CSE40418

Advanced Structural Analysis

Structural Dynamics：
Multi-degree-of freedom discrete
systems - Part 1
Professor YU Tao
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Two-degree-of-freedom systems
• General multi-degree-of-freedom systems
• Modal analysis
• Rayleigh damping
• Response analysis using modal decomposition
Two-degree-of-freedom systems
For mass 1,
m1u1 + f1S (t ) + f1D (t ) = p1 (t )

f1S (t ) = k1u1 + k2 (u1 − u2 )

f1D (t ) = c1u1 + c2 (u1 − u2 )

For mass 2,
m2u2 + f 2 S (t ) + f 2 D (t ) = p2 (t )

f 2 S (t ) = k2 (u2 − u1 )
f 2 D (t ) = c2 (u2 − u1 )
So
m1u1 + c1u1 + c2 (u1 − u2 ) + k1u1 + k2 (u1 − u2 ) = p1 (t )

m2u2 + c2 (u2 − u1 ) + k2 (u2 − u1 ) = p2 (t )

or

m1u1 + (c1 + c2 )u1 − c2u2 + (k1 + k2 )u1 − k2u2 = p1 (t )

m2u2 − c2u1 + c2u2 − k2u1 + k2u2 = p2 (t )

In matrix form:

 + cu + ku = p(t )
mu
where,
  + cu + ku = p(t )
mu
 u1 (t ) 
u(t ) =   ⎯ displacement vector
 2 
u (t )

m1 0 
m=  ⎯ mass matrix
 0 m2

c1 + c2 − c2 
c= ⎯ damping matrix
 − c2 c2 

k1 + k2 − k2 
k= ⎯ stiffness matrix
 − k2 k2 

 p1 (t ) 
p(t ) =   ⎯ load vector
 p2 (t )
Two-storey building:
• Consider an idealized two-storey frame subjected to external
forces p1(t) and p2(t). The beams and floors are idealized to
be rigid (infinitely stiff) in flexure, and the mass is idealized
as concentrated at the floor levels.

• The forces acting on each floor mass mj include the external

forces pj(t), the elastic resisting (restoring) force fSj, and the
damping force fDj. The inertia force of the floor mass mj is
m j u j .

• The 2 DOFs are taken as lateral displacements u1(t) and u2(t)

of the two floors in x direction. The external force is taken to
be positive along the positive direction of the x-axis. The
elastic and damping forces are acting in the opposite
direction because they are internal forces that resist the
motions.
• The elastic resisting force fSj is next related to the floor
displacements. The lateral stiffness kj of the jth storey
relates storey shear Vj to storey deformation or drift,
j = uj − uj−1, by

V j = k j j

The storey stiffness is the sum of lateral stiffnesses of

all columns in the storey. For a storey of height h and
a column with modulus E and second moment of area
Ic, the lateral stiffness of a column with clamped ends,
is 12EIc/h3. Thus the storey stiffness:

12 EI c
kj =  3
columns h
• The elastic force fS1 at the first floor is made up of two
a
contributions: f S1 from the storey above, and f Sb1 from
the storey below. Thus

f S1 = f Sa1 + f Sb1 = k1u1 + k2 (u1 − u2 )

f S 2 = k2 (u2 − u1 )
• The damping force fDj is next related to the floor
velocities. The jth storey damping coefficient cj relates
storey shear Dj due to damping effects to the velocity
 associated with the storey deformation by
j
D j = c j  j
So f D1 = f Da1 + f Db1 = c1u1 + c2 (u1 − u2 )
f D 2 = c2 (u2 − u1 )
Governing equations of motion:

m1u1 + f D1 + f S1 = p1 (t )
m2u2 + f D 2 + f S 2 = p2 (t )
that is,

m1u1 + c1u1 + c2 (u1 − u2 ) + k1u1 + k2 (u1 − u2 ) = p1 (t )

m2u2 + c2 (u2 − u1 ) + k2 (u2 − u1 ) = p2 (t )

or
m1u1 + (c1 + c2 )u1 − c2u2 + (k1 + k2 )u1 − k2u2 = p1 (t )

m2u2 − c2u1 + c2u2 − k2u1 + k2u2 = p2 (t )

In matrix form:
 + cu + ku = p(t )
mu
where,
 u1 (t ) 
u(t ) =  
 2 
u (t )

m1 0 
m= 
 0 m2 
k1 + k2 − k2 
k=
 − k2 k2 

c1 + c2 − c2 
c=
 − c2 c2 

 p1 (t ) 
p(t ) =  
 2 
p (t )
Example 1:

Establish the governing equations for the following system in

matrix form.
 The governing equations for the above 2-DOF system:

m1x1 + c1x1 + c3 ( x1 − x2 ) + k1x1 + k3 ( x1 − x2 ) = p1(t )

m2 x2 + c2 x2 + c3 ( x2 − x1) + k2 x2 + k3 ( x2 − x1) = p2 (t )

or
m1x1 + (c1 + c3 ) x1 − c3 x2 + (k1 + k3 ) x1 − k3 x2 = p1(t )

m2 x2 − c3 x1 + (c2 + c3 ) x2 − k3 x1 + (k2 + k3 ) x2 = p2 (t )

in matrix format:

m1 0   x1  + (c1 + c3 ) − c3   x1  + (k1 + k3 ) − k3   x1  =  p1 (t ) 

 0 m2  x2   − c3 (c2 + c3 )  x2   − k3 (k2 + k3 )  x2   p2 (t )
Example 2:
Formulate the equations of motion for the following two-
storey shear frame .
 m1 = 2m m2 = m

12(2 EI c ) 48 EI c 12( EI c ) 24 EI c
k1 = 2 = k2 = 2 3
=
h 3
h3 h h3

m =  1
m 0  2 0
= m
 0 m2  0 1

 k1 + k 2 − k 2  24 EI c  3 − 1
k=  = − 1 1 
 − k2 k2  h3

 2 0  u1  24 EI c
+  3 − 1  u1  =  p1 (t ) 
m      − 1 1  u2   p2 (t )
0 1 u2  h3
The stiffness matrix is non-diagonal, implying that the
two equations are coupled, and in their present form
must be solved simultaneously.
Three-degree-of-freedom systems

(i) Undamped system:

The governing equations:

m1 y1 + k1 y1 + k2 ( y1 − y2 ) = F1 (t )
m2 y2 + k2 ( y2 − y1 ) + k3 ( y2 − y3 ) = F2 (t )

m3 y3 + k3 ( y3 − y2 ) = F3 (t )

In matrix form:
My + Ky = F (t )
where,

 y1  m1 0 0 
  M =  0 m2 0 
y =  y2   
y   0 0 m3 
 3
 k1 + k2 − k2 0   F1 (t ) 
 
K =  − k 2 k 2 + k3 − k3  F (t ) =  F2 (t )
 
 0 − k3 k3   F (t ) 
 3 
(ii) Damped system:
 m1 y1 + c1 y1 + k1 y1 + c2 ( y1 − y 2 ) + k2 ( y1 − y2 ) = F1 (t )

m2 y2 + c2 ( y 2 − y1 ) + k2 ( y2 − y1 ) + c3 ( y 2 − y 3 ) + k3 ( y2 − y3 ) = F2 (t )

m3 y3 + c3 ( y 3 − y 2 ) + k3 ( y3 − y2 ) = F3 (t )
In matrix form:

My + Cy + Ky = F (t )
where,

 y1   F1 (t )  m1 0 0 
    M =  0 m2 0 
y =  y2  F (t ) =  F2 (t )  
y   F (t )   0 0 m3 
 3  3 

k1 + k2 − k2 0  c1 + c2 − c2 0 
K =  − k 2 k 2 + k3 − k3  C =  − c2 c2 + c3 − c3 
   
 0 − k3 k3   0 − c3 c3 
General multi-degree-of-freedom systems
 The governing equations:

m1u1 + c1u1 + k1u1 + c2 (u1 − u2 ) + k2 (u1 − u2 ) = p1 (t )

m2u2 + c2 (u2 − u1 ) + k2 (u2 − u1 ) + c3 (u2 − u3 ) + k3 (u2 − u3 ) = p2 (t )


m j uj + c j (u j − u j −1 ) + k j (u j − u j −1 ) + c j +1 (u j − u j +1 ) + k j +1 (u j − u j +1 ) = p j (t )


mN uN + c N (u N − u N −1 ) + k N (u N − u N −1 ) = p N (t )

