CHAPTER 4

RESPONSE TO ARBITRARY TIME-VARYING FORCES

Expected outcome:
1. Students can determine response of SDF systems to simple arbitrary excitation.
2. Students can determine response of SDF systems to pulse excitation.

We would like to determine the response u  t  of a SDF system to any force function
p  t  which is governed by equation of motion

mu  cu  ku  p  t  (4.1)

For simplicity, we first assume at rest initial conditions:

u  0  0 u  0   0

We will consider p  t  as composed of a sequence of forces each with infinitesimal duration

d called “impulse” as demonstrated in the top of Fig. 4.3.

4.1 Response to unit impulse

A very large force acting for a very short time but with a finite time integral is called
an impulsive force.

Figure 4.1 Unit impulse

The impulsive force p  t   1/  with time duration  , starting at time t   , is a unit

impulse (Fig. 4.1). As  approaches zero, the force becomes infinite, while the magnitude of
the impulse, defined by  p  t  dt , remains equal to 1. Such a limiting case when duration 

4-1
approaches zero (   0 ) is so called a unit impulse. Dirac delta function   t    is a well-

known mathematical function that represents a unit impulse centered at t   . Its value
approaches infinite at t   , while    t  dt  1 .

From Newton’s law, force equal to rate of change of momentum:

d
p  mu  (4.2)
dt
Multiplying dt and integrating both sides, we get
t2

 p dt  m  u
t1
2  u1   mu (4.3)

The left-hand side is magnitude of the impulse, which is equal to 1 for a unit impulse.

Consider a unit impulse acting on an SDF system with at rest initial condition [ u  0   0

and u  0   0 ]. At time t   , the velocity of the mass will change over very short duration

1
from zero velocity to u  , but the displacement is still zero (Fig. 4.2).
m

h(t-) undamped system

damped system

1/m
t


Figure 4.2 Response to unit impulse

After impulse, the system undergoes free vibration, so the response function is

1 n  t  
h t    u t   e sin D  t     t  (4.4)
mD

This is called “unit-impulse response function”, denoted by h  t    .

4-2
4.2 Response to arbitrary force

We will consider arbitrary force function p  t  as composed of a sequence of impulses

each with infinitesimal duration (Fig. 4.3). The impulse at time  has magnitude p   d and

the response of an SDF system to that impulse equals the impulse magnitude times unit-impulse
response function:
du  t    p   d  h  t    for t   (4.5)

The response to all impulses is

t
u  t    du (t )   p   h  t    d
t
(4.6)
0
0

This is known as Duhamel’s convolution integral.

1
u t    p   e sin D  t     d
t  
 t  
n
(4.7)
mD 0

Figure 4.3 Schematic explanation of convolution integral

4-3
For an undamped system, this result is simplified to be

1
u t    p   sin   t    d
t
(4.8)
mn 0 n

This is based on “at rest” initial condition [ u  0   0 and u  0   0 ].

If the initial displacement and velocity is not zero, solution of free vibration due to that initial
condition must be added to the above response equation by superposition.

4.3 Response to step force

Step force is a force that suddenly applies and changes from zero to po at time t  0

(Fig. 4.4) and stay constant equal to po

0 t0
p t    (4.9)
 po t0

Figure 4.4 An SDF system subjected to a step force

The response of an undamped SDF system with “at rest” initial condition to a step force can be
obtained from Duhamel’s integral (Eq. 4.8):

 2 t 
u  t    ust o 1  cos n t    ust o 1  cos  (4.10)
 Tn 

po p
where  ust o   o2 .
k mn

4-4
 2 

u(t) / (ust)o 
1

0
0 1 2 3
t / Tn

Figure 4.5 Deformation response history of undamped and damped SDF system with
damping ratio of 5% and 20% to a step force

The maximum deformation of undamped system is

uo  2  ust o (4.11)

A suddenly applied force produces twice maximum deformation that it would have caused as
a slowly applied force.

