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A dynamic stiness analysis of damped tubes lled with

granular materials
J.M. Bourinet
a,
*, D. Le Houe dec
b
a
Centre Technique des Systemes Navals, Division Mobilite, Discretion, Tenue au Combat, Direction des Constructions Navales de
Toulon, Toulon, France
b
Laboratoire de Mecanique et Materiaux, Division Mecanique des Structures, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, Nantes, France
Received 8 November 1996; accepted 20 May 1998
Abstract
A non-conservative dynamic stiness method is applied to damped exural vibrations of a uniform rectangular
tube lled with granular material. An hypothesis of internal resonance in the granular material is taken into account
by means of a frequency-dependent apparent mass which materializes as the granular material damping eect. This
apparent mass is injected into the equations of motion of the tube assimilated to a Timoshenko beam. Equations
are then solved and the frequency-dependent dynamic stiness matrix is established. A Newtonian procedure allied
with a counting algorithm is used to obtain eigensolutions of the undamped empty tube. These solutions are then
taken as initial approximations of a Rayleigh quotient iteration algorithm which provides damped eigensolutions. A
general program has been developed under MATLAB environment. Despite the apparent simplicity of the granular
material behaviour model, results are encouraging. # 1999 Civil-Comp Ltd and Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Keywords: Granular material; Damping; Dynamic stiness method; Timoshenko beam; Eigenvalue problem
1. Introduction
The lling of cavities of vibrating structures with a
noncohesive granular material (sand, lead shot, etc.)
has been a common practice to improve their overall
damping. This particular technique is easy to apply
and granular materials such as sand are cheap and pre-
sent high internal damping.
Some previous works are reviewed in the rst sec-
tion and the model for granular materialstructure
interaction used in the present analysis is described.
Assuming the tube to be a Timoshenko beam with a
force per unit length of the beam representing granu-
lar material damping eects, equations of motion are
established and solved in the next section. A
dynamic stiness method is then applied. Methods
for solving the resulting non-linear eigenvalue pro-
blem are presented in Section 5. A related conserva-
tive eigenproblem is chosen and the method used
for nding undamped eigenvalues and eigenvectors
is described. A combined stepping and iterative
procedure then takes the undamped modes of the
related conservative problem as initial approxi-
mations to provide damped eigensolutions of the real
problem. A MATLAB program has been written
and numerical/experimental results are given in
Section 6.
Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406
0045-7949/99/$ - see front matter # 1999 Civil-Comp Ltd and Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0045- 7949( 98) 00272- 7
www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruc
* Corresponding author.
2. Damping mechanisms in structures lled with
granular materials
2.1. Review of previous works
Some studies have been done to investigate damping
of structures damped by granular materials. Cremer
and Heckl mentioned this particular damping treat-
ment in their textbook [1] in 1973. Experimental results
on granular layers of uniform thickness led them to
propose that damping is due to resonances of longi-
tudinal waves in the layer and especially high losses
occur at resonances when the thickness of the layer is
equal to an odd multiple of a quarter wavelength.
Lenzi [2] carried out several experiments on sand-
lled tubes. He studied the inuence of quantity of
sand, grain size, cavity shape, dimensions of cavity,
pressure and amplitude of vibration on damping of
tubes. The quantity of granular material and the in-
ternal dimension of the cavity were identied as the
two main factors. An approximately linear relationship
between damping and mass of granular material was
noticed. Lenzi further reported that damping versus
frequency curves presented a maximum at frequencies
which were inversely proportional to cavity dimension.
He attributed this maximum damping to resonances in
the granular material. Using a simple rod model with a
linear hysteretic damping for the granular material,
Lenzi achieved a good agreement between maximum
damping frequencies predicted with his model and
those found experimentally. This model will be used in
the present study and detailed further.
In Ref. [3], a statistical energy analysis (SEA)
method was applied to determine loss factor of sand-
lled structures. Sand was treated as a lossy medium
with a characteristic impedance rc. Speed of sound c
was taken into complex form with the imaginary part
arising from internal damping of sand. Therefore the-
ories normally applicable to structureair interaction
were used for the structuresand interaction.
2.2. Model
The present study will be restricted to the bending
of a uniform tube of rectangular cross section vibrat-
ing in one of its principal planes and lled with a gran-
ular material (see Fig. 1).
During bending vibrations in the xz plane, we will
suppose that waves are generated in the granular ma-
terial between both opposite internal faces shaded in
Figs. 1 and 2 and that resonances occur when the
dimension h
z
is equal to an odd multiple of a quarter
wavelength in the granular medium [1,2].
The granular material contained in a section of in-
nitesimal length dx will be assimilated to a rod of
length h
z
and of cross-sectional area h
y
dx.
Starting from the longitudinal wave equation in rods
in stationary harmonic vibration:
d
2
w
mg
(z)
dz
2