In matrix form:
 + Cu + Ku = P (t )
Mu
where,
 u1   p1 (t ) 
 u2   p2 (t ) 
     
u=  P (t ) = 
uj
  p j (t ) 
 
     
u N   p N (t )

m1 0 0 0 0 0 
 0 m2 0 0 0 0 
0 0  0 0 0 
M =
0 0 0 mj 0 0 
 
0 0 0 0  0 
 0 0 0 0 0 mN 
 k1 + k2 − k2 0 0 0 0 
 − k 2 k 2 + k3 − k3 0 0 0 
 0 − k3  −kj 0 0 
K = 
 0 0 − k j k j + k j +1 − k j +1 0 
 0 0 0 − k j +1  − kN 
 0 − 
 0 0 0 k N k N 

c1 + c2 − c2 0 0 0 0 
 − c2 c2 + c3 − c3 0 0 0 
 0 − c3  −cj 0 0 
C= 
 0 0 − c j c j + c j +1 − c j +1 0 
 0 0 0 − c j +1  − cN 
 0 − 
 0 0 0 c N c N 
Question:
k1 + k2 − k2 0 0 0 0 
 − k 2 k 2 + k3 − k3 0 0 0 
 0 − k3  −kj 0 0 
K = 
 0 0 − k j k j + k j +1 − k j +1 0 
 0 0 0 − k j +1  − kN 
 0 − kN k N 
 0 0 0

c1 + c2 − c2 0 0 0 0 
 − c2 c2 + c3 − c3 0 0 0 
-K(N-1)  0 − c3  −cj 0 0 
C=  
 0 0 − c j c j + c j +1 − c j +1 0 
 0 0 0 − c j +1  − cN 
K(N-1)+KN  0 − cN c N 
 0 0 0

-KN

-C(N-1)

C(N-1)+CN

-CN
Example 3:
Formulate the equations of motion for the N-storey shear
frame subjected to ground excitation ys (t ) .
Solution:
The absolute displacement of the ith floor is yi and the relative
displacement of the ith floor relative to the base is ui. There is
relation
ui = yi − ys (i = 1, 2,, N )
where ys is the ground excitation motion.

m1 y1 + c1 ( y1 − y s ) + k1 ( y1 − ys ) + c2 ( y1 − y 2 ) + k2 ( y1 − y2 ) = 0

m2 y2 + c2 ( y 2 − y1 ) + k2 ( y2 − y1 ) + c3 ( y 2 − y 3 ) + k3 ( y2 − y3 ) = 0

m j y j + c j ( y j − y j −1 ) + k j ( y j − y j −1 ) + c j +1 ( y j − y j +1 ) + k j +1 ( y j − y j +1 ) = 0

mN yN + c N ( y N − y N −1 ) + k N ( y N − y N −1 ) = 0
 Because yi = ui + ys, we have

m1 (u1 + ys ) + c1u1 + k1u1 + c2 (u1 − u2 ) + k2 (u1 − u2 ) = 0

m2 (u2 + ys ) + c2 (u2 − u1 ) + k2 (u2 − u1 ) + c3 (u2 − u3 ) + k3 (u2 − u3 ) = 0


m j (uj + ys ) + c j (u j − u j −1 ) + k j (u j − u j −1 ) + c j +1 (u j − u j +1 ) + k j +1 (u j − u j +1 ) = 0


mN (uN + ys ) + cN (u N − u N −1 ) + k N (u N − u N −1 ) = 0
 or,

m1u1 + c1u1 + k1u1 + c2 (u1 − u2 ) + k2 (u1 − u2 ) = −m1 ys

m2u2 + c2 (u2 − u1 ) + k2 (u2 − u1 ) + c3 (u2 − u3 ) + k3 (u2 − u3 ) = −m2 ys



m j uj + c j (u j − u j −1 ) + k j (u j − u j −1 ) + c j +1 (u j − u j +1 ) + k j +1 (u j − u j +1 ) = −m j ys



mN uN + c N (u N − u N −1 ) + k N (u N − u N −1 ) = −mN ys

In matrix form:

 + Cu + Ku = − M {1}ys (t )
Mu

where u is the displacement vector relative to the

motion of the base; M, C, and K are structural mass
matrix, damping matrix, and stiffness matrix. {1} is
a vector with its all elements equal to 1. ys (t ) is the
ground acceleration excitation acting on the base.
Undamped free vibration
[ M ]{x} + [ K ]{x} = 0
For undamped free vibration of an n-degree-of-freedom
system, we seek the solutions in the form
x j = a j sin(t − ) j = 1, 2,, n
or in vector notation
{ x} = {a}sin(t − )
where aj is the amplitude of motion of jth coordinate.

