Response Spectrum &

Random Vibration Analyses

Acoustics ACTx R160

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Response Spectrum

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What is Response Spectrum Analysis

A response spectrum analysis is used in place of a timehistory analysis to determine the response of structures
to random or time-dependent loading conditions such as:

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earthquakes,
wind loads,
ocean wave loads,
jet engine thrust,
rocket motor vibrations, and so on.

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... What is Response Spectrum Analysis

The most accurate solution is to run a long transient analysis.
Large means many DOF. Long means many time points.
In many cases, this would take too much time and compute resources.

Instead of solving the (1) large model and (2) long transient
together, it can be desirable to approximate the maximum
response quickly:
It uses the results of a modal analysis with a known spectrum to calculate
displacements and stresses in the model.
The spectrum is a graph of peak response versus modal frequency that
captures the peak response of each mode of the structure to a time-history
loads.
The last step is to combine the modal results using the mode coefficients
based on the spectrum.
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... What is Response Spectrum Analysis

Idea: solve the (1) large model and (2) long transient
separately and combine the results.
Large model
Long transient

Large model
Long transient

Large model
Mode extraction

Mode shapes

Full solution
Slow, accurate
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Small model
Long transient

Response spectrum

Combined solution
Fast, approximate

Generating the Response Spectrum

Response Spectrum:
A response spectrum is a plot of the maximum response of linear one-DOF
systems to a given time-history input.
The abscissa of the plot is the natural frequencies of the systems, the ordinates
is the maximum response:

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Displacement
Velocity
Acceleration.

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Types of Analyses
There are two types of Response Spectrum Analysis available:
Single-Point Response Spectrum (SPRS)

- Multi-Point Response Spectrum (MPRS)

Note: For FSI analyses only SPRS is supported.

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Participation Factor,
The participation factor is a measure of the response of the structure at a
given natural frequency.
represents how much each mode will contribute to the deflections and
stresses in a particular direction. For FSI models, the left eigenvectors are
used to calculate the participation factors.

w M K f 0
2
i

Modal Analysis

frequency

mode shape

spectrum
value

participation
factor

mode
coefficient

response

w1

{f}1

S1

A1

{R}1

w2

{f}2

S2

A2

{R}2

w3

{f}3

S3

A3

{R}3

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i fL Ti M D

mode

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Effective Mass For FSI Case

Recall: printed in the modal output file is the effective mass.

For a standard case without fluid interaction the effective mass

for the ith mode is:
M eff ,i

i2

f Ti M f i

i2 , if f i M f i 1

For FSI case where the unsymmetric solver is used, the left and
right eigenvectors are used and the effective mass is expressed as:

M eff ,i Ds K s fRs i
T

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fL Ti M D
wi2

Recommended Solution Procedure

The recommended solution method is generally specified by your

design code.
combination method
rigid response method

2 3

4 5 6

Note: missing mass effects are supported.

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Typical Application of Response Spectrum

A common way to assess fluid filled tanks at nuclear
facilities for earthquake survival is to use a response
spectrum analysis. With the acoustic sloshing capability,
a response spectrum analysis of the tank can include the
effect of the fluid in an inexpensive earthquake analysis.

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Random Vibration

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What is Random Vibration Analysis

Random vibration analysis is another spectral method

The purpose of a random vibration analysis is to determine some

statistical properties of a structural response, normally the standard
deviation (1) of a displacement, force, or stress.
(1) is used to determine fatigue life of a structure

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Definition and Purpose

We have already seen sinusoidal vibration (free and forced)

This is vibration at one predominant frequency

A more common type of vibration is random vibration

This is vibration at many frequencies at the same time

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Definition and Purpose

Many common processes result in random vibration

Parts on a manufacturing line

Vehicles travelling on a roadway
Airplanes flying or taxiing
Spacecraft during launch

Courtesy: NASA

These random vibrations contain all frequencies at all times

The amplitudes at these frequencies vary randomly with

time.

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We need some way of describing and quantifying this excitation.

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Definition and Purpose

If the amplitude is constantly changing, how can a random

excitation be evaluated?

Key observation: at a given frequency, the amplitude of the

excitation does constantly change, but for many processes, its
average value tends to remain relatively constant.
This gives us the ability to easily characterize a random excitation.

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Assumptions & Restrictions

The structure has:

no random properties
no time varying stiffness, damping, or mass
no time varying forces, displacement, pressures, temperatures, etc

applied
light damping
damping forces are much smaller than inertial and elastic forces

The random process is:

stationary (does not change with time)

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the response will also be a stationary random process

ergodic (one sample tells us everything about the random process)

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Typical Application of Random Vibration

A fluid container experiences random excitation during
transport on the back of a truck. It would be a typical use
of random vibration analysis on a vibro-acoustic model to
determine the fatigue life of the container due to the
random stresses caused by the road surface roughness.

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Application to FluidStructure Interaction

Models

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Unsymmetric Coupled Formulation

Response Spectrum analysis using acoustic element is
supported for unsymmetric coupled formulation only. So
in the upstream analysis please selected Program
Controlled Coupled as Acoustic-Structural Coupled
Body Options:

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Setup
Setup a response spectrum/random vibration analysis in
the schematic by linking a modal system to a response
spectrum/random vibration system at the solution level.

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Upstream Unsymmetric Modal

For fluid-structure interaction models, unsymmetric eigensolver
must be used. Right and left eigenmodes are written into
Jobname.MODE & Jobname.LMODE which are necessary for the
downstream mode superposition.
To perform the modal analysis activating the output of right and
left eigenmodes insert a Unsymmetric Mode Extraction For
Downstream Spectrum Analysis from Analysis Settings menu of
the Acoustics ACT extension.

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Upstream Unsymmetric Modal

The Unsymmetric Mode Extraction For Downstream Spectrum
Analysis object is used to switch the eigensolver to unsymmetric
and request to output right and left eigenmodes
(modopt,unsym,,,,real,,both MAPDL command).
Natively Mechanical doesnt support mode superposition with
unsymmetric matrices so if you choose the unsymmetric solver
directly in the Analysis Settings of the modal analysis the
downstream analysis will be invalid. To avoid this, leave the Solver
Type to Program Controlled in the modal analysis settings and the
Unsymmetric Mode Extraction For Downstream Spectrum
Analysis will switch it to unsymmetric solver internally:

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Downstream Spectrum
Insert FSI Spectrum Analysis object from Analysis Settings
menu of the Acoustics ACT extension in order to use right and left
modes in the downstream spectrum analysis:

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The excitation must be applied at fixed degrees of freedom

(excitation at fixed pressure isnt supported).

If response strain/stress is of interest, then the modal strain

and the modal stress need to be determined in the modal
analysis.

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