Chapter 3

LINEAR ELASTIC DYNAMIC ANALYSIS

3.1. Introduction
The objective of this course is to focus on the aspects of support excitation that are
due to earthquakes. For extensive study on the many other aspects of structural
dynamics, the reader may refer to any textbook on structural dynamics

3.2. Single Degree of Freedom System (SDOF)

Dynamic equilibrium may be established with the help of D'Alembert Principle.
D'Alembert Principle states that the dynamic equilibrium can be established similar to
static equilibrium if the inertial force is considered as reaction to its motion in a direction
opposite to the direction of its acceleration.

3.2.1. System formulation

The equation of motion for the idealized one-story system shown below as a SDOF
structure with properties m, c, and k as shown in Fig. 1, and subjected to ground motion
ug (t) where p(t)=0, dynamic equilibrium requires that

fI + fD + fS = 0
m üt + C u + k u =0
m (üg + ü) +C 𝑢̇ + k u = 0
m ü+c𝑢̇ +ku=müg
where;
fI = inertial force
fD = damping force which is modeled as a viscous force proportional to the
velocity.
fs = spring force
m= mass.
c= coefficient of viscous damping.
k= spring stiffness.
u= displacement in the shown direction.
𝑢̇ = mass velocity.
ü= mass acceleration.

The figures show the solution for the lateral displacement, u, for a SDOF system under
ground motion excitation. After obtaining the solution to the equation of motion, the
natural circular frequency of vibration, ω, can be expressed as follows:
 radian/second

Or
cycle/second

and

Second/cycle

Fig. 1. Damped free vibration of a single-degree-of-freedom system

The figures below illustrate the displacement response of damped and undamped single-
degree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems under free vibration. In contrast, the response under
earthquake excitation is significantly more complex and cannot be obtained in closed form.
Representative examples are presented in the following sections.

Fig. 2. Damped free vibration of a single-degree-of-freedom system

Fig. 3. Un-damped free vibration of single-degree-of-freedom system

3.2.2. Response Spectrum of Elastic Systems

The solution of the equation of motion under the excitation of a specific excitation is
obtained by numerical analysis as will be shown later. During the excitation time of the
earthquake, the solution yields the response displacement history of the system as
shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4. Earthquake Excitation of SDOF System

The figure below shows how the acceleration response spectrum for a structure is constructed.
It is clear that for very short-period systems where the period approaches zero (T→0 and
k→∞), the spectral acceleration approaches the peak ground acceleration, PGA.

Fig. 4’. Graphical description depicts how to construct response spectrum.

For a specific ground motion ug(t), we are only interested in the maximum response of
the structure, i.e. Iumaxl which will be denoted by, Sd. Sd is known as the spectral
displacement which is defined as the maximum relative displacement of an SDOF
system subjected to a specific ground motion (earthquake). It can be noted that at the
time of maximum displacement, the force in the spring reaches its maximum value,
[Link], since the velocity equals zero and hence the damping force, fD, will be equal to
zero, therefore;

[Link]=kSd

[Link] (Vb) is the base shear that the structure should be designed to resist. If both sides
of the above equation are divided by m, then;

[Link] /m = (k /m) Sd

Since ω2 =k /m, and if the quantity [Link] /m is defined as Sa, then;

Sa=ω2 Sd

Sa is known as the spectral pseudo-acceleration since it is not the actual acceleration

of the mass, but it is rather an acceleration look-alike parameter that produces the
maximum spring force when multiplied by the mass. This maximum spring force is what
is known as the base shear of the structure.

Similar to the case of spectral acceleration;

Sv= ω Sd

Sv is also referred to as the maximum earthquake response integral.

It can be seen that for a specific system and a specific earthquake, the quantities Sd,
Sv, and Sa are related through the system frequency or the system period. The
response spectrum is constructed for a specific earthquake by varying the system
period (T1, T2 , T3, .. etc) and the damping ratio (𝜉 1, 𝜉 2: 𝜉 3, .. etc). For each combination
of T and 𝜉 , the system response is evaluated in terms of Sd, Sv, or Sa. The results are
then plotted in a form similar to Fig. 5 which shows a spectral velocity response
spectrum plot for the EI-Centro earthquake.
 Fig. 5. Sample response spectrum

Since Sd, Sv: and Sa are related through the system frequency (period), they can be
plotted on one single chart using log scale. The resulting chart is called Tripartite Chart
where Sd and Sa appear with constant lines at 45°. Fig. 6 shows such chart for the EI-
Centro earthquake.

Fig. 6. Sample response spectrum, Tripartite Chart

3.2.3. Design Response Spectrum

For design purposes, many response spectra are usually added together and
smoothened to yield a smooth design response spectrum as an upper limit as shown
in Fig. 7.
 Fig. 7. Design response spectrum

Example 1

A single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) water tank structure has a mass m = 20000 kg

and an undamped natural period T = 0.5 seconds/cycle. During a specific earthquake
ground motion, the numerical integration yields a maximum spectral relative
displacement Sd = 0.04 m (40 mm).

