Int. J. Mech. Sei. PergamonPress Ltd. 1965. Vol.7, pp. 211-219.

Printed in Great Britain

AN ANALYSIS OF DAMPED FREE VIBRATIONS OF

SLENDER PRESTRESSED CONCRETE BEAMS

R. E. KINo* and D. REAt

(Received 5 August 1964)

S u m m a r y - - I t is generally accepted that the damping capacity of prestressed concrete is

independent of frequency and evidence is offered to show that it is also essentially
independent of amplitude. An analytic stress-strain relationship which satisfies these two
conditions is proposed and the dynamic behaviour of a slender prestressed concrete beam
is analysed from basic principles. Experimental results are compared with those obtained
from an analogue computer.

NOTATION
stress
e strain
G(e) non-linear dynamic modulus
F damping constant
E initial dynamic modulus
I second moment of area
M bending moment
V shear force
m mass per unit length
L length of beam
x distance from end of beam
y(x, t) X ( x ) ~)(t) = beam displacement
X(x) shape function
q~(t) time function
0 = F/E non-dimensional damping constant
8 logarithmic decrement
Q quality factor
p circular frequency
p* = 1/T* frequency of free vibrations
shape parameter

INTRODUCTION
A NUMBER o f proposals have been put forward regarding the damping capacity
of prestressed concrete beams. It is generally accepted that the damping
capacity of prestressed concrete is independent of frequency and it has been
found by the authors I that for slender prestressed concrete beams it is also
essentially independent of amplitude. For a single-degree-of-freedom system
Newmark 2 has summarized and discussed analytic expressions suitable for
this type of damping, usually termed "structural" or "hysteretic". These
expressions are, however, applicable only to steady-state harmonic vibrations.
The infinite degree-of-freedombeam problem with hysteretic damping has been
analysed by Bishop and Johnson. 3

* Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York 27, N.Y.

t Department of Civil Engineering, Queen's University, Belfast.
211
212 R. E. KING a n d D. REA

The following dynamic stress-strain r e l a t i o n s h i p is p r o p o s e d f o r p r e s t r e s s e d

concrete
~e
= G(e).s+Flelsign ~ (1)
tT~

and it is shown that it possesses the desired damping properties. This paper
presents an analysis of the generalized system from basic principles to yield
the characteristic equations for the shape and time functions for "concrete"
damping.
1. S H A P E - AND TIME-GOVERNING FUNCTIONS
T h e basic analysis considers a s l e n d e r p r e s t r e s s e d c o n c r e t e b e a m , s h o w n in Fig. l(a),
w h i c h has a m a s s m p e r u n i t length. I n t h e a b s e n c e of a n e x t e r n a l load t h e e q u a t i o n o f
m o t i o n for lateral v i b r a t i o n is
82 M 82 y
- m (2)
8X 2 8t 2
where
8V 82 y
-- m (3)
8x 8t 2
and
~M
V = -- (4)
~x

w h i c h are t h e usual e x p r e s s i o n s for a b e a m a n d are valid regardless o f t h e n a t u r e o f t h e

m a t e r i a l it is m a d e of, p r o v i d e d t h e b e a m h a s a c o n t i n u o u s m a s s d i s t r i b u t i o n . 4, 5 The effects
o f s h e a r forces a n d r o t a t i o n a l i n e r t i a are n e g l e c t e d in t h i s a n a l y s i s since t h e s e c o n t r i b u t e
o n l y slightly in t h e case o f slender, s i m p l y s u p p o r t e d b e a m s .

Ix=O Ix=L
i I

(a)
l- x _ ~x
I-- --I

wSx

N A
(b) M - - - - - M+o~M8x--- : Z
v v~:X -r z
- - I I

F r o . 1. N o t a t i o n for flexural v i b r a t i o n .

