Mode synthesis technique for dynamic analysis of

structures*
B. N. Agrawal
t
COMSAT Laboratories.
Clarksbur•,Maryland 207J4
(Received 11 June 1975)

A mode synthesistechniqueis presentedfor determiningthe normal modes.natural frequencies.and

responsesof three-dimensional
complexstructurewith flexiblejoints. Lagrange'sequationsare usedto
developthe equationsof motion of the structures.Basedon this techniquea computerprogramcalled
MODSYN hasbeendevelopedfor both free-freeand cantileversystems.An exampledemonstrates the
accuracy of this method.

SubjectClassification:
[43]40.20;[43]20.40.

LIST OF SYMBOLS

Generalized coordinates describing a relative

Distance
of thecenterof gravityof theith qtrj
structure from its attachment point to the translation motion in the jth direction of the
main structure in the jth direction joint spring of the ith branch
Distancefromthecenterof gravityof the qons Generalized coordinate describing rigid body
systemto the center of gravity of the main ' rotation in the jth direction
structurein thejth directionfor theunde- qor• Generalized coordinate describing rigid body
formed configuration translation in the ]th direction
! Total number of generalized coordinates used Q• Generalized force
to describethemotionof thesystem Modal shear at the attachment point of the ith
f, Number of elastic modes used to describe the structure in the jth direction due to its nth
motion of the ith structure (i = 0, 1,... ) mode
External force at the kth mass of the ith T Kinetic energy
structure (bothmain and substructure)in fJ Potential energy
the•thdirection Yl(k) Coordinate of the center of gravity of the kth
Product moment of inertia of the ith substruc- mass of the ith structure in the jth direction
ture about its attachment point measured in relationship to the center of
Product moment of inertia of the main struc- gravity of the system (i = 0 for the main
ture about the center of gravity of the system structure; i = 1,... for the substructure;
Moment of inertia of the ith substructure j = 1, 2, 3) in the undeformedconfiguration
about
itsattachment
point Y•(k) Translational displacement of the kth mass of
Mass moment of inertia of the main structure the/th structure in the jth direction
about
thecenter
ofgravity
ofthesystem el(k) Rotational displacement of the kth mass of the
0 = l, a) ith structure in the jth direction
Modal mass in the nth normal mode of the ith
Stiffnessmatrix definingthecoupling
effectof
structure
various masses of the system
li Masspointofthemainstructure
wherethe Modal translational displacement of the kth
ith substructure is attached mass of the ith structure in the jth direction,
Mass of the ith structure corresponding to the nth normal mode of the
Mass of the main structure ith structure

Inertia
matrix Modal translation displacement of the kth
Modal moment at the attachment point of the mass of the/th structure in the ]th direction,
ith structure in the jth direction due to its corresponding to the rigid body lth rotation
nth mode mode(i = 0, 1.... ;j = 1, 2, 3; l = 1, 2, 3)
External
moment
ofthekthmassoftheith Modal translation displacement of the kth
structure in the jth direction mass of the/th structure in the jth direction,
Number of mass points in the ith structure corresponding to the rigid body /th transla-
tion mode
Column matrix of generalized coordinates
Generalized
coordinates
describing
participa- Modal rotational displacement of the kth mass
tion of the nth uncoupled mode of the ith of the ith structure in the jth direction, cor-
beam in free vibration of the system (i = 0, responding to the nth normal mode of the ith
structure
1,...;n=l,P.,...,ft)
Generalized
coordinates
describing
a relative Modal rotational displacement of the kth mass
rotation motion in the jth direction of the of the ith structure in the jth direction, cor-
joint spring of the branch responding to the rigid body/th rotation mode

1329 d. Acou•. Soc.Am.,Vol. 59, No. 6, June1976 Copyright¸ 1976by the Acoustical
Societyof America 1329
1330 B.N.Agrawal:
Dynamic
analysis
bymode
synthesis
technique 1330

