Questions from a friend

Mir Aamir Abbas

1. Why should there be at least six rigid body
modes for a free-free structure?
• One of my friends asked me this question.
• I answered him that a free body can have 6 types of motions: 3
translations and 3 rotations.
• “But why should they occur in a modal analysis and why is the
frequency of all these modes zero?”
• I felt that this question required a more detailed response and hence I
told him I will prepare a presentation answering his questions.

So here it is!
Explanation for question 1.
• Apart from other things, mode-shapes are unique shapes by the linear
combination of which any deformed motion of a structurally linear system
can be produced.
• The response of any structure is the sum of responses of the individual
modes.
• The mode-shapes are specific to a particular problem with a unique
geometry, materials and boundary conditions.
• Since we are talking about any deformed motion, it must include
unconstrained motion without any deformation (ex.) An object in free fall.
• This type of motion can be captured by only “rigid body modes” in which
an object moves freely without any deformation.
Why should there be only six rigid body modes?
• A single body should have only six rigid body modes because any rigid
body motion can be expressed as a linear combination of these six
rigid body motion.
• “Why not more than six rigid body modes?”
Because by definition, no mode can be expressed as a linear function of
other modes and it is impossible to define any more rigid body modes
without violating this condition in 3D.
• “Why not less than six modes?”
Because in 3D, all possible rigid body motions cannot be defined
without six rigid body modes.
Why should the natural frequency of a rigid
body mode be zero?
• The natural frequency of a rigid body motion (ie. Without any
deformation) is zero because it takes infinite time to complete a
vibration cycle (since there is no restoring force). The object has to
move from mean position in one direction to the extreme, comeback
and move to the other extreme and then come back to the mean
position to complete one cycle. In rigid body motion, the object just
keeps going in one direction on and on. Less than a quarter cycle
takes infinite time. Since frequency is equal to the reciprocal of
natural time period (time for one cycle of vibration), it is equal to
reciprocal of infinity or zero.
What is mode participation factor
• Mode participation factor is proportional to the modal load. Hence if
modal load is zero, mode participation factor will also be zero.
• Modal load is the load causing deformation of an individual mode in
modal coordinate system. Even if there is only one load on the
geometry, it would be a different load for each mode.
• The response of each mode is proportional to the modal load. Even if
many forces are acting on the body in a geometric coordinate system,
if the modal load is zero, the modal response will be zero.
• Modal load is equal to the dot product of transpose of mode-shape
vector and the load vector.
 Some additional information about modal load
Mode 1 Mode 2
Undeformed 10 N
Displacement Displacement
shape
Undeformed
shape 15 N
10 N -1 mm
10 N 10 N
0 mm 15 N 0 mm
1 mm 1 mm
2 mm Mode-
Mode- shape
shape

Modal load = 1 x 10 + 2 x 15 +1 x 10 = 40 Modal load = 1 x 10 + 0 x 15 -1 x 10 = 0

Mode participation factor non-zero Mode participation factor = zero
Figures not to scale. Figures not to scale.
Some observations
• In slide no.7, we can see that mode 1 has a non-zero modal load
whereas the mode 2 has a zero modal load. This means that the
mode 1 will participate in the deformation while mode 2 will not.
• The mode participation factor equals the summation of modal
displacement times the load at all points where load is applied.
• For mode 2, one of the loads acts at a point where the displacement
is zero, hence it does not affect and at the other two locations where
the loads act, the products of load and modal displacement are equal
and opposite resulting in the total modal load being zero.