− 2 [ M ]{a}sin(t − ) + [ K ]{a}sin(t − ) = 0
(−2 [ M ] + [ K ]){a}sin(t − ) = 0

([ K ] − 2 [ M ]){a} = 0
This is a set of n linear equations with n unknown displacements
aj and an unknown parameter 2. It is called eigenproblem. Its
nontrivial solution, that is, the solution for which not all aj = 0,
requires that the determinant of the matrix factor of {a} be
equal to zero:

[ K ] − 2 [ M ] = 0

It is the characteristic equation, from which n solutions of 2

can be obtained. These values of  are natural frequencies of
the system. For each solution of , we can solve the eigen-
equation for a1, a2,  , an in terms of an arbitrary constant.
Example 4:
The building consists of a series of 2-storey shear frames
spaced 15 ft apart. The weight of the floors and walls are
indicated in the figure and are assumed to include the
structural weight as well. Find the natural frequencies of
the shear frame.
Solution:
15 10
W1 = 100  30 15 + 20  ( + ) 15  2 = 52,500 lb
2 2
m1 = W1 / g = 136 lb  sec 2 / in
10
W2 = 50  30 15 + 20  15  2 = 25,500 lb
2
m2 = W2 / g = 66 lb  sec2 / in
12 E (2 I )
k=
h3
12  30  106  248.6  2
k1 = = 30,700 lb/in
(15  12) 3

12  30  106 106.3  2
k2 = = 44,300 lb/in
(10 12) 3
The equations of the system:
m1 y1 + k1 y1 − k2 ( y2 − y1 ) = 0
m2 y2 + k2 ( y2 − y1 ) = 0
Let
y1 = a1 sin(t − )
y2 = a2 sin(t − )
we have
y1 = −a12 sin(t − )

y2 = −a22 sin(t − )

𝑘1 + 𝑘2 − 𝑚1 𝜔2 −𝑘2 𝑎1 0
=
−𝑘2 𝑘2 − 𝑚2 𝜔2 𝑎2 0
For a nontrivial solution, we require the determinant of the
coefficient matrix to be equal to zero, i.e.,

k1 + k2 − m12 − k2
=0
− k2 k2 − m12

The expansion of this determinant gives a quadratic equation

of 2, namely,

m1m24 − [(k1 + k2 )m2 + m1k2 ]2 + k1k2 = 0

89764 − 10,974,8002 + 1.36 109 = 0

The roots of this quadratic equation are

12 = 140 22 = 1082

Therefore the circular frequencies of the structure are

1 = 11.83 rad/sec 2 = 32.89 rad/sec

or the natural frequencies

f1 = 1 / 2 = 1.88 Hz f 2 = 2 / 2 = 5.24 Hz
and the corresponding natural periods
T1 = 1 / f1 = 0.532 sec T2 = 1 / f 2 = 0.191 sec
With the obtained values of , we can solve the eigen-equations
to calculate the amplitudes a1 and a2. Since the determinant is
equal to zero, the number of independent equations is one less.
Thus in the present case, the system of two equations is
reduced to one independent equation. Considering the first
eigen-equation and substituting 1 = 11.8 rad/sec, we obtain
55,960a11 − 44,300a21 = 0
Here we have introduced a second subindex in a1 and a2 to
correspond to 1. Thus the normal mode or modal shape
corresponding to the first natural frequency is
a21
= 1.263
a11
It is customary to describe the normal modes by assigning a
unit value to one of the amplitudes. For example we set a11
equal to unity so that

a11 = 1.000 a21 = 1.263

Similarly, substituting 2 = 32.9 rad/sec into the eigen-

equation, we obtain the second normal mode as

a12 = 1.000 a22 = −1.629

• Now we arrive at two possible simple harmonic motions
of the structure, which are called normal or natural
modes of vibration. Their shapes are called modal
shapes for corresponding natural frequencies 1 and 2.
• The first mode or fundamental mode is referred to the
mode associated with the lowest frequency. The other
modes are called harmonics or higher modes. The total
motion of the system can be expressed as a superposition
of all modal vibrations:

y1 (t ) = d1a11 sin(1t − 1 ) + d 2 a12 sin(2t −  2 )

y2 (t ) = d1a21 sin(1t − 1 ) + d 2 a22 sin(2t −  2 )

where the four constants d1, d2, 1, 2 are determined

from the initial conditions:

y1 (0) = y01 y2 (0) = y02

y1 (0) = y 01 y 2 (0) = y 02

Orthogonality of vibration modes:
For modal vectors of a structure, there are following
orthogonality conditions:
0 for i  j
{a}Ti [ M ]{a} j = 
M j for i = j

0 for i  j
{a}Ti [ K ]{a} j = 
K j for i = j

where Mj is called modal mass; Kj is called modal stiffness.