Modal rotational displacement of the kth tion mode

mass of the ith structure in the jth direction, Natural frequency of the nth normal mode of
corresponding to the rigid body/th transla- the ith structure

INTRODUCTION free uncoupleOnormal modes of the main structure and

the cantilever modes of the substructures. In the canti-
Basically, in modal synthesis the structure is lever system, the displacement is expressed as the
treated as an assembly of substructures, each of which superpositionof the cantilever modesof the main struc-
is analyzed as a separate unit. The equations of mo- ture and the substructures. In this paper, the free-
tion of the complete structure are formulated by synthe- free system will be analyzed first since the cantilever
sizing the properties of the components, such as mode system is a special case in which rigid body modesare
shapes and interface compatibility conditions. During absent and the free-free modes of the main structure
the past decade, new methods of variances of the meth- are replaced by cantilever modes.
ods falling within the general scope of the modal syn-
For simplicity in the analysis, a lumped mass struc-
thesis technique have been developed by many investi-
tural model, shownin Fig. 1, is assumed. The results
gators.t-s A brief review and commentson these meth-
of this analysis are also valid for the system in which
odshavebeengivenby Hurry.9 the modal characteristics of the main structure and
Recently the modal synthesis technique has been used substructures are determined by exact analysis, finite
by growing numbers of industries, such as General element methods, or dynamic test data. For the anal-
Dynamics for the coupledanalysis of the INTELSAT ysis, the origin of the coordinatesystemsis assumed
IV-A satellite (built by Hughesfor INTELSAT) a•d the to be the center of gravity of the main structure.
Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle, McDonnell Douglas for
the coupledanalysis of the MARLSATsatellite (built by A. Main structure
Hughesfor COMSAT General) and the Delta launchve-
The disptacement of the main structure is expressed
hicle, and Hughes for the dynamic analysis of MARISAT. as follows:
In addition to the savings in computer time and space,
this technique has many other advantages. In the anal-
lysis of a large structure whose substructures are built
by different contractors, this technique reduces to a
Y•o(k,
t)= •.• •_Ti • T2•T3•Ri• R2•R3•l
4•(k)qon(t),
(1)
minimum necessary technical communication across
wherej = 1, 2, 3; k = 1,..., no;qor•, qoT•,andq0rarep-
component interfaces. It is also desirable for analyzing
resent the translational rigid body motionof the system;
a very large structure whose components are tested
separately. It can be used to combine the mode shapes qoR
t, q0•z•,
andq0•z
arepresent
therotational
rigidbody
of the components obtained by tests to analyze the com-
plete structure. ¾2
This paper presents a modal synthesis technique
based on the energy approach. The displacement shape
of the structure is expressed as the superimposition of
the rigid modes and the finite number of normal modes
of the main structure and the substructures. Lagrange's
equations are then used to develop the equation of mo-
tion in matrix form. The technique discussed in this JOINT SPRING

paper proceeds along the same lines as Ref. 6 except

that translational and rotational springs are added at MAIN
STRUCTURE
I
the interfaces of the main structure and the substruc-
tures, and the technique is generalized for three-di-
mensional analysis. The advantage of this technique is
that, instead of using the mode shapes of the substruc- I I ISUBSTRUCTURE
tures, it uses the modal forces and moments to deter-
mine the natural frequencies of the system. This re-
duces the amount of data required across the component
interfaces for the analysis.'

