CE 412: Introduction to Structural Dynamics and
Earthquake Engineering
MODULE 1, Fall 2024
Fundamental concepts of Dynamic Analysis
Prof. Mohammad Javed. mjaved@[Link]
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Static Vs Dynamic Force
Static Force
A force considered static if does not
produce acceleration in the acting body . A
Static force may or may not vary with time
P(t)
u(t)
Linearly increasing Force, P ,
Constant Force, P does
change with time but does not
not change with time 2
produce acceleration in the beam
Static Vs Dynamic Force
Dynamic Force
A Dynamic force not only varies with time but
also produces acceleration in the acting body
i.e a = dv/dt= d2u/dt2 ≠ 0. P(t) Question to ponder:
1o curve Why inertia force in the
beam is maximum at the
point of application of
dynamic force, P(t) ?
t
2o curve t1 t2
u(t)
1o curve
t 3
2o curve t1 t2
Why study Dynamics of Structures?
The response of structures to static load is different than its response to dynamic load.
Dynamic loading cause inertia forces which may subsequently cause large displacement
and severe stresses, especially in cases where the frequency of loading is close to the
natural frequency of structures.
Fluctuating stress, even of moderate intensity, may cause material failure through fatigue.
The vibration from one machine may transferred to a delicate instrument through support
structures.
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How Inertial force are produced FI
Inertia force, FI, is produced when a body move with
certain a. Since FI quantifies the resistance to state of
rest or motion, the direction of FI and a are always Direction of motion
apposite to each other.
Consider a model mounted on a truck. When the truck
move with increasing acceleration in the right ward Truck accelerates
direction (Figure 1), FI , in the model building is Direction of a
Figure 1
produced in apposite direction. i.e leftward
FI
However, when velocity of truck, even moving in same
direction, start decreasing, its rate of change of velocity
(i.e acceleration, a) become negative which physically
mean that direction of a (Figure 2) become apposite to Direction of motion
that of motion and act leftward. Consequently FI act
right ward
Model will overturn , if the destabilizing moment due Truck decelerates Figure 2
to FI at the bottom of model exceeds stabilizing Direction of a 5
moment due to weight of model
Experimental validation of Inertia force.
=0
Direction of motion is downward fI W= Static weight
𝑢̇ and 𝑢̈ have same direction
Ws= Weight while moving with
W
Ws =0
𝑢̈ = 0.5 𝑔
Direction of motion is downward fI
𝑢̇ and 𝑢̈ have same direction
Upward =0
movement W
Ws
Question to ponder. what will be
the weight shown by scale if direction of
𝑢̇ and 𝑢̈ are apposite in both the cases 𝑢̈ = 0.5 𝑔
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Effect of Inertial Force on structural response*
Pstatic
Pdynamic
-
pI =
ma
+ =
- -
+ +
BMD due to static force, Pstatic Combined BMD
BMD due to Pdynamic BMD due to pI
* Response is the structural system reaction to a dynamic force.
Thus a response quantity may be structural displacement, velocity, acceleration, internal shear, bending
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moment, axial force etc.
Classification of Dynamic loads
Dynamic loads may be broadly classified as ‘Deterministic’ and ‘Non-deterministic’.
If the magnitude, point of application of the load and the variation of the load with
respect to time are known (e.g. sinusoidal force), the loading is said to be Deterministic
and the analysis of a system to such loads is defined as Deterministic analysis.
On the other hand, if the variation of load with respect to time is not known (e.g.,
earthquake or wind load), the loading is referred to as Random or Stochastic loading and
the corresponding analysis is termed as Non-deterministic analysis.
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Classification of Dynamic loads
Dynamic loadings can be also divided into periodic loadings and non-periodic loadings.
A Periodic loading repeats itself after a regular time interval, T . Where T is known as forcing
or exciting period.
Periodic loadings can be divided into Simple Harmonic loadings and Arbitrary Periodic
loadings.
Harmonic loadings
The simplest periodic loading varies as a sinusoid and is called simple harmonic loading . This
type of loading is generated by rotating machines video1 and exciters with unbalanced masses
and it gives rise to the
resonance phenomenon when
the excitation period matches
the structure’s natural period
of vibration.
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Periodic Loading
Arbitrary periodic loadings
Arbitrary periodic loadings repeat themselves at regular interval of time.
This type of loading is generated by reciprocating machines, by walking or jogging by one or
many persons crossing a pedestrian bridge (Figure on left), by rhythmic jumping and dancing
by one or many persons on a floor, by hydrodynamic forces generated by the propeller of a
boat (Figure on the right), by waves, etc.
