Course: Structural Dynamics CIE 4140. Exam: Friday, April 13, 2012; 14.00.

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Problem 1 (7 exam points). This problem addresses the steady-state dynamics of a high-rise building under wind loading. The building consists of two identical towers and a low-rise block of offices between them. It is assumed that the dynamic behaviour of the building can be predicted using a model sketched in Figure 1.

f w ( z, t )
z=0

m k

EI , A EI , A

z = 2L 3

k r , cr kd
Figure 1. Model of a high-rise building

k r , cr

The model is composed of two identical vertical beams (towers), which are connected by distributed springs up to one third of the height. The springs mimic the elasticity of the low-rise block of offices. The lower ends of the beams can move neither horizontally nor vertically. The rotation is restrained by the rotational springs and dashpots as shown in Figure 1. The upper end of the left beam is free. A vibration absorber represented by a mass-spring system is attached to the upper end of the right beam as shown in Figure 1. The building is subject to a wind loading which depends both on time and on the vertical coordinate. This loading is characterized by a distributed force, whose linear density (force per unit length) is given by f w ( z , t ) = f st + f d sin ( t ) exp ( z L ) .

Remark: In all questions to this problem assume that the gravity can be neglected. Questions: 1. Assume the beams to be infinitely rigid such that they remain straight during the motion. Under this assumption please complete the following tasks: 1a. Formulate equations of motion for the system assuming that the angles between the beams and the vertical remain small (1.5 exam points). 1b. Derive the mass, stiffness and damping matrices of the system (0.5 exam points). 1c. Derive the steady state response of the system to the wind loading (1 exam point). 1d. Find the natural frequencies of the system neglecting the absorber, k = m = 0 , and the rotational damping at the lower ends of the beams, cr = 0 (0.5 exam point). 1e. Write down an expression for the natural frequency of the absorber, which would ensure the optimal mitigation of the anti-symmetric mode of vibration of the building (1 exam point). 2. Assume the beams to have a finite rigidity such that the beam can bend and the deflection from the vertical equilibrium depends both on time and the co-ordinate along the beams. 2a. Formulate a system of equations that govern small vibrations of the system (1.5 exam points). 2b. Find the steady-state response of the system to the wind loading (1 exam point). Problem 2 (3 exam points+ 1 bonus point). This problem addresses the steady-state dynamics of a double-level catenary (the overhead power line) for trains. Such a catenary consists of a carrying wire and a contact wire. The carrying wire is fixed to the support structure of the catenary and highly tensioned. The contact wire is suspended from the carrying wire on the so-called droppers. The double-level catenary can be modelled as a system of two parallel horizontal strings as shown in Figure 2. The upper string (the carrying wire) is assumed to be suspended from a rigid and immovable horizontal support by means of U distributed springs with stiffness per unit length equal to kd . The lower string (the contact wire) is elastically suspended from the upper string by means of distributed springs with stiffness per unit length equal to k dL . It is assumed that the catenary is excited by a harmonic point force

F cos ( t ) , which is applied to the contact wire as shown in Figure 2. This force represents the vertical load by the current collector of a train.
U kd

T U , AU T L , AL
F cos ( t )

kdL

0
Figure 2. Model of a double-level catenary.

Remark: In all questions to this problem assume that the gravity can be neglected.
Questions:

3a. Formulate a system of equations that govern small vibrations of the double level-catenary under the load imposed by the current collector (1.5 exam points). 3b. Derive the dispersion equation for wave propagation in the double-level catenary. Find an expression for the cut-off frequency of the system, below which no propagating waves may exist in the system (1.5 exam points). 3c. Derive the steady-state response of the system to the load assuming the load frequency to be larger than the cut-off frequency (1 bonus point). Please note that 1. A necessary condition for getting a grade of 9.5 is to answer question 3b correctly. 2. A necessary condition for getting a grade of 10.0 is to answer questions 3b and 3c correctly.

Solutions
Problem 1. Question 1a. Under the assumption that the beams are rigid, the system has 3 degrees of freedom, which can be characterized by the angles of rotation of the beams about their lower ends and by the horizontal displacement of the absorber, see Figure 1A.

u (t )

1 ( t )

2 ( t )

Figure 1A. The degrees of freedom of the system for the case of rigid beams.

The equations of motion can be derived using the displacement method. According to this method, we draw the system in 3 displaced situations: 2 displaced positions of the beams and 1 displaced position of the absorber and show the moments and forces resulting from the imposed displacements. In each situation, either one of the beams or the mass of the absorber is displaced in the positive direction of the respective generalised coordinate, see Figure 2A. u (t )
Fsp

Fsp

u Fsp

u Fsp

1 ( t )

2 ( t )

( M d1)

( M d1)

( M d2 )

( M d2 )

( (1 M sp) M dp)
1

( (2 M sp ) M dp)
2

Figure 2A. Admissible displacements and resulting moments and forces.

