Combination of modal responses consistent with seismic input representation
The well-known modal superposition method for the evaluation of seismic response by the complete quadratic modal combination rule (CQC) is revisited. The most widely used version of the CQC rule utilizes correlation coefficients derived for white-noise excitation and neglects the influence of peak factor variation on the response. Here a simplified procedure for evaluation of correlation coefficients and peak factors consistent with the power spectral density of seismic excitation is proposed. The procedure is based on an approximate analytic expression for direct evaluation of the power spectral density of the excitation consistent with any prefixed response spectrum, and the evaluation of…
Numerical and experimental verification of a technique for locating a fatigue crack on beams vibrating under Gaussian excitation
The stationary vibrations of a beam excited by Gaussian noise are strongly affected by the presence of a fatigue crack. Indeed, as soon as the crack arises the system response becomes non-linear due to crack breathing and a non-Gaussian behaviour is encountered. The paper presents both numerical and experimental investigations in order to assess the capability of the non-Gaussianity measures to detect crack presence and position. Monte Carlo method is applied to evaluate in time domain the higher order statistics of a cantilever beam modelled by finite elements. The skewness coefficient of the rotational degrees of freedom appears the most suitable quantity for identification purpose being …
Non-Gaussian probability density function of SDOF linear structures under wind actions
Abstract Wind velocity is usually analytically described adding a static mean term to a zero mean fluctuation stationary process. The corresponding aerodynamic alongwind force acting on a single degree of freedom (SDOF) structure can be considered as a sum of three terms proportional to the mean wind velocity, to the product between mean and fluctuating part of the wind velocity and to the square power of the fluctuating wind velocity, respectively. The latter term, often neglected in the literature, is responsible for the non-Gaussian behaviour of the response. In this paper a method for the evaluation of the stationary probability density function of SDOF structures subjected to non-Gauss…
Stochastic seismic analysis of multidegree of freedom systems
Abstract A unconditionally stable step-by-step procedure is proposed to evaluate the mean square response of a linear system with several degrees of freedom, subjected to earthquake ground motion. A non-stationary modulated random process, obtained as the product of a deterministic time envelope function and a stationary noise, is used to simulate earthquake acceleration. The accuracy of the procedure and its extension to nonlinear systems are discussed. Numerical examples are given for a hysteretic system, a duffing oscillator and a linear system with several degrees of freedom.
Dynamics analysis of distributed parameter system subjected to a moving oscillator with random mass, velocity and acceleration
Abstract The problem of calculating the response of a distributed parameter system excited by a moving oscillator with random mass, velocity and acceleration is investigated. The system response is a stochastic process although its characteristics are assumed to be deterministic. In this paper, the distributed parameter system is assumed as a beam with Bernoulli–Euler type analytical behaviour. By adopting the Galerkin's method, a set of approximate governing equations of motion possessing time-dependent uncertain coefficients and forcing function is obtained. The statistical characteristics of the deflection of the beam are computed by using an improved perturbation approach with respect t…
Non-Stationary Probabilistic Response of Linear Systems Under Non-Gaussian Input
The probabilistic characterization of the response of linear systems subjected to non-normal input requires the evaluation of higher order moments than two. In order to obtain the equations governing these moments, in this paper the extension of the Ito’s differential rule for linear systems excited by non-normal delta correlated processes is presented. As an application the case of the delta correlated compound Poisson input process is treated.
Non-stationary spectral moments of base excited MDOF systems
The paper deals with the evaluation of non-stationary spectral moments of multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) line systems subjected to seismic excitations. The spectral moments of the response are evaluated in incremental form solution by means of an unconditionally stable step-by-step procedure. As an application, the statistics of the largest peak of the response are also evaluated.
Non-stationary pre-envelope covariances of non-classically damped systems
Abstract A new formulation is given to evaluate the stationary and non-stationary response of linear non-classically damped systems subjected to multi-correlated non-separable Gaussian input processes. This formulation is based on a new and more suitable definition of the impulse response function matrix for such systems. It is shown that, when using this definition, the stochastic response of non-classically damped systems involves the evaluation of quantities similar to those of classically damped ones. Furthermore, considerations about non-stationary cross-covariances, spectral moments and pre-envelope cross-covariances are presented for a monocorrelated input process.
Analytical evaluation of structural response for stationary multicorrelated input
Abstract An analytical procedure is presented which can drastically reduce computational effort in the evaluation of the spectral moments of an elastic linear multi-degree-of-freedom system subjected to a stationary multicorrelated input process. The reduction in computer time is possible since the cross-spectral moments of two oscillators can be obtained in recursive manner as a linear combination of the spectral moment of each oscillator taken separately, which is evaluated by means of a very fast numerical technique.
