Extensions of nonlinear error propagation analysis for explicit pseudodynamic testing

Two important extensions of a technique to perform a nonlinear error propagation analysis for an explicit pseudodynamic algorithm （Chang, 2003） are presented. One extends the stability study from a given time step to a complete step-by-step integration procedure. It is analytically proven that ensuring stability conditions in each time step leads to a stable computation of the entire step-by-step integration procedure. The other extension shows that the nonlinear error propagation results, which are derived for a nonlinear single degree of freedom （SDOF） system, can be applied to a nonlinear multiple degree of freedom （MDOF） system. This application is dependent upon the determination of the natural frequencies of the system in each time step, since all the numerical properties and error propagation properties in the time step are closely related to these frequencies. The results are derived from the step degree of nonlinearity. An instantaneous degree of nonlinearity is introduced to replace the step degree of nonlinearity and is shown to be easier to use in practice. The extensions can be also applied to the results derived from a SDOF system based on the instantaneous degree of nonlinearity, and hence a time step might be appropriately chosen to perform a pseudodynamic test prior to testing.

Analytical exploration of γ-function explicit method for pseudodynamic testing of nonlinear systems

It has been well studied that the γ-function explicit method can be effective in providing favorable numerical dissipation for linear elastic systems. However, its performance for nonlinear systems is unclear due to a lack of analytical evaluation techniques. Thus, a novel technique is proposed herein to evaluate its efficiency for application to nonlinear systems by introducing two parameters to describe the stiffness change. As a result, the numerical properties and error propagation characteristics of the γ-function explicit method for the pseudodynamic testing of a nonlinear system are analytically assessed. It is found that the upper stability limit decreases as the step degree of nonlinearity increases; and it increases as the current degree of nonlinearity increases. It is also shown that this integration method provides favorable numerical dissipation not only for linear elastic systems but also for nonlinear systems. Furthermore, error propagation analysis reveals that the numerical dissipation can effectively suppress the severe error propagation of high frequency modes while the low frequency responses are almost unaffected for both linear elastic and nonlinear systems.

Selection of time step for pseudodynamic testing

Although the step degree of nonlinearity has been introduced to conduct basic analysis and error propagation analysis for the pseudodynamic testing of nonlinear systems, it cannot be reliably used to select an appropriate time step before performing a pseudodynamic test. Therefore, a novel parameter of instantaneous degree of nonlinearity is introduced to monitor the stiffness change at the end of a time step, and can thus be used to evaluate numerical and error propagation properties for nonlinear systems. Based on these properties, it is possible to select an appropriate time step to conduct a pseudodynamic test in advance. This possibility is very important in pseudodynamic testing, since the use of an arbitrary time step might lead to unreliable results or even destroy the test specimen. In this paper, guidelines are proposed for choosing an appropriate time step for accurate integration of nonlinear systems. These guidelines require estimation of the maximum instantaneous degree of nonlinearity and the solution of the initial natural frequency. The Newmark explicit method is chosen for this study. All the analytical results and the guidelines proposed are thoroughly confirmed with numerical examples.