According to Figure 2A, equations of motions for the system can be written as
( (1 (1 ( && J 1 = M d1) M sp) M dp) + M d2) + M wind ( (2 (2 ( u && J 2 = M d2) M sp ) M dp ) + M d1) LFsp + LFsp
u && mu = Fsp Fsp

(1)

The moment M wind imposed by the wind load on the left beam can be calculated as

M wind = f wind ( L z ) dz = ( f st + f d sin ( t ) ) exp ( z L )( L z ) dz = Qw ( fst + f d sin ( t ) ) ,

0 0

where Qw = exp ( z L )( L z ) dz = L2 exp ( 1) .

The other terms in equation (1) are given as

Md = Md =
(1)
1

(1)

L3

kd ( x1 ) xdx = kd 1 x 2 dx =
0 L3 2 d 2 d 2

L3

L3 kd 1 , 81

( 2)

L3

k ( x ) xdx = k
0 0

L3 x dx = kd 2 , 81

M sp = kr1 ,
( & M dp) = cr1 ,
Fsp = kL2 ,

M sp = kr 2 ,
( & M dp ) = cr2 ,
2 u Fsp = ku.

( 2)

Substituting the above-written expressions to the equations of motion (1), we obtain the following final form of the governing equations:

L3 & kd (1 2 ) kr1 cr1 + Qw ( fst + f d sin ( t ) ) 81 L3 && & J 2 = kd ( 2 1 ) kr 2 cr 2 kL22 + kLu 81 && mu = kL 2 ku
&& J 1 =

(2)

The mass moment of inertia J is given by the well-known expression for a beam that rotates about its end: J = ML2 3 . Question 1b. As follows from equations (2), the mass, damping, and stiffness matrices of the system are given as (assuming that the vector of the generalized displacements is composed as

[1 , 2 , u ]

):

J M = 0 0

0 J 0

0 0 m

cr C = 0 0

0 cr 0

0 0 0

L3 81 kd + kr L3 K = kd 81 0

L3 kd 81

L3 kd + kr + kL2 81 kL

0 kL k

Question 1c. Since the wind has a constant component and a harmonic one, which is proportional to sin ( t ) , the steady-state response can be found as
st d 1 ( t ) = 1 + Im ( 1 exp ( it ) ) ,

2 ( t ) = st + Im ( d exp ( it ) ) , 2 2
u ( t ) = U st + Im (U d exp ( it ) ) .

(3)

Substituting equations (3) into the system of governing equations (2) and separating the constant terms and those proportional to exp ( it ) , we obtain the following two systems of algebraic equations:

L3 st st 0 = kd ( 1 st ) kr 1 + Qw fst 2 81 L3 st st st 2 st st 0 = kd ( 2 1 ) kr 2 kL 2 + kLU 81 0 = kL st kU st 2 2 d L3 d d J 1 = kd ( 1 d ) kr icr 1 + Qw f d 2 81 L3 2 d d d d d 2 d d J 2 = kd ( 2 1 ) kr 2 icr 2 kL 2 + kLU 81 2 d mU = d kL kU d 2

(4)

(5)

The solution to equations (4) give the time-independent components of the steady-state solution, whereas the solution to equations (5) give the complex amplitudes of the harmonic part of the steady-state response. Question 1d. According to the governing equations (2), free vibration of the system under the assumption that k = m = cr = 0 is given as

L3 kd (1 2 ) kr1 81 L3 && J 2 = kd (2 1 ) kr2 81

&& J 1 =

(6)

The natural frequencies of the system can be found by assuming harmonic vibration of the system in the form:

1 ( t ) = 1 sin (t ) ,

2 ( t ) = 2 sin (t )

Substituting the above equation into equations (6), we obtain

2 L3 L3 2 L3 J + kd + kr 1 kd 2 = 0 J 1 = 81 kd ( 1 2 ) kr 1 81 81 3 3 3 2 J = L k ( ) k L k + 2 J + L k + k = 0 d r 1 2 1 2 d r 1 81 d 2 81 81
The frequency equation is obtained from the above system by setting the determinant of its coefficient matrix to zero. This gives

L3 J + kd + kr 81 L3 kd 81
2

L3 2 2 kd 2 L3 L3 81 = 0 J + kd + kr kd = 0 81 L3 81 2 J + kd + kr 81

The above equation can be simplified to

( 2 J + kr ) + 2
2

L3 kd ( 2 J + kr ) = 0 81

L3 2 J + kr ) 2 J + kr + 2 kd = 0 ( 81

Thus, the natural frequencies of the system without the absorber are given as

1 = kr J , 2 = kr + 2 kd J 81

L3

(7)

