SD Print
SD Print
SD Print
The essence of earthquake effects on structures is the dynamic nature of earthquake loading.
Mechanics as a branch of physics is subdivided into statics and dynamics.
Statics studies systems in static equilibrium, i.e., in a state where the system internal forces
counterbalance external forces acting on the system.
Static refers to the fact that the state of the system and the applied forces do not vary in
time; they are time-independent.
Dynamics is the study of systems subject to time-varying applied forces.
As a consequence of the time variability of the applied forces, the system’s internal forces
and its state (defined in terms of displacement and deformation) also vary with time — the
system’s response involves motion.
While a static problem has a single time-independent solution, the solution of a dynamic
problem involves a description of the system’s state at every time point within the period
of study.
The appearance of inertia effects associated with mass in motion is another key distinction
of dynamic problems.
Structural dynamics can be considered as the study of a body or structure in dynamic
equilibrium
The mathematical expression of this equilibrium is the equation of motion
While the static equilibrium equation expresses the balance between the structure’s internal
forces and externally applied forces, the equation of motion expresses the equilibrium of
internal and external force terms (which are exactly the same as in the static equilibrium
equation) and the mass inertia and damp ing effects.
As the inertia term involves the second derivative and the damping term the first derivative
of the displacement with respect to time, the equation of motion is a second-order
differential equation with constant coefficients.