THE DETERMINATION OF MODE SHAPES

FOR DYNAMICALLY
LOADED RIGID-PLASTIC STRUCTURES
J.B. Martin*

SOMMARIO. Soluzioni modali per strutture rigido-plastiche

soggette a carichi esterni fissi sono soluzioni dinamiche rappresentabili come prodotti di funzioni separate delle variabili
spaziali e del tempo. Nell'ipotesi di piccoli spostamenti, esiste
almeno una configurazione modale o emodo~) per una struttura soggetta a dati carichi esterni fissi e pud esserci una moltiplicitci di modi. La funzione del tempo ~ una funzione lineare che pud essere facilmente determhmta qualora sia noto il
rnodo. Questo ~avoro propone un metodo, semplice dal punto
di vista meccanico, per il calcolo di configurazioni modalt Si
sviluppa un procedimento iterativo in cui ciascuna iterazione
equivale alia soluzione di un problema statico di analisi limire, e se tie dimostra la convergenga.
S U M M A R Y . Mode solutions in rigid-plastic structures sub/ected to fixed external loads are dynamic solutions which are
products o f separate functions o f space and time. I f the small
displacement assumptions are adopted, there will exist at least
one mode shape for any structure sub/ected to given ]Txed external load, and possibly a multiplicity o f modes. The time
function is a simple linear function, and is easily determined
once the mode shape is known. The paper puts forward, a
simple in physical terms, algorithm for tile determh~ation
o f mode shapes. A n iterative procedure is established ill
which each iteration is equivalent to the solution o f a static
limit analysis problem. Convergence is proved.

INTRODUCTION.
The analysis of impulsively loaded rigid-plastic structures
under small displacement assumptions has become, for a
number of researchers in the field of plastic structural dynamics a point of departure for the development of more
sophisticated theories and computational methods. This has
occurred because simple rigid-plastic theory has had the
promise of providing first estimates of the response which
are adequate for preliminary design at the computational
cost equivalent to a static solution rather than a dynamic
solution. If indeed this promise can be demonstrated over
a wide range of problems, the utility of simple rigid plastic
analysis will be firmly established.
While complete analyses of elementary problems are quite

* Departement of Civil Engineering, University of Cape Town,

South Africa.
42

straightforward (see, for example, Symonds [I ], Parkes [2]),

more complex structures can present difficulties in analysis,
and the hope for simplicity of rigid plastic analysis is not
evident. With a view towards recovering the simplicity,
Martin and Symonds [3] proposed a ~<mode approximation
technique)) based on physical characteristics of the solution.
A mode is a full solution which is a product of functions
of space and time, and hence a mode has fixed shape. It can
be shown that the solution of an impulsive loading problem
will converge on a mode i.e. there is a transient period in
which tile shape changes with time, followed by a period
in which the shape remains constant. The mode approximation technique assumes that the mode shape is known, and
replaces the actual initial velocity field by an initial velocity
field wlfich has tile mode shape. Tile initial amplitude of the
mode is determined by a generalised momentum balance.
In simple problems the mode approximation tecnique is
very effective. In more complex, and more realistic, problems,
however, its effectiveness is not yet established. It is quite
clear that several further questions must be explored, including the following (see, for example, Wierzbicki [4]):
(a) how is a mode determined?
(b) if a multiplicity of modes exists, as is usually the case,
onto which mode does convergence occur?
(c) how rapidly does convergence occur?
It is the first question to which this note is directed. A
variational principle for the mode is known (Lee and Martin
[5], Martin [6]), but an efficient, general computational
scheme has not been suggested to determine the mode or
modes. The second question has recently been addressed by
Symonds [7]; in fact his paper provides the key to the ideas
that are reported here. Making use of a lower bound on the
total time of deformation for impulsively loaded rigid plastic
structures given by Martin [8], Symonds suggests essentially
that, of a multiplicity of mode shapes, the actual mode shape
is that wt~ich leads to the largest time bound.
The third question is also clearly important. It has been
established that in certain structures, in certain ranges of
initial velocity, convergence onto a mode is so slow that the
mode approximation technique does not give even a rough
estimate of the final displaced shape. A means of distinguishing the cases in which the mode approximation technique
will and will not work would be a great advantage.
We shall study in detail the calculation of the time bound
and the optimal time bound, and show that this is related t o
the variational principle for a mode. This permits us to
MECCANICA

