16.

4 Natural Frequencies of a One-Dimensional Bar d 665

You will note the similarities between Wilson’s Eqs. (16.3.22) and Newmark’s Eqs.
(16.3.14). Because the acceleration is assumed to vary linearly, the load vector is
expressed as
F iþ1 ¼ F i þ YðF iþ1  F i Þ ð16:3:23Þ

where F iþ1 replaces F iþ1 in Eq. (16.3.22). Note that if Y ¼ 1, F iþ1 ¼ F iþ1 .
Also, Wilson’s method (like Newmark’s) is an implicit integration method, be-
cause the displacements show up as multiplied by the stiffness matrix and we implicitly
solve for the displacements at time t þ YDt.
The solution procedure using Wilson’s equations is as follows:

1. Starting at time t ¼ 0, d0 is known from the given boundary

conditions on displacement, and d_0 is known from the initial velocity
conditions.
2. Solve Eq. (16.3.5) for d€0 (unless d€0 is known from an initial accelera-
tion condition).
0
3. Solve Eq. (16.3.21) for d1 , because F iþ1 is known for all time steps,
and d0 ; d_0 ; d€0 are now known from steps 1 and 2.
4. Solve Eq. (16.3.17) for d€1 .
5. Solve Eq. (16.3.18) for d_1 .
6. Using the results of steps 4 and 5, go back to step 3 to solve for d2 ,
and then return to steps 4 and 5 to solve for d€2 and d_2 . Use steps 3–5
repeatedly to solve for diþ1 ; d_iþ1 , and d€iþ1 .

A flowchart similar to Figure 16–8, based on Newmark’s equation, is left to your dis-
cretion. Again, note that the advantage of Wilson’s method is that it can be made un-
conditionally stable by setting Y X 1:37. Finally, the time step, Dt, recommended is
1 1
approximately 10 to 20 of the shortest natural period tn of the finite element assemblage
with n degrees of freedom; that is, Dt j tn =10. In comparing the Newmark and Wil-
son methods, we observe little difference in the computational effort, because they
both require about the same time step. Wilson’s method is very similar to Newmark’s,
so hand solutions will not be presented. However, we suggest that you rework Exam-
ple 16.1 by Wilson’s method and compare your displacement results with the exact so-
lution listed in Table 16–1.

d 16.4 Natural Frequencies of a d

One-Dimensional Bar
Before solving the structural stress dynamics analysis problem, we will first describe
how to determine the natural frequencies of continuous elements (specifically the bar
element). The natural frequencies are necessary in a vibration analysis and also are
important when choosing a proper time step for a structural dynamics analysis (as
will be discussed in Section 16.5).
666 d 16 Structural Dynamics and Time-Dependent Heat Transfer

Natural frequencies are determined by solving Eq. (16.2.24) in the absence of a

forcing function F ðtÞ. Therefore, we solve the matrix equation
M d€ þ Kd ¼ 0 ð16:4:1Þ
The standard solution for dðtÞ is given by the harmonic equation in time
dðtÞ ¼ d 0 eiot ð16:4:2Þ
where d 0 is the part of the nodal displacement matrix called natural modes that is
assumed
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi to be independent of time, i is the standard imaginary number given by
i ¼ 1, and o is a natural frequency.
Differentiating Eq. (16.4.2) twice with respect to time, we obtain
€ ¼ d 0 ðo 2 Þe iot
dðtÞ ð16:4:3Þ
Substitution of Eqs. (16.4.2) and (16.4.3) into Eq. (16.4.1) yields
Mo 2 d 0 e iot þ Kd 0 e iot ¼ 0 ð16:4:4Þ
Combining terms in Eq. (16.4.4), we obtain
e iot ðK  o 2 MÞd 0 ¼ 0 ð16:4:5Þ
Because e iot is not zero, from Eq. (16.4.5) we obtain
ðK  o 2 MÞd 0 ¼ 0 ð16:4:6Þ
Equation (16.4.6) is a set of linear homogeneous equations in terms of displacement
mode d 0 . Hence, Eq. (16.4.6) has a nontrivial solution if and only if the determinant
of the coefficient matrix of d 0 is zero; that is, we must have
jK  o 2 Mj ¼ 0 ð16:4:7Þ
In general, Eq. (16.4.7) is a set of n algebraic equations, where n is the number of
degrees of freedom associated with the problem.
To illustrate the procedure for determining the natural frequencies, we will solve
the following example problem.

