The University of Auckland

Department of Civil and Resource Engineering

Applied Structural Mechanics

Time-history analysis – single degree of freedom systems

Closed form analytical solution of the equation of u&&( τ ) = (u&&i + u&&i+1 ) / 2 .
motion of a single degree of freedom system is not
usually possible if the excitation (applied force or Integrating:
ground acceleration) is an arbitrary function of u&(τ ) = ( u&&i + u&&i+1 )τ / 2 + A
time or if the system is nonlinear. One of a variety
of numerical methods will normally be required. But u&( 0) = u&i , so A = u&i ,
For example, the Duhamel integral can be
evaluated numerically for linear systems. An and u& ( ∆ ti ) = u&i +1 , so u&i +1 = (u&&i + u&&i +1 ) ∆ti / 2 + u&i
alternative is to use one of the step by step or u&i +1 = u&i + ( u&&i + u&&i +1 ) ∆ti / 2 (2)
procedures in which the state of the system is
determined at small time increments, each state Integrating:
being calculated from its immediate predecessor. u( τ ) = (u&&i + u&&i +1 ) τ 2 / 4 + u&i τ + B
We consider here one such approach known as
the constant average acceleration method. But u( 0) = ui , so B = ui .
Also u( ∆ ti ) = ui +1 , so
Constant average acceleration method
ui +1 = u i + (u&&i + u&&i+1 ) ∆t i / 4 + u&i ∆t i
2
(also known as Newmark β=¼ method) (3)

displacement relative
Incremental quantities:
∆u i = u i+1 − u i
to ground,
u(t) Let

ground spring, stiffness ∆u&i = u&i+1 − u&i

displacement,
k
ug(t)
mass,
∆u&&i = u&&i+1 − u&&i
damper, coeff. m
c From (3),
∆u i = ( 2u&&i + ∆u&&i )∆ ti / 4 + u&&i ∆t i
2

∆u&&i = 4( ∆ ui − u& i ∆t i ) / ∆ ti − 2u&&i

2
(4)
Consider a single degree of freedom system as From (2),
shown above, with governing equation
2 ∆ui
u&& + 2 ξωu& + ω 2u = −u&&g (1) ∆u&i = − 2u&i (5)
∆ti
Assume that the displacement and velocity at time Since governing equation (1) is satisfied at both ti
zero, u0 , u&0 are known. As a result of the ground and ti+1, substitute in (1) for ti and ti+1 and subtract
motion the mass develops accelerations which to get
may be as shown below. In particular we assume ∆u&&i = − ∆u&&gi − 2ξω∆u&i − ω2 ∆ ui (6)
that in the time interval ∆ti , the acceleration can
be approximated by the mean of the end values in Solving (4), (5) and (6) for ∆ui –
the interval. 4u& i
+ 2u&&i + 4ξωu&i − ∆u&&gi
∆u i = ∆t , or
u&&(t ) 4 4 ξω
+ +ω 2

∆ti
2
∆t i
mean
C1∆ ui = − ∆u&&gi + C 2 u&i + 2u&&i (7)

τ
4 4 ξω
Where C1 = + + ω 2 , and
ti ti +1 ∆ ti 2
∆t i
∆t
 1 
Let τ denote time as measured from the start of
C2 = 4  ξω + 
 ∆ti 
the interval. Hence