Determine:
1. The undamped angular natural frequency (ω) of the structure.
2. The pseudo-spectral acceleration (Sa).
3. The maximum spring force (fs,max), which represents the base shear (Vb) of the
structure.

Solution
Example 2

A structural frame with a mass m = 5000 kg is subjected to the El-Centro ground

motion. From the tripartite response spectrum chart (Fig. 6), the spectral pseudo-
velocity is read as Sv = 0.35 m/s for a damping ratio ζ= 5%.
Evaluate the spectral displacement (Sd), pseudo-acceleration (Sa), and maximum base
shear (peak spring force) (fs,max) for two different period configurations:
1. Case A: Rigid structure with T = 0.2 s
2. Case B: Flexible structure with T = 1.2 s

Solution
3.3. Multiple Degrees of Freedom System

3.3.1. Multiple Degree of Freedom System in 2-D Analysis

A multiple degree of freedom system, MDOF, consists of multiple lumped
(concentrated) masses, m1, m2, ...... where these masses are subjected to varying
forces with time as shown in Fig. 18. The movement of each mass is resisted by its
inertial force, fj , damping force, fD, and elastic stiffness, fs . By establishing the dynamic
equilibrium of each mass in the direction of its movement, e.g. Fig. 19 shows the
equilibrium of mass m2 which requires that:
∑ FX2 =0

Similarly, by taking ∑ FXi =0 at each mass, substituting ü tot = ü + ü g, and rearranging

the equations, they can be put in matrix form as follows:

Or

where
[M] =mass matrix (square matrix).
[C] = damping matrix (square matrix).
[K] = stiffness matrix (square matrix).
 {U}, {U}, {U} = displacement, velocity, and acceleration matrices (column
matrices).
{R} = earthquake loading vector, or influence vector
= vector of rigid body displacements resulting form unit support
displacement in direction of ground motion.

In general, for N-degrees of freedom, there are square matrices NxN and column
matrices of order Nx1. Note from the equilibrium equation that the complete formulation
yields N-coupled linear differential equations which can be solved by numerical
analysis. However, for linear elastic system, solution may be simplified using the
technique of Modal Analysis, also known Modal Superposition.

Mode shapes (patterns of vibrations) of damped three-degree of freedom system

3.3.2. Multiple Degree of Freedom System in 3-D Analysis

Buildings with rigid floors (diaphragms) where vertical acceleration of the ground is
neglected can be modeled with at least three dynamic DOF, i.e. three mass
movements, u, v, and Ɵ as shown in Fig. 22.
If the center of mass (C.M) coincides with the center of resistance (C.R), also known
as center of stiffness or center of rigidity, the resulting mass and stiffness matrices will
be diagonal. For example, if a rectangular diaphragm with constant thickness (uniform
mass) is supported by four circular columns with stiffness k as shown in Fig. 23, the
resulting matrices will be as follows:
For a displacement vector, {U}T = {u v Ɵ } T, the mass and stiffness matrices take the
following form

where mu, mv, are the translational mass coefficients, and mƟ = Ip is the mass polar
moment of inertial. ku, kv, are the translational stiffness coefficients and kƟ is the
rotational stiffness coefficient.

Even if structural systems are selected symmetric, seismic codes prescribe minimum
additional amount of eccentricity known as "accidental eccentricity" for design because
earthquakes also contain some rotational components. For example, the UBC and IBC
codes require a minimum accidental eccentricity by displacing the mass 5% as shown
in Fig. 24. The mass should be displaced ±5% along side B if the earthquake excitation
is in the longitudinal direction along side A. It should be kept in mind that this mass
displacement is added to any existing eccentricity.
In general, buildings may be modeled as space frames with rigid diaphragms using
standard structural analysis software. The mass is allocated at the nodes as
concentrated masses as shown in Fig. 25.

3.4. Combination Effect of Different Ground Motions

Combination of the directional effect of different ground motion components may be
summarized by the following findings from research in this area:
• The horizontal component of the ground motion has equal intensity in all
directions.
• The vertical component of the ground motion is about two thirds of its intensity
in the horizontal direction.
• The horizontal components in any two orthogonal directions and vertical
component are approximately uncorrelated, i.e. they do not take place
simultaneously.
Consequently, the same design response spectrum can be used for any two
perpendicular directions. The vertical response spectrum may be obtained by
multiplying the horizontal response spectrum by 2/ 3, or any other factor deemed
appropriate. However, vertical response of structures can be neglected due to higher
stiffness of the structures in that direction.

References

1. Nazzal S. Armouti, 2008, Earthquake Engineering: Theory and Implementation,

International Code Council, 2nd Edition.
2. BUNGALE S. TARANATH, 2005, Wind and Earthquake Resistant Buildings Structural
Analysis And Design, Marcel Dekker.
3. Taranath BS. 2010, Reinforced concrete design of tall buildings. CRC press.