Sec. 1.

7 Equation of Motion: Earthquake Excitation 25

ut
u
peff(t) = −mhθ̈g(t)

•
θg
h

θg
•
Stationary base

(a) (b)

Figure 1.7.3 Effective earthquake force: rotational ground motion.

made up of two parts: u associated with structural deformation and a rigid-body compo-
nent hθg , where h is the height of the mass above the base. At each instant of time these
displacements are related by
u t (t) = u(t) + hθg (t) (1.7.7)
Equations (1.7.2) and (1.7.3) are still valid, but the total acceleration ü t (t) must now be
determined from Eq. (1.7.7). Putting all these equations together leads to
m ü + cu̇ + ku = −mh θ̈g (t) (1.7.8)
The effective earthquake force associated with ground rotation is
peff (t) = −mh θ̈g (t) (1.7.9)
Example 1.7
A uniform rigid slab of total mass m is supported on four columns of height h rigidly con-
nected to the top slab and to the foundation slab (Fig. E1.7a). Each column has a rectangular
cross section with second moments of area I x and I y for bending about the x and y axes,
respectively. Determine the equation of motion for this system subjected to rotation u gθ of the
foundation about a vertical axis. Neglect the mass of the columns.
Solution The elastic resisting torque or torsional moment f S acting on the mass is shown in
Fig. E1.7b, and Newton’s second law gives
− f S = I O ü tθ (a)
where
u tθ (t) = u θ (t) + u gθ (t) (b)
Here u θ is the rotation of the roof slab relative to the ground and I O = m(b2 + d 2 )/12 is the
moment of inertia of the roof slab about the axis normal to the slab passing through its center
of mass O. The units of moment of inertia are force × (length)2 /acceleration. The torque f S
and relative rotation u θ are related by
f S = kθ u θ (c)