Real Modes of Vibration of Building Structures

CEE 421L. Matrix Structural Analysis

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Duke University
Henri P. Gavin
Fall, 2012

1 Mass and Stiffness Matrices

Consider a building frame modeled by a set of rigid, massive floors supported by flexible,
massless columns. This provides the simplest representation of a building for the purposes
of investigating lateral dynamic responses, as produced by earthquakes or strong winds. The
lateral position of the i-th floor with respect to the ground is represented by the variable
ri (t), ki is the lateral stiffness of all the columns in story i, mi is the mass of the i-th floor,
and fi is an external force applied to the i-th floor.
For a three-story building, this kind of representation is shown in Figure 1.

f3
m3
r
3
k3
f2
m2
r2
k2
f1
m1
r1
k1
11111111111111111
00000000000000000
00000000000000000
11111111111111111
Figure 1. A simplified model of a building frame with massive rigid floors and light flexible
columns.

Exercise 1: Draw free-body diagrams of each floor in this building model, in-
cluding the restoring forces of the deforming columns and the inertial forces in
the accelerating floors. Balancing forces in the horizontal direction at each floor
will result in three ordinary differential equations, which can be expressed as the
matrix form

Mr̈(t) + Kr(t) = f (t) , r(0) = do , ṙ(0) = vo , (1)

2 CEE 421L. – Matrix Structural Analysis – Duke University –Fall 2012 – H.P. Gavin

where do and vo are the initial floor displacements and the initial floor velocities.
Show that the mass matrix and stiffness matrix for this three-story building are:
   
m1 0 0 k1 + k2 −k2 0
M =  0 m2 0  and K =  −k2 k2 + k3 −k3 
 .
  

0 0 m3 0 −k3 k3

Convince yourself that each of these three ordinary differential equations involves
two or more adjacent floor displacements and because of this, the three differential
equations are inter-related or coupled.

For an n-story building modeled in this way, the mass matrix is diagonal,
 
m1 0 ··· 0
 .. .. 
 0 m2 . . 
M= 
 .. ...

 ,
. ··· 0 
 

0 ··· 0 mn

and the stiffness matrix is tri-diagonal,

 
k1 + k2 −k2 0 ··· ··· ··· 0
 −k2 k2 + k3 −k3 0 ··· ··· 0
 

...
 
0 −k3 k3 + k4 −k4 ··· 0 
 

.. .. .. .. .. 
 
. . .

K= 
 . 0 −k4 . 
 .
 .. .. .. .. .. 

 . . . . −kn−1 . 0 
 .. .. .. .. 

 . . . . −kn−1 kn−1 + kn −kn 

0 0 0 ··· 0 −kn kn

2 Modes of Vibration
In the absence of external forcing, one may presume that the natural response of a
spring-mass system (such as shown in Figure 1 and modeled by equation (1)) is sinusoidal
with frequency ωn rad/s and a vector of amplitudes r̄, r̄ = [r̄1 r̄2 r̄3 ]T . Substituting the
displacements
r(t) = r̄ sin ωn t ,
and accelerations
r̈(t) = −r̄ ωn2 sin ωn t ,
into equation (1) and eliminating sin ωn t we obtain,

Kr̄ − ωn2 Mr̄ = 0 ,

which may be re-written as the generalized eigenvalue problem,

h i
K − ωn2 M r̄ = 0 . (2)
Modes of Vibration 3

The square of the natural frequencies are the eigenvalues and the amplitudes of natural
vibration are the associated eigenvectors. As long as M and K are positive definite, the
eigen-values, ωn2 , are positive. A planar building frame with n rigid floor masses will have n
natural frequencies, ωni , and n natural mode shapes, r̄i , i = 1, . . . , n. For a natural frequency
ωni and natural mode shape r̄i satisfying equation (2), this equation may be pre-multiplied
by r̄Ti to obtain
r̄T Kr̄i
2
ωni = Ti ,
r̄i Mr̄i
which is called the Rayleigh quotient for the i-th mode.
Mode vectors are orthogonal with respect to the mass and stiffness matrices. This
means that (
T 0 i 6= j
r̄i Mr̄j = (3)
m∗i i = j
and (
0 i 6= j
r̄Ti Kr̄j = , (4)
ki∗ i = j
so that ωni2
= ki∗ /m∗i . The scalar values m∗i and ki∗ are called the modal mass and modal
stiffness for the i-th mode. The n natural mode vectors r̄1 , . . . , r̄n may be arranged column-
wise into a modal matrix, R̄,  
| |
 r̄1 . . . r̄n  .
R̄ =  (5)