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Non-periodic loadings
Non-periodic loadings vary arbitrarily in time without periodicity.
Non-periodic loadings can be divided into Impulsive short-duration loadings and
Arbitrary long duration transient loadings.
Impulse loadings
Impulse loads have a very short duration with respect to the vibration period of
the structures and are caused by explosions (see below figure), shock, failure of structural
elements, support failure, etc.
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Arbitrary long duration transient loadings
Arbitrary loads are of long duration and are caused by earthquakes, wind, waves, etc.
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Vibrations
A dynamic loading , irrespective of its type, cause vibrations in the acting body.
Vibration can be defined as the physical movement or oscillation of an elastic / inelastic
system (or part of the system) about a reference point system whose equilibrium is
disturbed”
Free vibration: Free vibrations means the motion of a system after an initial
disturbance. During free vibration structure vibrates without any externally applied
force. The vibration of a structure after all seismic waves passes it is an example of
free vibration video 2
Forced vibration: Vibration of a system during the presence of an external force is
known is known as Forced vibration.
Vibration of bridge or tall building to wind loading, earthquakes, or ground vibrations
due to traffic are some of the examples of force vibrations.
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Mechanics of free Vibrations video 3
Free vibration occurs without externally
applied forces; it arises when kinetic energy
or/and potential energy is present initially in
the vibrating system. The energy input is
due to initial displacements and/or
velocities, which are also called initial
disturbances.
1 2
Activity….
Graphically represent the position of mass for positions 0,1,2, 3 w.r.t time
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Free vibrations
SDOF system always exhibits Simple
Harmonic motion during free vibration video 4.
However, MDOF systems do not always exhibit
SHM. This is as an important characteristics and
will be discussed in Module 7
Free vibration of a SDOF lumped mass
system when released after being stretched by
a displacement u(0) at the top end .
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Undamped vibrations
If no energy is lost or dissipated in friction or other resistance during vibration, the
vibration is known as Undamped vibration video 5
Undamped vibration is a hypothetical phenomena, However, incase of very lightly
damped systems, peak response quantities, by ignoring damping, can be calculated
with little computational effort without significant loss in accuracy.
Damped vibrations
In actual system the energy is always lost due to a number of mechanisms. Such
type of vibration is known as Damped vibrations video 6
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Dynamic response
The end result of the deterministic analysis of a structure excited by a given
dynamic loading is the dynamic response expressing the displacements of the
structure with time, which is also called the displacement time history.
The strains, stresses, internal forces, and reactions are determined once the
displacement time history is known.
Dynamic response varies with time. However, for design or verification, all that is
required is the maximum dynamic response which, for a linear system, can be added
to the maximum static response to yield the maximum total response. 17
Structural response to earthquakes
What happens during an earthquake?
Various types of waves video 7 18
Structural response to earthquakes
If the ground moves rapidly back and forth, then the foundations of the structures are
forced to follow these movements due to the friction at the base.
Resultant Inertia force
The upper part of the structure however
‘would prefer’ to remain where it is
because of its mass of inertia.
Foundation movement
Inertia force and relative motion within a building
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Amplification of accelerations along height
Variation of horizontal acceleration at various
story levels Video 8 in San Francisco’s Transamerica
Pyramid during to 1989 Loma Prieta Equake Questions to ponder:
1. Why accelerations increases along the height?
2. Will the give building fail at first story (with least
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inertia force) or top story with highest inertia force?
Factors influencing Structural Response to Earthquakes
The Structural Response during an earthquake mainly depends:
1. Natural time period video 9
Different response of building to same ground shaking
2. Irregularities in plan or elevation video 10 ,
detailing video 11 etc 21
Influence of local soil conditions on structures
In comparison with rock, softer The 1.6 mile long cypress freeway structure in Oakland,
soils are particularly prone to USA, was built in the 1950s.
substantial local amplification of Part of the structure standing on soft mud (dashed red
line) collapsed in the 1989 magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta
the seismic waves.
earthquake.
Characteristics of ground
shaking varies due to
local soil condition
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Influence of local soil conditions on structures
Adjacent parts of the structure
(solid red) that were built on firmer
ground remained standing.
Seismograms (upper right) show that the shaking was especially severe in the soft mud video
12.
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Some More Key Concepts and Insights
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Structural Degrees of Freedom
Degrees of freedom (DOF) of a system is defined as the number of independent variables
required to completely determine the positions of all parts of a system.
