CHAPTER 10

DYNAMIC ANALYSIS AND

RESPONSE OF LINEAR MDF SYSTEMS

Expected outcome:
1. Student can calculate response of MDF systems due to simple excitation.

10.1 Modal equations for undamped systems

We have derived the equations of motion for MDF system as

  ku  p  t 
mu (10.1)

These differential equations are coupled when one of the mass or stiffness matrices is not
diagonal. Then, all equations must be solved simultaneously, which is difficult to carry out.

The problem can be solved easier if we convert the equations in term of displacements u  t 

into equations in terms modal coordinates q  t  . The displacement vector u  t  can be

expressed as
N
u  t    r qr  t   Φq  t  (10.2)
r 1

Substitute this in the equation of motion

N N

 m q  t    k q  t   p  t 
r 1
r r
r 1
r r (10.3)

Pre-multiply by nT

N N

 nT mr qr  t    nT kr qr  t   nT p  t 

r 1 r 1
(10.4)

Because of the orthogonality properties of modes, the only nonzero term in the summation is
when r  n , so

nT mn qn  t   nT kn qn  t   nT p  t  (10.5)

10 - 1
or

M n qn  t   K n qn  t   Pn  t  (10.6)

where
M n  nT mn K n  nT kn Pn  t   nT p  t  (10.7)

M n is called generalized mass for the nth natural mode

K n is called generalized stiffness for the nth mode and

Pn  t  is called generalized force for the nth mode

Divide the equation by M n . The equation that governs the nth modal coordinate qn  t  for the

nth mode becomes

Pn  t 
qn  n2 qn  (10.8)
Mn

qn  t  is the only unknown in this equation and the solution can be obtained as for the response

of a SDOF system. The modal coordinate for all modes can be obtained from such equation (
n  1, 2,..., N ). The matrix form of all equations for n  1, 2,..., N is

  Kq  P  t 
Mq (10.9)

where M and K are diagonal matrices consisting of M n and K n , respectively, on the main

diagonal. Recall that

M  ΦT mΦ K  ΦT kΦ (10.10)

qqnn (t)
t
K
K nn
M
M nn PPnn(t)
t

Figure 10.1 General undamped SDF system for the nth natural mode

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 Figure 10.2 Two-degree-of-freedom system

 m1 0   u1   k1  k2  k2   u1   po 
0        sin t (10.11)
 m2  u2    k2 k2  u2   0 

Example 10.1

Determine the steady-state response of the system in Fig 10.2 with m1  2m , m2  m ,

k1  2k , and k2  k .

Solution

The natural vibration frequencies and modes of this system were determined in Example 9.4.

k 2k
1  2 
2m m
T T
1  1
2 1 2  1 1

The generalized masses and stiffnesses are calculated using Eq. (10.7).

3m
M1  M 2  3m
2
3k
K1  K 2  6k
4

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1. Compute the generalized forces.

P1 (t )  1T p(t )  (p o / 2) sin t P2 (t )  2T p(t )   p osin t (a)

2. Set up the modal equations.

M n qn  K n qn  Pno sin t (b)

3. Solve the modal equations. For an SDF subjected to harmonic force, the governing equation
is

mu  ku  po sin t (c)

It steady-state solution is

Po 1
u (t )  C sin t C (d)
k 1  ( / n ) 2

where n  k / m . Comparing Eqs. (c) and (b), the solution for Eq. (b) is

Pno
qn (t )  Cn sin t (e)
Kn

where Cn is given by Eq. (d) with ωn frequency of the nth mode.

Substituting for Pno and Kn for n = 1 and 2 gives

2 po po
q1 (t )  C1 sin t q2 (t )   C2 sin t (f)
3k 6k

4. Determine the modal responses. The nth-mode contribution to displacements is

2 po po
u1 (t )  1 C1 sin t u 2 (t )  2 C2 sin t (g)
3k 6k

5. Combine the modal responses.

u(t )  u1 (t )  u 2 (t ) (h)
po po
u1 (t )  (2C1  C2 ) sin t u2 (t )  (4C1  C2 ) sin t
6k 6k (i)

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10.2 Modal equations for damped systems

When damping is included, the equations of motion for MDOF system are

  cu  ku  p  t 
mu (10.12)

