Hamiltonian structures and stability for rigid bodies with flexible attachments

The dynamics of a rigid body with flexible attachments is studied. A general framework for problems of this type is established in the context of Poisson manifolds and reduction. A simple model for a rigid body with an attached linear extensible shear beam is worked out for illustration. Second, the Energy-Casimir method for proving nonlinear stability is recalled and specific stability criteria for our model example are worked out. The Poisson structure and stability results take into account vibrations of the string, rotations of the rigid body, their coupling at the point of attachment, and centrifugal and Coriolis forces.     

Transient response analysis of a steel beam with vacuum packed particles

In this paper the method of semi-active damping of vibrations is presented. Free vibrations of a cantilever steel beam encapsulated in a sleeve, filled with the granular material are investigated. Various values of the partial vacuum generated in the granular structure allow to control the global dissipative properties of the discussed system. The loose grains encapsulated in the hermetic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) envelope transform into a rigid, viscoplastic body as the jamming mechanism occurs when the underpressure is generated. Such phenomenon enables original strategies for semi-active damping. A detailed discussion related to the experimental results concerning the amplitude of vibration, damping, stiffness, and frequency of the continuous granular beam system is provided. The simplified Finite Element Model succeeded in describing the dynamic response of the structure.     

Vibrations of the elasto-plastic pendulum

A numerical strategy for vibrations of elasto-plastic beams with rigid-body degrees-of-freedom is presented. Beams vibrating in the small-strain regime are considered. Special emphasis is laid upon the development of plastic zones. An elasto-plastic beam performing plane rotatory motions about a fixed hinged end is used as example problem. Emphasis is laid upon the coupling between the vibrations and the rigid body rotation of the pendulum. Plastic strains are treated as eigenstrains acting in the elastic background structure. The formulation leads to a non-linear system of differential algebraic equations which is solved by means of the Runge-Kutta midpoint rule. A low dimension of this system is obtained by splitting the flexural vibrations into a quasi-static and a dynamic part. Plastic strains are computed by means of an iterative procedure tailored for the Runge-Kutta midpoint rule. The numerical results demonstrate the decay of the vibration amplitude due to plasticity and the development of plastic zones. The pendulum approaches a state of plastic shake-down after sufficient time.     

Nonlinear dynamics of a system of rigid bodies with controlled electromagnetic dampers

A nonlinear mathematical model of a system of n rigid bodies undergoing translational vibrations under inertial loading is constructed. The system includes ball supports as a seismic-isolation mechanism and electromagnetic dampers controlled via an inertial feedback channel. A system of differential dynamic equations in normal form describing accelerative damping is derived. The frequencies of small undamped vibrations are calculated. A method for analyzing the dynamic coefficients of rigid bodies subject to accelerative damping is developed. The double phase–frequency resonance of a two-mass system is studied     

TORSIONAL VIBRATIONS OF RIGID CIRCULAR PLATE ON TRANSVERSELY ISOTROPIC SATURATED SOIL

An analytical method was presented for the torsional vibrations of a rigid disk resting on transversely isotropic saturated soil. By Hankel transform, the dynamic governing differential equations for transversely isotropic saturated poroelastic medium were solved. Considering the mixed boundary-value conditions, the dual integral equations of torsional vibrations of a rigid circular plate resting on transversely isotropic saturated soil were established. By appropriate transform, the dual integral equations were converted into a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. Subsequently, the dynamic compliance coefficient, the torsional angular amplitude of the foundation and the contact shear stress were expressed explicitly. Selected examples were presented to analyse the influence of saturated soil's anisotropy on the foundation's vibrations.     

Nonlinear analysis of a shimmying wheel with contact-force characteristics featuring higher-order discontinuities

In this study, the yaw dynamics of a towed caster wheel system is analysed via an in-plane, one degree-of-freedom mechanical model. The force and aligning torque generated by the elastic tyre are calculated by means of a semi-stationary tyre model, in which the piecewise-smooth characteristic of the tyre forces is also considered, resulting in a dynamical system with higher-order discontinuities. The focus of our analysis is the Hopf bifurcation affected by the non-smoothness of the system. The structure of the analysis is organised in a similar way as in case of smooth bifurcations. Firstly, the centre-manifold reduction is performed, then we compose the normal form of the bifurcation. Based on the Galerkin technique an approximate, semi-analytical method to calculate the limit cycles is introduced and compared with the method of collocation. The analysis provides a deeper insight into the development of the vibrations associated with wheel shimmy and demonstrate how the non-smoothness due to contact-friction influences the dynamic behaviour.     