Question 1e. In equations (7), it is the second natural frequency 2 that corresponds to the antisymmetric vibration of the system as it is the only natural frequency that depends on the stiffness of the springs that connect the beams (in the course of symmetric vibrations the beams move in phase and the connecting springs are not activated). Therefore, in order to suppress the anti-

symmetric vibration, the natural frequency of the absorber,

k m should be equal to

L3 kr + 2 kd J . 81
Question 2a. Flexible beams should be characterized by their deflections from the vertical equilibrium that depend both on time and the coordinate z . To write the governing equations, we introduce the reference system as shown in Figure 3A.

u0 ( t )

z=0

u1 ( z , t )

u2 ( z , t )

z = 2L 3

k r , cr
z

k r , cr kd

Figure 3A. Reference system for flexible beams.

In the chosen reference system, the governing equations can be written as - definitions:

u11 ( z , t ) , 0 z 2 L 3 u1 ( z, t ) = u12 ( z, t ) , 2 L 3 z L
-equations of motion:

u21 ( z, t ) , 0 z 2 L 3 u2 ( z , t ) = u22 ( z , t ) , 2 L 3 z L

 2u11 4u11 A 2 + EI 4 = f w ( z, t ) , t z 2 u 4u12 A 212 + EI 4 + kd ( u12 u22 ) = f w ( z , t ) , t z 2 u21 4u21 A 2 + EI = 0, t z 4 2u 4u22 A 222 + EI + kd ( u22 u21 ) = 0, t z 4
- boundary conditions:

0 < z < 2L 3 2L 3 < z < L 0 < z < 2L 3 2L 3 < z < L

z = 0:

2u11 3u11 2u21 3u21 = = = 0, EI = k ( u21 u0 ) z 2 z 3 z 2 z 3 2u12 u 2u12 2u22 u 2u22 , u22 = 0, EI z = L : u12 = 0, EI = kr 12 cr = kr 22 cr z 2 z zt z 2 z zt

- interface conditions:

z = 2L 3 :

u u u11 = u12 , 11 = 12 , z z u21 u22 u21 = u22 , = , z z

2u11 2u12 3u11 3u12 = , = z 2 z 2 z 3 z 3 2u21 2u22 3u21 3u22 = , = z 2 z 2 z 3 z 3

- equation of motion for the absorber:

&& mu0 + k ( u0 u21 ( 0, t ) ) = 0

Question 2b. Since the wind has a constant component and a harmonic one, which is proportional to sin ( t ) , the steady-state response can be found as

u1 ( z , t ) = U1st ( z ) + Im (U1d ( z ) exp ( it ) ) ,

st d u2 ( z , t ) = U 2 ( z ) + Im (U 2 ( z ) exp ( it ) ) , st u0 ( t ) = U 0 ( z ) + Im (U 0d ( z ) exp ( it ) ) ,

(8)

st,d 1

st,d U11 ( z ) , 0 z 2 L 3 ( z ) = st,d U12 ( z ) , 2 L 3 z L

st,d U 21 ( z , t ) , 0 z 2 L 3 u2 ( z , t ) = st,d U 22 ( z , t ) , 2 L 3 z L

Substituting equations (8) into the system of governing equations formulated in the answer to question 2a, and separating the constant terms and those proportional to exp ( it ) , we obtain the following two systems of governing equations:

-equations of motion:
st 4U11 = fst exp ( z L ) , z 4 st 4U12 st st + kd (U12 U 22 ) = f st exp ( z L ) , EI 4 z st 4U 21 = 0, EI z 4 st 4U 22 st st + kd (U 22 U12 ) = 0, EI 4 z

EI

0 < z < 2L 3 2L 3 < z < L

(9)

0 < z < 2L 3 2L 3 < z < L

- boundary conditions:

z = 0:

st st st st 2U11 3U11 2U 21 3U 21 st = = = 0, EI = kU 21 2 3 2 3 z z z z 2 st st st st U12 U12 2U 22 U 22 st st , U 22 = 0, EI z = L : U12 = 0, EI = kr = kr z 2 z z 2 z

(10)

- interface conditions:

z = 2L 3 :

st st U11 = U12 ,

st st st st st st U11 U12 2U11 2U12 3U11 3U12 = , = , = z z z 2 z 2 z 3 z 3 st st st st st st U 21 U 22 2U 21 2U 22 3U 21 3U 22 st st U 21 = U 22 , = , = , = z z z 2 z 2 z 3 z 3

(11)