d:\document\asm\asm2001\notes\timehist.doc jwb 24/04/01

and both C1 and C2 are constant if ∆ti is constant.
Algorithm
1. u 0 and u&0 assumed known.
2. u&&0 = −u&&g 0 − 2ξωu&0 − ω2 u&0 from equ. (1).
3. Solve (7) for ∆ui .
4. Solve (5) for ∆u&i .
5. Solve (4) for ∆u&&i
6. Update ui +1 = ui + ∆ui
u&i +1 = u&i + ∆u&i
u&&i +1 = u&&i + ∆u&&i
7. Repeat steps 3 to 6.
Spreadsheet
There is a spreadsheet ‘time-hist.xls’ that can be
freely downloaded or run from the web site,
http://www.care.auckland.ac.nz/~.jbut030.users/C
ourses/655.412/time-hist.xls.
Implementation using Matlab
The procedure is readily programmed, especially
when the time step ∆t, is constant (usual case).
The sample Matlab function ‘th’ (time-history)
listed later uses the method just described and can
be applied to a linear SDOF system or to a group
of SDOF systems (see later under modal analysis
methods for MDOF systems).
The right hand side ‘th(w,xi,ug,dt,p,nout)’,
contains the input arguments and the left hand side
[Y,Ymax,Vmax,Amax], is used to supply the
names of the output arguments.
Required input
The following arguments must be assigned values
or replaced by constants
‘w’ - natural frequency, ω (rad/sec).
‘xi’ - damping ratio, ξ.
‘ug’ - row vector of ground accelerations, u&&g .
‘dt’ - time interval ∆t, between values in u&&g .
‘p’ - set p=1 for SDOF systems.
‘nout’ - frequency of output values in u(t)
Output
‘Y’ - column vector of displacements u(t) at
time intervals nout × ∆t .
‘Ymax’ - maximum displacement u( t ) max
‘Vmax’ - maximum velocity u& ( t ) max
&&( t ) + u&&g ( t )
‘Amax’ - maximum acceleration u
Help
Typing ‘help th’ at the Matlab prompt will write
some helpful information to the screen.
Copying and running the Matlab program
1. The necessary files can be downloaded from
the Applied Structural Mechanics section under
student info on the Civil Engineering web page
at http://www.care.auckland.ac.nz.
2. Copy the files th.m, thdemo.m and elcen.dat to
a convenient subdirectory on your network H:
drive or elsewhere.
3. Start Matlab in the usual way.
4. At the Matlab prompt, type
»cd H:\matlab (or whatever name you gave to
your new directory).
»thdemo (to run the example)
5. Modify the demo file or create a new one to
solve the specified problems (you can always
re-copy the initial files if things go wrong….).
File contents
th.m is a Matlab script file containing the time-
history solution function.
thdemo.m is a Matlab script file showing how to
use the time-history function to solve a simple
problem of response to a linear acceleration pulse.
elcen.dat is a numerical data file containing the
first 20 seconds of the El-Centro 1940 N-S
acceleration record. Data is in mm/sec2 units at
0.02sec intervals. The data is arranged as a single
column so that it can be readily imported into a
spreadsheet if desired.
To enter the El-Centro data into Matlab include
the following in your program (or type it at the
prompt):
»load elcen.dat;
»elcen=elcen′;
This will create a row vector ‘elcen’ containing the
acceleration data.
Demonstration example
A structure has a period T=0.4sec and a damping
ratio ξ=0.0. An underground explosion causes a
ground acceleration consisting of a symmetric
triangular pulse of 1 second duration during which
the acceleration rises linearly to a peak of
2000mm/sec2 in 0.5sec and then falls linearly to
zero at 1second.
It is required to calculate the displacement time-
history for the 1.5 seconds following the arrival of
the pulse.
max
 u&&g ( t ) (mm / sec 2 ) u&&g (τ ) = 4000τ ( 0 ≤ τ ≤ 0.5)
u&&g (τ ) = 4000 (1 − τ ) (0.5 ≤ τ ≤ 1.0)
2000
0 - 0.5sec
− 4000τ
t
u (t ) = ∫ sin ω( t − τ) dτ
0
ω
− 4000
= ( ωt − sin ωt )
0.5 1.0 1.5 ω3
The problem is solved using step by step
integration and then by means of Duhamel’s 0.5 - 1.0sec
integral. 0.5
− 4000τ − 4000(1 − τ )
t
u (t ) = ∫ ω
sin ω( t − τ )dτ + ∫
ω
sin ω( t − τ) dτ
Step by step integration solution 0 0.5
− 4000
The file thdemo.m whose listing is given below = [2 sin ω( t − 0.5) − sin ωt − ω( t − 1) ]
ω3
contains the necessary instructions to solve the
problem. The acceleration data is created directly
as a matrix ‘constant’ with values specified at 1.0 - 1.5sec:
0.5
− 4000τ
1
0.01sec intervals. The other parameters are − 4000(1 − τ)
defined and the time-history function invoked to
u (t ) = ∫0 ω sin ω( t − τ) dτ + 0∫.5 ω sin ω( t − τ) dτ