| |

Exercise 2: Column vectors a, b, c, x, y, and z, have dimension n and matrix

Q is square with dimension n by n. First show that
T
aT Qx aT Qy aT Qz
    
| | | | | |
 a b c  Q  x y z  =  bT Qx bT Qy bT Qz  .
     

| | | | | | cT Qx cT Qy cT Qz
Next, use this result along with equations (3), (4), and (5) to show that the n by
n matrices R̄T MR̄ and R̄T KR̄ are diagonal matrices with diagonal elements m∗i
and ki∗ .

3 Damping
The damping forces experienced by a structure arise from material viscosity, air resis-
tance, and friction within connections. Damping forces dissipate energy and cause the free
(un-forced) response of a structure to decay to zero. When a structure is excited with sinu-
soidal forces, f (t) = fo cos(ωt), at a forcing frequency near a natural frequency (ω ≈ ωni ),
a slight amount of damping reduces structural responses significantly. Linear-viscous forces
(fdi = c(ṙi+1 − ṙi )) may be assembled into a damping matrix C. The matrix form of the n
coupled second order differential equations including viscous damping effects is:
Mr̈(t) + Cṙ(t) + Kr(t) = f (t) , r(0) = do , ṙ(0) = vo , (6)
4 CEE 421L. – Matrix Structural Analysis – Duke University –Fall 2012 – H.P. Gavin

where C is a symmetric non-negative definite damping matrix.

In general, mode vectors that are mass-orthogonal and stiffness-orthogonal are not
damping-orthogonal. In many lightly-damped structures, however, the damping may be
approximately modeled by a matrix that is proportional to mass and stiffness,

C = αM + βK . (7)

This representation of damping is called Rayleigh damping or proportional damping.

Exercise 3: Show that if the units of all terms in C are N/mm/s, the units of
M is tonnes and the units of K is N/mm, then the unit of α is (1/seconds) and
the unit of β is seconds.

Exercise 4: Show that if the damping matrix is proportional to the mass and
stiffness matrices (equation (7)), then
(
0 i 6= j
r̄Ti Cr̄j = . (8)
c∗i ∗ ∗
= αmi + βki i = j

Exercise 5: Use the Matlab programs Rmodes3run.m, Rmodes3analysis.m,

and N dof anim.m , to investigate the effect of different mass and stiffness distri-
butions on the natural mode shapes. For the combinations of mass and stiffness
shown in Table 1, use the Matlab programs to compute natural frequencies and
natural modes. Print the mode-shape plots for the six cases shown in Table 1
and breifly describe how changes in mass and stiffness affect natural modes and
natural frequencies.

Table 1. Six cases of mass and stiffness distribution.

case: 1 2 3 4 5 6 units
m1 1 1 1 10 1 1 tonne
m2 1 1 1 1 10 1 tonne
m3 1 1 1 1 1 10 tonne
k1 100 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 N/mm
k2 1000 100 1000 1000 1000 1000 N/mm
k3 1000 1000 100 1000 1000 1000 N/mm

4 Modal Coordinates
At any point in time, the lateral displacement of the floor masses is given by the
vector r(t), r(t) = [r1 (t), r2 (t), · · · , rn (t)]T . Because the set of natural mode vectors fills
the n-dimensional space of floor displacement vectors, the floor displacement vectors can be
written as a weighted sum of the natural mode vectors. See Figure 2.
Modes of Vibration 5