When the SDF system has some damping, the equation is easier solved by the classical
method for solving the differential equation governing motion of the mass:

mu  cu  ku  po (4.12)

The solution is

po p p  
u t    ent  o cos Dt  o sin D t  (4.13)
k  k k 1  2 
 
or
   
u  t    ust o 1  e nt  cos D t  sin D t   (4.14)
  1  2 
 

With some damping, the over- shooting beyond static deformation is smaller (Fig. 4.5).
Damping controls the amount of over-shooting and the rate of oscillation decay. The system
eventually settles at static displacement according to static equilibrium.

4-5
4.4 Response to ramp (or linearly increasing) force

Ramp force is the force that linearly increases with time. Naturally, the force cannot
increase indefinitely. Our interest is limited to short force duration that does not yet cause
system to deform beyond linear elastic range.

t
p  t   po (4.15)
tr

where tr is the duration of ramp force (rise time).

Figure 4.6 An SDF system subjected to a ramp force

Response of an undamped SDF system to this ramp force can be obtained by Duhamel’s
integral.
1 po
u  t    ust o  sin n  t    d
t

mn 
0 tr
(4.16)

 t sin n t 
u  t    ust o    (4.17)
 tr n tr 

For tr / Tn  2.5 , the response u  t  is shown below.

Static response
1
ust  t 
 ust o
u(t) / (ust)o

Dynamic response

0
0 1 2 3
t / Tn

Figure 4.7 Deformation response history of an SDF system subjected to a ramp force

4-6
 po t
The static deformation is ust  t   which increases linearly with time as the force
k tr

p  t  . It can be seen that the system oscillates with its natural period Tn about its static

displacement position.

4.5 Response to step force with finite rise time

Unlike a step force, a step force with finite rise time increases linearly with time for
0  t  tr from zero to a value po that remains constant afterward.

 p  t / tr  t  tr
p t    o (4.18)
 po t  tr

Figure 4.8 An SDF system subjected to a step force with finite rise time

The excitation has two phases: (1) ramp (or rise) phase, and (2) constant phase.

For an undamped SDF system, the response to a step force with finite rise time is the same as
response to a ramp force when t  tr .

 p  t / tr  t  tr
p t    o (4.19)
 po t  tr

 t sin n t 
u  t    ust o    for t  tr (4.20)
 tr n tr 

For t  tr , the response can be determined by using Duhamel’s integral (Eq. 4.8) or
alternatively using existing solution of a step force including the initial condition u  tr  and
u  tr  resulted from response to ramp force (Eq. 4.17).

4-7
  1 1  cos ntr  sin n  t  tr   
u  t    ust o 1    for t  tr (4.21)
 ntr   sin ntr cos n  t  tr   

which can be simplified to

 1 
u  t    ust o 1  sin nt  sin n  t  tr    for t  tr (4.22)
 n t r 

This response is a function of t / Tn because nt  2 t / Tn and it depends on the ratio tr / Tn as

ntr  2 tr / Tn .

Figure 4.9 plots the deformation response u  t  for tr / Tn = 0.2, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5.

This plot is valid for all combination of tr and Tn with the same ratio tr / Tn . The dashed line

is the corresponding static deformation.

During the force-rising phase, the system oscillates at its natural period Tn about the

static solution. During the constant-force phase, the system also oscillates at its natural period
Tn about the static solution. If the velocity u  tr  is zero at the end of the ramp phase, the

system does not vibrate during the constant-force phase.

For smaller values of tr / Tn , the response is similar to that due to a step force. For

larger values of tr / Tn (slowly increasing force), the dynamic displacement oscillates close to

the static displacement, implying that the dynamic effect is small.

For this type of force, maximum deformations always occur during constant-force
phase, and the maximum value of u  t  is

 1 
uo   ust o 1  1  cos ntr    sin ntr 
2 2
 (4.23)
 n t r 

It can be simplified and divided by  ust o to obtain deformation response factor Rd as

uo sin  tr / Tn 
Rd   1 (4.24)
 ust o  tr / Tn

This deformation response factor Rd depends only on the ratio tr / Tn . The plot of Rd versus

tr / Tn is called “response spectrum” (Fig 4.10).