Note: Axial deformations in columns
(until & unless structure is not high
rise) and beams are negligible and
not considered in structural analysis
DOF=3 (𝜃 , 𝜃 , 𝜃 ) DOF=4 (𝜃 , 𝜃 , 𝜃 & ∆ ) 25
Continuous/distributed systems
Some systems, specially, large system involving continuous elastic members, have
an infinite number of DOF. These are referred to as Continues or Distributed mass
system. An example of this is a cantilever beam with self weight only .
The beam have infinite DOF because its Dynamic analysis requires determination of
displacement, u, inertia forces, FI=ma for each point on the beam. Since distributed
mass is split into infinite number of small masses hence determination of acceleration
associated with each mass mean calculation of infinite accelerations.
𝑢̈
𝑢̈
𝑢̈
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Discrete/ Lumped mass systems
In most cases, for practical reasons, continuous systems are approximated as discrete systems
with finite number lumped masses. Higher number of lumped masses leads to better accuracy
Distributed mass system
Transformed Lumped
mass system
4 DOF Lumped mass system corresponding to the above given cantilever beam with distributed
mass. ρ = Mass per unit length.
(Question to ponder: Why DOF=4 though there are 5 lumped masses?) 27
Idealization of a structural system as SDOF system
The structural system of water tank
may be simplified by assuming that the
column has negligible mass along its
length*. This means that we can
consider that the tank is a point mass
This 3-dimensional water tower may be
considered as a single degree of freedom
system when one considers vibration in
one horizontal direction only.
SDOF model of water tank
* This is reasonable, assuming that the tube is hollow eventually mass
of the tube is insignificant when compared with the mass of the water
tank and water at the top.
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Structural DOF for Static Analysis
Actual DOF Reduced DOF
Usually beams and connected slabs have significantly high axial stiffness thus u4=u1. Moreover, for
low-rise structures column longitudinal deformations can be neglected with very little impact on
accuracy thus u2=u5=0.
Thus DOF to perform static analysis (Static DOF) = 3 in this case. i.e. 1 translation, u1 and 2
rotations (u2 & u3 ) 29
Structural DOF for Dynamic Analysis
u1
Actual DOF Reduced DOF
Dynamic Degrees of freedom of a system requires the position of mass (s) at any instant of time.
As already discussed, that incase of low-rise structures u2=u5=0. If flexural stiffness of beams and
slabs is too high as compared to that of connected columns, we can ignore rotations (u3,u6) at the
joint and for the purpose of dynamic analysis DOF=1 (u1).
DOF =3 (u1, u3, u6 ) if flexural stiffness of beams and slabs is not significantly high as compared to
that of connected columns. Since no mass is present at joints, therefore, size of mass matrix is 1x1.
However, stiffness matrix is 3x3, which is reduced to 1x1 matrix by using a technique known as
Static condensation. 30
Multiple Degree-of-Freedom (MDOF) System
What are the static & dynamic DOF for these systems…?
u1
m m
u1
u2 u2 =0
Dynamic DOF is 2 when we have a Dynamic DOF =1 when flexural stiffness of
flexible beam beam is very high as compared to column
Question to Ponder: What is static DOF for both systems 31
Damping
Any energy that is dissipated during motion will reduce the kinetic and potential (or
strain) energy available in the system and eventually bring the system to rest unless
additional energy is supplied by external sources.
The term Damping is used to describe all types of energy dissipating mechanisms.
In structures many mechanism contributes to the damping. In a vibrating building
these include friction at steel connections, opening and closing of microcracks in
concrete, and friction between the structures itself and nonstructural elements such as
partition walls.
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Damping
Since there is considerable uncertainty regarding the exact nature and magnitude of
energy dissipating mechanisms in most structural systems, the simple model of a
dashpot is often used to quantify damping.
The Dashpot or viscous damper is a ‘device’ that limit or retard vibrations.
Dashpot can be imagined as a cylinder filled with a viscous
fluid and a piston with holes or other passages by which the
liquid can flow from one side of the piston to the other. video 13
Simplified diagram of linear dashpot
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Damping force, fD
Simple dashpots as shown schematically in figure a exert a force fD whose magnitude is proportional
to the velocity of the vibrating mass.
The damping force fD is related to the velocity across the linear viscous damper by
Where the constant c is the viscous damping coefficient
True damping in structures is NOT viscous. However, for low damping values, viscous damping allows
for linear equations and vastly simplifies the solution.
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Damping
Energy dissipation in buildings is graphically shown Viscous fluid dampers video 14 are
by diagonally installed (imaginary) dash pots. provided in building structures to
Pistons in dash pots move back and forth and cause dissipate the energy imparted by the
viscous friction during the building’s vibration earthquake
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