The system of equations, when solved, describes the time-independent component of the steadystate response. The harmonic part of the steady-state response can be determined from the following system of equations:
d 2 AU11 + EI d 4U11 = f d exp ( z L ) , z 4 d 4U12 d d d 2 AU12 + EI + kd (U12 U 22 ) = f d exp ( z L ) 4 z d 4U 21 d 2 AU 21 + EI = 0, z 4 d 4U 22 d d d 2 AU 22 + EI + kd (U 22 U 21 ) = 0, 4 z

0 < z < 2L 3 2L 3 < z < L 0 < z < 2L 3 2L 3 < z < L

- boundary conditions:

z = 0:

d d d d 2U11 3U11 2U 21 3U 21 d d = = = 0, EI = k (U11 U 0 ) 2 3 2 3 z z z z

10

d z = L : U12 = 0, EI

d d 2U12 U d 2U 22 U d d = ( kr +icr ) 12 , U 22 = 0, EI = ( kr +icr ) 22 z 2 z z 2 z

- interface conditions:

z = 2L 3 :

d d U11 = U12 ,

d d d d d d U11 U12 2U11 2U12 3U11 3U12 = , = , = z z z 2 z 2 z 3 z 3 d d d d d d U 21 U 22 2U 21 2U 22 3U 21 3U 22 d d U 21 = U 22 , = , = , = z z z 2 z 2 z 3 z 3

- equation of motion for the absorber:

d d d m 2U 0 + k (U 0 U 21 ( 0 ) ) = 0

Question 3a. The strings should be characterized by their deflections from the horizontal equilibrium that depend both on time and the coordinate x along the strings. To write the governing equations, we introduce the reference system as shown in Figure 4A.

wU ( x, t ) w L ( x, t )

F cos ( t )

0
Figure 4A. Reference system for the double-level catenary.

In the chosen reference system, the governing equations for the system can be written as - definitions:

w1L ( x, t ) , x 0 w L ( x, t ) = L w2 ( x, t ) , x 0
-equations of motion:

11

2 U 2 wU U w U A T + kd wU + kdL ( wU w1L ) = 0, 2 2 t z 2 U w 2 wU U L AU TU + kd wU + kdL ( wU w2 ) = 0, t 2 z 2 2 L 2 L L w L w A T + kdL ( w1L wU ) = 0, 2 2 t z 2 L w 2 wL L AL 2 T L + kdL ( w2 wU ) = 0, t z 2

x<0 x>0
(12)

x<0 x>0

- interface conditions:

x = 0:

wL wL L w1L = w2 , T 2 1 = F cos ( t ) z z

(13)

- boundary conditions:

x : x + :

w1L < and no waves propagating towards minus infinity

L w2 < and no waves propagating towards plus infinity

Question 3b. The dispersion equation for the system can be found by assuming the displacements of the strings to be in the form of propagating waves:

w L ( x, t ) = Re W L exp ( i (t x ) ) wU
U

( ( x, t ) = Re (W

) exp ( i (t x ) ) )

(14)

Substituting expressions (14) in the equations of motion (12), one obtains

U W U ( AU 2 + T U 2 + kd + kdL ) kdLW L = 0

W L ( AL 2 + T L 2 + kdL ) kdLW U = 0
The above system of equations has a not trivial solution if and only if its coefficient matrix is equal to zero. This requirement results in the following dispersion equation:
U AU 2 + T U 2 + kd + kdL

kdL

( A
U

U + T U 2 + kd + kdL

( A + T )( A + T
L 2 L L 2 L

kdL

+ kdL )

=0
2

+ kdL ) ( kdL ) = 0

As a rule, the cut-off frequency corresponds to infinitely long waves, whose wave number is zero. For such waves, the dispersion equation reduces to

12

( A
U

U + kd + kdL )( AL 2 + kdL ) ( kdL ) = 0 2

The above equation can be rewritten as

( A
U

U U + kd )( AL 2 ) + ( AU 2 + kd ) kdL + kdL ( AL 2 ) = 0

or
2 U 2 AL L 2 L 2 U (0 ) + (0 ) + U (0 ) + (0 0L ) = 0, A 4 2 U U where (0 , L ) = kd , L 2

(A )
U ,L

Solving the above equation for 2 , one finds

U 4 2 (0 ) + (0L ) + 2 2

2 AL L 2 + U 0L ) = 0 U ( 0 ) ( 0 A

2 =

2 2 2 b b 2 4c AL U 2 U with b = (0 ) + (0L ) + U (0L ) , c = (0 0L ) A 2

The cut-off frequency is the smallest of the above frequencies and, therefore, is given as

cut off =

b b 2 4c 2

Question 3c. No answer will be provided for bonus questions.

13