4-8
 2 2
tr / Tn=2.5 tr / Tn=2
ust  t   ust o
u(t) / (ust)o

1 1

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
t / Tn t / Tn

2 2
tr / Tn=1.5 tr / Tn=1
u(t) / (ust)o

1 1

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
t / Tn t / Tn

tr / Tn=0.5 tr / Tn=0.2
2 2
u(t) / (ust)o

1 1

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
t / Tn t / Tn

Figure 4.9 Dynamic response of undamped SDF system to step force with finite rise time;
static solution is shown as dashed line.

4-9
 2

Rd = uo /(ust)o
1

0
0 1 2 3 4 5
tr / Tn

Figure 4.10 Response spectrum for step force with finite rise time

Response spectrum characterizes the problem completely. It contains information on

normalized maximum response of all undamped SDF systems due to any step force po with

finite rise time tr .

For short rise time, Rd is close to 2 as for a step force. For long rise time, Rd is close

to 1, implying that the effect of dynamics is small; and the maximum response is similar to the
static solution.

4.6 Response to pulse excitation

A single pulse is a force that applied for a short duration of time such as air pressure
due to an explosion. Response of an SDF system due to pulse excitation can be obtained by
many possible methods

1. Classical method of solving differential equation

2. Duhamel’s convolution integral
3. Superposition of existing solutions of step force, ramp force, or harmonic force as
examples shown in Fig. 4.11.

4 - 10
 Figure 4.11 Expressing a pulse excitation as a superposition of simple functions:
(a) rectangular pulse; (b) half-cycle sine pulse; (c) triangular pulse

Rectangular pulse

p 0  t  td
p t    o (4.25)
0 other t

where td is the duration of the pulse.

Figure 4.12 An SDF system subjected to a rectangular pulse

4 - 11
The response consists of two phases:

1. Forced vibration phase ( t  td )

The solution is the same as response to a step force.

 2 t 
u  t    ust o 1  cos n t    ust o 1  cos  for t  td (4.26)
 Tn 

2. Free vibration phase ( t  td )

The free vibration after pulse depends on its initial condition u  td  and u  td 

u  td    ust o 1  cos ntd  and u  td    ust o n sin n td (4.27)

Therefore,
u t 
 1  cos n td  cos n  t  td   sin ntd sin n  t  td  (4.28)
 ust o
which can be simplified to

u t 
 cos n  t  td   cos n t for t  td (4.29)
 ust o

2
After substituting n  and using trigonometric identities, we get
Tn

u t    t    t 1 t 
  2sin d  sin  2   d   for t  td (4.30)
 ust o  Tn    tn 2 Tn  

The response history u  t  above is a function of t / Tn and depends on the ratio td / Tn , not

separately on each of td or Tn .

4 - 12
 2 2
td / Tn=1/8 td / Tn=1/4
ust  t   ust o
1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
-1 t / Tn -1
t / Tn
-2 -2

2 td / Tn=1/2 2 td / Tn=1

1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
-1 t / Tn -1
t / Tn
-2 -2

td / Tn=1.25 td / Tn=1.5
2 2

1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3
-1 -1
t / Tn t / Tn
-2 -2

2 td / Tn=1.75 2 td / Tn=2

1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4
-1 -1 t / Tn
t / Tn
-2 -2

Figure 4.13 Dynamic response of undamped SDF system to rectangular pulse force;
static deformation is shown by dashed line.

No matter how long the duration td of the pulse is, the response is not close to the static

solution. The SDF system oscillates about its static solution during forces vibration and
oscillates about its original position during free vibration.

4 - 13
 Free vibration when t  td depends on its initial condition at t  td . If td / Tn is an

integer (counting number like 1, 2, 3, …), the velocity u  td  and displacement u  td  equal to

zero at the end of the pulse, so the system will not vibrate after the pulse ends.