present a simple algorithm for the determination of the

mode as a series of static limit analysis calculations.
Consider a one-or two-dimensional structure (i.e. a bar
structure or a plate or shell) in which the spatial variables
are denoted by s. The total extent of the structure will be
represented by S, and it is assumed that the displacements
u(s) are constrained to be zero on part of S denoted by S u.
Over the remainder of the structure, Sp, the tractions are
prescribed and are fixed in time. The tractions will be represented by p(s). At time t = 0 initial displacements u(s, O) =
= 0 and initial velocities fi(s, O) = u(s) are given.
The material of which the structure is composed is assumed to be rigid, perfectly plastic. Denoting generalised strain
rates by q/ and generalised stresses by Q/, the constitutive
equation has the form

QI =

aD
--7 ,

aqj

(1)

I D(t}~) ds

t]Ic =

(3)
i p fi0 fic ds

It can be shown quite readily that the velocity field leading

to the optimal bound is not necessarily a mode shape, and
thus the mode shape on which the solution converges is not
given by the velocity field which provides optimal bound
as might be conjectured.
Nevertheless, a simple physical interpretation of the
velocity field giving the optimal bound is possible. Suppose
that we were to consider the structure loaded statically by
tractions pC(s) given by
pC(s) = X p fi(s),

(4)

where D = D(ql) is a non-negative dissipation function which

is zero for ql = 0, homogeneous and of degree one in the
components of q], and convex. The specific mass of the
structure will be denoted by p. The dynamic equations and
the kinematic equations for the structure are each assumed
to be linear, and the principle of virtual work is applicable
at any instant.
The solution is denoted by velocities u(s,t), stresses
Q/(s, t), and strain rates qi(s, t). Provided that the tractions
p(s) will not themselves cause flow in the structure, the structure will eventually come to rest at time Q. The classical impulsive loading problem is the case where p(s) = O.

where ~, is a multiplier with the dimensions of inverse time.

There will exist a unique value of X, say X, for which flow
will occur under this static load. From the upper bound
theorem of plasticity (Drucker, Greenberg and Prager [9]),
X may be found in terms of a campatible velocity field fir(s)
and strain rates (}f(s):

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE TIME BOUND.

Comparison of (5) and (3) shows that k is the inverse of the

optimal time bound.
We may thus draw a general conclusion from this result.
If we apply to the structure the initial momentum, suitably
factored to cause quasi-static flow in the structure, the limit
load factor provides the optimal time bound and the limit
velocity field is the velocity field which leads to the optimal
time bound in Eq. (2).
This velocity field is not necessarily a mode solution. In
the context of the present discussion, a mode shape 0(s),
and the associated strain rates r/(s), can be identified by
the property that the factored momentum applied to the
structure as a load will lead to a flow velocity field which
is again the mode shape. To establish this we note that the
mode solution is

Considering for the present the impulsive loading case

(p = 0), the time bound given by Martin [8] involved a time
independent velocity field tiC(s), which satisfies the kinematic
constraints on S u, and the associated strain rates q~(s). The
bound is then given by

i pfi0 tic ds

9 >q-

(2)

I D(l};) ds
Quite clearly, a mode shape can be used in this bound
computation. Symonds [7] suggested that this can be used
as a criterion to determine which of a number of modes
should be chosen in an application of the mode approximation technique: the time bound is computed for each mode,
and that mode which leads to the largest bound is likely to
be the one on which the structure converges.
Symond's suggestion led to speculation about the optimal
time bound, i.e. which velocity field tic gives the largest
value of t/. Alternatively, we can consider the value of
the inverse of t[,

MARCH1981

min

xO =

(5)

[ I p tifiC ds

fim(s, t) = #(s) T(t).