W i t h r e f e r e n c e to Fig. l(b), t h e n o r m a l stress on a n y fibre is a = M z / I , w h e r e I is t h e

m o m e n t o f i n e r t i a o f t h e cross-section t a k e n a b o u t t h e axis o f b e n d i n g a n d z is t h e v e r t i c a l
d i s t a n c e f r o m t h e n e u t r a l axis. T h e s t r a i n of a n e l e m e n t s i t u a t e d a d i s t a n c e z f r o m t h e
n e u t r a l axis w h e n t h e e l e m e n t is s u b j e c t e d to a m o m e n t is e = ~ u / O x w h e r e 8u is t h e c h a n g e
in l e n g t h o f t h e e l e m e n t . A s s u m i n g t h a t p l a n e sections r e m a i n p l a n e t h e n u = - z O y / ~ x or
e = - z ~ y/~x ~.
 An analysis of d a m p e d free v i b r a t i o n s of slender prestressed concrete b e a m s 213

I n e q u a t i o n (1), F is a c o n s t a n t and G(e) m a y be represented b y a n u m b e r of analytic

functions, t y p i c a l l y the p o l y n o m i a l

@(~) : ~ E 2 n + l e2n (n = 0, 1, 2 . . . . )
n
where
E2n+3~ 1

eG(e) is in general a w e a k " s o f t - s p r i n g " function and only the first few t e r m s in the series
need be t a k e n e v e n u n d e r t h e worst possible conditions. F o r small amplitudes of v i b r a t i o n
the d y n a m i c stress-strain relationship m a y be closely a p p r o x i m a t e d by the linearized
relationship
~e
a = E e + F le I s i g n ~ (5a)
or s u b s t i t u t i n g 0 = F / E
a -=- E e [ l + O s i g n ( e ~ ) ] (5b)

since the kyrtosis 82 e l s e ~ observed for prestressed concrete is v e r y small, typically < 0.04.
The m a g n i t u d e of E is higher t h a n the static stress-strain v a l u e and is a function of the
rate of loading ;6 it m a y be d e t e r m i n e d using resonance or impulsive methods. ~
S u b s t i t u t i n g for e and eliminating z gives the bending m o m e n t

M
=
-E 82Y[l+Osign[82Y
I 8x 2
8~1
~ x ~" ~x~ ~t]J
(6)

I n the absence of an e x t e r n a l load t h e characteristic e q u a t i o n for a concrete b e a m is t h u s

__[
8,8x,
y 1 - e sign [ ~
/ aay aty\]
~)] +~
m 82y
8t~ -
0
(7)

The solution of this e q u a t i o n has the f o r m

y(x, t) ~- X ( x ) ¢(t) (8)

where X ( x ) is the shape f u n c t i o n a n d is solely a function of x, and ¢(t) is t h e t i m e function

i n v o l v i n g t i m e only. S u b s t i t u t i n g in e q u a t i o n (7) gives

Cx~"E~ - e sign (~x,,x,,~)l = - ~ x;/; (ga)

or
X ~" _ -~J
m ¢[1 - - 0 s i g n ( ¢ ~ X " X " " ) ] = p ' (9b)

yielding t h e simultaneous u n c o u p l e d differential equations

X""+A4X = 0 (10a)
and
-- 0 ¢ p 2 sign ( ~ X " X " " ) + p* ¢ = 0 (10b)
Here
A4 =mP 2
E1

and p and A are t h e circular f r e q u e n c y (i.e. the e q u i v a l e n t u n d a m p e d r e s o n a n t frequency)

and t h e shape p a r a m e t e r respectively. The solution of e q u a t i o n (9a) will in general
contain four a r b i t r a r y constants a n d has the form

X ( x ) = H 1 sin Ax + H 2 cos Ax + H a sinh Ax + H 4 cosh )~x ( 11 )

