7.

Introduction to Structural Response To Dynamic Loading

7.1 Introduction

Dynamic loads differ from static loads in that they vary with time. A static load is
applied slowly, gradually increasing from zero to its maximum value, and thereafter
remaining constant. In contrast, dynamic loads may be applied very suddenly, thus
causing vibrations of the structure, or they may change in magnitude as time elapses.
Examples are impact loads, such as when two objects collide or when a falling object
strikes a structure, and cyclical loads caused by rotating machinery. Other examples
are the loads caused by traffic, wind gusts, water waves, earthquakes, and
manufacturing processes, all of which are dynamic in character. To aid in
understanding the nature of such loads, consider the most basic type of dynamic load,
an impact load.

7.2 Analysis Of Structures For Impact Loads

A freely falling weight, or a moving body, that strikes a structure delivers what is
called an impact load or force. Problems involving such forces may be analyzed
rather simply on the basis of the following idealizing assumptions:
 Materials behave elastically, and no dissipation of energy takes at the point of
impact or at the supports owing to local inelastic deformation of materials.
 The inertia of a system resisting an impact may be neglected.
 The deflection of a system is directly proportional to the magnitude of the
applied force whether a force is dynamically or statically applied.
Then, using the principle of conservation of energy, it may be further assumed that at
the instant a moving body is stopped, its kinetic energy is completely transformed in
to the internal strain energy of the resisting system.
As an example of impact force applied to an elastic system, consider a falling weight
striking a spring. This situation is illustrated in Fig. 7-1a, where a weight W falls from
a height h above the free length of a spring. This system represents a very general
case, since conceptually, every elastic system may be treated as an equivalent spring.
W W

Frictionless Pdyn 
h guide Force
W  st
Pst=W Pdyn
max st max
Pdyn Deflection
h max
Strain energy
External work of of spring
falling weight
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 7-1 Behavior of an elastic system under an impact force.
Using the spring constant k, the static deflection st of the spring due to the weight W
is st = W/k. similarly, the maximum dynamic deflection max = Pdyn/k, where Pdyn is

1
the maximum dynamic force experienced by the spring. Therefore, the dynamic force
in terms of the weight W and the deflections of the spring is
(7-1)
This relationship is shown in Fig. 7-1b.
At the instant the spring deflects its maximum amount, all energy of the falling
weight is transformed into the strain energy of the spring. Therefore, an equation
representing the equality of external work to internal strain energy may be written as
(7-2)
A graphical interpretation of this equation is shown in Fig. 7-1c. Note that a factor of
one-half appears in front of the strain-energy expression, since the spring takes on the
load gradually. Then, from Eqn. 7-1,

or
hence

or (7-3)

and again using Eqn. 7-1,

(7-4)

Equation 7-3 gives the maximum deflection occurring in a spring struck by a weight
W falling from a height h, and Eqn. 7-4 gives the maximum force experienced by the
spring for the same condition. To apply these equations, the static deflection st
caused by the gradually applied known weight W is computed by the formulas
derived earlier.
After the effective dynamic force Pdyn is found, it may be used in computations as a
static force. The magnification effect of a static force when dynamically applied is
termed the impact factor and is given by the expression in parentheses appearing in
Eqns. 7-3 and 7-4. The impact factor is surprisingly large for most cases. For
example, if a force is applied to an elastic system suddenly, i.e., h=0, it is equivalent
to twice the same force gradually applied. If h is large compared to st, the impact
factor is approximately equal to .
Similar equations may be derived for the case where a weight W is moving
horizontally with a velocity v and is suddenly stopped by an elastic body. For this
purpose, it is necessary to replace the external work done by the falling weight in the
preceding derivation by the kinetic energy of a moving body, using a consistent
system of units. Therefore, since the kinetic energy of a moving body is Wv2/2g,
where g is the acceleration of gravity, it can be shown that

2
 and (7-5)

where st is the static deflection caused by W acting in the horizontal direction.

7.3 Deflection Of Beams By Impact Loads

The dynamic deflection of a beam subjected to an impact load may be determined

under certain simplified conditions by equating the work done by the load with strain
energy stored in the beam. The assumptions are:
 The falling weight sticks to the beam and moves with it
 No energy losses occur
 The beam is linearly elastic
 The deflected shape of the beam is the same under a dynamic load as under a
static load
 The potential energy of the beam due to its change in position is disregarded

As an illustration, consider a simple beam AB that is struck at the middle by a falling

body of weight W (Fig. 7-2). From the above assumptions we may conclude that all
of the work done by the body during its fall is transformed in to elastic strain energy
of the beam.
M = W/g

Since the distance through which the h

weight falls is h + , where h is the A B
initial height above the beam and  is 
the maximum dynamic deflection of
the beam, the work done is
L/2 L/2

Fig. 7-2 Deflection of a beam

W(h + ) (a) produced by a falling body
If P denotes the force exerted on the beam when its deflection is a maximum, then the
relationship between P and  is
or
Therefore, the strain energy of the beam, equal to the work of P, is
(b)
Equating the work done by the falling mass with the strain energy gives

Solving this quadratic equation and taking the positive root:

(7-6)

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Designating the static deflection of the beam due to the weight W as st:
(7-7)
The maximum dynamic deflection (Eqn. 7-6) can be expressed as:
(7-8)
From this equation it can be observed that the dynamic deflection is always larger
than the static deflection.