jacking force of 30 kips it is noted that the frame has displaced 0.25
in. After jacking the frame, the frame is released from the jack and its motion is recorded. On the
first return swing after release, the frame does not come back to the release point but rather only
0.15 in towards it. The recorded time between the time of release and the first return of 0.15 in is
1.5 seconds.
Determine the:
a. Natural frequency (ω)
b. Mass of the girder (m)
c. Logarithmic decrement (δ)
d. Damping ratio (ξ)
e. Damping coefficient (c)
f. Damping frequency (ωD)
g. Amplitude of the frame after 8 cycles, v6
h. Plot the time history response of the system, v(t)
7. Estimate the natural frequency, un-damped natural period, and fraction of critical damping of the
following time series:
8. For a system with a damping ratio, , determine the number of the free vibration cycles required
to reduce the displacement amplitude to 10% of the initial amplitude; the initial velocity is zero.
9. What is the ratio of successive amplitudes of vibration if the viscous damping ration is
known to be (a) = 0.01, (b) = 0.05, or (c) = 0.20?
10. The stiffness and damping properties of a mass-spring-damper system are to be determined
by a free vibration test; the mass is given as m = 0.1 lb-sec2 /in. In this test the mass is displaced
1 in. by a hydraulic jack and then suddenly released. At the end of 20 complete cycles, the
time is 3 sec. and the amplitude is 0.2 in. Determine the stiffness and damping coefficients.
11. A machine weighing 280 lb. is mounted on a supporting system consisting of four springs and four
dampers. The vertical deflection of the supporting system under the weight of the machine is
measured as 0.8 in. The dampers are designed to reduce the amplitude of vertical vibration to one-
tenth of the initial amplitude after two complete cycles of free vibration. Find the following
properties of the system: (a) un-damped natural frequency, (b) damping ratio, and (c) damped
natural frequency. Comment on the effect of damping on the natural frequency.
12. The mass m, stiffness k, and natural frequency ω of an un-damped SDOF system are
unknown. These properties are to be determined by harmonic excitation tests. At an excitation
frequency of 4 Hz, the response tends to increase without bound (i.e., a resonant condition).
Next, a weight w = 5 lb is attached to the mass m and the resonance test is repeated. This time
resonance occurs at f = 3 Hz. Determine the mass and the stiffness of the system.