CE 137 – Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

Assignment 1

General Instructions:
1. Read each item carefully. If you think that there are any missing information in the problems, make
your assumptions and continue your work.
2. Please write legibly, neatly and orderly. Box your final answers. Round off your intermediate answers
to three decimal places, except for ω/ωn, Rd, TR, and force coefficients with four decimal places.
Express your final answers in two decimal places.
3. Start each problem with a new page in the quiz/assignment notebook.
4. Not following the instructions will mean a deduction of 25% in your final score.

Problem 1. Find the expressions for the effective stiffness of the springs and write the equations of motion
for each mass-spring system shown in Figure 2.6.

Figure 1

Problem 2. A U-shaped reservoir of constant cross-section is filled with a liquid. The liquid motion in the
reservoir can be described by the single vertical displacement 𝑢 of the liquid surface from the equilibrium
position (Figure 2.14). Suppose that 𝑙 is the total length of the liquid column, 𝐴 its cross-section, and 𝜌 the
liquid density. Write the equation of motion of the column of liquid when set into motion. Also, determine the
natural period of oscillation.

Problem 3. A 5 kg box attached to a horizontal spring of stiffness 100 N/m is at rest until a bullet with mass
of 0.5 kg travelling at a (constant) horizontal speed of 30 m/s hits the box, which results to the free vibration
of the combined box and bullet. Determine the a) equation of motion of the small horizontal oscillations of the
box-bullet, b) natural frequency (in cps), c) maximum acceleration of the box-bullet. If 20% damping is
considered, determine the displacement, velocity, and acceleration of the box-bullet after 1 s.

Problem 4. Derive the response of damped free vibration of an SDOF system if the damping ratio is set to a
value less than 20%.