On the convergent parts of high order spectral moments of stationary structural responses
The paper deals with the evaluation of the convergent parts of the high spectral moments of linear systems subjected to stationary random input. An adequate physical meaning of these quantities in both the time and frequency domains is presented. Recurrence formulas to obtain the high convergent cross spectral moments of any order are given in the case of white noise input.
One-dimensional heterogeneous solids with uncertain elastic modulus in presence of long-range interactions: Interval versus stochastic analysis
The analysis of one-dimensional non-local elastic solids with uncertain Young's modulus is addressed. Non-local effects are represented as long-range central body forces between non-adjacent volume elements. For comparison purpose, the fluctuating elastic modulus of the material is modeled following both a probabilistic and a non-probabilistic approach. To this aim, a novel definition of the interval field concept, able to limit the overestimation affecting ordinary interval analysis, is introduced. Approximate closed-form expressions are derived for the bounds of the interval displacement field as well as for the mean-value and variance of the stochastic response.
Random analysis of geometrically non-linear FE modelled structures under seismic actions
Abstract In the framework of the finite element (FE) method, by using the “total Lagrangian approach”, the stochastic analysis of geometrically non-linear structures subjected to seismic inputs is performed. For this purpose the equations of motion are written with the non-linear contribution in an explicit representation, as pseudo-forces, and with the ground motion modelled as a filtered non-stationary white noise Gaussian process, using a Tajimi-Kanai-like filter. Then equations for the moments of the response are obtained by extending the classical Ito's rule to vectors of random processes. The equations of motion, and the equations for moments, obtained here, show a perfect formal simi…
Incremental dynamic based fragility assessment of reinforced concrete structures: Stationary vs. non-stationary artificial ground motions
Abstract Artificial and natural records are commonly employed by researches and practitioners to perform refined seismic assessments of structures. The techniques for the generation of artificial records and their effectiveness in producing signals which are significantly representative of real earthquakes are still debated as well as results of the consequent seismic assessment to expect from their application. The paper presents an in-depth comparative study highlighting the effect of employing different typologies of artificial ground motion records on seismic assessment results, especially addressing seismic fragility curves. Three sets of 50 stationary, nonstationary evenly modulated a…
Methods for Calculating Bending Moment and Shear Force in the Moving Mass Problem
Two methods able to capture with different levels of accuracy the discontinuities in the bending moment and shear force laws in the dynamic analysis of continuous structures subject to a moving system modeled as a series of unsprung masses are presented. The two methods are based on the dynamic-correction method, which improves the conventional series expansion by means of a pseudostatic term, and on an eigenfunction series expansion of the continuous system response, which takes into account the effect of the moving masses on the structure, respectively.
Long-range interactions in 1D heterogeneous solids with uncertainty
Abstract In this paper, the authors aim to analyze the response of a one-dimensional non-local elastic solid with uncertain Young's modulus. The non-local effects are represented as long-range central body forces between non-adjacent volume elements. Following a non-probabilistic approach, the fluctuating elastic modulus of the material is modeled as an interval field. The analysis is conducted resorting to a novel formulation that confines the overestimation effect involved in interval models. Approximate closed-form expressions are derived for the bounds of the interval displacement field.
Stationary and non-stationary probability density function for non-linear oscillators
A method for the evaluation of the stationary and non-stationary probability density function of non-linear oscillators subjected to random input is presented. The method requires the approximation of the probability density function of the response in terms of C-type Gram-Charlier series expansion. By applying the weighted residual method, the Fokker-Planck equation is reduced to a system of non-linear first order ordinary differential equations, where the unknowns are the coefficients of the series expansion. Furthermore, the relationships between the A-type and C-type Gram-Charlier series coefficient are derived.
Dynamic response of multiply connected primary-secondary systems
The nodal equations of motion of the composite system are given in «total» and «relative» coordinates. In the framework of the component-mode synthesis method a coordinate transformation, here defined as an admissible one, is used to reduce the nodal equations of motion. This coordinate transformation is theoretically and numerically compared with the coordinate transformation usually used in the literature, which generally gives larger errors with respect to the former when a reduced number of nodes is considered
Monte Carlo simulation for the response analysis of long-span suspended cables under wind loads
This paper presents a time-domain approach for analyzing nonlinear random vibrations of long-span suspended cables under transversal wind. A consistent continuous model of the cable, fully accounting for geometrical nonlinearities inherent in cable behavior, is adopted. The effects of spatial correlation are properly included by modeling wind velocity fluctuation as a random function of time and of a single spatial variable ranging over cable span, namely as a one-variate bi-dimensional (1V-2D) random field. Within the context of a Galerkin`s discretization of the equations governing cable motion, a very efficient Monte Carlo-based technique for second-order analysis of the response is prop…
Analytic evaluation of spectral moments
In this paper an analytic procedure that drastically reduces the computational effort in evaluating the spectral moments of the response of multi-degree-of-freedom systems is presented. It is shown that the cross-spectral moments of any order of two oscillators subjected to a filtered stochastic process can be obtained in a recursive manner as a linear combination of the spectral moment of each oscillator up to the third order separately taken. A numerical procedure is also presented in order to evaluate such first few spectral moments.