(6)

The accelerations are

dT
tim(s, t) = (s) - - .
dt

(7)

It can readily be established that dT]dt is a constant (see

Martin Symonds [3]), and we may then put
tim(s, t) = - Xm ~(s).

(8)

43

During deformation, the equivalent static load applied the

structure is
p = + ~m p #(s),

I D(:t])dx <~Js D(r~)ds,

(1 i)

(9)

and this load must be just sufficient to cause flow. With a

velocity field #(s), a work rate balance gives

where A is a constant, and q/,~ are the strain rates associated with the velocity fields d 1, P respectively.
Let us now assume that rule for normalising tile mode
shape is

i D(q 7) ds
)m _

(10)

i p @@ds=B,

(12)

p ~ds

where B is a constant. We then normalize ~iI by setting

Comparison of Eqs. (5) and (10) shows that, if the loads

of Eq. (9) are to cause flow with a velocity field (s), ;k'n
must be stationary or a local minimum with respect to
variations in ~(s). This is essentially the variational principle
for the mode given by Martin [6].
AN ALGORITHM FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE
MODE SHAPE.
The link between the time bound and the variational
principle for the mode shown by the concept of loading
the structure with the momentum further suggests a simple
iterative method for determining the mode shape. Continuing
to limit discussion to impulsively loaded problem, with
p(s) = 0, the procedure is as follows:
Step 1. Select a trial mode shape (s). It is taken that
~0 is normalised according to some chosen rule.
Step 2. Consider the limit analysis problem in which the
structure is loaded by loads k p #0 (s). Determine the value
of ;k for which flow occurs, and determine the celocity field
til(s) during flow.
Step 3. Normalise the velocity field 61 to obtain a new
trial mode d(s). Go to Step 1.
This procedure is repeated until satisfactory convergence
is obtained. Convergence can be proved, and this point will
be taken up presently. We note first, however, that the
question of the uniqueness of ill(s) in the procedure has
important implications. Iful(s) is uniquely determined at
each iteration, it is evident that the trial mode leads to
a unique actual mode. If, however, til(s) is not uniquely
determined at each step, different choices of d 1, and hence
~ ( s ) , may lead to different actual modes. There is of course
a multiplicity of modes in general, and hence it is to be
expected that different initial trial modes may lead to different actual modes.
Convergence of the iterative procedure can be simply
demonstrated. In Step 2, we solve the unconstrained minimisation problem set out in Eq. (5). This problem can
equally well be set as a problem in which the numerator
is minimisod subject to a constraint in which the denominator is held constant. Hence, in the notation of the suggested algorithm,

~1 = a u l,

(13)

where

Because the dissipation function is homogeneous and of

degree one, we can write

I DO:/')ds =I D(aq/)ds=a ID(q:) ds,

where ~l is the strain rate field associated with ~l(s).

Considering Eq. (11), it is now quite clear that, if a <~ 1,

I D(//l) <~fD(/?)
ds

ds,

JS

(16)
with

I a ,l C,l ds = f a c, # ds = B.

In order to show that a < 1, we note that

~iP'~ds+ Ip(ul--,)(dl--dp)ds=
(17)

However, form Eq. (11)

p (-d') ds = 0

08)

and clearly

i p 0 i l _ ~b0)(ill _ @0) ds I> 0.

if i o ~ ~ ds = fs P ~6Xds =A,

(15)

(19)

(11)
It follows then that

44

MECCANICA

f
i p 0 ~ 0 ds ~< Js P tll fil ds,

(20)

and hence, from Eq. (14), that

a ~< 1.

(21)

The inequality given in Eq. (16) establishes that each

cycle of the iteration leads to a lower value of the expression
given in Eq. (10), and hence takes us closer to a mode.
Indications are that the convergence will be rapid in most
cases, with the mode being given after a few cycles.

EXTENSION TO CONSTANT LOADS.