I. BASIC FORMULATION I I

In the analysis the system is divided into main struc-

ture and substructures. The substructures are attached
to the main structure through joint springs. The sys-
tem can be free-free or cantileverø In the free-free
system, the displacement is expressed as the superpo-
FIG. 1. Free-free systems.
sition of the rigid body modes of the system and free-

J. Acoust. Soc. Am., VoL 59, No. 6, June 1976

1331 B.N. Agrawal:Dynamicanalysis
by modesynthesis
technique 1331

motion
ofthesystem;
andqm,.ßß,q0s0
arethegeneral- ized coordinatesby substituting Eqs. (1)-(7) into Eq.
ized coordinates of the main structure. Also, (8). The expression is complex and can be simplified
by using the following conditions:
½•t=6tJ'Kronecker
delta, (2a)
(a) Conservationof linear andangularmomentumfor
½•%=0 (2b) the normal free-free modes of the main structure: That
is, preservation of translational and rotational equilib-
O•%.(k)
=/0':(k)
}forsmall
O•ns.z(k)
=-y•*•(k) rotational (2c)
motion,
(2d) rium, as shown in the following equations:
no
wherethej's are in cyclic order; i.e., if j =a, then •mo(k)½•(k)=O,n=l,2, ...,70;j=1,2,3, (9)
j+l=l and j+2 =2.
Similarly, thebendingslo•, 0•, is expressedas • {IoJ•(k)½•(k)
- 1•o
'•'••b•'(k)
-1•o
'•+2
O•(k,
t)= • ½•,(k)
qo,(t), (3) + m0(})[y•"(•)½•;•(m- 4+2(k)
½•;'(k)]}=0. (10)
n=T1,Tg•Ta•Ri•Rg,R3•I
(b) Orthogo•lity conditionof the normal modes. To
where
further simplify the remaining terms, the following no-
tation is introduced:
½%-½•:=½•=0 (4a)
m0= mass of the main structure,
• =6•, Kronecker
delta (4b)
B. Substru•ures : too(k),

The displacements of the ith substructure are ex- B• =dist•ce from thecenterof gravityof the
pressed as follows by usi• Eqs. (1) •d (2): system to the center of gravity of the main
•0 structure in the jth direction,
n0

M•: • too(k)
y•(k),
&:l
- [ y•'•(k)-
•: massmomentof inertia of the main strue.-
ture about the center of gravity of the system,
n0

where • = 1, 2, 3; k = 1, 2,..., n•; •d • is the mass point

=• [•(•) +m0(k){[
•=1
y•"(•)]•+[y•'•(•)]•}]
of the main structure where the/th substructure is n0
codected. Similarly, thebendingslopeO•of thesubstruc- •,•.z =• [i•,•.Z(k
)+mo(k)y•(k) Y0 J •
}=1
ture is expressedas follows by using Eq. (3):
m• = mass of the ith structure,
•0

=• m,(k),
•=1

B• =distanceof the centerof gravityof the ith

structure from its attachment point to the
main structure in the •th direction,
where

½•r•=6•, Kronecker
delta, (7a) •,• =• m,(m[
y•(m- y•(•,)],

½•%.x(k)
=[y•*:(k)
- Y•'•(/0] (%)
--Yl x { J
+ [y•.a(k
) _ YO>:(/ t J JJ •

• 6
•= •, Kroneeker
delta
II. KINETIC ENERGY
• =modalshearat the attachmentpointof the
In terms of the generalized coor•tes, the kinetic ith structure in the jth direction due to its
ener• of the system can be written as follows: nth mode,
nl 3

r =• • • ½•,(m[•(m?+
I=0 •=1 •=1

- •?•"(k)d•(•)•"(})}. (8) M• =modalmomentat the attachmentpointof the

ith structure in the jth direction due to its
The kinetic energy is expressed in terms of general- nth mode

J. Acoust. Soc. Am., VoL 59, No. 6, June 1976

1332 B.N. AgrawaRDynamicanalysisby modesynthesis
technique 1332

ni
The simplified kinetic energy can now be expressed
(M,n/co,•)=
• [i•t(k)&•.(k)_i?.X•b•X(k)
- t,t0t.2t.2(k) in terms of total masses, mass moments of inertia,
natural frequencies, modal masses, and modal forces
(modal shear and moment at the base) of the main struc-
+m•(k){[y•*X(k)
-y•*t(l,)]OR=(k)
- [yi•*2(k
)- ture andthe substructures;i.e.,