And
Kj
=  2j
Mj
where
M j = {a}Tj [ M ]{a} j K j = {a}Tj [ K ]{a} j
Rayleigh’s quotient:

Because
([ K ] − 2 [ M ]){a} = 0
So
[ K ]{a} = 2 [ M ]{a}

[ K ]{a} j = 2j [ M ]{a} j

{a}Tj [ K ]{a} j = 2j {a}Tj [ M ]{a} j

{a}Tj [ K ]{a} j
2j =
{a}Tj [ M ]{a} j
Normalization of modal shapes:

Mass-normalized mode shapes: amplitudes of vibration in a

normal mode are only relative values which may be scaled or
normalized to some extent as a matter of choice. The mass-
normalized mode is defined as:
aij aij
ij = =
{a}Tj [ M ]{a} j  nk =1 mk akj
2

where ij is the normalized ith component of the jth modal

vector.

For mass-normalized modal vectors, there are following

orthogonality conditions:
 0 for i  j
{}Ti [ M ]{} j =
1 for i = j

 0 for i  j
{}Ti [ K ]{} j = 2
 j for i = j
The orthogonality conditions can also be expressed as:

[Φ ]T [ M ][Φ ] = [ I ] [Φ ]T [ K ][Φ ] = [ Ω ]

Here [] is the modal matrix of the system and is expressed

as:
 11 12  1n 
21 22  2 n 
[Φ ] = 
   
 
n1 n 2  nn 
and [] is a diagonal matrix containing the eigenvalues i2
in the main diagonal:

12 0  0
 
[ Ω] =  0  2
2  0
    
 0 0  2n 

In the above expressions, the mass-normalized modal

vectors {}i are obtained by dividing the components of
the vector {a}i by {a}Ti [ M ]{a}i .
Example 5:

For the 2-storey shear frame illustrated in Example 4,

determine the normalized modal shapes and verify the
orthogonality condition between modes.
Solution:

W1 = 52,500 lb m1 = 136 lb  sec2 / in

W2 = 25,500 lb m2 = 66 lb  sec2 / in

a11 = 1.000 a21 = 1.263

a12 = 1.000 a22 = −1.629


  1/ 2
{a}1T [ M ]{a}1 =  1.000 1.263136 0  1.000 
 0 66 1.263 
= 241.31


{a}T2 [ M ]{a}2 =  1.000 − 1.629136 0  1.000 
  0 66 − 1.629 
 1/ 2
= 311.08
Consequently, the normalized modes are:

11 = 1.00 / 241.31 = 0.0644 21 = 1.263 / 241.31 = 0.0813

12 = 1.00 / 311.08 = 0.0567 22 = −1.629 / 311.08 = −0.0924

The orthogonality condition:

 
[Φ ] =  11 12  = 0.0644 0.0567 
 21  22  0.0813 − 0.0924

[Φ ]T [ M ][Φ ] = 0.0644 0.0813  136 0  0.0644 0.0567  = 1 0

0.0567 − 0.0924  0 66 0.0813 − 0.0924 0 1

Thus
[Φ ]T [ M ][Φ ] = [ I ]
Example 6:
Use Rayleigh’s quotient to calculate an approximate value
of the fundamental frequency of the 2-storey shear frame
illustrated in Example 4 by assuming the approximate
modal shape of the first mode {a}1T = 1.00 1.50 .

Solution:
136 0 
[M ] =  
 0 66 

 75,000 − 44,300
[K ] =  
 − 44,300 44,300 

136 0  1.00
{a}1T [ M ]{a}1 = 1.00 1.50    = 284.5
 0 66 1.50
  75,000 − 44,300 1.00
{a}1T [ K ]{a}1 = 1.00 1.50    = 42,025
− 44,300 44,300  1.50

{a}Tj [ K ]{a} j
2j =
{a}Tj [ M ]{a} j
So
T
{a}1 [ K ]{a}1 42,025
12 = T
= = 147.9
{a}1 [ M ]{a}1 284.5
Thus
1 = 12.16 rad / sec

f1 = 1 / 2 = 1.94 Hz