A modal approach for the evaluation of the response sensitivity of structural systems subjected to non-stationary random processes
A method for the evaluation of the response sensitivity of both classically and non-classically damped discrete linear structural systems under stochastic actions is presented. The proposed approach requires the following items: (a) a suitable modal expansion of the response; (b) the derivation in analytical form of the equations governing the evolution of the derivatives of the response (the so-called sensitivity equations) with respect to the parameters that define the structural model; (c) an extensive use of the Kronecker algebra for determining the analytical expressions of the sensitivity of the structural response statistics to non-stationary random input processes. Moreover, a step-…
Effect of epicentral direction on seismic response of asymmetric buildings
The paper deals with the influence of the epicentral direction on the displacement and stress response of multistorey asymmetric buildings to earthquake horizontal ground motion. A method is given for computing for each plane frame of the complex structure a particular direction of the bidirectional stationary random input for which the horizontal floor displacement of the given frame is maximized. It is shown that this direction can be considered conservative for the corresponding non-stationary process.
Stochastic response of combined primary-secondary structures under seismic input
A technique for non-stationary stochastic analysis of linear combined primary and secondary subsystems subjected to a zero-mean Gaussian base excitation is presented. The proposed technique, based on the use of the Taylor's expansion in evaluating the operators which appear in the step-by-step procedure, does not require the evaluation of the complex eigenproperties of the combined system. Operating in this way, even though the numerical procedure is a conditionally stable one, appears to be more efficient than existing methods to evaluate the dynamic response of such composite systems. It is also shown that the proposed procedure is available whether the seismic input is idealized as a fil…
Influence of the quadratic term in the alongwind stochastic response of SDOF structures
A parametric study, regarding the influence of the quadratic pressure term, which is often neglected in the literature, on the stochastic alongwind response of a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) structure subjected to wind action, is presented. The results are reported in terms of percentages of difference in the evaluation of the response, by considering and neglecting the quadratic pressure term. The changing parameters considered are: the terrain drag coefficient, the structure height, the structure natural radian frequency, the structure damping coefficient and the wind reference mean velocity. The response stochastic analysis has been carried out in the time domain, by means of the mome…
Modal analysis for random response of MDOF systems
The usefulness of the mode-superposition method of multidegrees of freedom systems excited by stochastic vector processes is here presented. The differential equations of moments of every order are written in compact form by means of the Kronecker algebra; then the method for integration of these equations is presented for both classically and non-classically damped systems, showing that the fundamental operator available for evaluating the response in the deterministic analysis is also useful for evaluating the response in the stochastic analysis.
Mode superposition methods in dynamic analysis of classically and non-classically damped linear systems
Mode-superposition analysis is an efficient tool for the evaluation of the response of linear systems subjected to dynamic agencies. Two well-known mode-superposition methods are available in the literature, the mode-displacement method and the mode-acceleration method. Within this frame a method is proposed called a dynamic correction method which evaluates the structural response as the sum of a pseudostatic response, which is the particular solution of the differential equations, and a dynamic correction evaluated using a reduced number of natural modes. The greater accuracy of the proposed method with respect to the other methods is evidenced through extensive numerical tests, for class…
Combined dynamic response of primary and multiply connected cascaded secondary subsystems
A method is proposed for the deterministic and stochastic non-stationary analysis of linear composite systems with cascaded secondary subsystems subjected to a seismic input. This method makes it possible to evaluate, by means of a unitary formulation, the deterministic and non-stationary stochastic response of both classically and non-classically damped subsystems and of secondary subsystems multiply supported on the primary one, as well as the ground. The proposed procedure is very efficient from a computational point of view, because of the Kronecker algebra systematically employed. Indeed, by using this algebra, it is possible to obtain in a very compact and elegant form the eigenproper…
Dynamic stability of plane elastic frames
Abstract The stability of plane elastic frames subjected to a vertical foundation motion of the stationary, ergodic type is investigated. The equations of motion are obtained in modal co-ordinates, with account taken of many modes of vibration. The problem is subsequently reduced to the study of only the first mode of vibration. By considering a particular case, the stability domains are sketched as functions of the variation of the rigidities of the beam-column connecting joints and as functions of the number of stories.