Example 16.3

For the bar shown in Figure 16–10 with length 2L, modulus of elasticity E, mass den-
sity r, and cross-sectional area A, determine the first two natural frequencies.
For simplicity, the bar is discretized into two elements each of length L as shown
in Figure 16–11. To solve Eq. (16.4.7), we must develop the total stiffness matrix for
the bar by using Eq. (16.2.11). Either the lumped-mass matrix Eq. (16.2.12) or the

Figure 16–10 One-dimensional bar used for natural frequency determination

 16.4 Natural Frequencies of a One-Dimensional Bar d 667

Figure 16–11 Discretized bar of Figure 16–10

consistent-mass matrix Eq. (16.2.23) can be used. In general, using the consistent-mass
matrix has resulted in solutions that compare more closely to available analytical and
experimental results than those found using the lumped-mass matrix. However, the
longhand calculations are more tedious using the consistent-mass matrix than using
the lumped-mass matrix because the consistent-mass matrix is a full symmetric matrix,
whereas the lumped-mass matrix has nonzero terms only along the main diagonal.
Hence, the lumped-mass matrix will be used in this analysis.
Using Eq. (16.2.11), the stiffness matrices for each element are given by
1 2 2 3



AE 1 1 AE 1 1 ð16:4:8Þ
½^k ð1Þ
¼ ½^k ð2Þ
¼
L 1 1 L 1 1
The usual direct stiffness method for assembling the element matrices, Eqs. (16.4.8),
yields the global stiffness matrix for the whole bar as
2 3
1 1 0
AE 6 7
½K
¼ 4 1 2 1 5 ð16:4:9Þ
L
0 1 1
Using Eq. (16.2.12), the mass matrices for each element are given by
1 2 2 3



rAL 1 0 rAL 1 0 ð16:4:10Þ
^ ð1Þ
¼
½m ^ ð2Þ
¼
½m
2 0 1 2 0 1
The mass matrices for each element are assembled in the same manner as for the stiff-
ness matrices. Therefore, by assembling Eqs. (16.4.10), we obtain the global mass ma-
trix as
2 3
1 0 0
rAL 6 7
½M
¼ 40 2 05 ð16:4:11Þ
2
0 0 1

We observe from the resulting global mass matrix that there are two mass contribu-
tions at node 2 because node 2 is common to both elements.
Substituting the global stiffness matrix Eq. (16.4.9) and the global mass matrix
Eq. (16.4.11) into Eq. (16.4.6), and using the boundary condition d^1x ¼ 0 (or now
d10 ¼ 0) to reduce the set of equations in the usual manner, we obtain


 0   
AE 2 1 2 rAL 2 0 d2 0
o 0 ¼ ð16:4:12Þ
L 1 1 2 0 1 d3 0
668 d 16 Structural Dynamics and Time-Dependent Heat Transfer

To obtain a solution to the set of homogeneous equations in Eq. (16.4.12), we set the
determinant of the coefficient matrix equal to zero as indicated by Eq. (16.4.7). We
then have



AE 2 1 rAL 2 0 
 l ¼0 ð16:4:13Þ
 L 1 1 2 0 1 
where l ¼ o 2 has been used in Eq. (16.4.13). Dividing Eq. (16.4.13) by rAL and
letting m ¼ E=ðrL 2 Þ, we obtain
 