Maximum response

Forced vibration phase ( 0  t  td )

If duration of the pulse is long enough, i.e. td Tn  12 , for the system to reach the first

peak before the pulse ends, the maximum response during forced vibration is uo  2  ust o as

for the peak response to a step force.

If the pulse duration is too short for a peak to be developed during forced vibration, the
maximum response of forced vibration is the displacement at the end of the pulse u  td  .

 2 td 
u  td    ust o 1  cos  (4.31)
 Tn 

Therefore, the deformation response factor for forced vibration is

 2 td td 1
1  cos T for 2
 Tn
Rd  
n
(4.32)
 t
2 for d  12
 Tn

Free vibration phase ( t  td )

Peak response during free vibration equals its amplitude, which depends on u  td  and

u  td  as

  u  t   2 
uo  u  td      d  
2
(4.33)
  n  

which is
 td
uo  2  ust o sin (4.34)
Tn

4 - 14
The deformation response factor for the free vibration phase is

 td
Rd  2 sin (4.35)
Tn

Deformation response factor Rd is plotted versus td / Tn in Fig. 4.14. The overall deformation

response factor is
  td td 1
2sin T for 2
 Tn
Rd  
n
(4.36)
 2 t
for d  12
 Tn

This factor depends on the ratio td / Tn , not individual td or Tn .

Peak during forced vibration

2
Rd = uo / (ust)o

Peak during free vibration

(a) 1

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
td / Tn

2
Overall maximum
Rd = uo / (ust)o

(b) 1

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
td / Tn

Figure 4.14 Response to rectangular pulse force: (a) maximum response during each of
forced and free vibration phases; (b) overall maximum, or “shock spectrum”

4 - 15
 Plot of maximum response versus td / Tn (Fig. 4.14b) is called “response spectrum.”

For a single pulse, it is sometimes called “shock spectrum.” It completely characterizes the
maximum response of SDF systems to such excitation because the maximum response for any
SDF system due to a rectangular pulse can be determined by simply reading the deformation
response factor from the spectrum for any value of td / Tn and multiplying to the static

deformation.

Example 4.1

A one-story building idealized as a frame with two 3.66 m tall columns and a rigid
beam. The base of columns are hinge supports and the natural period is 0.5 seconds. Each
column is W200 x 26.8 kg/m. Cross section properties are Ix = 2576 cm4; Sx = Ix/c = 249 cm3;
E = 207,277 MPa. Determine the maximum response of the frame due to a rectangular pulse
force with amplitude 17.83 kN and duration td = 0.2 sec. Response quantities of interest are
lateral displacement at the top and maximum bending moment in each column.

W200 x 26.8 kg/m

Figure 4.15 (a) Frame structure in example 4.1; (b) column deflected shape; (c) column
bending moment diagram; and (d) stress distribution on the cross section of column

Solution

1. Determine deformation response factor Rd .

td 0.2
  0.4 which is less than 0.5, so the maximum response occurs in free vibration.
Tn 0.5
uo t
Rd   2sin d  2sin  0.4   1.902
 ust o Tn

2. Determine the lateral stiffness of the frame:

3EI 3  207, 277  10  2576

4

kcol  3   0.0032672 MN/cm  326, 719 N/m

L 3663

4 - 16
 There are two columns, so the frame lateral stiffness k  2  326, 719  653, 438 N/m

3. Determine peak static response  ust o :

po 17,830 N
 ust o    0.0273 m
k 653, 438 N m

4. Determine the maximum deformation:

uo   ust o Rd   0.02731.902   0.0519 m

5. The maximum bending moment occurs at the top of column equal to

M  kcol uo L   326,719  0.0519  3.66   62,062N  m = 0.06206 MN  m

6. Determine the maximum bending stress:

M 0.06206
   251.4 MPa
S 249 / 1003

Half-cycle sine pulse

The equation of motion is

 p sin  t / td  t  td
mu  ku  p  t    o (4.37)
 0 t  td

The response solution of this equation with at rest initial condition is presented for two
cases: (1)   n or td / Tn  12 ; and (2)   n or td / Tn  12