214 R . E. KI~O a n d D. I:~EA

T h e c o n s t a n t s H1, H2, Ha, H4, p a n d 2 m a y b e e v a l u a t e d f r o m t h e four e n d c o n d i t i o n s of

t h e b e a m in t h e u s u a l m a n n e r . I n t h e case of a s i m p l y s u p p o r t e d b e a m
X(O) = X"(O) = X(L) = X"(L) = 0
it follows t h a t
H~ = H 4 = 0
and
rTT
A,.=~ (r= 1,2,3 .... )
r b e i n g t h e m o d e order.
T h e d a m p i n g t e r m of t h e t i m e f u n c t i o n ¢(t) in e q u a t i o n (10b) is
- oCp~ sign ( ¢ ~ x " x " " ) = + Op~ ¢ sign (~¢)
= + @2 [ ¢ I sign (~)
since t h e s h a p e d e r i v a t i v e s X " a n d X " " are a l w a y s of o p p o s i t e sign. E q u a t i o n (10b) t h u s
reduces t o
or ~+OP2'¢'sign~+P2~=~) (12)
q~+ [1 + O sign (¢6)] p~ ¢
T h i s e q u a t i o n is a p p l i c a b l e b o t h to forced sinusoidal v i b r a t i o n s a n d to t r a n s i e n t v i b r a t i o n s
w h e r e ~ -+ 0 as t -+ oc, a n d is of t h e s a m e f o r m as t h a t o b t a i n e d for t h e e q u i v a l e n t single
degree of f r e e d o m s y s t e m , a

t
FIo. 2. C o m p u t e d p h a s e - p l a n e p o r t r a y a l of t i m e f u n c t i o n ¢(t).
T h e s o l u t i o n of e q u a t i o n (12) m a y b e c o n v e n i e n t l y o b t a i n e d f r o m a p h a s e - p l a n e
p o r t r a y a l as s h o w n in Fig. 2, w r i t i n g ~ = d~/d¢ t h e e q u a t i o n of m o t i o n i n t h e k t h q u a d r a n t
i n t h e p h a s e - p l a n e is
7/
~+hlp~¢ = 0 (13)
where
h~= 1+(-1)~0
T h e f r e q u e n c y of oscillation is t h u s
l 02 04
-''')
8 128 "' 'I
N o w t y p i c a l v a l u e s for 0 o b t a i n e d in p r a c t i c e are 0 = 0.01 a n d t h u s t h e e r r o r in a s s u m i n g
p * = p is less t h a n 0.01 p e r cent.
 A n analysis of d a m p e d free v i b r a t i o n s of slender prestressed concrete b e a m s 215

(a)

L2 Sec _i
FIG. 3. C o m p u t e d responses of t i m e function •(t). (a) Q = 109. (b) Q = 60.

Solution of e q u a t i o n (13) gives t h e m a g n i t u d e s of successive oscillations as

¢~ 1+8
¢~+1- 1--0
i.e. a constant, indicative of an exponential decay. The general solution of equation (12)
is thus
¢(t) = C e - ~ * t cos (p* t + a) (14)
where C and c~ d e p e n d on initial conditions. F o r beams h a v i n g high Q-factors the
logarithmic d e c r e m e n t
1+0
8 = + log~ (]~-~_8) -~ 20

and f~ in e q u a t i o n (14) is related to this a n d the Q-factor by

1 20

E x a m p l e s of the t i m e response as o b t a i n e d using an analogue c o m p u t e r , for different

values of 0, are shown in Fig. 3.
216 R. E. K I ~ and D. REA
The complete solution of e q u a t i o n (7) is thus
y(x, t) = X(x) e-~P*t cos (p* t T 7 ) (15)
where X has the form
X = C* sin 2x + C* cos Ax + C* sinh Ax + C* cosh A. x
with
A4 -- mP2
E1
the c o n s t a n t C in e q u a t i o n (14) h a v i n g been absorbed in the constants C~.

