APPROXIMATE METHODS FOR DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF LARGE STRUCTURES
Abstract
Many large frame and truss structures, although large in size and complex in detail, appear grossly as beams, plates, or shells. The dynamic behavior of these structures may be governed by the beam, plate or shell equations. In this dissertation, procedures for evaluating the equivalent beam and plate stiffness and masses based on the typical substructures of the original system are developed. The Shear beam, the Bernoulli-Euler beam, and the Timoshenko beam models are used to represent the beam-like frame and truss structures; the Mindlin type of plate theory is used to model truss platforms. A number of structures are studied for free vibration characteristics by using the full-scale finite element method and by using the simple equivalent models. It has been found that the simple models are very accurate in predicting the natural frequencies and mode shapes. In general, the Timoshenko beam is more accurate than the shear beam and the Bernoulli-Euler beam models in the analysis of beam-like structures. The Mindlin plate theory for anisotropic materials is found suitable for describing the dynamic behavior of truss platforms.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Aerospace materials
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