These are coupled equations. The set of equations could be uncoupled by transforming the
equation in term of displacements u  t  into equations in terms modal coordinates q  t  . The

displacement vector u  t  can be expressed as

N
u  t    r qr  t   Φq  t  (10.13)
r 1

Substitute this in the equation of motion

N N N

 mr qr  t    cr qr  t    kr qr  t   p  t 

r 1 r 1 r 1
(10.14)

Pre-multiply by nT

N N N

 nT mr qr  t    nT cr qr  t    nT kr qr  t   nT p  t 

r 1 r 1 r 1
(10.15)

Because of the orthogonality properties of modes, the only nonzero term in the 1st and 3rd
summation is when r  n , so

N
M n qn  t    Cnr qr  K n qn  t   Pn  t  (10.16)
r 1

where

Cnr  nT cr (10.17)

The nth equation may still involve qr of other modes.

Above is equation for nth modal coordinate. If we put equations for all n together in matrix,
we get

  Cq  Kq  P  t 
Mq (10.18)

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C will be diagonal when the system has classical damping.
Cnr =0 when n  r . Then, we will have an uncoupled equation.

M n qn  t   Cn qn  K n qn  t   Pn  t  (10.19)

Divide the equation by M n . The equation that governs the nth modal coordinate qn  t  for the

nth mode becomes

Pn  t 
qn  2 nn qn  n2 qn  (10.20)
Mn

 n is the damping ratio for the nth mode. The solution of this equation is the response of a
damped SDF system.

qqnn (t)
t
Knn
K
Cn M nn PPnn (t)
t

Figure 10.3 General damped SDF system for the nth natural mode

Displacement response

Once the modal coordinate qn  t  have been determined by solving the modal

equations. The contribution of the nth mode to displacement of MDOF system is

u n  t   n qn  t  (10.21)

By superposition the response contribution from all modes, the total displacement is then

N N
u  t    u n  t    n qn  t   Φq  t  (10.22)
n 1 n 1

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This method to determine the response of MDF system to excitation is known as the classical
modal analysis or classical mode superposition method, or modal analysis.

Modal analysis can be used to solve linear system with classical damping only.
Damping must be classical to obtain modal equations that are uncoupled.

Element forces

To determine other response quantities r  t  , the concept of superposition is used

N
r  t    rn  t  (10.23)
n 1

where rn  t  is the contribution of nth mode to that response quantities. It is the response due

to an equivalent static force.

fn  t   ku n  t   n2mn qn  t  (10.24)

N N
Note that f  t   ku  t    ku n  t    f n  t  (10.25)
n 1 n 1

Example 10.2

Determine the story shears Vj (t) in the system in Example 10.1, without introducing equivalent
static forces. Consider only the steady-state response.

Solution

The story shears in the system of Fig. 10.2 are

V1n (t )  k1u1n (t )  k11n qn (t ) (a)

V2 n (t )  k2 [u2 n (t )  u1n (t )]  k2 (2 n  1n )qn (t ) (b)

Substituting qn (t ) computed in Example 10.1 in Eqs. (a) and (b) with n = 1, k1 = 2k, k2 = k,

11  1/ 2 , and 21  1 gives the forces due to the first mode:

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 2 po po
V11 (t )  C1 sin t V21 (t )  C1 sin t
3 3 (c)

The forces due to the second mode is computed using n = 2, 12  1 , and 22  1

po po
V12 (t )  C2sin t V22 (t )   C2sin t (d)
3 3

Combine the contribution of all modes, Vj (t) = Vj1(t) + Vj2(t) gives

po po
V1 (t )  (2C1  C2 ) sin t V2 (t )  (C1  C 2 ) sin t (e)
3 3

Equation (e) gives the time variation of story shears.

Example 10.3

Repeat Example 10.2 using equivalent static forces.