•o• (l•)

,=••=vl
.....•a'x
{ \%. +(M•./%,)½o•(l•)}q•.qo•+•{rn•(q•rfi
ß

+&tRt
n=T1
,R3•1
(11)

III. POTENTIAL ENERGY {Q} =columnmatrix of the generalizedforcesdue

If the orthogonality conditions of the normal mode are
used, the potential energy can be written as follows:
2 t•q•.,
n=Ti,**-,R 3
to external forces at the mass point.
To make a clear presentation, each matrix is decom-
posed into several elementary matrices, and the stiff-
ness and inertia matrices are presented as the sums of
(12) these matrices:

whereK{a,
1, . .., K{•)arethetr•slatio•l androtation- [M]=[Mol=• ([Mi]+[M,,]) (15)
al spring consents of the joint spring in the ith sub- t=1
struc•re.
and

IV. EQUATIONS OF MOTION

The kinetic energy and potential energy equations

[Eqs. (11)and(12)]havebeenevaluatedin terms of the
•here
generalized coordinates. It is now possible to introduce
Lagrange's equation,
[M0]=inertiamatrixof themainstructure,
d aT @U
[M;]=inertia matrixof theith substructure,
In matrix form, the equationsof motionappearas fol- iMp.I=inertiamatrixfor thejointspringof
lows: the ith substructure,

[M]{•}+[K]{q}={Q}, (14) [K0]=stiffness

matrixofthemainstructure,
where [K•]=stiffness
matrixof theith substructure,
[M]=inertiamatrixdescribing
thecoupling
of [K•,]=stiffness
matrixfor thejointspringof
the ith substructure.
various masses of the system,
These square inertia and stiffness matrices are ex-
{q}=column matrixofthegeneralized
coodinates,
panded as shown in the following subsections. Their
[K] =stiffness
matrixdefining
thecoupling
effect elements correspond to the generalized coordinates at
of various stiffnessesof the system, their right=hand side.

J. Acoust.Sec. Am., Vol. 59, No. 6, June 1976

1333 B.N. Agrawal:
Dynamicanalysis
by modesynthesis
technique 1333

A. Main structure matrices

The main structure matrices are expanded as follows:

polcd•i qol

qoa

qo•

(17)

• OYoøJ•y
o qofo

mo o o 0 moB• - moB•

moB• - mob• 0
4' -4 2 -z• •
42
[•o] {qo}= (18)
P'ot

symmetric

• oyo

B. Substructure matrices

The substructure matrices are expanded to yield

(19)

qll

q{•{

J. Acoust.Soc. Am., Vol. 59, No. 6, June 1976

1334 B.N. Agrawal:Dynamicanalysisby modesynthesis
technique 1334

o o
•ly
o o

o o

•l,Y+!
3 52,Y+1 •i•(•) •2,
+m• •(•) •3,$+1
•(•) •(•)

Y+I
•o(•)

o o o

o o o

o o
o

•(l•)
$+2 •(•) •2,Y+2

•(•)
•(•) •(•) •o,(•,)

Y+2
•½O•o(/•)

o o

o o

•1,y+l 51,
•2,Y+I •2,Y+l
_
•3J
•3,Y.,.1
{
•(t•) •i'(/•)

Y,'.l
O,fo•t •

J. Aaoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 59, No. 6, June 1976

1335 B.N. Agrawal:
Dynamic
analysis
bymodesynthesis
technique 1335

/ 0 \ o\

- (Q,,/•,,)

o \ o \
o
o

o
o

o o

o o

o o

o o (20)

o o

(Ml,/Wll)

C. Joint spring matrices

Expansion of the joint spring matrices is performed as follows:

KTi 0 0 0 0 0 qIT 1

0 Kr•' 0 0 0 0
0 0 Kr• 0 0 0 q•r 3
0 0 0 KR• 0 0 q•

0 0 0 0 KR2 0 q•
0 0 0 0 0

J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 59, No. 6, June 1976

1336 R.N.Agrawah
Dynamic
analysis
bymode
synthesis
technique 1336

Define
(22a)

(22b)
M•(I•)
-
Then

[Mfs]{qf}=

1 0.12 3
--((•f.ff/
f.ff) * ß ß
(23)

J
(24)

then Eqs. (1)-(7), which express the displacementsof the structure in terms of generalized coordinates, can be

expressed in matrix form as follows:

(25)

•rl(1)

or

The modalforce{Q} is obtainedfrom the externalforcevector{F} by thefollowingtransformation:

(26)

where

J. Acoust. Soc. Am., VoL 59, No. 6, June 1976

1337 B.N. Agrawal:
Dynamic
analysis
by modesynthesis
technique 1337

;tt
the partitioned matrix is expanded as

(27) [Mir]{•,} +[M12

]{q•}={QR}, (33a)
F(1)

the first equation

is multiplied
by - [ Mz,][Mn•' , •d
the two •uations are added,

V. SOLUTIONS OF EQUATIONS OF MOTION (34)

In matrix form, the differential equations of motion

If it is assumed that
appear as

[M]{/•}+[g]{q}={q}, (28) (3 5a)

where the inertia matrix [M] and the stiffness matrix
[K] are square,symmetric,andof the orderfxf. For (35b)
the cantileversystem,the stiffnessmatrix [K] will be
nonsingular; hence the modal characteristics and re- (35c)
sponsecan be easily obtained. For the free-free sys-
tem, the matrix [K] will be singular. The solutionfor rewriting Eq. (34) results in
this system requires separating the generalized coordi-
natesintorigidbodycoordinates,
q0rl, ..., qo•3,and [M]{•} +[K--]
{qs}={•s}. (36)
elastic coordinates.

Now the natural modes, natural frequencies, and re-

Partitioning Eq. (28) gives sponse can be obtained by using the standard approach.
The rigid motioncan be obtainedby solvingEq. (33) for
{qs}. Themotionof the structurecanbe obtained
by
using Eq. (25).

LM2, M2,__J Vl. COMPUTER PROGRAM

(29) Based on the method discussed earlier, a computer

where program called MODSYN has been developedfor both
free-free and cantilever systems. The following expire-
pie demonstrates the accuracy of this method. The
go1
structure is divided into two components as shown in
Fig. 9..
For simplicity it is assumed that
qo•t
qo1
o
qo,J,2

(30) ATTACHMENT
POINT
qo•
qtr• Y
qo•z (0,4)[ m,(2)
qo,% (• SUeSTRUCT
(0,3}[ .,½n I {0.2}{ ,•0{2) { (0.4}1 ml{2)

(0.,){ '"0(') [ (0:')[ '",(')

i (o,o) (o,•!
(o,1) .,91• I
For the free-free system,

[K,1]=[K•] = [•2,] =0 . (31)

II
(o,o)
ß-•'- X

If Eq. (29) is rewritten as FIG. 2. Components of the structure.

J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 59. No. 6, June 1976

1338 B.N. Agrawal:Dynamicanalysisby modesynthesistechnique 1338

TABLE I. Natural frequencies of the complete struc- TABLE II. Natural frequencies of the complete structure ob-
ture and the main structure obtained from the NASTRAN tained from the MODSYN program.
program.
4 Modes 2 Modes 1 Mode

Frequency(Hz) Made
number
Frequency
(Hz)
Frequency
(Hz)
Percentage
error
Frequency
(Hz)
Percentage
error
Mode Main structure I 79.45 79.46 0.0125 80.8 1.69
number Structure and substructure 2 341.77 343.60 0. 5900 389.5 13.96
3 683.13 684.53 0.2000
79.45 217.18 4 919.85 937.80 1.9500
341.77 701.56 •
6
1627.90
2238.60
683.12 1715.53 7 2868.17
919.86 2945.52 s 3323.50
1627.96
2238.60
2868.70
3323.54
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author would like to thank Dro W. L. Cook for

developingthe MODSYN computer program based on
this technique.
m0(1)=m0(2)=ml(1) =m1(2)= ! slug (14.6 kg) ,

I•'(1) =I•'(2) =I•'(1) =I•'(2) = 1 slugft• (1. 356kg ma) .