2. E N E R G Y LOSSES AND QUALITY FACTOR

I t is generally accepted t h a t the Q-factor of a prestressed concrete beam, being a
measure of the d a m p i n g capacity, is i n d e p e n d e n t of frequency. The authors h a v e found 1
t h a t the d a m p i n g c a p a c i t y of d r y u n c r a c k e d concrete is essentially i n d e p e n d e n t of the
a m p l i t u d e of vibrations also. The linearized expression for the d y n a m i c stress-strain
relationship g i v e n in e q u a t i o n (5a) is shown below to possess b o t h these qualities.
The quality factor Q of the b e a m is defined as

Q-
U, ; ~adedx=o
where U~ a n d Us are the t o t a l energy stored in the system and t o t a l loss per cycle of
oscillation respectively and ~ is the m a x i m u m strain incurred per cycle. Considering the
e l e m e n t Sx of Fig. 1 (b) only, Q m a y be redefined as

2rrA Ui _ 2~- J o
o- de F
Q - AUz (Y de
,]

where AUi and A U z are the energy stored and loss per cycle respectively for this element.
F r o m t h e proposed d y n a m i c stress-strain relationship, g i v e n in e q u a t i o n (1)
F
, | G(e) e de
Q=~ Jo .....
F ~ e sign (e~) de

since t h e elastic t e r m ~ G(e) e de = 0. F o r small amplitudes, G(e) = E and

~ie de
2~r j0 ~ 7r
Q- O~ -20=8
e sign (e~) de

sinee f esign (e~)de = 4;ede.

The q u a l i t y factor Q is t h u s essentially i n d e p e n d e n t of b o t h f r e q u e n c y a n d a m p l i t u d e
of v i b r a t i o n for small amplitudes. Due to t h e non-linearity G(e), however, t h e v a l u e for Q
o b t a i n e d e x p e r i m e n t a l l y is slightly lower t h a n t h a t given above, the discrepancy not
being greater t h a n 4 per cent.

3. EXPERIMENTAL
Experimental verification that the damping capacity of prestressed concrete is
essentially independent of amplitude may be derived from the impulsive behaviour of a
beam. A beam with dimensions 3 in. × 4 in. × 10 It, uniformly prestressed to 1200 Ib/in 2
with four 0.2 in. dia. wires situated on the neutral axis, was used to determine the midpoint
 An analysis of d a m p e d free v i b r a t i o n s of slender prestressed concrete b e a m s 217

t i m e f u n c t i o n shown in Fig. 4. The concrete m i x for this b e a m was designed to h a v e a

s t r e n g t h of 5000 lb/in ~ a t 3 days using r a p i d - h a r d e n i n g cement, a m a x i m u m aggregate of
in. and a w a t e r : c e m e n t ratio of 0.38.

J_ 2 Sec ..J
I-" "7

FIG. 4. E x p e r i m e n t a l t i m e response for the prestressed concrete beam.

I-0

0.5

(3.

oE
.>=
tY

O-E0 I0 20 30 40

Number of cycles elapsed

Theoretical
0 Experimental results from concrete beom

FIG. 5. D e r i v a t i o n of logarithmic decrement.

A plot of log y(L/2, nT*) f r o m Fig. 4 as a function of the n u m b e r of cycles elapsed n

s u b s e q u e n t to t h e impulsive loading is shown in Fig. 5 whence the logarithmic d e c r e m e n t
m a y be derived. The e x p e r i m e n t a l points lie on a straight line confirming t h e independence
of a m p l i t u d e implied b y t h e d y n a m i c s t r e s s - s t r a i n characteristic of e q u a t i o n (1) for small
amplitudes. Theoretical results, as o b t a i n e d on an analogue c o m p u t e r , are also given in
Fig. 5 for comparison, a n d good a g r e e m e n t is evident.
 218 R . n . KING and D. I~EA
Two examples of the theoretical impulse response using the analogue computer
mechanization described in Section 4 are shown in Fig. 5. The frequency of free vibrations
p* -~p and the value of 0 in the analogue are adjusted to be equal to those of the physical
system.