generate the solution. − 4000

= [2 sin ω( t − 0.5) − sin ω(t − 1) − sin ωt ]
ω3
Duhamel integral solution
The simple form of the acceleration data makes The expressions above can be conveniently
Duhamel reasonably easy to apply (although evaluated and plotted using a spreadsheet. The
nonzero damping would complicate matters a figure below shows the results from both Duhamel
little). Because the acceleration is not a continuous and the step by step procedure.
function of time it must be considered in discrete
ranges within which it is continuous:
4.0

2.0 Step by step integration

Duhamel Integral
Displacement, u(t) (mm)

0.0

-2.0

-4.0

-6.0

-8.0

-10.0

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4

Time (s)

MATLAB FILES
Demo file - ‘thdemo.m’
% script to test time history solution
% triangular acceleration pulse of 1sec
T=0.4;
xi=0.0;
% set up vector of accelerations at 0.01sec intervals
accel=[0:40:2000 1960:-40:0 zeros(1,50)];
w=2*pi/T;
dt=0.01;
p=1;
nout=2;
 [U,Umax,Vmax,Amax]=th(w,xi,accel,dt,p,nout);
% set up time axis for plotting (every 2nd point used)
timebase=[0:nout*dt:size(accel,2)*dt-dt];
figure(1); plot(accel);
xlabel('time'); ylabel('ground acceleration (mm/s/s)');
figure(2); plot(timebase,U,'-',timebase,U,'o');
xlabel('time (sec)'); ylabel('displcement (mm)');
disp('Maximum displacement');
Umax

Time-history function - ‘th.m’

% Time History Analysis - step by step integration
% for linear SDOF or MDOF systems (modal)
% Constant average acceleration algorithm
%
% function [Y,Ymax,Vmax,Amax]=th(w,xi,ug,dt,p,nout)
%
% INPUT ARGUMENTS
%---------------------------------------------------------------------
% SDOF | MDOF
%---------------------------------------------------------------------
% w natural frequency | modal frequencies (column vector)
% xi damping ratio | modal damping ratios (column)
% ug ground accel record (row) | ground accel record (row)
% dt time interval in ug |
% p 1 | modal participation factors (column)
% nout output intervals (ie every nout'th step)
%
% OUTPUT ARGUMENTS
%---------------------------------------------------------------------
% SDOF | MDOF
%---------------------------------------------------------------------
% Y displacement (row) | modal amplitude (in rows)
% Ymax max displacement | max modal amplitudes (column)
% Vmax max relative velocity | max modal velocity (column)
% Amax max abs acceleration | max modal acceleration (column)
%
% EXAMPLE:
% load elcen.dat;
% ug=elcen';
% T=0.5; xi=0.05; w=2*pi/T; dt=0.02;
% [u,umax,vmax,amax]=th(w,xi,ug,dt,1,4);
% [umax vmax amax]
% figure(1);
% plot(u);

function [Y,Ymax,Vmax,Amax]=th(w,xi,ug,dt,p,nout);

nstp = size(ug,2);
Y=zeros(size(p,1),1);
Ymax=Y; Vmax=Y; Amax=Y;
A=w.*w+4/dt*(xi.*w)+4/dt^2;
B=4*(xi.*w+1/dt);
u=0;
ud=0;
udd=-p*ug(1)-2*xi.*w.*ud-w.*u; j=1;
for i=2:nstp
du=(p.*-(ug(i)-ug(i-1))+B.*ud+2*udd)./A;
dud=2*du/dt-2*ud;
dudd=4*(du-ud*dt)./(dt.*dt)-2*udd;
u=u+du;
ud=ud+dud;
udd=udd+dudd;
Ymax=max(Ymax,abs(u));
Vmax=max(Vmax,abs(ud));
Amax=max(Amax,abs(udd+ug(i)));
if nout*fix((i-1)/nout)==i-1, j=j+1;, Y(:,j)=u;, end;
end;