RESPONSE SPECTRUM METHOD

SEISMIC RECORDS

The ground displacements recorded by a seismometer located

directly above a fault that ruptured during the 1985 Mw = 8.1,
Michaocan, Mexico earthquake.
Ground motion histories (North South directions) for El
Centro (1940)
How to do seismic analysis using finite elements
Phil Cooper, Philip Hoby, Nawal Prinja

SEISMIC RECORDS
CALIFORNIA ZONE 2

The earthquake is a non-stationary process

and the methods of Random Vibrations can
not be used.

Here, each graph contains 6145 data points

Time Response analysis is impractical.

time [s]

Special analysis method called Response

Spectrum Method has been developed to

CALIFORNIA ZONE 4

analyze long duration non stationary

processes like the earthquake or pyrotechnic

shock events.

time [s]
3

RESPONSE SPECTRA

Each data point on the response spectrum curve

represents the peak response from a time history
analysis of the earthquake applied to 1-DOF
oscillator system. The ordinate defines the natural
period of the oscillator, and the abscissa the peak
response. Repeating the procedure for a great
many frequencies defines a continuous curve for an
assumed level of damping. The figure shows the
response of 2% damped system tuned to 1Hz and
2Hz and the transfer of the peak calculated
responses to the response spectrum graph.

How to do seismic analysis using finite elements Phil Cooper, Philip Hoby, Nawal Prinja

RESPONSE SPECTRA

Response spectra are typically presented for a damping ratio of 5% that is considered to be typical for buildings. This
does not mean that a damping ration of 5% is appropriate for any given analysis.
When response spectra are used as an input, a single smoothed spectrum derived from several events or several
response spectra from different events are used. The use of smoothed response spectra implies the use of several
earthquake records.
A given shock response spectrum does not have a unique corresponding time history.
How to do seismic analysis using finite elements Phil Cooper, Philip Hoby, Nawal Prinja

RESPONSE SPECTRA

There are a number of approximate methods for scaling 5% damped spectra for other damping levels.
Given two consistent spectra of different damping values, the spectrum for an intermediate damping values
can be calculated based on interpolation between spectral amplitude and natural logarithm of damping
ratio.

How to do seismic analysis using finite elements Phil Cooper, Philip Hoby, Nawal Prinja
6

CONCEPT OF THE RESPONSE SPECTRUM

The concept of the Response Spectrum Method is based on the following observations:
1
A system vibrating in resonance can be described as a single degree of freedom harmonic oscillator system with certain
equivalent mass, equivalent stiffness and damping.
2
A response of a system with more than one resonant frequency can be represented as a combination of responses of
harmonic oscillators, each harmonic oscillator corresponding to particular resonant frequency. This is the basis of the modal
superposition method.
3
If the excitation frequency is equal to one of structure resonance frequencies, then the system response to that excitation is
controlled only by system damping. Mass does not matter, stiffness does not matter, they have no impact on systems
response. The only thing controlling your system response is its damping!
Imagine two vastly different systems: A harmonic oscillator and a bridge. Those two systems have two important things in
common: the natural frequency and damping. Now imagine that both the harmonic oscillator and the bridge are excited by
the same excitation that happens to have the same frequency as the resonance frequency of both the harmonic oscillator
and the bridge. The response (e.g. the maximum displacement) will be the same for the harmonic oscillator and the bridge!
4
Say you agree that structure dynamic response can be adequately described by using the modal superposition method
based on four modes. Then rather than studying the response of the actual structure, you can study the response of four
harmonic oscillators with natural frequencies corresponding to those four modes and damping the same as damping of the
structure you study. In particular, if you study the structure response to seismic excitation, then rather than testing the actual
structure, you can just subject those four oscillators to the earthquake acceleration time history and record e.g. the maximum
acceleration of each oscillator as a function of oscillators frequency. This way you will build the response spectrum curve.
5
If the natural frequencies of the examined structure fall in-between frequencies of your oscillators, the structure response
can be interpolated. So if you know structure natural frequencies and you also know the acceleration response spectrum
curve you have just constructed by examining the response on harmonic oscillators, you can find out by interpolation, the
maximum acceleration of the structure corresponding to each mode. Double integration will give you the maximum
displacement.
6
Notice that the information of interactions between modes has been lost in the above process. Therefore, it must be re-built
using the SRSS or the Absolute Sum method, as described further.

