STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS

Learning Module 6: Pulse Loading &

Response Spectra

Prof J. Mahachi, [Link], [Link], FSAICE

University of Johannesburg

School of Civil Engineering & Built Environment

Email: jmahachi@[Link]
Cell: 082 904 9569
 Course Outline
• Introduction to Differential Equations
• SDOF Free vibration, with no damping
• SDOF Free vibration with damping
• SDOF Forced vibration
– Harmonic Loading
– Periodic Loading
– Pulse Loading & Response Spectra
– Transient loading (Earthquake loading)
• MDOF
• Vibration of Continuous Structures
• Foundations of Reciprocating Machines
 Learning Outcome

• At the end of this module, the learner will be expected to

know:
– Response of impulse loading
– Response of arbitrary loading
– Response of pulse loading
– How to plot response shock spectra
Response Spectrum for a rectangular pulse load

P(t)
u=𝑢 0 =0
𝑃𝑜 𝑢ሶ = 𝑢ሶ 0 = 0
𝜉=0
I II
Time (t)
𝑇𝐷

Forced Vibration Free Vibration

 Response Spectrum for a rectangular pulse load
(Cont…)
Phase I: Forced vibration Ignore damping:
• 𝑚𝑢ሷ + 𝑘𝑢 = 𝑝0 Takes time to kick in cause Td is of the
order of magnitude of time period T
• Solution is:
𝑝0
𝑢 𝑡 = ∙ 1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑡 (1)
𝑘
𝑝0 𝜔
𝑢ሶ 𝑡 = ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 (2)
𝑘
 Response Spectrum for a rectangular pulse load
(Cont…)
Phase II: Free vibration Ignore damping:
Peak value displt occurs in first few cycles
• Initial conditions at time t = 𝑇𝐷
𝑢(𝑇𝐷 ) and 𝑢(𝑇
ሶ 𝐷)
𝑢(𝑇
ሶ 𝐷)
• 𝑢 𝑡 = 𝑇𝐷 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑇𝐷 + 𝑢 𝑇𝐷 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑡 𝑚𝑢ሷ + 𝑘𝑢 =0
𝜔
• The peak (maximum) displacement 𝑢𝑝 is
1/2
2 ሶ 𝐷) 2
𝑢(𝑇
• 𝑢𝑝 = 𝑢(𝑇𝐷 +
𝜔
 Response Spectrum for a rectangular pulse load
(Cont…)
𝑝𝑜
• ∴ 𝑢𝑝 = ∙ 1 − 2𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑇𝐷 + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜔𝑇𝐷 + 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 (𝜔𝑇𝐷 ) 1/2
𝑘
𝑝𝑜
• 𝑖. 𝑒. 𝑢𝑝 = ∙ 2 − 2𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑇𝐷 1/2
𝑘
2𝑝𝑜 𝜋𝑇𝐷
• ∴ 𝑢𝑝 = ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛
𝑘 𝑇

• Dynamic amplification factor is therefore:

𝜋𝑇𝐷
𝐷=2 ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛 if peak is in Phase II
𝑇
 Response Spectrum for a rectangular pulse load
(Cont…)
If peak is in Phase I:
• From Equation (2), with 𝑢ሶ = 𝑢ሶ 0 = 0
𝑝 𝜔
• 𝑢ሶ 𝑡 = 0 ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 = 0
𝑘
2𝜋𝑡
• ∴ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑡 = 0 or ∴ 𝑠𝑖𝑛 =0
𝑇
2𝜋𝑡
• ⟹ = 𝑛𝜋
𝑇
𝑇𝐷 1
Therefore, if > ; then peak occurs in Phase I, i.e. 𝜔𝑡 = 𝜋
𝑇 2
• From Equation (1);
𝑝0 2𝑝0
• 𝑢𝑝 = ∙ 1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑡 = ⟹𝐷=2
𝑘 𝑘
 Response Spectrum for a rectangular pulse load
(Cont…)
• Thus;
𝑇𝐷 1
if < ; then peak occurs in Phase II; and
𝑇 2
𝜋𝑇𝐷
𝐷 = 2∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛
𝑇

𝑇𝐷 1
if > ; then peak occurs in Phase I; and
𝑇 2
𝐷=2
𝑇𝐷 1
= 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐷 = 2
𝑇 2
Response Spectrum for a rectangular pulse load
(Cont…)
2.5
D
2

1.5

0.5

0 𝑇𝐷
0 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.8 1
𝑇

Response Spectrum Graph

 Consider 𝑇𝐷 ≪ 𝑇
2𝑝𝑜 𝜋𝑇𝐷 2𝑝𝑜 𝜋𝑇𝐷 2𝜋 𝑝𝑜 𝑇𝐷
• 𝑢𝑝 = 𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑥 = ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛 = ∙ = ∙
𝑘 𝑇 𝑘 𝑇 𝑇 𝑘

P(t)
𝜔𝑝𝑜 𝑇𝐷
• ∴ 𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑥 = but 𝑘 = 𝑚𝜔2 𝑃𝑜
𝑘