Solution

The equivalent static force in the jth DOF due to the nth mode is

f jn (t )  n2 m j jn qn (t ) (a)

In Eq. (a) with n=1, substitute m1 = 2m, m2 = m, 11  1/ 2 , and 21  1

and q1(t) from Example 10.1 to obtain

po po
f11 (t )  C1 sin t f 21 (t )  C1 sin t (b)
3 3

In Eq. (a) with n =2, 12  1 , and 22  1 gives

2 po po
f12 (t )  C2 sin t f 22 (t )   C2 sin t (c)
3 3

Static analysis of the systems of Fig. E10.3 subjected to forces fjn(t) gives the two spring forces
and story shears due to the nth mode:

V1n (t )  f1n (t )  f 2 n (t ) V2 n (t )  f 2 n (t ) (d)

10 - 8
Substituting Eq. (b) in Eq. (d) with n=1, and n=2 gives the first-mode and second-mode forces,
respectively that are identical to Eq. (c) of Example 10.2.

Combine the contribution of all modes as in Eq. (e) of Example 10.2.

f 2n(t)

f 1n(t)
f 1n(t) f 2n(t)

Figure E10.3

Example 10.4

Consider the system used in Example 10.1 (Fig. 10.2) with modal damping ratios ζn. Determine
the steady-state displacement amplitudes of the system.

Solution

The modal equations with damping are

M n qn  Cn qn  K n qn  Pno sin t (a)

where Mn, Kn, and Pno are computed in Example 10.1 and Cn is known in terms of ζn.

From Chapter 3, the governing equation for an SDF system with damping subjected to
harmonic force is

mu  cu  ku  po sin t (b)

and its steady-state solution is

po
u (t )  (C sin t  D cos t ) (c)
k

with

1  ( / n ) 2 2 / n
C D (d)
[1  ( / n ) ]  (2 / n )
2 2 2
[1  ( / n ) 2 ]2  (2 / n ) 2

10 - 9
where n  k / m and   c / 2mn

Comparing Eqs. (b) and (a), the solution for the Eq. (a) is

pno
qn (t )  (Cn sin t  Dn cos t ) (e)
Kn

where Cn and Dn are given by Eq. (d) with ωn natural frequency of the nth mode and ζ = ζn, the
damping ratio for the nth mode. Substituting for Pno and Kn for n = 1 and 2 gives

2 po
q1 (t )  (C1 sin t  D1 cos t ) (f)
3k
p
q2 (t )   o (C2 sin t  D2 cos t )
6k (g)

The nodal displacements

u n (t )  1q1 (t )  2 q2 (t )

1
u1 (t )  q1 (t )  q2 (t ) u2 (t )  q1 (t )  q2 (t )
2

Substituting Eqs. (f) and (g) for qn(t) gives

po
u1 (t )  [(2C1  C2 ) sin t  (2 D1  D2 ) cos t ] (h)
6k
p (i)
u2 (t )  o [(4C1  C2 ) sin t  (4 D1  D2 ) cos t ]
6k

The displacement amplitudes are

po
u1o  (2C1  C2 ) 2  (2 D1  D2 ) 2 (j)
6k
p
u2 o  o (4C1  C2 ) 2  (4 D1  D2 ) 2
6k (k)

Example 10.5

The dynamic response of the system of Fig. E10.5a to the excitation shown in Fig. E10.5b is
desired. The system and excitation parameters are E = 29,000 ksi, I = 100 in4, L = 120 in., mL
= 0.1672 kip-sec2/in., and po = 5 kips. Neglect damping. Determine

10 - 10
 (a) displacements u1(t) and u2(t);
(b) bending moments and shears at sections a, b, c, and d as functions of time;
(c) the shearing force and bending moment diagrams at t = 0.18 sec.

Solution

The mass and stiffness matrices are available from Example 8.5.

 mL / 4  48EI  2 5
m k
 mL / 2  7 L3  5 16 
 

The natural frequencies and modes of this system were determined in Example 9.2.

EI EI
1  3.15623 2  16.2580
mL4 mL4

1  1 
1    2   
0.3274  1.5274 

Substituting for E, I , m, and L gives ω1 = 10.00 and ω2 = 51.51 rad/sec.