o
2
c
2
mg
w
mg
(z) = 0 (1)
the expression of the displacement in the rod can be
found:
w
mg
(z) = Ae
ik
mg
z
Be
ik
mg
z
(2)
where: w
mg
(z ) represents the displacement amplitude
along z of a section of the rod, c
mg
=c
mg
Z1+iZ
mg
is
the longitudinal wave velocity in the granular material
(in complex form to take into account a linear hystere-
tic damping of the material), k
mg
=o/c
mg
is the longi-
tudinal wavenumber, and A, B are constants
determined by boundary conditions (underbar lines
will be used for complex-valued variables).
In order to tune resonances when dimension h
z
is
equal to an odd multiple of a quarter wavelength,
boundary conditions can be set to one end forced, the
other free [2]. The apparent mass per unit length of the
tube at the forced extremity can then be derived:
M
mg
z
=
r
mg
c
mg
h
y
o
tan
_
o
c
mg
h
z
_
(3)
Fig. 1. Uniform rectangular tube.
Fig. 2. Granular material contained in a section of innitesi-
mal length dx.
J.M. Bourinet, D. Le Houedec / Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406 396
The variation of the modulus of the adimensional
apparent mass M
mg
z
/r
mg
h
y
h
z
with respect to ratio of
height h
z
over longitudinal wavelength in the granular
material is shown in Fig. 3.
3. Governing equations
3.1. Hypothesis
The tube will be assimilated to a Timoshenko beam:
. plane sections remain plane;
. transverse displacement is constant over a section
and limited to displacement in the xz plane:
u
z
=u
z
(x,t ), u
y
=0;
. shear is taken into account by introducing a variable
j
y
which represents the rotation of plane sections
(see Fig. 4).
Eects of granular material contained inside the tube
will be included in a force U
z
per unit length of the
beam. U
z
will be developed further at Eq. (8) for the
specic case of harmonic vibrations.
3.2. Equations of motion
From the Hamilton principle, we can nd the
equations of motion (coupled in u
z
and j
y
variables)
for 0 Rx R`:
m
@
2
u
z
@t
2

@
@x
_
k
z
AG
_
j
y

@u
z
@x
__
U
z
= 0
mr
2
y
@
2
j
y
@t
2

@
@x
_
EI
y
@j
y
@x
_
k
z
AG
_
j
y

@u
z
@x
_
= 0 (4)
and boundary conditions at x = 0 and x=`
k
z
AG
_
j
y

@u
z
@x
_
T
z
= 0
EI
y
@j
y
@x
M
y
= 0 or u
z
= u
z
, j
y
= j
y
(5)
respectively, for conditions of force or displacement type,
where E = Young's modulus of beam material,
G = shear modulus of beammaterial, m = mass per unit
length of the beam (m=rA), `=length of the beam,
A = cross-sectional area, k
z
=section shape factor for
bending in the xz plane, I
y
=area moment of inertia
about the y axis, r
y
=radius of gyration (r
2
y
=I
y
/A).
Assuming now an hypothesis of uniform character-
istics for the beam and considering only stationary
harmonic vibrations, the equations of motions become
uncoupled. The equation of motion relative to the
transverse displacement u
z
will be of the form:
@
4
u
z
@x
4

o
2
m
EI
y
_
_
EI
y
k
z
AG
r
2
y
_
@
2
u
z
@x
2
u
z
_

_
o
2
m
EI
y
_
2
EI
y
k
z
AG
r
2
y
u
z

1
EI
y
U
z

1
k
z
AG
@
2
U
z
@x
2

_
o
2
m
EI
y
_
2
EI
y
k
z
AG
r
2
y
1
o
2
m
@
2
U
z
@t
2
= 0
Once this equation is solved, j
y
is given by:
z
Fig. 3. Modulus of adimensional apparent mass versus ratio
height/wavelength.
Fig. 4. Bending vibration in xz plane.
J.M. Bourinet, D. Le Houedec / Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406 397
j
y
=
1
1
o
2
m
EI
y
EI
y
k
z
AG
r
2
y
_
EI
y
k
z
AG
@
3
u
z
@x
3

_
1
o
2
m
EI
y
_
EI
y
k
z
AG
_
2
_
@u
z
@x

o
2
m
EI
y
_
EI
y
k
z
AG
_
2
1
o
2
m
@U
z
@x
_
(7)
The apparent mass per unit length of the beam will
now be taken into account via U
z
:
U
z
(x,t) = U
z
(x)e
iot
= o
2
M
mg
z
(o)u
z
(x)e
iot
(8)
Hysteretic damping of beam material will also be
added:
E = E(1 iZ
E
) and (G = G(1 iZ
G
)
where Z
E
and Z
G
are, respectively, tensional and tor-
sional hysteretic damping loss factor of beam material.
The following auxiliary variables will be introduced:
x=x/` adimensional abscissa
l
4
z
=o
2
m`
4
/EI
y
adimensional eigenvalue
a
z
=EI
y
/k
z
AG`
2
shear parameter
b
z
=r
2
y
/`
2
rotary inertia parameter
d
z
=1+M
mg
z
/m granular material damping eect
parameter.
Equation of motion (6) can then be rewritten as:
d
4
u
z
dx
4
l
4
z
_
a
z
d
z
b
z
_d
2
u
z
dx
2
l
4
z
d
z
_
l
4
z
a
z
b
z
1
_
u
z
= 0 (9)
where u
z
=u
z
(x ), and Eq. (7) becomes:
j
y
=
1
`
1
1 l
4
z
a
z
b
z
_
a
z
d
3
u
z
dx
3

_
1 l
4
z
a
2
z
d
z
_
du
z
dx
_
(10)
where j
y
=j
y
(x ).
3.3. Resolution
The general solution of Eq. (9) can be written:
u
z
(x) = P
z
sin(y
z
x) Q
z
cos(y
z
x)
R
z
sinh(Z
z
x) S
z
cosh(Z
z
x)
(11)
where:
y
z
=