Impulse (I)
𝑝𝑜 𝑇𝐷 𝐼
• ∴ 𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑥 = =
𝑚𝜔 𝑚𝜔 𝑇𝐷 Time (t)
𝐼
∴ 𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
𝑚𝜔
 Consider 𝑇𝐷 ≪ 𝑇
• In general;

𝑇𝐷
‫׬‬0 𝑃 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
𝑚𝜔
Shock Spectra for Pulse Loads

𝑇𝐷
𝑇
 Exercise
• Develop the shock spectra for half sine pulse

𝜋𝑡
• 𝑝 𝑡 = 𝑝𝑜 sin ; 0 ≤ 𝑡 ≤ 𝑇𝐷
𝑇𝐷

• 𝑝 𝑡 =0 ; 0 < 𝑡 ; 𝑡 > 𝑇𝐷
 Arbitrary Forcing Function
Generalised Loading
Forcing Function
• Most practical applications, dynamic P(t)
loading p(t) is irregular and non periodic
• Examples:
– Wind loading
– Earthquake and seismic loading
• Assume irregular forcing function is made
up of a sequence of very brief impulses as
shown in the diagram
𝑃(𝜏)
• The vibrations caused by all the impulses
are added together to obtain total
response

𝜏 𝑑𝜏 Time (t)
 Impulse Loading (cont…)
• Let us determine the vibration caused by an impulse of
duration 𝑑𝜏.
• Newton’s second law states that the rate of change of
momentum of a mass is equal to the applied force.
• For a SDOF, this can be written as:
𝑑(𝑚𝑢)ሶ
= 𝑃(𝑡) (1)
𝑑𝑡
 Impulse Loading (cont…)
Change in momentum over 𝑑𝜏, due to 𝑃(𝜏) is therefore
𝑑 𝑚𝑢ሶ = 𝑃 𝜏 ∙ 𝑑 𝜏 = 𝑑𝐼 (2)
∴ Change in velocity during 𝑑𝜏 is
𝑃 𝜏 𝑑(𝜏)
𝑑 𝑢ሶ = (3)
𝑚
 Example: Impulse Loading
• Example:
• Consider a mass initially at rest. At 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡 = 𝜏, an impulse 𝐼 is
applied to the mass. What is the resulting motion? Consider
undamped motion.
 Example: Impulse Loading (cont…)
Solution:
After application of the impulse, the motion will be an undamped free vibration
∴ 𝑚𝑢ሷ + 𝑘𝑢 = 0
Initial conditions: At time 𝑡 = 𝜏;
𝐼
u = 0; 𝑢ሶ =
𝑚
Solution to equation of motion is
𝑢(𝑡) = 𝐶 sin(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜃)
𝑢ሶ = 𝜔𝐶 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜃)

@ 𝑡 = 𝜏; 𝑢 = 0
∴ 0 = 𝑋 sin(𝜔𝜏 + 𝜃)
֜𝜃 = −𝜔𝜏
 Example: Impulse Loading (cont…)
𝐼
@ 𝑡 = 𝜏; 𝑢ሶ =
𝑚
𝐼
∴ = 𝜔𝐶 cos(𝜔𝜏 + 𝜃) ; with 𝜃 = −𝜔𝜏
𝑚
𝐼
𝐶=
𝑚𝜔

∴ General solution is
𝐼
𝑢(𝑡) = sin 𝜔(𝑡 − 𝜏) ; for 𝑡≥𝜏 (4)
𝑚𝜔
 Graph
𝑢(𝑡)

𝐼
𝑚𝜔
Time (t)

2𝜋 𝐼
𝑇=
𝜔 𝑢(𝑡) = sin 𝜔(𝑡 − 𝜏)
𝑚𝜔
 Generalised Loading
Duhamel Integral
Arbitrary Forcing Function
• Now if we have an arbitrary forcing P(t)
function P(t); what is the displacement
at any given time t?

𝑃(𝜏)

𝜏 𝑑𝜏 Time (t)
𝑡
 Generalised Loading
Duhamel Integral
• From Equation (4), the displacement at time (𝑡 − 𝜏) due to an
impulse 𝑑𝐼 is:
𝑑𝐼
𝑑𝑢 = 𝑚𝜔
sin 𝜔(𝑡 − 𝜏); 𝑡 ≥ 𝜏 (5)

𝜏=𝑡 𝑃 𝜏
∴ 𝑢(𝑡) = ‫=𝜏׬‬0 𝑚𝜔 sin 𝜔(𝑡 − 𝜏) 𝑑𝜏 (6)

• Equation (6) is referred to as the Duhamel Integral or Convolution

Integral for an undamped sdof system.
 Duhamel Integral
𝜏=𝑡
• ∴ 𝑢(𝑡) = ‫=𝜏׬‬0 𝑃 𝜏 ∙ ℎ(𝑡 − 𝜏)𝑑𝜏 (6)
where
1
• ℎ 𝑡 = sin 𝜔𝑡 Unit Impulse Response Function
𝑚𝜔
 Duhamel Integral for
Damped System
The response function can be obtained for a damped system is:

