Free vibration analysis of arch-frames using the dynamic stiffness approach

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate free vibration characteristics of arch-frames which consist of two columns and an arch. Firstly, an exact formulation of the problem is presented using the Dynamic Stiffness Method (DSM). The end forces and displacements of column elements are obtained analytically using Timoshenko beam theory (TBT). These are then combined with the end forces and displacements of the semi-circular arch, which is modeled with exact curved beam elements that consider axial and shear deformations and rotational inertia. By employing standard assembly and bisection based root finding procedures, exact free vibration analysis of the whole vibrating system is carried out. Then, in an effort to simplify the formulations, an approach based on approximating the arch as assembly of linear straight beam segments is presented. The calculated natural frequencies using DSM for both exact and approximate results are then tabulated for comparison purposes. The mode shapes are also compared. The results show that the proposed model simplification is effective and produces accurate mode frequency and shape estimations.