−
r1 r−22 −r
21
r2(t)

t)
q(
1
r2(t) −
* r12
r1(t)
r−
11

r1(t)
111111111
000000000 q(
000000000
111111111
000000000
111111111
2 t) 1111111111
0000000000
000000000
111111111 0000000000
1111111111
−
r2

Figure 2. At any point in time, the displacements of a two-coordinate system are [r1 (t), r2 (t)].
This point in the r1 − r2 plane can be represented by the sum of any two (linearly-independent)
vectors in the r1 − r2 plane. The modal vectors [r̄1 , r̄2 ] are shown and the point [r1 (t), r2 (t)]
can be expressed as q1 (t) times r̄1 plus q2 (t) times r̄2 .

r(t) = r̄1 q1 (t) + r̄2 q2 (t) + · · · + r̄n qn (t) ,

or        
r1 (t) r̄11 r̄12 r̄1n

 r2 (t) 


 r̄21 


 r̄22 


 r̄2n 

 ..  = ..  q1 (t) +  ..  q2 (t) + · · · +  ..  qn (t) ,
. . . .
       
       
rn (t) r̄n1 r̄n2 r̄nn
or
r̄11 r̄12 · · ·
    
r1 (t) r̄1n q1 (t)

 r2 (t) 


 r̄21 r̄22 · · · r̄2n 
 q2 (t) 

 ..  =  .. .. .. ..  .. 
. . . . . .
    
    
rn (t) r̄n1 r̄n2 · · · r̄nn qn (t)
or
r(t) = R̄ q(t) (9)
The vector q(t) is called the vector of modal coordinates.

5 Un-coupled Second Order Differential Equations

Substituting equation (9) into equation (6) results in

MR̄q̈(t) + CR̄q̇(t) + KR̄q(t) = f (t) , q(0) = R̄−1 do , q̇(0) = R̄−1 vo .

Pre-multiplying both sides of this equation by the transpose of the modal matrix results in:

R̄T MR̄q̈(t) + R̄T CR̄q̇(t) + R̄T KR̄q(t) = R̄T f (t) , q(0) = R̄−1 do , q̇(0) = R̄−1 vo .
6 CEE 421L. – Matrix Structural Analysis – Duke University –Fall 2012 – H.P. Gavin

Because the modal matrix is mass-orthogonal and stiffness-orthogonal, and assuming the
modal matrix is also damping-orthogonal (e.g., the damping is proportional), the equation
above may be written
m∗1 c∗1 k1∗
     
0 ··· 0  q̈ (t)  0 ··· 0  q̇ (t)  0 ··· 0  q (t) 
1 1 1
.. ..  q̈2 (t) .. ..  q̇2 (t) .. ..  q2 (t)
m∗2 c∗2 k2∗
  
 0 . . 0 . . 0 . .
  ..  +    ..  +    ..  =
       
 . .. .. .. .. ..
 . . . . . . .
··· ··· ···
    
. 0 . 0 . 0
q̈n (t) q̇n (t) qn (t)
0 ··· 0 m∗n 0 ··· 0 c∗n 0 ··· 0 ∗
kn
···
 r̄ r̄21 r̄n1
  f (t) 
11 1

 r̄12 r̄22 ··· r̄n2   f2 (t)  ,

 .. .. ..   .. 
. . ··· . .
r̄1n r̄2n ··· r̄nn fn (t)

or
m∗i q̈i (t) + c∗i q̇i (t) + ki∗ qi (t) = r̄Ti f (t) (10)
for each mode i = 1, . . . , n. This represents n un-coupled second order differential equations
in terms of the modal coordinates qi (t). All of the solutions pertaining to a single degree of
freedom oscillator are relevant to equation (10). Diving both sides of equation (10) by m∗i ,

c∗i ki∗ 1
q̈i (t) + ∗
q̇ i (t) + q (t) = ∗ r̄Ti f (t) ,
∗ i
mi mi mi
or
2 1 T
q̈i (t) + 2ζi ωni q̇i (t) + ωni qi (t) = r̄ f (t) ,
m∗i i
where ζi is the damping ratio associated with mode i, and
c∗i c∗i
ζi = = √ . (11)
c∗ci 2 m∗i ki∗