1. Set up the modal equations.

M 1  1T m1  0.0507 M 2  2T m2  0.2368 kip-sec2 /in

p  p 
P1 (t )  1T  o   5 P2 (t )  2T  o   5 kips
0  0 

Pn  t 
The modal equations are qn  2 nn qn  n2 qn 
Mn

5 5
q1  102 q1   98.62 q2  51.512 q2   21.12 (a)
0.0507 0.2368

2. Solve the modal equations.

98.62
q1 (t )  (1  cos10t )  0.986(1  cos10t )
102
21.12 (b)
q2 (t )  (1  cos 51.51t )  0.008(1  cos 51.51t )
51.512

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3. Determine the displacement response. u n (t )  1q1 (t )  2 q2 (t )

u1 (t )  0.994  0.986 cos10t  0.008cos 51.51t

u2 (t )  0.311  0.323cos10t  0.012 cos 51.51t (c)

4. Determine the equivalent static forces. Substituting for 12 , m, and 1 in

fn  t   n2mn qn  t  gives the forces shown in Fig. E10.5c:

 f (t )  0.0418  1   4.180 
f1 (t )   1   102     q1 (t )    q1 (t ) (d)
 f 2 (t ) 1  0.0836  0.3274  2.737 

Similarly substituting 22 , m, and 2 gives the forces shown in Fig. E10.5d:

 f (t )   110.9 
f 2 (t )   1     q2 (t ) (e)
 f 2 (t )  2 338.8

The combined forces are

f1 (t )  4.180q1 (t )  110.9q2 (t ) f 2 (t )  2.737q1 (t )  338.8q2 (t ) (f)

5. Determine the internal forces. Static analysis of the cantilever beam of Fig. E10.5e gives the
shearing forces and bending moments at the various sections a, b, c, and d:

Va (t )  Vb (t )  f1 (t ) Vc (t )  Vd (t )  f1 (t )  f 2 (t ) (g)
L L
M a (t )  0 M b (t )  f1 (t ) M d (t )  Lf1 (t )  f 2 (t )
2 2 (h)

6. Determine the internal forces at t = 0.18 sec. At t = 0.18 sec, from Eq. (b), q1 = 1.217 in. and
q2 = 0.0159 in. Substituting these in Eqs. (d) and (e) gives numerical values for the equivalent
static forces shown in Fig. E10.5c and d, wherein the shearing forces and bending moments
due to each mode are plotted. The combined values of these element forces are shown in Fig.
E10.5e.

10 - 12
 Figure E10.5

10.3 Modal contribution of excitation vector p  t   sp  t 

Suppose the applied force vector p  t  has fixed spatial distribution s (pattern vector

which is independent of time), but the magnitude of p  t  varies with time as a scalar value

p t  .

p  t   sp  t  (10.26)

We can expand the vector s using combination of modes

10 - 13
 N N
s   s r    r mr (10.27)
r 1 r 1

If we pre-multiply by nT and use mode orthogonality, we obtain

nT s
nT s   nnT mn   n M n or n  (10.28)
Mn

The contribution of nth mode to the excitation vector s is

sn   nmn (10.29)

The generalized force is

N
Pn  t   nT sp  t     r nT mr  p  t    n M n p  t  (10.30)
r 1

Example

Floor Mass Story Stiffness

u5 m
k
u4 m
k
u3 m
k
u2 m
k
u1 m
k

Figure 10.4 Uniform five-story shear building.

10 - 14
 1   2 1 
 1   1 2 1 
   
m  m 1  kk 1 2 1 
   
 1   1 2 1
 1  1 1

0.334  0.895  1.173 1.078  0.641

 0.641  1.173  0.334   0.895 1.078
         
1  0.895 2   0.641 3  1.078 4   0.334  5   1.173
1.078  0.334  0.641  1.173 0.895
         
 1.173  1.078  0.895  0.641  0.334 

1.173 1.078 0.895 0.641 0.334

1.078 0.334 0.641 1.173 0.895

0.895 0.641 1.078 0.334 1.173

0.641 1.173 0.334 0.895 1.078

0.334 0.895 1.173 1.078 0.641

Figure 10.5 Natural modes of vibration of uniform five-story shear building.