1
2
l
4
z
_
a
z
d
z
b
z
_

1
2
_ _
l
8
z
(a
z
d
z
b
z
)
2
4l
4
z
d
z
_
_
Z
z
=

1
2
l
4
z
(a
z
d
z
b
z
)
1
2
_ _
l
8
z
(a
z
d
z
b
z
)
2
4l
4
z
d
z
_
_

z
_
should be taken as one of the two complex roots
of z, for instance, in both equations, as the one with
half the argument of z (y
z
, Z
z
, and V
z
, w
z
dened later
in this paper related to

z
_
convention are, respect-
ively, equal to iZ
z
, iy
z
and iw
z
, in
z
of

z
_
convention
and one can easily nd that expressions of dynamic
stiness matrix given at Eq. (17) are identical whatever
convention may be used).
The four complex constants P
z
, Q
z
, R
z
and S
z
dene
shape and vibration amplitude of the beam. They are
determined by the four boundary conditions at the
beam ends (prescribed displacement, rotation, shear
force or bending moment).
Trigonometric notation will be adopted in this paper
as in works of other authors [6,9]. It gives expressions
in accordance with Kolous ek's ones, see Eq. (17).
j
y
(x ) can then been found and takes the form:
j
y
(x) =
1
`
_
n
z
P
z
cos(y
z
x) n
z
Q
z
sin(y
z
x)
w
z
R
z
cosh
_
Z
z
x
_
w
z
S
z
sinh(Z
z
x)
_
(12)
where n
z
=y
z
l
4
z
a
z
d
z
/y
z
and w
z
=Z
z
+l
4
z
a
z
d
z
/Z
z
.
Expressions of shear force and bending moment can
then be derived:
T
z
(x) =
EI
y
n
z
w
z
`
3
_
Z
z
P
z
cos(y
z
x) Z
z
Q
z
sin(y
z
x)
y
z
R
z
cosh
_
Z
z
x
_
y
z
S
z
sinh(Z
z
x)
_
(13)
M
y
(x) =
EI
y
`
2
_
y
z
n
z
P
z
sin(y
z
x) y
z
n
z
Q
z
cos(y
z
x)
Z
z
w
z
R
z
sinh
_
Z
z
x
_
Z
z
w
z
S
z
cosh
_
Z
z
x
__
(14)
4. Dynamic stiness approach
Since exact solutions of the governing dierential
equations are known, a dynamic stiness matrix
method may be applied. This method is particularly
suitable for many structures, including plane frames,
space frames [4] and some prismatic assemblies of
plates [5]. Damping can be taken into account [6,7]
and exact multilevel substructuring may be applied [7].
The method has been used and adapted extensively by
a few authors.
A dynamic stiness matrix is formed by frequency
dependent shape functions which are exact solutions of
equations of motion. First, displacements at the beam
ends (nodal displacements) are expressed as function
of constants P
z
, Q
z
, R
z
and S
z
:
J.M. Bourinet, D. Le Houedec / Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406 398
u
flxz
= P
flxz
C
flxz
(15)
where u
xz
={u
z
(0) j
y
(0) u
z
(1) j
y
(1)}
T
and C
xz
=
{P
z
Q
z
R
z
S
z
}
T
.
Nodal forces are also expressed as function of C
xz
:
F
flxz
= L
flxz
C
flxz
(16)
where F
xz
={T
z
(0) M
y
(0) T
z
(1) M
y
(1)}
T
.
Forming product L
xz
(P
xz
)
1
analytically yields to
the dynamic stiness matrix D
xz
for bending in the xz
plane:
D
flxz
=
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
d
flxz
11
d
flxz
12
d
flxz
13
d
flxz
23
d
flxz
22
d
flxz
23
d
flxz
24
d
flxz
11
d
flxz
12
sym d
flxz
22
_

_
(17)
where:
d
flxz
11
= d
flxz
33
=
EI
y
`
3
F
6(
n
z
,w
z
)
=
EI
y
`
3
d
z
n
z
w
z
_
y
z
n
z
Z
z
w
z
__
w
z
cos y
z
sinh Z
z
n
z
sin y
z
cosh Z
z
_
d
flxz
22
= d
flxz
44
=
EI
y
`
F
2(
n
z
,w
z
)
=
EI
y
`d
z
_
y
z
n
z
Z
z
w
z
__
n
z
cos y
z
sinh Z
z
w
z
sin y
z
cosh Z
z
_
d
flxz
12
= d
flxz
21
= d
flxz
34
= d
flxz
43
=
EI
y
`
2
F
4(
n
z
,w
z
)
=
EI
y
`
2
d
z
n
z
w
__
Z
z
w
z
y
z
n
z
__
cos y
z
cosh Z
z
1
_

_
y
z
w
z
Z
z
n
z
_
sin y
z
sinh Z
z
_
d
flxz
23
= d
flxz
32
= d
flxz
14
= d
flxz
41
=
EI
y
`
2
F
3(
n
z
,w
z
)
=
EI
y
`
2
d
z
n
z
w
z
_
y
z
n
z
Z
z
w
z
__
cos y
z
cosh Z
z
_
d
flxz
13
= d
flxz
31
=
EI
y
`
3
F
5(
n
z
,w
z
)
=
EI
y
`
3
d
z
n
z
w
z
_
y
z
n
z
Z
z
w
z
__
n
z
sin y
z
w
z
sinh Z
z
_
d
flxz
24
= d
flxz
42
=
EI
y
`
F
1(
n
z
,w
z
)
=
EI
y
`d
z
_
y
z
n
z
Z
z
w
z
__
w
z
sin y
z
n
z
sinh Z
z
_
d
z
=2n
z
w
z
_
cos y
z
cosh Z
z
1
_