4. A N A L O G U E COMPUTER SOLUTION
An analogue computer m a y be used to obtain the solution of the time function ¢(t)
from the differential equation of equation (12). The analogue computer may be operated
in a repetitive mode on a speeded-up time scale to obtain a rapid indication of the effect
of the damping coefficient 0 and non-linearity in the dynamic modulus G(e). The
mechanization of equation (12) is basically simple, a complete circuit being shown in
Fig. 6. The acceleration ¢ is implied and integrators A1 and A2 yield outputs ~ and

~(o) - ~(o)

-4,

:a I--~-I
_1 11 j
L.Q r-];a
FGI

FIG. 6. Analogue mechanization of time function.

respectively, initial conditions being added here. The damping term is obtained by
operating on the velocity term ~ by means of a relay amplifier AR to obtain sign ~, and on
¢ through the double modulus unit FG1. The signal at the reed of the relay RL is thus
L¢ I sign ~ which is then multiplied by the damping constant 0 and added to a term p~
at A3 to form ~. The effect of non-linearity in the dynamic modulus, i.e. G(e), on the time
function, may be investigated by the addition of a non-linear element, i.e. a function
generator FG2 having the desired characteristic. The non-linear characteristic is of the
"weak soft-spring" type with u n i t y gain for small vibration amplitudes ~. I n general, the
effect of this non-linearity on the free vibrations of concrete is negligible and may be
neglected with very little error; it is, however, of importance in explaining the forced
harmonic behaviour. 1

CONCLUSION
T h e s h a p e - f u n c t i o n e q u a t i o n is i n d e p e n d e n t of t h e g i v e n s t r e s s - s t r a i n
r e l a t i o n s h i p , t h e s a m e f u n c t i o n b e i n g o b t a i n e d for e l a s t i c a n d i n e l a s t i c
m a t e r i a l s . T h e t i m e - f u n c t i o n e q u a t i o n differs f r o m t h a t f o u n d for t h e e l a s t i c
case b y t h e d a m p i n g t e r m w h i c h i n v o l v e s v e l o c i t y i m p l i c i t l y . I n t h i s r e s p e c t i t
is a n a l o g o u s t o t h e e q u a t i o n g o v e r n i n g t h e free v i b r a t i o n s of a v i s c o u s l y d a m p e d
system.
 An analysis of damped free vibrations of slender prestressed concrete beams 219

I t is shown t h a t the proposed d y n a m i c stress-strain relationship possesses

the desired d a m p i n g qualities observed in practice, viz. independence of
f r e q u e n c y a n d amplitude. I n a n o t h e r p a p e r 1 it is s h o w n t h a t the expression
fully explains the " j u m p " effect observed for forced h a r m o n i c oscillations o f
the equivalent single-degree-of-freedom system.

1%EFERENCES
1. 1%. E. KING, D. REA and W. G. GODDE~, The Dynamic Behaviour of Prestressed
Concrete Beams. (Submitted for publication.)
2. S. NEWMARK, Concept of Complex Stiffness Applied to Problems of Oscillations with
Viscous and Hysteretic Damping. Ministry of Aviation, R. and M. No. 3269 (Sept. 1957).
3. 1%. E. D. BISHOP and D. C. JOH~qSON, The Mechanics of Vibration. Cambridge
University Press (1960).
4. G. L. ROGERS, Dynamics of Framed Structures. John Wiley (1959).
5. S. TIMOSHEZUKO,Vibration Problems in Engineering, 2nd edn. D. Van Nostrand (1937).
6. 1%. H. EvAns, "Effect of 1%ate of Loading on some Mechanical Properties of Concrete",
in Mechanical Properties of Non-Metallic Brittle Materials (Ed. by W. I-I. WALTON).
Butterworths (1958).