Figure 4.16 An SDF system subjected to a half-cycle sine pulse

4 - 17
Case 1: td / Tn  1
2

Forced vibration phase is the same as response to harmonic force p  t   po sin t with

   / td . The forced vibration response is

u t  1   t  Tn  t 
 sin     sin  2  (4.38)
 ust o 1  Tn / 2td 2   td  2td  Tn 

Free vibration phase after the pulse ends depends on the displacement u  td  and velocity u  td 

at the end of the pulse, which becomes initial condition of free vibration phase.

u t  Tn / td  cos  td / Tn  sin 2  t  1 td 

   t  td (4.39)
 ust o Tn / 2td   1
2
 Tn 2 Tn 

Case 2: td / Tn  12

Forced vibration phase is as given by response to harmonic excitation with   n .

u t  1 2 t 2 t 2 t 
  sin  cos  t  td (4.40)
 ust o 2 Tn Tn Tn 

Free vibration phase is similarly depends on displacement u  td  and velocity u  td  at the end

of the pulse.

u  td  
 u  td   0 (4.41)
 ust o 2

Thus the free vibration is

u t    t 1
 cos 2    t  td (4.42)
 ust o 2  Tn 2 

Response history

The above response solutions are plotted for td / Tn = 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3

in Fig. 4.17.

4 - 18
 td / Tn=1/8 td / Tn=1/4
2 2
ust  t   ust o
1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
-1 -1
t / Tn t / Tn
-2 -2

td / Tn=1/2 td / Tn=1
2 2

1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
-1 -1
t / Tn t / Tn
-2 -2

td / Tn=1.5 td / Tn=2
2 2

1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4
-1 t / Tn -1
t / Tn
-2 -2

td / Tn=2.5 td / Tn=3
2 2

1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
-1 -1 t / Tn
t / Tn
-2 -2

Figure 4.17 Dynamic response of undamped SDF system to half-cycle sine pulse force; static
solution is shown by dashed lines.

For large value of td / Tn  3 when force varies slowly relative to the natural period of

vibration, the response is close to the static response ust  t   p  t  / k shown by the dashed

line.

4 - 19
 For small value of td Tn  1 8 , the response is slow compared to the very short duration

pulse. The pulse could be considered as an impulse.

For certain values of td Tn  1.5, 2.5, ... , the system stays still after the pulse ends

because the displacement and velocity are zero at the end of the pulse.

Maximum response

During the forced vibration phase, number of local maxima or peaks that occur depends
on td / Tn . The longer the pulse duration, more such peaks occur. The time instant to when

peaks occur are determined by solving for to that make velocity (which is derivative of Eq.

4.38) equal to zero, leading to

 to 2 to 2l
cos  cos or  t o l  td l  1, 2, 3,...
td Tn 1  2  td / Tn 

Only those to that do not exceed td are relevant because only peaks during forced are

being considered. This leads to

uo 1  2 l T 2 l 
Rd   sin  n sin (4.43)
 ust o 1  Tn / 2td   1  2td Tn 2td 1  Tn 2td 
2 

If td / Tn  12 , no peak occurs during forced vibration because to  td .

In the free vibration phase, the response is sinusoidal, and its amplitude is

Rd 
uo T / t  cos  td / Tn 
 n d (4.44)
 ust o Tn / 2td   1
2

For the special case when td / Tn  12 , the maximum response during forces and free

vibration are the same and equal to

uo 
Rd   (4.45)
 ust o 2

The overall shock spectrum of maximum response can be used to conveniently

determine the peak response due to a half-cycle sine pulse (Fig. 4.18c).