_
n
2
z
w
2
z
_
sin y
z
sinh Z
z
and F
i
(n,w ) (i = 1, . . . ,6) are generalized complex
Kolous ek functions (see Ref. [8] p. 423).
Only the dynamic stiness matrix relative to bending
in xz plane is presented here since only granular ma-
terial damping eects during bending vibrations are
under concernthe 12 12 complex elementary
matrix (extension, St-Venant torsion, bending in xy
and xz planes) could have been derived for complete-
ness.
For a planar or a space frame, we should form the
overall dynamic stiness matrix starting from the el-
ementary dynamic stiness matrices of all beam mem-
bers by means of an assembling procedure like that
used for usual nite element methods [4]. Rigid, hinged
and rolling supports can be considered. Rigid bodies,
concentrated masses, undamped springs, hysteretic or
viscous dashpots, etc., can also be added without di-
culty.
It should be noticed that for discrete models result-
ing from the application of a nite element method,
dynamic stiness matrix coecients are quadratic func-
tions of circular frequency o leading to classical linear
eigenvalue problems which can be solved by many
existing methods. For continuous systems, these coe-
cients are transcendental functions of o, which yields
non-linear eigenvalue problems. This non-linearity
results in more solutions than the order of the matrix,
which shows well that real structures have an innite
number of modes of vibration.
Dedicated methods and algorithms have been devel-
oped to solve related eigenproblems and some of them
will be dealt with in the next paragraph.
5. Eigenproblem resolution
5.1. Introduction
We have to solve the following non-linear eigenpro-
blem resulting from an exact method formulation:
v
+
D(o) = 0
T
and D(o)u = 0 (18)
(
+
will designate the conjugate transpose of a complex
quantity). The solutions of problem (18) o
n
, v
n
, u
n
n = 1,2, . . . , are, respectively, damped complex eigen-
values, left-hand and right-hand eigenvectors of the
J.M. Bourinet, D. Le Houedec / Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406 399
system. For a symmetrical matrix D(o) (case of the
present study), left-hand eigenvectors are simply conju-
gates of right-hand ones so we will be interested only
in right-hand eigenvectors u
n
. It should be noticed that
complex-valued matrix D(o) is symmetrical (not her-
mitian) and so problems involving repeated eigenvalues
may be defective to have less eigenvectors than eigen-
value multiplicity. This problem has not been investi-
gated yet and methods presented in this paper must be
restricted to problems with simple eigenvalues.
The resolution will be based on the linearization of
the non-linear eigenproblem around approximations to
eigenvalue and eigenvector which are to be sought.
This is done by making the expansion of the pseudo
force vector F(o,u)=D(o)u around o and u by the
rst order Taylor's series:
F(o do,u du) = D(o)(u du) do D
/
(o)u (19)
where D'(o) is the derivative of D(o) with respect to
o (analytical expressions have been derived).
The equality:
D(o)(u du) = do D
/
(o)u (20)
can be interpreted as an inverse iteration process
where u+du is the improved eigenvector. Eq. (20) will
be used to solve both undamped and damped eigen-
value problems.
The resolution method used hereafter will take the
undamped modes of a related conservative problem as
initial approximations of a combined stepping and
iterative procedure which provides damped eigensolu-
tions of the real problem [7,9,10]. A continuation par-
ameter g governing the non-conservative behaviour of
intermediate systems will be introduced. D(o,g ) will be
used instead of D(o) and we will take:
E = E(1 igZ
E
), G = G(1 igZ
G
)
d
z
= 1 gM
mg
z
=m (21)
g=1 will correspond to the dissipative problem (the
damped tube lled with granular material), g=0 to the
related undamped problem (the undamped empty
tube) and 0 < g < 1 to a damped intermediate
hypothetical system.
5.2. Undamped eigenproblem resolution
We should solve the following eigenvalue problem:
D(o)u = 0 (22)
where D(o)=D(o,0).
The computation of natural frequencies may be
achieved by use of an existing algorithm, known as the
Wittrick and Williams algorithm [11]. This algorithm,
based on the Sturm sequence property, enables us to
calculate how many natural frequencies are exceeded
by some chosen frequency
t
o, without determining
them, and hence to converge on any required natural
frequency to any specied accuracy. The algorithm
states:
J(
t
o) = J
0
(
t
o) s
_
D
(
t
o
)
_
(23)
where J(
t
o) is the number of natural frequencies lying
below
t
o, J
0
(
t
o) represents the number of natural fre-
quencies which would still be exceeded if constraints
were imposed upon the structure so as to make all the
displacement u zero, and s{D(
t
o)}, the sign count of
D(
t
o) as dened in Ref. [11] is equal to the number of
negative elements on the leading diagonal of the upper
triangular matrix D
D
(
t
o) obtained from D(
t
o) by the
usual form of Gaussian elimination, without row/col-
umn interchanges.
J
0
is obtained from the contributions over all beam
members, each of them with its ends clamped, for re-
spectively the cases of axial, exural and torsional vi-
brations. For the specic case of bending in the xz
plane, the exural contribution of a beam member J
xz
0
is obtained by considering a simply supported
beam with moments applied at its ends [12]:
J
flxz
0
= int
_
y
z
p
_

