Structural Dynamics

Notes on Structural Dynamics / version 2.0

Notes on Structural Dynamics

by P. Fajardo

IMPORTANT: This document is a summary of the most important concepts and expressions of the materials
on Structural Dynamics taught in the first part of the course Aerospace Design II. This document does not
attempt to cover all the material discussed in class. It is merely a guide to help you in the study of the
subject.

Why structural Dynamics?

The main difference found when dealing with Dynamic Loads with respect to the static solution is due to the
contribution of the inertia loads to the response. It is widely known that the strain and stress field in a structure
are related to the deformed shape. The following figure 1 compare the structural response of a cantilever beam
subjected to a static (left) and a possible time dependent load. For some particular time dependent loads, the
deformed shape of the structure can be non intuitive at all.

Figure 1: Cantilever beam with a static load at the end (left) and a particular time dependent load (right)
The main differences between dynamic and static systems is that the loads are function of time and that the
system moves. Therefore, structural dynamics can be understood as a combination of two of the main branches
of engineering: Mechanics, where the motion of a rigid body due to the effect of known external forces is
analyzed, and Theory of Structures, where the behavior of a flexible body to some known external actions
is addressed.
In the following pages, the main developments described during the course lectures are shown in detail.

Single DOF

A single degree of freedom (1-DOF) system is a system where all the mass is concentrated in a single point,
whose displacement x(t) is governed by the equation
m
x(t) + kx(t) + Fd = F (t),

(1)

where m is the mass of the system, k is the stiffness, Fd is the damping force and F (t) is an external forcing on
the system. The initial conditions for eq. (1) are given by
x(0) = x0 ,

x(0)

= v0 .

(2)

The displacement x(t) is defined with respect to the equilibrium position of the system.

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Structural Dynamics

Notes on Structural Dynamics / version 2.0

Eq. (1) can be dervied in different ways, i.e. applying Newtons second law, or applying energy conservation
law (kinetic energy + potential energy = constant). The expression for the damping force Fd depends on the
model used for damping:
1. Viscous damping that appearing in a viscous fluid: Fd = cx(t),

where c is the damping coefficient.

2. Coulomb damping friction between solids: Fd = sign(x)N

, where N is the contact force between the

solids and is the friction coefficient.
3. Air damping also know as quadratic damping: Fd = cd x 2 sign(x),
where cd is the drag coefficient.
4. Modal damping to be explained in future sections

2.1

Free response

The free response of a 1-DOF system is the displacement x(t) resulting from driving the system outside of its
equilibrium position by imposing some initial conditions. No external forcing is applied, hence F (t) = 0.
When analyzing the free response of a system with no damping (c = 0), equations (1) and (2) reduce to the
ODE of the free harmonic oscillator,
m
x(t) + kx(t) = 0,

x(0) = x0 ,

x(0)

= v0 ,

(3)

whose solution can be expressed as

x(t) = A sin(0 t + ) = B sin(0 t) + C cos(0 t).

(4)

The frequency 0 = k/m is the undamped natural frequency of the system, and the values of the integration constants (A and , or B and C) are determined by the initial conditions.
For damped systems (c 6= 0), the nature of the free response of the system depends on the damping ratio
of the system,
c
c
=
=
.
(5)
ccr
2m0
For overdamped systems the damping ration is > 1. The displacement x(t) is given by
x(t) = C1 es1 t + C2 es2 t ,

(6)

where
s1 = 0 + 0

p
2 1

and

s2 = 0 0

p
2 1.

(7)

The constants C1 and C2 are determined by the initial conditions.

For critically damped systems we have = 1, and it is possible to show that the solution has the form
x(t) = (C1 + C2 t)e0 t .

(8)

Again, the constants C1 and C2 are determined by the initial conditions.

Note that in both overdamped and critically damped systems, the displacement x(t) tends to zero (the
equilibrium position) without oscillations. Oscillations only appear in underdamped systems, in which
< 1. In this case, the displacement takes the form
h
i
p
p
p
(9)
x(t) = e0 t A sin(0 1 2 t + ) = e0 t C1 sin(0 1 2 t) + C2 cos(0 1 2 t) .
As before, the integration constants
p (A and , or C1 and C2 ) are determined with the initial conditions. The
frequency of the oscillations is 0 1 2 , which is the damped natural frequency of the system.

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Notes on Structural Dynamics / version 2.0

Figure 2: Different solution typee depending on the value of

2.2

Forced response - Periodic forcing

Consider the simplest case of periodic forcing, when F (t) has a single harmonic with amplitude F0 and frequency
dr . The equations of motion are
m
x(t) + cx(t)
+ kx(t) = F0 cos(dr t),

x(0) = x0 ,

x(0)

= v0 .

(10)

In order to solve this equation, we consider a particular solution (xp (t)) and an homogeneous solution (xh (t)).
The latter is given by equations (6-9), depending on the value of the damping factor . The integrating constants
for xh (t) are computed so that
xh (0) + xp (0) = x0 ,

x h (0) + x p (0) = v0 .