4 - 20
 Largest peak of the forced response is
2 1st peak 2nd peak 3rd peak

n=1
Rd = uo / (ust)o

n=2 n=3
1
n=5
n=1
n=2 n=3 n=4
n=6
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
td / Tn

2
Rd = uo / (ust)o

Force response
1

Free response

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
td / Tn

2
Rd = uo / (ust)o

Overall maximum
1

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
td / Tn

Figure 4.18 Response to half-cycle sine pulse: (a) response maxima during forced vibration
phase; (b) maximum responses during each of forced and free vibration phases;
(c) shock spectrum

4 - 21
Symmetrical triangular pulse

Figure 4.19 An SDF system subjected to a triangular pulse

The response can be easily determined by superposition of three ramp forces as shown
in Fig. 4.11c. The result is

  T 
 2  ttd  n sin 2 Ttn  0t  td

  2 td 
2

u t     
T
 2 1  ttd  n  2sin 2Tn  t  12 td   sin 2 Ttn   td
 t  td (4.46)
 ust o   2 td 
2

 
 2  Tn  2sin 2T  t  12 td   sin 2T  t  td   sin 2 Tt   t  td
  2 td  n n n 


Response histories for many values of td / Tn are plotted in Fig. 4.20 and we can observe that

behavior of responses are similar to those due to a half-cycle sine pulse, which are the
followings:

- For large value of td / Tn  3 when force varies slowly relative to the natural period of

vibration, the response is close to the static response ust  t   p  t  / k shown by the

dashed line.

- For small value of td Tn  1 8 , the response is slow compared to the very short duration

pulse. The pulse could be considered as an impulse.

- For certain values of td Tn  2, ... , the system stays still after the pulse ends because

the displacement and velocity are zero at the end of the pulse.

4 - 22
 td / Tn=1/8 td / Tn=1/4
2 2
ust  t   ust o
1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
-1 -1
t / Tn t / Tn
-2 -2

td / Tn=1/2 td / Tn=1
2 2

1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
-1 -1
t / Tn t / Tn
-2 -2

td / Tn=1.5 td / Tn=2
2 2

1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4
-1 t / Tn -1
t / Tn
-2 -2

td / Tn=2.5 td / Tn=3
2 2

1 1
u(t) / (ust)o

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
-1 -1 t / Tn
t / Tn
-2 -2

Figure 4.20 Dynamic response of undamped SDF system to triangular pulse; static solution
is shown by dashed lines.

The first peak develops right at end of pulse when td / Tn  1/ 2 . If td / Tn  1/ 2 , no

peak occurs during forced vibration phase, whereas if td / Tn  1/ 2 , the overall maximum

response occurs during the forced vibration phase. The shock spectrum is shown in Fig. 4.21.

4 - 23
  

Force response  

Free response
 

Overall maximum

Figure 4.21 Response to triangular pulse force: (a) maximum response during each of forced
and free vibration phases; (b) shock spectrum

Effect of pulse shape and approximate analysis for short pulses

When plotting the shock spectra for three types of pulse together (Fig. 4.22), we can
observe that the overall maximum deformation occurs during the pulse and the pulse shape is
influential if the pulse duration td is longer than Tn / 2 . The pulse that slowly increases like the

triangular shape produces the smallest Rd .

If the pulse duration is short ( td  Tn / 2 ), the overall maximum response occurs during

the free vibration phase and is controlled by the time integral of the pulse. As pulse duration
becomes very short compared to the natural period of vibration. Such integral is magnitude of
the impulse:

   p  t  dt
td
(4.47)
0

4 - 24
 p0

2 td
Rd = uo / (ust)o

p0

td
1
p0

td
0
0 1 2 3 4
td / Tn
Figure 4.22 Shock spectra for three types of pulse all having same force amplitude po .

The response to the impulse is

 1 
u t     sin nt  (4.48)
 mn 

The maximum deformation is proportional to the magnitude of the impulse.

  2
uo   (4.49)
mn k Tn

uo t
For a rectangular pulse,   potd and  2 d
 ust o Tn

2 uo t
For a half-cycle sine pulse,  potd and 4 d
  ust o Tn

1 uo t
For a triangular pulse,  potd and  d
2  ust o Tn

These results are exact if the pulse is a pure impulse, td / Tn  0 . They provide an upper

bound for larger td / Tn because the impulsive force is spread over a time duration td .