1
2
_
2 sgn
_
d
flxz
22
_
sgn
_
d
flxz
22

d
flxz
2
24
d
flxz
22
__ (24)
where int(x) is the integer part of x and sgn(x)=1 if
x < 0, 1 if xr0.
The Wittrick and Williams algorithm carries a great
advantageits infallibility. It can cope with clustered
eigenvalue situations without missing any. However, if
a bisection process is used in conjunction with this al-
gorithm, the convergence is merely linear. Moreover,
computation of eigenvectors requires specic methods
when eigenvalues have been found with the desired ac-
curacy.
An alternative solution used by Leung in Ref. [4]
was to apply a subspace iteration technique which con-
veniently enables one to determine eigenvectors to an
accuracy of the same order as eigenvalues.
Another method due to Simpson in Refs. [13,14]
consists of a combination of sign-counting and bisec-
tion stages (according to the Wittrick and Williams al-
gorithm) and NewtonRaphson stages. This latter
method will be applied in the present paper and the
main results will be presented hereafter. The under-
lying theory can be found in Simpson's papers.
For a simple eigenvalue, the problem of Eq. (22) is
J.M. Bourinet, D. Le Houedec / Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406 400
partitioned as:
_
D
11
d
12
d
T
12
d
22
__
u
1
u
2
_
=
_
0
0
_
(25)
Condensing D(o) with respect to a row/column so
that D
11
is non-singular yields to the scalar eigenvalue
equation (we will consider that the last row/column is
suitable, a rearrangement should be performed other-
wise):
_
d
22
d
T
12
D
1
11
d
12
_
u
2
= 0 (26)
Since D
11
is non-singular, we can choose u
2
=1 and the
scalar Eq. (26) simply becomes:
f (o,u) = u
T
D(o)u = d
22
d
T
12
D
1
11
d
12
= 0 (27)
Note that f(o,u) is the ultimate diagonal element
d
D
pp
(o) of D
D
(o) where p denotes the size of D(o).
The eigenvector can be found by back-substitution:
u =
_
D
1
11
d
12
1
_
(28)
Dierentiation of Eq. (27) with respect to o yields:
@f
@o
(o,u) = u
T
D
/
(o)u (29)
The expression of D'(o) can be found directly or by
use of Leung's theorem [4]:
D
/
(o) = 2o
_
dD(o)=do
2
_
(30)
Since the frequency-dependent mass matrix dD(o)/
do
2
is positive denite for all o, the slope @f/@o is
everywhere negative and so poles and zeros are inter-
laced.
The equivalence between NewtonRaphson and
Rayleigh quotient procedures can be demonstrated
[7,13]. If
k
o is an estimate of a latent root o and
k
u
the related eigenvector, the Newtonian improved esti-
mate
k + 1
o will be:
k1
o =
k
o
f
_
k
o,
k
u
_
@f
@o
_
k
o,
k
u
_
=
k
o
k
u
T
D
(
k
o
)
k
u
k
u
T
D
/
(
k
o
)
k
u
=
k
o
d
D
pp
(
k
o
)
k
u
T
D
/
(
k
o
)
k
u
(31)
If we consider now the following eigenvalue problem
D(l)u (KlM)u = 0 (32)
where l=o
2
, Eq. (31) becomes:
k1
l =
k
u
T
K
k
u
k
u
T
M
k
u
(33)
which is the Rayleigh quotient estimate.
Associated with the Wittrick and Williams algor-
ithm, the Newtonian algorithm will ensure a quadratic
convergence to the desired simple eigenvalue and
eigenvector. For multiple ones, the algorithm should
be modied [13]: eigenvalues are found by bisection,
then eigenvectors are computed.
The choice of a specic row/column during elimin-
ation has a great eect on the Newtonian convergence.
The usual Gaussian elimination without row and col-
umn interchange (leading to a condensation of D(o)
with respect to the last row/column) should be modi-
ed. The choice of the optimal position of u
2
was con-
sidered by Simpson in Ref. [14]. He proposed to
examine the selected eigenvector iterates and to inter-
change the ith and pth rows/columns where i corre-
sponds to the largest component u
i
of the eigenvector
u. This choice cannot be forecast during the rst iter-
ations and another method has been adopted in Ref.
[15] to overcome this diculty. This method consists in
an optimal diagonal pivoting during Gaussian elimin-
ation: a search is made of the principal diagonal el-
ement with the largest absolute value, then the
corresponding row/columns are interchanged with the
pivotal ones and this at any step of the triangulation
until all the elements below the diagonal are zero. It
should be noted that the Sturm sequence properties of
D(o) remain unaltered during triangulation with diag-
onal pivoting. The application of such a method leads
to an increase of the bandwidth but it is not harmful
since sparse matrices will be used in the developed pro-
gram.
5.3. Damped eigenproblem resolution
Once undamped eigensolutions have been derived,
damped eigensolutions of the non-conservative pro-
blem will be found by a Rayleigh quotient iteration al-
gorithm which is based on stationarity of the Rayleigh
quotient. Eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the non-lin-
ear eigenproblem will be computed via successive sol-
utions of the related linearized eigenproblem for a
given value of the continuation parameter g. This par-
ameter will be raised smoothly from 0 to 1, depending
on the damping of the considered mode. For lightly
damped systems, the non-conservative property will be
prescribed in just one step by setting directly g to
unity, for moderate to strongly dissipative systems, g is
reduced until the convergence of the algorithm is
achieved for the intermediate damped linearized eigen-
problem.
As initial approximations to the damped eigensolu-
tion, we should rst take the undamped eigenvalue o
n
J.M. Bourinet, D. Le Houedec / Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406 401
and eigenvector u
n
relative to the nth mode computed
with the method described at Subsection 5.2:
o
n
ini
= o
n
, u
n
ini
= u
n
(34)
Then the algorithm is initiated by taking:
0
o
n
(g) = o
n
ini
,
0
u
n
(g) = u
n
ini
(35)
where
0
o
n
(g ) and
0
u
n
(g ) are rst candidates for
Rayleigh iteration algorithm corresponding to a given
value of g.
At any step k of the Rayleigh quotient iteration al-
gorithm, the eigenvector is improved by inverse iter-
ation from Eq. (20):
D
_
k
o
n
(g),g
_
k1
u
n
(g) = D
/
_
k
o
n
(g),g
_
k
u
n
(g) (36)
A normalization condition must be introduced to
ensure convergence of the algorithm [7]. We will nor-
malize vector
k + 1
u
n
(g ) with respect to D'(
k
o
n
(g ),g ) so
that for instance:
k1
u
n
(g)
T
D
/
_
k
o
n
(g),g
_
k1
u
n
(g) = 1 (37)
The improved eigenvalue is then obtained by a general-
ized Rayleigh quotient:
k1
o
n
(g) =
k
o
n
(g)

