RESPONSE TO IMPULSIVE LOADING

81

be equal in magnitude to the elastic spring force k vmax . Accordingly, it is evident

that the response spectrum plots of Fig. 5-6 can be used to predict the maximum
acceleration response of mass m to an impulsive acceleration as well as the maximum
displacement response to impulsive loads. When used to predict response to base
acceleration, the plots are generally referred to as shock spectra.

Example E5-1.
As an example of the use of the above described response
(or shock) spectra in evaluating the maximum response of a SDOF structure to
an impulsive load, consider the system shown in Fig. E5-1, which represents a
single-story building subjected to the triangular blast load. For the given weight
and column stiffness of this structure, the natural period of vibration is
2
= 2
T =

W
= 2
kg

600
= 0.079 sec
10, 000 (386)

The ratio of impulse duration to natural period becomes

0.05
t1
=
= 0.63
T
0.079
and from Fig. 5-6, the maximum response ratio is Rmax = 1.33. Thus, the
maximum displacement will be
vmax = Rmax

p 
0

= 1.33

 1, 000 
= 0.133 in
10, 000

[0.338 cm]

and the maximum total elastic force developed is

fS ,max = k vmax = 10, 000 (1.33) = 1, 330 kips

[603, 300 kg]

Total weight = 600 kips

p(t)
Total lateral
stiffness:
k = 10,000 kips in

Blast load p(t)

1,000 kips
t
t1 = 0.05 sec

Elastic resistance
fS = kv
FIGURE E5-1
SDOF building subjected to blast load.

82

DYNAMICS OF STRUCTURES

If the blast-pressure impulse had been only one-tenth as long 

(t1 =
0.005
sec), the maximum response ratio for this impulse duration t1 T =
0.063 would be only Rmax = 0.20. Thus for an impulse of very shortduration, a large part of the applied load is resisted by the inertia of the structure,
and the stresses produced are much smaller than those produced by loadings of
longer duration.

It should be kept in mind that although the response (or shock) spectra described
above have been developed for the undamped SDOF system, they can be used for
damped systems as well since damping in the practical range of interest has little
effect on the maximum response produced by short-duration impulsive loads.
5-6

APPROXIMATE ANALYSIS OF IMPULSIVE-LOAD

RESPONSE

From a study of the response spectra presented in Fig. 5-6 and similar spectra
for other forms of loadings, two general conclusions may be drawn concerning the
response of structures to impulsive loadings:

(1) For long-duration loadings, for example, t1 T > 1, the dynamic magnification
factor depends principally on the rate of increase of the load to its maximum
value. A step loading of sufficient duration produces a magnification factor of
2; a very gradual increase causes a magnification factor of 1.

(2) For short-duration loads, for example, t1 T < 1/4, the maximum displacement
amplitude
R t vmax depends principally upon the magnitude of the applied impulse
I = 0 1 p(t) dt and is not strongly influenced by the form of the loading
impulse. The maximum response ratio Rmax is, however, quite dependent upon
the form of loading because it is proportional to the ratio of impulse area to
peak-load amplitude, as may be noted by comparing the curves of Fig. 5-6 in
the short-period range. Thus vmax is the more significant measure of response.
A convenient approximate procedure for evaluating the maximum response to
a short-duration impulsive load, which represents a mathematical expression of this
second conclusion, may be derived as follows. The impulse-momentum relationship
for the mass m may be written
m 4v =

t1
0


p(t) k v(t) dt

(5-18)

in which 4v represents the change of velocity produced by the loading. In this

expression it may be observed that for small values of t1 the displacement developed
during the loading v(t1 ) is of the order of (t1 )2 while the velocity change 4v is of