4 - 25
 Over the range of 0  td / Tn  14 , results obtained using the pure impulse approximation

is close to the exact response and their difference increases as td / Tn approached 1

2 . For

td / Tn  12 , it becomes meaningless because the maximum response occurs during forced

vibration before the pulse ends.

This observation suggests that the maximum deformation is controlled by the pulse
area, and is independent of the pulse shape, when the pulse duration is much shorter than the
natural period, say, td  Tn / 4 .

This is confirmed by considering the three pulse shapes having the same duration and
1
area, which is magnitude of impulse, for example, equal to potd in Fig 4.23. Note that their
2
peak forces are different.

Their shock spectra are compared in Fig. 4.23, and it is confirmed that, for td / Tn <0.25,

the maximum responses are virtually the same and equal to

uo t
 d (4.50)
po / k Tn

2 Approximate

p0 /2
uo / (po /k)

td

1  pp
p00 /44
td

p0

td
0
0 1 2 3 4
td /Tn

Figure 4.23 Shock spectra for three types of pulse all having the same magnitude of impulse

4 - 26
Example 4.2

The water tank shown below is subjected to the force p  t  as in the graph caused by

an explosion. Determine the maximum base shear and bending moment at the base of the tower.
The weight is 445 kN. Lateral stiffness k is 1436 kN/m. Natural period Tn is 1.12 sec and
damping ratio  is 1.23%.

Figure 4.24 Force and water tank structure in example 4.2

Solution

The duration of force is very short compared to the natural period of vibration:
td / Tn  0.08 /1.12  0.071  0.25 . So, this force maybe considered as an impulse with
magnitude
0.08
0.02
  p  t  dt  2 0  2 178  2  71  2 18  0   5.34 kN  sec
0

by using trapezoidal rule integration. Suppose damping is neglected because it has small effect
for impulse excitation. The maximum displacement is

uo 
 2

 5.34 kN  sec  2  0.02086 m
k Tn 1436 kN/m 1.12 sec 

The equivalent static force associated with this displacement is

f So  kuo  1436 kN/m  0.02086 m  30 kN

The base shear force is then 30 kN and the base overturning moment is 30 kN x 24.4 m = 732
kN*m.

4 - 27
Effect of viscous damping

If the excitation is a single pulse, the effect of damping on the maximum response is
usually not important unless the system is highly damped. This is contrary to the case of
harmonic excitation where damping has important influence on the maximum steady-state
response at or near resonance. For example, deformation response factor decreases from 50 to
5 as damping ratio increases from 1% to 10%. Damping is influential on maximum steady-
state response to harmonic excitation because there is much cumulative energy dissipation
before system reaches it maximum response in steady state, whereas there is energy dissipation
in only one cycle for a short duration pulse.

Effect of damping on maximum response due to pulse excitation is confirmed by

observing that the reduction in maximum response is only 12% when damping ratio increases
from 1% to 10% for the case of half-cycle sine pulse with td  Tn / 2 . Therefore, neglecting

damping when estimating the maximum response to a short duration pulse would be modestly
over conservative (over-estimating) the actual value.

Figure 4.25 (a) Response of damped system   0.1 to a half-cycle sine pulse with

td Tn  0.5 ; (b) force-deformation diagram showing energy dissipated in viscous damping

4 - 28
 Figure 4.26 (a) Shock spectra for a half-cycle sine pulse force for five damping values:
  0, 0.01, 0.1, 0.2,and 0.4 .

4.7 Response to ground motion

Response to ground motion ug  t  is equivalent to response to applied force

peff  t   mug  t  where

p  mugo ugo
 ust o 
eff o
  (4.51)
k k n2
Thus, the deformation response factor
uo  2u
Rd   n o (4.52)
 ust o ugo
Therefore, the shock spectrum presented earlier for pulse force gives the response n2uo ugo

due to the ground motion with the same time variation as those pulses.