k1
u
n
(g)
T
D
_
k
o
n
(g),g
_
k1
u
n
(g)
k1
u
n
(g)
T
D
/
_
k
o
n
(g),g
_
k1
u
n
(g)
(38)
If divergence is encountered after a given number of
iterations, new estimates
k + 1
o
n
and
k + 1
u
n
are disre-
garded, g reduced and Rayleigh iteration algorithm
attempted again with this reduced value of g. Initial
approximations to eigenvalue and eigenvector will be
those used at previous stage, i.e. o
n
ini
and u
n
ini
.
If convergence is achieved with a sucient accuracy
at step k, we will take:
o
n
ini
=
k1
o
n
(g), u
n
ini
=
k1
u
n
(g) (39)
Continuation parameter g is increased and the process
is restarted from Eq. (35) until g will reach the value
of unity.
6. Program implementationnumerical results
6.1. Program implementation
A general program has been developed under
MATLAB [16] environment in order to study
undamped/damped vibrations of frames. This program
allows the study of plane or space frames. A granular
material internal resonance assumption as described at
Subsection 2.2 has been implemented allowing the
study of frames with uniform rectangular tubes lled
with granular material. Classical beam member beha-
viours such as extension, St.-Venant torsion, Euler
Bernoulli or Timoshenko exure of beam members can
be studied. Rigid, hinged and rolling ends supports of
the frame can be considered. Concentrated masses,
springs, dashpots and vibration absorbers (viscously or
hysteretically damped) may also be included.
For a frame, the program can compute:
. all eigenfrequencies and eigenvectors belonging to a
given frequency band;
. a given number of eigensolutions so that the rst
eigenfrequency is immediately greater than a given
frequency or is of a given order.
The program is composed of 4 main parts:
. Reading of user data;
. Computation of undamped eigensolutions in three
stages:
* An overall bounding stage is rst applied to
establish a lower and an upper bound for eigen-
frequencies based on the Wittrick and Williams
algorithm.
* Then eigenfrequencies are separated: bisection is
applied until we are sure that a simple eigenvalue
is enclosed by bisection or continues until coinci-
dent eigenvalues (and its multiplicity) have been
determined to a sucient degree of accuracy.
Some results computed during the overall bound-
ing stage (pairs of o and related J ) may be used.
* A Newtonian convergence stage is nally per-
formed which ensures a quadratic convergence to
the undamped simple eigensolutions. At any step,
a new eigenvector estimate is found by back-sub-
stitution according to Eq. (28) and a new eigen-
value is computed via Rayleigh quotient as
dened in Eq. (31). If the computed eigenvalue
transgresses the pole bounds, it is disregarded
and a new starting value for the Newtonian pro-
cess is obtained by bisection on reversion to the
original problem, i.e. before Newton process ap-
plication.
. Computation of damped eigensolutions starting
from undamped ones as described in Subsection 5.3.
. Display of results, visualization and animation capa-
bilities.
The program has been written in MATLAB language.
Sparse matrix features have been widely used. When a
matrix such as D is stored in a sparse form, zero el-
ements are not stored, thus storage space is saved. The
counterpart is that the locations of non-zero elements
must be stored as well as their values. When triangu-
lating the dynamic stiness matrix D, only non-zero el-
J.M. Bourinet, D. Le Houedec / Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406 402
ements are operated on, then time is saved. A compari-
son between sparse matrix and sub-structure methods
can be found in Ref. [17].
6.2. Numerical and experimental results
6.2.1. Example 1
The present method has been applied to a steel tube
of rectangular cross-section 50 30 mm, 2.5 mm
thickness, 1.5 m length lled with sand. The tube
characteristics have been taken to: `=1.5 m,
A = 3.75 10
4
m
2
, r=7800 kg m
3
, a
y
=50 mm,
I
y
=5.39 10
8
m
4
, E = 2.1 10
11
Pa, a
z
=30 mm,
k
z
=0.317, G = 8.08 10
10
Pa, h
y
=45 mm,
Z
E
=Z
G
=5 10
4
, h
z
=25 mm, and sand character-
istics, r
mg
=1500 kg m
3
, c
mg
=150 m s
1
, Z
mg
=0.3.
Longitudinal wave velocity and loss factor of sand
used in the present analysis have been chosen assuming
a high level of deformation in the granular material
(more than 10
4
). These values come from wave vel-
ocity and loss factor versus strain curves obtained by
Lenzi [2] for sand using a resonant column method.
Note that in their paper [3] Sun et al. adopted a wave
velocity of 150 m s
1
(corresponding to a high level of
deformation in sand) and a loss factor equal to 0.015
(corresponding to a low level of deformation in sand