(11)

In order to compute the particular solution, we recast equation (10) using complex numbers. We define a
complex function zp (t) C, so that xp (t) = <(zp (t)). The corresponding ODE for zp (t) is
m
zp (t) + czp (t) + kzp (t) = F0 eidr t ,

(12)

whose solution is of the form zp (t) = aeidr t , with a C and equal to

2
(dr
m + idr c + k) a = F0 ,

a=

F0 /m
2 + i2
02 dr
0 dr

(13)

where a is a complex number. Recasting a in modulus/argument form (a = a1 ei ), the amplitude of the

solution, a1 , and the phase shift between forcing and displacement, , are


(F0 /m)2
20 dr
2
a1 = 2
= arctan
.
(14)
2 )2 + 4 2 2 2 ,
2
(0 dr
02 dr
0 dr
Note that for damped systems, xp (t) provides the long term response of the system. It is interesting to note
that when the driving frequency equals the natural frequency of the system (dr = 0 ), the amplitude of the
oscillations is maximum, tending to as 0. Also, at that frequency = /2, becoming larger/smaller as
dr becomes larger/smaller than 0 . This phenomenon is called resonance.
The information about amplitude and phase shift between forcing an response is usually presented in the
form of the frequency response function H(idr ), which provides the value of the complex amplitude a for
a unitary forcing (i.a. setting F0 = 1 in eq. 13):
H(idr ) =

P. Fajardo

1/m
2 + i2 .
02 dr
0 dr
3

(15)

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Notes on Structural Dynamics / version 2.0

Finally, the usual approach when we consider the forced response to a general periodic function is to
expand F (t) using sine and cosine series. Due to the linearity of eq. (1), the response to F (t) is the sum of the
responses to each of its harmonics 1 .

2.3

Forced response - General non-periodic forcing - Convolution integral

In order to analyze the response of a 1-DOF system to a general non-periodic forcing F (t), it is convenient to
consider first the response of the system to an impulsive force, which is defined as a force that is applied for a
very short time. It is convenient to use the Dirac delta function, we can be loosely 2 defined as

Z
0 t<0
t=0 ,
(t) =
with the additional condition
(t)dt = 1.
(16)

0 t>0
Using the Dirac delta function, an impulsive force applied at t = 0 can be expressed as F (t) = F (t). If the
initial conditions are homogeneous (x(0) = 0 and x(0)

= 0), then it is possible to integrate the equation of

conservation of linear momentum to obtain
Z
(17)

x(0
+ ) = F /m
mdx = F (t)dt,

m[x(0
+ ) x(0
)] = F (t)dt = F
Therefore, the following ODEs with their corresponding initial conditions, are equivalent:
m
x(t) + cx(t)
+ kx(t) = F (t),
m
x(t) + cx(t)
+ kx(t) = 0,

x(0) = 0,

x(0) = 0,

x(0)

= 0,

(18)

x(0)

= F /m.

(19)

The solution to eq. (19) in the case of an underdamped system is

x(t) =

p
F /m
p
e0 t sin(0 1 2 t)
0 1 2

(20)

The unitary impulse response function h(t) is defined as the displacement to an impulsive function with
F = 1, that is
p
1/m
h(t) = p
e0 t sin(0 1 2 t).
(21)
2
0 1
When we consider the response to a generic (non-periodic) forcing, it is convenient to consider such force
as a sequence of impulses. If xi (t) is the response to an impulse F (ti ) applied at time ti , then we can use the
definition of the unitary impulse response function to have
xi (t) = F (ti )h(t ti )t.

(22)

The solution at time tn will be the sum of the solutions to each of the impulses that occurred before tn :
x(tn ) =

n
X

xi (tn ) =

n
X

F (ti )h(tn ti )t.

(23)

1 This

is strictly true only if we are considering viscous damping

more rigorous definition of the Dirac delta function is the limit as  0 of (t) = 1/ when /2 < t < /2 and (t) = 0
elsewhere.
2A

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Structural Dynamics

Notes on Structural Dynamics / version 2.0

Taking the limit when t 0, using instead of t as the integration variable and renaming t = tn we obtain
Z t
Z t
x(t) =
F ( )h(t )d =
F (t 0 )h( 0 )d 0 .
(24)
0

This equation is called Duhamels integral or convolution integral. The rightmost expression is obtained
applying the change of variables 0 = t .

Figure 3: Duhamel Integral

2.4

Forced response - General non-periodic forcing - Laplaces transform methods

Obtaining the solution to a general forcing is much easier if we know the Laplaces transform of the forcing
function. Remember, the Laplaces transform of a function f (t) is a function F (s), where
Z
f (t)

L[f (t)] = F (s) =

f (t)est t.
(25)
0

It is important to remember also that s C. It is possible to show as well that

L[f(t)] = sL[f (t)] f (0),

(26)

L[f(t)] = s2 L[f (t)] sf(0) f (0).

(27)

Applying equations (25-26) to

m
x(t) + cx(t)
+ kx(t) = f (t),

x(0)

= v0 ,

x(0) = x0 ,

(28)

we obtain
m(s2 X(s) sv0 x0 ) + c(sX(s) x0 ) + kX(s) = F (s),

X(s) =

F (s) + cx0 + m(sv0 + x0 )

ms2 + cs + k

(29)

Neglecting the initial conditions we have

X(s)
1
= H(s) =
.
F (s)
ms2 + cs + k
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(30)

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Notes on Structural Dynamics / version 2.0

The function H(s) is called receptance transfer function, also known as compliance or admittance. It is
possible to define similar transfer functions for the velocity (sX(s)/F (s) = mobility transfer function) and
for the acceleration (s2 X(s)/F (s) = inertance transfer function). In a general sense, a transfer function is
the ratio between some output and some input. Note that since s C, we have H(s) C also.
Finally, note that the receptance transfer function in eq. (30) is related to the frequency response function
defined in (15). Indeed, just by making s = i, the Laplaces transform becomes a Fourier transform and
automatically receptance equals frequency response function, H(s) = H(i).

P. Fajardo

2016/17