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First version: September 2003 (Last modified 2010) Ahmed Elgamal & Mike Fraser
Single-Degree-of-Freedom (SDOF)
and Response Spectrum
Ahmed Elgamal
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Ahmed Elgamal & Mike Fraser
Dynamics of a Simple Structure
The Single-Degree-Of-Freedom (SDOF) Equation
References
Dynamics of Structures, Anil K. Chopra, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, ISBN 0-13-855214-2
(Chapter 3).
Elements of Earthquake Engineering And Structural Dynamics, Andr Filiatrault,
Polytechnic International Press, Montral, Canada, ISBN 2-553-00629-4 (Section 4.2.3).
First version: September 2003 (Last modified 2010)
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Ahmed Elgamal & Mike Fraser
Equation of motion (external force)
k
1
u
f
s f
D
c
1

f
s
= k u f
D
= c
f
S
f
I
p(t)
f
D
f
I
f
S
p(t)
f
D
FBD
p(t)
u
(t)
m
c
k
Mass-spring damper system
f
I
+ f
D
+ f
s
= p(t)
where f
I
,f
D
, and f
s
are forces due to
Inertia, Damping and Stiffness respectively:
) t ( p ku u c u m = + +
Free-Body Diagram (FBD)
First version: September 2003 (Last modified 2010)
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Ahmed Elgamal & Mike Fraser
u
g
(t)
Earthquake Ground Motion (u
g
)
f
I
+ f
D
+ f
s
= 0
f
I
= m
t
u = m(
g
u +u )
0 ku u c ) u u ( m
g
= + + +
g
u m ku u c u m = + +
You may note that:
Earthquake
Excitation
Fixed base
(t)
External
force
=
u
g
(t)
u = relative displacement (displacement of the structure relative to the ground)
u
t
= total displacement
f
I
= m x (total or absolute acceleration)
First version: September 2003 (Last modified 2010)
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Ahmed Elgamal & Mike Fraser
Undamped natural frequency
Property of structure when allowed to vibrate freely without external excitation
m
k
= e Undamped natural circular frequency of vibration (radians/second)
t
e
=
2
f natural cyclic frequency of vibration (cycles/second or 1/second or Hz)
f
1
T = natural period of vibration (second)
T is the time required for one cycle of free vibration
If damping is present, replace e by e
D
where
2
D
1 e = e natural frequency*, and
e
=
m 2
c
fraction of critical damping coefficient (damping ratio, zeta)
c
c
c
= (dimensionless measure of damping)
km 2
c
=
km 2 m 2 c
c
= e =
T
* Note: In earthquake engineering, e
D
= e approximately, since , is usually below 0.2 (or 20%)
c
c
= critical damping
First version: September 2003 (Last modified 2010)
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Ahmed Elgamal & Mike Fraser
in terms of
g
u m ku u c u m = + +
g
u u
m
k
u
m
c
u = + +

g
2
u u u 2 u = e + e +


In general < 0.2, i.e., e
D ~
e , f
D ~
f, T = T
D

c
c
least damping that prevents oscillation

may be in the range of 0.02 0.2 or 2% - 20%
5% is sometimes a typical value.

u

t

c
c
or larger
> 1
e.g., damper on a swinging door
in terms of
g
u m ku u c u m = + +
g
u u
m
k
u
m
c
u = + +

g
2
u u u 2 u = e + e +


In general < 0.2, i.e., e
D ~
e , f
D ~
f, T = T
D

c
c
least damping that prevents oscillation

may be in the range of 0.02 0.2 or 2% - 20%
5% is sometimes a typical value.

u

t

c
c
or larger
> 1
e.g., damper on a swinging door
c
c
is the least level of damping that prevents oscillation
in terms of
g
u m ku u c u m = + +
g
u u
m
k
u
m
c
u = + +

g
2
u u u 2 u = e + e +


In general < 0.2, i.e., e
D ~
e , f
D ~
f, T = T
D

c
c
least damping that prevents oscillation

may be in the range of 0.02 0.2 or 2% - 20%
5% is sometimes a typical value.

u

t

c
c
or larger
> 1
e.g., damper on a swinging door
First version: September 2003 (Last modified 2010)
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Ahmed Elgamal & Mike Fraser
Note: After the phase of forced vibration (due to external force or base excitation, or initial
conditions), the structure continues to vibrate in a free vibration mode till it stops due to
damping. The ratio between amplitude in two successive cycles is
t
+
~
2
1 i
i
e
u
u

where we define the logarithmic decrement as
|
|
.
|

\
|
= t = o
+1 i
i
u
u
ln 2
if you measure a free vibration response you can find .

Note: for peaks j cycles apart

t = o =
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
j 2 j
u
u
ln
j i
i


u
i
u
i+1
Free vibration

First version: September 2003 (Last modified 2010)
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Ahmed Elgamal & Mike Fraser
Critical viscous damping

The free vibration equation may be written as
0 kx x c x m = + +

and the general solution is

t
m
k
m 2
c
m 2
c
2
t
m
k
m 2
c
m 2
c
1
2 2
e C e C x
(
(

|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|

(
(

|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|
+

+ =

if
m
k
m 2
c
2
= |
.
|

\
|
, the radical part of the exponent will vanish. This will produce aperiodic
response (non-oscillatory). In this case

m
k
) m 2 (
c
2
2
=
or
c
c km 2 c = =


since
m
k
= e , c
c
is also equal to 2me (note that e = e = m 2 m m 2 km 2
2
)
and also
e
= e = =
k 2
) / k ( k 2 km 2 c
2
c
Why is km 2 m 2 c
c
= e =
First version: September 2003 (Last modified 2010)