still according to Lenzi curves) which might be surpris-
ing.
The rst eight undamped and damped eigenfrequen-
cies and eigenvectors of the freefree beam have been
computed and are shown in Table 1 where the follow-
ing notation has been used:
r
n
uz
=
u
n
z
(`)
u
n
z
(0)
=
u
n
z
(`)
u
n
z
(0)
and r
n
c
y
=
c
n
y
(`)
c
n
y
(0)
=
c
n
y
(`)
c
n
y
(0)
The numbers of Newtonian iterations performed to
compute undamped eigenvalues and eigenvectors were
from 4 to 9 in order to ensure a relative accuracy less
than 10
9
for eigenfrequencies and 10
8
for eigenvec-
tors. One transgression of pole bounds was encoun-
tered for the third mode. Damped eigensolutions were
computed with a relative accuracy less than 10
6
for
eigenvalues and 10
5
for eigenvectors with a maximum
allowed number of Rayleigh iterations equal to 8. The
numbers of g steps for the rst eight modes were re-
spectively: 1, 16, 16, 16, 32, 32, 8, 4.
Modal loss factors determined from complex eigen-
Table 1
Undamped/damped eigensolutions of the unlled/sand-lled tube
n o
n
u
n
z
(0) c
n
y
(0) o
n
u
n
z
(0) c
n
y
(0) r
n
u
z
r
n
c
y
1 615.66 0.2181 0.6726 490.37+0.18i 0.2181 0.6726 1 1
2 1679.41 0.1342 0.6943 1335.25+1.47i 0.1342+0.0002i 0.6942+0.0008i 1 1
3 3241.89 0.0980 0.7003 2559.24+9.15i 0.09810.0005i 0.70030.0036i 1 1
4 5252.47 0.0777 0.7028 4072.16+40.74i 0.0778+0.0013i 0.7027+0.0120i 1 1
5 7659.80 0.0649 0.7041 5712.59+141.99i 0.06510.0032i 0.70320.0349i 1 1
6 10409.6 0.0561 0.7049 13099.0+1232.32i 0.05530.0068i 0.70000.0829i 1 1
7 13448.8 0.0498 0.7053 14812.3+893.60i 0.0495+0.0037i 0.7036+0.0501i 1 1
8 16728.5 0.0451 0.7057 17201.0+659.24i 0.04500.0013i 0.70540.0194i 1 1
Fig. 5. Loss factor versus frequency plot.
J.M. Bourinet, D. Le Houedec / Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406 403
values as dened at Eq. (40) are shown in Fig. 5. For
comparison purposes, loss factors found experimen-
tally and loss factor curve obtained by a SEA method
at ISVR for the same tube are also indicated in this
gure.
Z
n
hyst
= Im
_
o
n
_
2
=Re
_
o
n
_
2
(40)
Convergence to the rst eight damped eigenvalues is
shown in Fig. 6.
Computed modal loss factors present a relative
maximum near the frequency corresponding to the rst
internal resonance in sand, a relative maximum which
appears clearly on the experimental curve in Fig. 5.
Eigenvector phase lags also present a relative maxi-
mum near this particular frequency, situated at
1500 Hz between the fth and the sixth mode. Fig. 6
shows that modes before the rst internal resonance in
sand are rejected towards lower frequencies. The closer
to the internal resonance frequency, the greater this
rejection. Modes 6 and 7 situated just after this reson-
ance are shifted toward greater frequencies. Behaviour
of mode 8 is less pronounced since this mode is under
the inuence of both rst and second resonances in
sand.
6.2.2. Example 2
Experiments on a steel tube lled with glass spheres
have been carried out. The tube was of rectangular
cross-section 60 30 mm, 2 mm thickness and 1.5 m
length. One extremity was obstructed with a brazed
plate of 2 mm thickness stiened in order to limit exci-
tation of circumferential modes. The tube was horizon-
tally suspended at vibration nodes of the rst bending
mode with thin wires and soft springs leading to quasi
free-free boundary conditions. It was excited at the
stiened end by means of a G&W V4 MKII dynamic
shaker. Driving force was measured with a B&K 8200
Fig. 6. Eigenvalue convergence paths.
Fig. 7. Empty tube point inertance.
J.M. Bourinet, D. Le Houedec / Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406 404
force transducer and acceleration was measured with a
B&K 4375 accelerometer rigidly attached in line on the
opposite face of the stiened end. Signals were routed
via B&K 2635 conditioning ampliers to a
Schlumberger SI 1250 frequency response analyser
monitored by a PC. The tube characteristics have be
taken to: `=1.5 m, A = 3.44 10
4
m
2
, r=7800 kg
m
3
, a
y
=30 mm, I
y
=1.59 10
7
m
4
, E = 2.1 10
11
Pa, a
z
=60 mm, k
z
=0.661, G = 8.08 10
10
Pa,
h
y
=26 mm, Z
E
=Z
G
=5 10
4
, h
z
=56 mm. Plate and
stieners at the end of the tube were taken into
account in the exact method by means of a 85 g con-
centrated mass.
Point inertance at the excited end has been rep-
resented in Fig. 7 and the rst six natural frequencies
of the empty tube are shown in Table 2, where: f
n
are
natural frequencies (Hz) found by the author's pro-
gram based on a dynamic stiness method; f
n
fe
are
natural frequencies (Hz) computed with a nite el-
ement program using plate elements for tube walls and