For undamped system, the total acceleration of the mass is related to the deformation
through ut  t   n2u  t  . Thus, the maximum values of them are equal uot  n2uo . Then,

uot
Rd  (4.53)
ugo

4 - 29
Example 4.3

A vehicle idealized as a SDF system travels over a bump as shown below with constant
horizontal velocity v. Determine the maximum force in the suspension spring and maximum
vertical acceleration of the mass if (a) v=8 km/hr and (b) v=16 km/hr.

Figure 4.27 A vehicle travelling over a speed bump in example 4.3

Solution

1. Determine the system and excitation parameters

17.8 kN 1000
m  1815 kg k  140 kN/m=140,000 N/m
9.807 m sec 2

140,000 2
n   8.783 rad/sec Tn   0.7154 sec
1815 8.783

(a) v  8 km/hr  2.222 m/sec

0.9 m td 0.405
td   0.405sec   0.566
2.222 m sec Tn 0.7154

(b) v  16 km/hr  4.444 m/sec

0.9 m td 0.2027
td   0.2027sec   0.283
4.444 m sec Tn 0.7154

 t  0.15 2
u g  t   0.15sin   ugo 
 td  td2

4 - 30
2. Determine Rd for the td Tn values above from shock spectrum for half-cycle sine

pulse (Fig. 4.18, or Eqs. 4.43 and 4.43).

Rd  1.015 for v = 8 km/hr with td Tn  0.566

Rd  0.639 for v = 16 km/hr with td Tn  0.283

3. Determine the maximum force f So

2 2
ugo 0.15 2  Tn   Tn 
uo  2 Rd    Rd  0.0375   Rd
n td  2 
2
 td 

  1 
2

 0.0375   1.015  0.119 m for v = 8 km/hr

  0.566 
uo   2
  1 
0.0375  0.283  0.639  0.300 m for v =16 km/hr


 16.66 kN for v = 8 km/hr

f So  kuo  140uo  
42.00 kN for v =16 km/hr

The force in the spring becomes much larger at high vehicle speed.

4. Determine the maximum vertical acceleration uot of the mass using the equation

uot
Rd 
ugo

 0.15 2
 0.4052 1.015   9.161m/s for v = 8 km/hr
2
0.15 2
So uo  ugo Rd 
t
Rd  
td2  0.15  0.639   23.02 m/s 2 for v =16 km/hr
2

 0.2027 2

Observe that the vertical acceleration is greater than 1.0g at higher speed of 16 km/hr
indicating that the system would jump off the ground.

4 - 31
Exercises

1. Determine the maximum deformation of the beam subjected a weight of 5 kN dropped at

midspan of the beam structure shown below. The impact force is shown in the graph.
Assume that damping ratio is 5%. and mass of beam is 2000 kg. Cross section of the beam
has rigidity EI=2,000,000 N*m2 and span length is 5 m.

m=2000 kg
EI =2,000,000 N*m2

L=5 m
p(t), kN
5

0 0.05 t, sec
Figure P4.1 Beam structure and force for Problem 1

2. The elevated water tank has a total weigh of 45 ton when full with water. The lateral
stiffness of the tower is 1500 kN/m. Estimate the maximum lateral displacement due to two
dynamic forces shown in Fig. P4.2 by assuming that the water tower can be idealized as an
SDF system and damping is neglected.

p (kN) p (kN)
p(t)
200 200
20m

4 t (sec) 0.2 t (sec)

Figure P4.2 Water tank structure and forces for Problem 2

4 - 32
3. The columns in one-story building of Example 4.1 (Fig. 4.15) are modified to have fixed
support as shown in Fig. P4.3. Under the same excitation, determine the maximum
displacement at the top of the frame and maximum bending stress in the columns, then
discuss on the effect of base fixity.

Rigid

W200 x 26.8 kg/m

3.66m

Figure P4.3 Frame structure for Problem 3

4 - 33