The analysis of the response r(t) of an n degree of freedom structural system can be reduced
to the analysis of the responses qi (t) of n single degree of freedom systems, which can then be
assembled into the system responses by r(t) = R̄ q(t). In a free vibration, q(t) are sinusoidal
functions with a single frequency; q1 (t) oscillates only at the first natural frequency, ωn1 ,
q2 (t) oscillates only at the second natural frequency, ωn2 , and so on. The free vibration of
the masses, r(t), can involve all the modes of vibration, and can oscillate at all of the natural
frequencies. The elements of the modal coordinate vector represent the amount of each mode
present in the total response.

Exercise 6: Use the Matlab programs Rmodes3run.m, Rmodes3analysis.m,

and N dof anim.m , to determine values of α and β that will give approximately
5 percent damping in the first mode and approximately 1 percent damping in
the third mode for Cases 2, 4, and 6 shown in Table 1. Does increasing α in-
crease the damping in the lower-frequency modes or the higher-frequency modes?
Does increasing β increase the damping in the lower-frequency modes or the
higher-frequency modes? Using equations (8) and (11) explain how this observed
dependence of ζi on α and β makes sense.
Modes of Vibration 7

Exercise 7: For the stiffness and mass values from Case 1 of Table 1, do =
[1, 2, −1]T , α = 1.0 and β = 0.0005, run Rmodes3run.m and zoom in on the
modal displacement plot at t = 1 s and find values for the vector q(1). Next,
zoom in on the floor displacement plot at t = 1 s and find values for the vector
r(1). Compute R̄q(1) and compare the result to r(1).

6 Initial Conditions in Modal Coordinates and Free Response

The initial conditions in modal coordinates are

q(0) = R̄−1 do and q̇(0) = R̄−1 vo .

Because of the mass-orthognality of the natural mode vectors, the inverse modal matrix,
R̄−1 , can be found without actually inverting R̄.

1/m∗1
 
 ..  T
 R̄ MR̄ = In ,

 . 
1/m∗n
so
1/m∗1
 

R̄−1 = 
 ...  T
 R̄ M .
 
1/m∗n
The initial conditions for the un-coupled second order differential equations in modal coor-
dinates (equation (10)) are therefore

1 T 1 T
qi (0) = r̄ Mdo and q̇i (0) = r̄ Mvo . (12)
m∗i i m∗i i

If the initial velocities are all zero and the initial displacements, do , are proportional to
the i-th natural mode vector, r̄i , then the free response ensuing from that initial displacement
will consist entirely of the i-th mode, and will have no components from other modes. In
other words, if vo = 0 and do = ar̄i , then q̇i (0) = 0 for all i, qi (0) = a, and qj (0) = 0 for all
j 6= i.

Exercise 8: Use the Matlab programs Rmodes3run.m, Rmodes3analysis.m,

and N dof anim.m , to investigate this property of natural modes. For the stiff-
ness and mass values from Case 1 of Table 1, set the initial displacement propor-
tional to each of the three mode shape vectors, and observe that the free response
consists almost entirely of that mode. Now select some other set of initial dis-
placements and observe that the free response contains all three modes. Print a
few plots of these mode-shape and free response plots and discuss the results in
a short paragraph.
8 CEE 421L. – Matrix Structural Analysis – Duke University –Fall 2012 – H.P. Gavin

7 Explore!
Exercise 9: Use the Matlab programs Matlab programs Rmodes3run.m,
Rmodes3analysis.m, and N dof anim.m , to explore the effects of very large and
very small values of mass, damping, and stiffness. What happens if you increase
α and/or β so that the damping is more than 100 percent? What happens if α
is positive and β is slightly negative, and vice-versa? What happens if one of
the stiffness coefficients is much much larger than the other coefficients? What
happens if one of the stiffness coefficients is slightly negative? What happens if
one of the mass coefficients is very negative?