beam elements for stieners (the discretization used for
the tube was 120 elements along x , four along y and
six along z ), and f
n
exp
, Z
n
exp
are, respectively, natural
frequencies (Hz) and modal loss factors extracted from
experimental frequency response functions (FRFs).
Eigenfrequencies of the empty tube computed by the
exact method assuming a Timoshenko beam hypoth-
esis are close to those found experimentally (an accu-
racy of less than 3% for the rst six modes has been
achieved).
We used glass spheres of diameter 0.81.0 mm and
density r
mg
=1630 kgm
3
to damp this tube.
Measurements were made at constant rms acceleration
at the excited end. Some point inertance FRFs found
experimentally for an acceleration level of 2 m s
2
are
represented in Fig. 8. The exact method FRF corre-
sponding to c
mg
=200 m s
1
and Z
mg
=0.25 is also
plotted in this gure (these values have be chosen
assuming again a high level of deformation in the
granular material and have been taken from Lenzi's
resonant column results obtained for glass spheres).
Damped natural frequencies f
n
damped
(Hz), damped
eigenvalues o
n
and modal loss factors Z
n
computed
with the exact method program are shown in Table 3.
Discrepancies of experimental curves can be attribu-
ted to granular material history eects. Vibrations
during measurements lead to rearrangements in the
granular medium and consequently to void ratio
changes and conning pressure variations (diminution).
Only the rst three modes are visible on these curves.
Attempts to achieve ne sweeps around these reson-
ances have failed because of stress history eects: it
Table 2
Modal parameters of the empty tube
n f
n
f
n
fe
f
n
exp
Z
n
exp
1 168.6 167.9 166.5 1.3 10
4
2 457.5 455.6 450.4 9.3 10
4
3 876.2 871.7 863.9 2.5 10
4
4 1405.6 1395.9 1384.2 4.1 10
4
5 2027.3 2006.6 1985.1 4.6 10
4
6 2723.7 2680.6 2641.0 6.4 10
4
Fig. 8. Point inertance of the tube lled with glass spheres.
Table 3
Modal parameters of the tube lled with glass spheres
n f
n
damped
o
n
Z
n
1 124.7 783.8+0.9i 2.2 10
3
2 330.9 2079.4+15.0i 1.4 10
2
3 583.8 3668.0+114.4i 6.2 10
2
4 1523.9 9575.1+487.1i 1.0 10
1
5 1964.7 12344+403.4i 6.5 10
2
6 2413.3 15164+878.6i 1.2 10
1
J.M. Bourinet, D. Le Houedec / Computers and Structures 73 (1999) 395406 405
was impossible to make lower and upper frequency
points of a ne sweep coincident with two successive
points of the broad sweep.
It should also be noticed that measured FRFs are
dependent on the lling procedure: damping is higher
for granular material particles loosely packed than
compacted. Measurements carried out just after lling
may be dierent from others made later and especially
after high amplitude measurements. This can be attrib-
uted to rearrangements in the granular medium: if the
granular material is somewhat compacted initially, the
application of high amplitude vibrations can lead to a
looser arrangement and, as a consequence, to more
damped FRF curves. Experimental curves presented in
Fig. 8 have been made after high amplitude level
measurements; they are not rst measurements made
just after lling, which were less damped.
7. Concluding remarks
A non-conservative dynamic stiness method has
been applied to damped exural vibrations of a uni-
form rectangular tube lled with granular material.
The hypothesis of internal resonance in the granular
medium can be incorporated in such an analysis.
Maximizations of damping near the rst resonance fre-
quency in the granular material found experimentally
can be retrieved using the present model. A relatively
correct agreement has also been achieved on FRFs.
Limitations of the formulation are those of a
Timoshenko beam model: only rst modes should be
considered, higher order ones are meaningless since de-
formations of tube sections are important at these fre-
quencies.
The granular material had been assumed to have a
linear hysteretic damping, which is a very simplied
behaviour. An experiment in progress has been set up
in order to investigate vibrations of a granular media
conned in a cavity of a given size [18]. Resonances in
the granular material have be observed on preliminary
results. These resonances have been shown to be
dependent on amplitude of vibration and extremely
sensitive to conning pressure.
Acknowledgements
This work is part of a Ph.D. thesis [18] carried out
at Ecole Centrale de Nantes, Laboratoire Me canique
et Mate riaux/Division Me canique des Structures and
supported by DCN Toulon, Centre Technique des
Syste mes Navals/Division Mobilite , Discre tion, Tenue
au Combat (CTSN/MDTC).
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