A modular algorithm for linear, periodic train-track models

Summary  An algorithm is presented which can be used for the investigation of a large variety of train-track models. These models only have to fulfil the requirements of linearity and periodicity with respect to the track length direction. A steady-state solution is obtained for a vehicle moving on a tangent track with constant velocity. The algorithm itself can be split into three modules: one for the whole train-track system, one for the track, and one for a single rail support. These modules and their interfaces are described in detail. The article demonstrates the applicability of the algorithm by means of four examples. The first example shows the influence of the sleeper elasticity on the sleeper motion. The second one illustrates the effect of an advanced subsoil model on the wheel/rail contact force. Subsequently, as a further example, the compliance frequency-response functions of a ballasted track and a rigid track are compared. The last example deals with the sleeper passing excitation. Here, it is shown that even in the case of resonance, the wheel/rail contact-force fluctuations remain below ten percent of the static value. Received 17 January 2000; accepted for publication 18 August 2000     

Effective dynamic properties and transverse waves in disperse composites

Transverse waves in a dispersive composite formed by a viscoelastic matrix and rigid inclusions are considered. They are described in the long-wave approximation on the basis of complex dynamic properties of the composite, i.e., the dynamic density and shear-rotational elasticity, which takes into account the interaction between the matrix and the rigid inclusions in their translational, deformation, and rotational vibrations. The dependencies describing the effective dynamic properties of the composite and determining the resonance dispersion of transverse waves are obtained.     

A distributed mass structural system for soil-structure-interaction and base isolation studies

A base isolation system placed within a structure for seismic protection will perform differently in the presence of soil-structure-interaction phenomena, as compared to the case where the structure is founded on competent soil and/or rock. This is so for two basic reasons: (a) there is filtering affecting the input ground motion signal at the base of the structure, and (b) the overall mechanical characteristics of the combined soil-structure system have changed as compared to the original structure resting on firm ground. Thus, a base isolation design has to account for soil-structure-interaction in order to have the system fine-tuned to the particular geological conditions and seismicity of the construction site in question. In this work, we introduce a distributed mass representation of the superstructure that has four possible dynamic response modes, namely flexure, shearing, torsion and axial vibrations. The foundation is treated as a rigid block, and the soil is represented by the equivalent spring-damper-virtual mass system, whereby these mechanical parameters may be frequency dependent. Typical base isolation systems used nowadays are lead rubber bearing designs whose mechanical behavior comprises a spring element, a damper and a hysteretic component. In terms of analysis, a substructuring methodology is employed that is cast in the frequency domain, with conditions of equilibrium and compatibility enforced at the common structure-foundation-soil boundaries. This approach is both efficient and adequate for investigating soil-structure-interaction effects, but cannot handle the hysteretic behavior of the base isolator, which is better captured by using time-stepping algorithms. In closing, some comments are made regarding possible ways for incorporating the base isolator in the present soil-structural system analysis, along with some preliminary results.     

Rayleigh Quotient, Ritz Method and Substructuring to Study Vibrations of Structures Coupled to Heavy Fluids: Potential of the Artificial Spring Method

The linear study of free vibrations of structures coupled to incompressible and inviscid fluids are studied by using the Rayleigh-Ritz method. The system is modelled by using different components. The artificial spring method is used to synthesise these components. The advantage is that admissible functions are defined in each component and the continuity condition of translational and rotational displacements between the rigid joints of the structure is no longer required. The fluid-structure interaction can be accurately described by using this method, including the effect of the free surface waves and the dynamic interaction among structural components via the fluid medium. An application of the method to a vertical circular tank partially filled with water is also presented in order to show the potential of the method. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.