The structure consists of concentrated masses which
*This paper is baseduponwork performed in COMSAT Labor-
atories under the sponsorship of the International Telecom-
are connected by beams. The areas of the cross sec- munications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT). Views ex-
tions and bendingstiffnesses (El) of the beams are as- pressed in this paper are not necessarfiy those of INTELSAT.
sumedto be the same and equalto 1 it a(0.09 m2) and ?Presently
at AEROSAT
SPO,European
Space
Research
and
10• lb ft2 (4.12 N m=), respectively. The mainstruc- Technology Center, Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
ture and substructure are assumed to be the same. The 1W.C. Hurry,"Dynamic
Analysis
of Structural
Systems
by
cantilever modal characteristics of the complete struc- ComponentMode Synthesis," TR-32-530, Jet Propulsion
ture and the main structure (or substructure) are ob- Laboratory, Pasadena, CA (Jan. 1964)(unpublished).
tained by using NASTRAN (see Table I). The natural
2R.M. Barnford,
"AModalCombination
Program
forDynamic
Analysis of Structures," TM-33-290, Rev. No. 1, Jet Pro-
frequencies of the complete structure have been ob- pulsionLaboratory, Pasadena,CA (July 1967) (unpublishecO.
tained with the MODSYN program by using the four 3R. L. Bajan,C. C. Feng,andI. J. Jaszlics,"Vibration
modes (total), the first two modes, and the fundamental Analysis of ComplexStructural Systemsby Modal Substitu-
mode for the main structure and for the substructure tion," Shock Vib. Bull. 39, Pt. 3, pp. 99-105 (1969).
(see Table II). The percentage errors are obtainedby 4R. L. Goldman,
"VibrationAnalysisbyDynamic
Partition-
comparing the exact natural frequencies of the struc- ing," AIAA J. 7, (6), pp. 1152-1154 (1969).
ture from NASTRAN and the natural frequencies from 5L. B. Gwin,"Methodology
Report
for Docking
Loads,"TR
MODSYN. For the case in which all four modes of the ED-2002-595, Martin Marietta Corp., Denver, CO (Aug.
ß1968) (unpublished).
substructure are considered, the results are exact, as 6j. D. McAleese,
"Method
forDetermining
Normal
Modes
and
expected. Frequenciesof a LaunchVehicle Utilizing Its Component
Normal Modes,"NASATND-4550, Lewis ResearchCenter,
VII. CONCLUSIONS Cleveland, OH (May 1968) (unpublished).
?Shou-nien
Hou,"Reviewof ModalSynthesis
Techniques
and
The mode synthesis technique presented in this paper a New Approach," Shock Vib. Bull. 40, Pt. 4, pp. 25-39
(1969).
reduces significantly the technical communication
across component interfaces of a complex structure for SB.K. Wada,R. Barnford,andJ, A, Garba, "Equivalent
Spring-Mass System: A Physical Interpretation," Shock Vib.
determination of natural frequencies. The accuracy of
Bull. 42, Pt. 5, pp. 215-225 (1972).
the results obtained with this method is good. This 9W. C. Hurty, "Introduction
to ModalSynthesis
Techniques,"
technique is especially preferred for in-orbit flexible presented at The Winter Annual Meeting of ASME, Synthesis
dynamic analysis of a spacecraft. of Vibrating Systems (1971) (unpublished).

J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 59, No. 6, June 1976