Mode solutions can be found for cases in which the external loads p(s) are independent of time but non-zero; the
impulsive loading case is simply the special case p = 0. An
important distinction must be made between cases in which
p(s) can be equilibrated by the structure and cases in which
p(s) cannot be equilibrated. In the former case there is a multiplicity of modes, each representing decelerating motion. In
the latter case, there is a unique mode which accelerates. In
the former case there will exist a time bound for any initial
velocity problem, whereas in the latter there will not.
The algorithm can be directly generalised, with the single
change that the factored m o m e n t u m is applied as a load
additional to the existing constant load p(s). In the case
where p cannot be equilibrated, the flow load factor will
be negative, but this does not alter the general procedure.
Details of this extension will not be given in this brief note;
the argument is essentially the same as that for the impulsive
loading case.

CONCLUSIONS.
The existence of this simple algorithm to determine the
mode shapes would seem to resolve the first of the fundamental questions about the mode approximation technique;
it is always possible to find mode shapes by a calculation
which is substantially simpler, for .any given structure, than
the dynamic problem. In discrete terms, the determination
of the mode is at most a series of linear programming problems, while the dynamic solution is a series of quadratic
programming problems (Capurso [ 10 ]).
It is also of interest to note that, if the initial velocity
field of an impulsive loading problem is taken as the first
trial solution for the mode, the first cycle of the iteration
will yield the optimum time bound, whereas further cycles
will lead to the mode (i.e. if the mode is not given by the
first iteration). This suggests, in view of Symonds's criterion
[7], that the iterative scheme could conceivably always lead
to the mode onto which the dynamic solution converges if
the initial velocity field is taken as the first trial mode. If
this could be established, the second fundamental question
would also be resolved. It may also be possible to obtain
some information about the rate of convergence, which is the
subject of the third question, but this is more speculative.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
The author is indebted to Professor P.S. Symond and
Professor T. Wierzbicki for discussions on this topic.
The support of the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research, South Africa, is acknowledged.
Received: 26 January 1981.

REFERENCES

[1 ] SYMONDSP.S., Large Plastic Deformations of Beams under Blast

Type Loading, Proc. 2nd U.S. Nat. Cong. of Applied Mechanics,
ASME (N.Y.), 505 - 515, 1954.
[2 ] PARKESE.W., The Permanent Deformation of a Cantilever Struck
Transversely at its Tip, Proc. Roy. Sot., A 228,462 - 476, 1955.
[3] MARTIN J.B. and SYMONDSP.S., Mode Approximations for
Impulsively Loaded Rigid Plastic Structures, Proc. Eng. Mech.
Die., ASCE, 92. (EMS), 43- 66, 1966.
[4] X~ERZBICKIT., Extremum Principles in the Dynamics of Rigid
Plastic Bodies, A Critical Review of Existing Applications,
ELCALAD Seminar, Paper T3.5, Berlin, 1975.
[5] LEE L.S-S. and MARTIN J.B., A Technique for Approximate
Solutions of Impulsively Loaded Structures of a Rate Sensitive
Material, ZAMP, 21,1011 - 1032, 1970.
MARCH 1981

[6] MARTIN J.B., Extremum Principles for a Class of Dynamie RigidPlastic Problems, Int. J. Solids and Structures, 8, 1185 - 1204,
1972.
[7] SYMONDSP.S., The Optimal Mode in the Mode Approximation
Technique, Mechanics Research Communications, 7, Part 1,
1 - 6, 1980.
[8] MARTINJ.B., Impulsive Loading Theorems for Rigid-Plastic Continua, Proc. Eng. Mech. Die., ASCE, 90, (EM5), 2 7 - 42, 1964.
[9] DRUCKER D.C., GREENBERGHJ. and PRAGER W., Extended
Limit Design Theorems for Continuous Media, Quart. Appl.
Math. 9,381 - 389, 1952.
[10] CAPURSOM., Minimum Principles in the Dynamics of lsotropic
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