1 𝜏=𝑡
𝑢(𝑡) = ‫׬‬ 𝑃 𝜏 ∙ sin 𝜔𝐷 (𝑡 − 𝜏) ∙ 𝑒 −𝜉𝜔(𝑡−𝜏) 𝑑𝜏 (7)
𝑚𝜔𝐷 𝜏=0

Note:
1. Equation (6) can be obtained from Equation (7) by setting 𝜉 = 0.
2. Explicit solutions may be obtained for simple forms of forcing
functions such as rectangular or triangular impulses
 Duhamel Integral
Damped system (cont…)
Assuming 𝜔𝐷 = 𝜔 (practical purposes), then the response
function can further be simplified as:

1 𝜏=𝑡
𝑢(𝑡) = ‫׬‬ 𝑃 𝜏 ∙ sin 𝜔(𝑡 − 𝜏) ∙ 𝑒 −𝜉𝜔(𝑡−𝜏) 𝑑𝜏 (7)
𝑚𝜔 𝜏=0
 Duhamel Integral Example
Example: A load is applied at time t=0 and remains constant thereafter. Neglecting damping,
what is the response of the sdof system?
Solution:
P(t)
𝑃 𝑡 = 0; 𝑡<0
𝑃 𝑡 = 𝑃𝑜 ; 𝑡≥0
𝑡 𝑃𝑜
𝑢(𝑡) = න sin 𝜔 𝑡 − 𝜏 𝑑𝜏 𝑃𝑜
𝜏=0 𝑚𝜔
𝑃𝑜 cos 𝜔 𝑡 − 𝜏 𝑡
𝑢(𝑡) = [− ]0
𝑚𝜔 −𝜔
𝑃𝑜
𝑢(𝑡) = (1 − cos 𝜔𝑡) Time (t)
𝑚𝜔 2
𝑃𝑜
∴ 𝑢(𝑡) = 1 − cos 𝜔𝑡 = 𝑢𝑠𝑡 1 − cos 𝜔𝑡
𝑘

D
Duhamel Integral Example (Cont…)

2.0

1.0

0
Time (t)
D = 1 − cos 𝜔𝑡
 Comments on Graph

The maximum displacement is twice the displacement which the

force 𝑃𝑜 would produce if it were applied statically. Thus, the
maximum displacement of a linear system subject to a constant
force applied suddenly is twice the displacement caused by the
same force applied statically (slowly).
 Example: Blast Loading
• Blast loading on a structure is represented by a triangular
forcing function, in which the force is applied suddenly and
then decays linearly to zero, at time 𝑇𝐷 . Determine the
response of the structure.

P(t)
𝑃𝑜

𝑇𝐷 Time (t)
 Example (cont…)
The response in this case may be represented or computed in two intervals as
follows:
First interval: 0 ≤ 𝑡 ≤ 𝑇𝐷 .
𝜏
𝑃 𝜏 = 𝑃0 (1 − ) (a)
𝑇𝐷
and the initial conditions are
𝑢0 = 0; 𝑢ሶ 𝐷 = 0
𝑃0 𝑡 𝜏
∴𝑢= ‫׬‬0 1 − sin 𝜔 𝑡 − 𝜏 𝑑𝜏
𝑚𝜔 𝑇𝐷
𝑃0 𝑃0 sin 𝜔𝑡
𝑢= 1 − cos 𝜔𝑡 + −𝑡 (b)
𝑘 𝑘𝑇𝐷 𝜔
 Example (cont…)
or in terms of dynamic load factor, D.
𝑢 sin 𝜔𝑡 𝑡
𝐷= = 1 − cos 𝜔𝑡 + − (c)
𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝜔𝑇𝐷 𝑇𝐷

For the second interval 𝑡 ≥ 𝑇𝐷 , and the response is now free vibration
𝑃(𝜏) = 0
From equation (b), the displacement and velocity at time 𝑇𝐷 are
𝑃0 sin 𝜔𝑇𝐷
𝑢 𝑇𝐷 = ( − cos 𝜔𝑇𝐷 ) (d)
𝑘 𝜔𝑇𝐷
𝑃0 cos 𝜔𝑇𝐷 1
𝑢ሶ 𝑇𝐷 = (𝜔 sin 𝜔𝑇𝐷 + − ) (e)
𝑘 𝑇𝐷 𝑇𝐷
 Example (cont…)
• Using Equations (d) and (e) as initial conditions, and using (𝑡 −
𝑇𝐷 ) as elapsed time, we obtain the following Dynamic Factor

1
𝐷 = ቄ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑇𝐷 + 𝜔𝑇𝐷
∙ (𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑇𝐷 − 1) ∙ 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔 𝑡 − 𝑇𝐷 +
1
𝜔𝑇𝐷
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑇𝐷 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑇𝐷 ∙ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔(𝑡 − 𝑇𝐷 )ቅ (e)

Note:
The maximum of the Dynamic Load factor obtained from Equations
(c) and (e) are plotted against 𝑇𝐷ൗ𝑇 to obtain the response spectrum