 2m  l m 
 
 

 m l  ¼ 0 ð16:4:14Þ
 m 
2
Evaluating the determinant in Eq. (16.4.14), we obtain
pffiffiffi
l ¼ 2m G m 2
or l1 ¼ 0:60m l2 ¼ 3:41m ð16:4:15Þ
For comparison, the exact solution is given by l ¼ 0:616m, whereas the consistent-
mass approach yields l ¼ 0:648m. Therefore, for bar elements, the lumped-mass
approach can yield results as good as, or even better than, the results for the consis-
tent-mass approach. However, the consistent-mass approach can be mathematically
proved to yield an upper bound on the frequencies, whereas the lumped-mass
approach yields results that can be below or above the exact frequencies with no
mathematical proof of boundedness. From Eqs. (16.4.15), the first and second natural
frequencies are given by
pffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffi
o1 ¼ l1 ¼ 0:77 m o2 ¼ l2 ¼ 1:85 m
Letting E ¼ 30  10 6 psi, r ¼ 0:00073 lb-s 2 /in 4 , and L ¼ 100 in., we obtain
m ¼ E=ðrL 2 Þ ¼ ð30  10 6 Þ=½ð0:00073Þð100Þ 2
¼ 4:12  10 6 s2
Therefore, we obtain the natural circular frequencies as
o1 ¼ 1:56  10 3 rad=s o2 ¼ 3:76  10 3 rad=s ð16:4:16Þ
or in Hertz (1/s) units
f1 ¼ o1 =2p ¼ 248 Hz; and so on
In conclusion, note that for a bar discretized such that two nodes are free to dis-
place, there are two natural modes and two frequencies. When a system vibrates with a
given natural frequency oi , that unique shape with arbitrary amplitude corresponding
to oi is called the mode. In general, for an n-degrees-of-freedom discrete system, there
are n natural modes and frequencies. A continuous system actually has an infinite
number of natural modes and frequencies. When the system is discretized, only n
degrees of freedom are created. The lowest modes and frequencies are approximated
most often; the higher frequencies are damped out more rapidly and are usually of less
importance. A rule of thumb is to use two times as many elements as the number of
frequencies desired.
 16.5 Time-Dependent One-Dimensional Bar Analysis d 669

Figure 16–12 First and second modes of longitudinal vibration for the cantilever bar
of Figure 16–10

Substituting l1 from Eqs. (16.4.15) into Eq. (16.4.12) and simplifying, the first
modal equations are given by
0ð1Þ 0ð1Þ
1:4md2  md3 ¼0
ð16:4:17Þ
0ð1Þ 0ð1Þ
md2 þ 0:7md3 ¼0

It is customary to specify the value of one of the natural modes d 0 for a given oi
0ð1Þ 0ð1Þ
or li . Letting d3 ¼ 1 and solving Eq. (16.4.17), we find d2 ¼ 0:7. Similarly, substi-
tuting l2 from Eqs. (16.4.15) into Eq. (16.4.12), we obtain the second modal equa-
tions. For brevity’s sake, these equations are not presented here. Now letting
0ð2Þ 0ð2Þ
d3 ¼ 1 results in d2 ¼ 0:7. The modal response for the first and second natural
frequencies of longitudinal vibration are plotted in Figure 16–12. The first mode
means that the bar is completely in tension or compression, depending on the excita-
tion direction. The second mode means the bar is in compression and tension or in
tension and compression. 9

d 16.5 Time-Dependent One-Dimensional d

Bar Analysis

Example 16.4

To illustrate the finite element solution of a time-dependent problem, we will solve

the problem of the one-dimensional bar shown in Figure 16–13(a) subjected to the
force shown in Figure 16–13(b). We will assume the boundary condition d1x ¼ 0 and
the initial conditions d 0 ¼ 0 and d_0 ¼ 0. For later numerical computation purposes,
we let parameters r ¼ 0:00073 lb-s2 /in 4 , A ¼ 1 in2 , E ¼ 30  10 6 psi, and L ¼ 100 in.
These parameters are the same values as used in Section 16.4.
Because the bar is discretized into two elements of equal length, the global stiff-
ness and mass matrices determined in Section 16.4 and given by Eqs. (16.4.9) and
(16.4.11) are applicable. We will again use the lumped-mass matrix because of its