GENERATING RESPONSE SPECTRUM

The Response Spectrum model is a series of Single Degree of Freedom (SDOF) harmonic oscillators with
different natural frequencies subjected to a particular earthquake ground motion. Each SDOF system
has a unique time history response to a given base input. The shock response spectrum is the peak
absolute acceleration of each SDOF oscillator to the history base input.
The SDOF oscillators are arranged in order of ascending natural frequency. The oscillator on the far left is
the most compliant one; and the oscillator on the far right is the most stiff system.
We subjected the oscillators to a half sine shock. Note that:
1.

The most compliant system is "isolated" from the shock pulse.

2.

The stiffer systems almost follow the input pulse exactly. They have very little reverberation.

3.

Some of the middle systems actually reach the highest amplitude due to a transient resonance effect.

Base
excitation

GENERATING RESPONSE SPECTRUM

time

Response of SDOF oscillators to half-sine pulse. Courtesy of Vibrationdata

GENERATING RESPONSE SPECTRUM

acceleration

&
y&
g

Base input

&
y&
g

time

Step 1 A synthesized waveform;

typical acceleration time history

Step 2 A series of SDOF harmonic oscillators is subjected to the

excitation as defined by the waveform from step 1.

Maximum
acceleration

Frequency [Hz]

Step 3 Response spectrum curve ready to be used as input in

the Dynamic Shock analysis. It is usually plotted in log scale.
10

USING RESPONSE SPECTRUM FOR FEA

Maximum
acceleration

Frequency [Hz]

Response spectrum methods is ubiquitous in earthquake engineering, with very widespread support in general
purpose FE systems, and almost universal application. It is important to remember that it is a response spectrum:
i.e. once you know the natural frequencies of the structure, in simple cases domminated by a single mode, the
respoinse can be simply read from a graph. FE implementation of the procedure merely automate the interpolation,
and add post-processing to combine effects of mutliple modes and shaking directions.

11

USING RESPONSE SPECTRUM FOR FEA

Step 1
Modal analysis of the analyzed structure determines modes, frequencies and mass participation
factors. Structure is thus represented by a series of SDOF oscillators.

Step 2
he acceleration response for each mode (for each SDOF oscillator) is interpolated using the
response spectrum curve (at the resonant frequency of corresponding mode).

Step 3
The complete response of each mode is found based on the acceleration response found in step 2

Step 8
An assumption is made to find the combined response of all SDOF oscillators because the time at
which oscillator (each mode) reached its peak value was discarded when the response was
calculated. There is no precise way of combining the modes to find the total response.

12

USING RESPONSE SPECTRUM FOR FEA

An assumption has to be made to find the resultant structural response since the time at which the mode
reached its peak value was discarded when the response was calculated. There is no precise way of
combining the modes to find the total response.

SRSS

The Square Root of the Sum of the Squares

Tends to underestimate the response if modes are spaced out closely. Closely spaced modes are typical for
structures with high torsional stiffness and in structures with identical members. Modes are closely spaced if,
for example, there are repetitive elements in the structure. Modes are considered closely spaced if:

CF

fi f i 1
0.1
fi 1

Absolute Sum The sum of the absolute values of the contributions of each mode
Tends to overestimate the response and can be very conservative.

13

TABLE

Model file

table.sldprt

Model type

beams and shells

Material

STEEL

Supports

fixed to all four legs

Objectives
Response Spectrum analysis using Response Spectrum
curve

Fixed support to four legs

14

TABLE

Mode 1

6.5Hz

Mode 1

6.7Hz

The first two modes of vibration

15

TABLE

Results of modal analysis up to 61Hz

16

TABLE

Shock response spectrum curve California zone 4; source: Bellcore

17

TABLE

Maximum displacement
18

TABLE

Maximum displacement

Maximum stress

Maximum stress
19