Consider two sets of forces

0  0 
0  0 
   
p  t   0  p  t  and p  t   0  p  t 
0  1
   
1  2 

The first one [0 0 0 0 1]T can be expanded as

 0.101  0.250   0.272  0.179   0.055

 0.195 0.327   0.077   0.149   0.093
         
s1  0.272  s 2   0.179  s3  0.250  s 4   0.055 s5   0.101
0.327   0.093 0.149   0.195 0.077 
         
0.356   0.301  0.208  0.106   0.029 

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The second one [0 0 0 –1 2]T can be expanded as

0.110   0.423  0.739   0.685  0.259 

0.210   0.553  0.210   0.569  0.436 
         
s1  0.294  s 2  0.302  s3  0.679  s 4   0.212  s5   0.475
0.354   0.157   0.403 0.746   0.363
         
0.385  0.508  0.564   0.407   0.135

1 0.356 0.301 0.208 0.106 0.029

0.327 0.093 0.149 0.195 0.077

0.272 0.179 0.250 0.055 0.101

= + + + +
0.195 0.327 0.077 0.149 0.093

0.101 0.250 0.272 0.179 0.055

Sa S1 S2 S3 S4 S5

2 0.385 0.508 0.564 0.407 0.135

1 0.354 0.157 0.403 0.746 0.363

0.294 0.302 0.679 0.212 0.475

= + + + +
0.210 0.553 0.210 0.569 0.436

0.110 0.423 0.739 0.685 0.259

Sb S1 S2 S3 S4 S5

Figure 10.6 Modal expansion of excitation vectors sa and sb.

10.4 Modal analysis for p  t   sp  t 

From the modal equation

Pn  t 
qn  2 nn qn  n2 qn   n p t  (10.31)
Mn

The factor  n is called modal participation factor. It is a measure of the degree to which the

nth mode participates in the response.

This modal participation factor is not a useful definition because it depends on how the modes
are normalized.

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We can write the modal coordinate qn  t  in term of response of SDF system with a unit mass,

and vibration properties of the nth mode (natural frequency and damping ratio of the nth mode).

  2  D   2 D  p  t 
D (10.32)
n n n n n n

where

qn  t    n Dn  t  (10.33)

This form is convenient because we can construct a response spectrum for excitation p  t  and

the response of SDF system Dn  t  could be directly read from the spectrum.

The contribution to displacement of the nth mode is

u n  t   n qn  t    nn Dn  t  (10.34)

The equivalent static force on the nth mode is

f n  t   ku n  t   n2mn qn  t   n2mn  n Dn  t   s n n2 Dn  t    s n An  t  (10.35)

The contribution of nth mode to response r  t  is

rn  t   rnst n2 Dn  t   (10.36)

where rnst is the static response due to external forces s n

rn  t  is a product of results from two analyses:

(1) Static analysis of the structure subjected to external forces s n

(2) Dynamic analysis of the nth mode SDF system subjected to excitation p  t 

The combined response due to contribution from all modes is

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 N N
r  t    rn  t    rnst n2 Dn  t   (10.37)
n 1 n 1

Modal contribution to response

The contribution to response from the nth mode is

rn  t   r st rn n2 Dn  t   (10.38)

where r st is the static value of r due to external forces s and

rnst
rn  (10.39)
r st

is the nth modal contribution factor. rn is dimensionless and independent of how the modes

are normalized. And

N

r
n 1
n 1 (10.40)

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Exercises

1. Consider two-story shear frame with rigid beams having floor masses and column stiffness
as shown in Fig. P12.1. Harmonic horizontal force p(t )  po sin t is applied at the top

floor. Neglect damping.

a) Derive equations for the steady-state displacements of the structure as function of 
by (i) direct solution of coupled equations, and (ii) modal analysis. Show that both
methods give equivalent results.
b) Plot the two displacements as functions of the excitation frequency.
c) Determine the story shear (considering steady-state response only) by (i) directly from
displacement, and (ii) using equivalent static force. Show that these two methods give
the same results.

Rigid beams m/2

m  40ton
h k k k  15 103 kN/m
m h  3.5m

h k k

2h

Figure P12.1

2. Repeat Problem 1 with modal damping ratio   0.05 .

3. The undamped structure shown in Fig. P12.1 is subjected to the rectangular pulse force at
the first floor. The amplitude of the pulse is po  800kN and duration td  T1 / 2 where T1

is the fundamental period of the structure. Derive equation as function of time for
a) The lateral floor displacements
b) The story drift in the second story

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