Nonlinear and Linear Elasti

Impa t Theory
Shing-Tung Yau

Department of Mathemati s, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.

The Institute of Mathemati al S ien es & Department of Mathemati s, CUHK, Hong Kong

AND

Wen Zhang

Department of Applied Me hani s, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

 Resear h supported by NFS/DARPA grant DMA 87-11394

Abstra t

The elasti stru ture impa t problems are studied in the paper. Not only the lo al impa t
regions are regarded as deformable, but also the whole stru ture is onsidered as a exible
one. At the lo al impa t regions, the non-linear onstitutive equation alled Hertz law is used,
while the de e tion of the exible stru ture is assumed to obey the linear Hooke's law. Both
analyti al and numeri al studies have been done. For omparation, a simplied linear impa t
model is also introdu ted and studied in the paper. All the results show that the impa t
pro ess has a foundamental pattern due to the lo al deformation at the impa t regions and
with some additional ee ts due to the in uen e of the stru ture exibility.

Introdu tion

Impa t pro ess is a very omplex me hani al phenomenon indeed. The main property is that
the time pro ess is very short (10 3 se . order) and the magnitude level of the impa t for e
is very high. The simplest impa t model is the rigid body impa t model [3, in whi h, the time
interval of impa t pro ess is assumed to be zero and the magnitude of the impa t for e is
innite, while the impulse remains limited. In this model, we only on ern with some major
integral quantities before and after the impa tion and pay no attention on the impa t pro ess.
Of ourse, in this model the lo al deformations at the two impa t regions due to large impa t
for e are also ignored.
The better model is to ount in the elasti or plasti deformation at the lo al impa t regions, while the other regions are still regarded as the rigid parts. This model an be alled
lo al deformation model. In this model, it is revealed that any impa t pro ess has a short time
interval. The impa t for e varies from zero to a large but nite value and then fall down to zero
again during the whole short impa t interval. The onstitutive equation of impa t for e and
relative deformation between two impa t bodies, alled Hertz law, is not a linear relationship.
So the impa t phenomenon is essentially a non-linear me hani al problem.
If the impa ted stru ture is so exible that its lowest natural frequen y has the same order
of magnitude as, or even mu h lower than that of the impa t frequen y (the re ipro al of the
impa t period), the whole stru ture must be regarded as a deformable one during the impa t
pro ess. This is alled global deformation model. Although the stru ture de e tion is still assumed to obey the Hooke's law, the lo al deformation at the impa t regions remains non-linear.
In this paper we study the third model in detail. The general non-linear equation of motion
is established. It is an integral equation of Voltera type. The general analyti al solution is
dedu ed by a perturbation method. The numeri al omputation is done by dieren e method.
For omparision, a simplied linear impa t onstitutive equation is used to linearize the problem. In this ase, the problem is redu ed to a initial problem of vibration whi h an be solved
analyti ally.

All the results obtained in the paper show that the major impa t pattern of the global
deformation model is not very far from the pattern of the lo al deformation model whi h an
be alled as fundamental pattern. And the additional ee t of stru ture exibility is mainly
due to these normal vibration models of the stru ture whose natural frequen ies are not very
far from the impa t frequen y of the lo al deformation model.

For ed Motion Solution of Elasti System

The for ed vibration solution for multiple degree of freedom linear system is reviewed here
brie y. The ontext des ribed here is only those ne essary fundamental material whi h is
useful for developing the following nonlinear impa t theory of elasti system.
The natural dynami s of an elasti system with n degrees of freedom is des ribed by !i
and i (i = 1;


; n) of the following eigenvalue problem:
Ki = !i2 Mi

(1)

K  = M 

(2)

or

where

2
6

 = 66

...

7
7
7
5

(3)

 = [1 ; 2 ;


; n ;

(4)

!i2

...

and  satises the following orthogonal identities:

2
...
6

T M  = 66

mi

...

7
7
7
5

(5)

2
6

T K  = 66

...
ki

...

7 6
7 6
7=6
5 4

...
mi !i2

...

7
7
7
5

(6)

All the i (i = 1;


; n) are normalized by ji jmax = 1. Here mi is alled the i-th model mass.
If a set of external for es, f1 (t); f2 (t);


; fn (t), a t on the system, the equation of motion
is given by
M X + KX = F (t) ;

(7)

where F T (t) = [f1 (t); f2 (t);


; fn (t). fi (t) is the for e a ting on the i-th node.
Now let
X (t ) =

n
X
i=1

i
i (t) = 

(8)

where
 = [1 ; 2 ;


; n T

(9)

Substituting (8) into (7) and multiplying by T , we get

T M  + T K  = R(t)

(10)

or
mi i + ki i = ri (t) ;

(i = 1;


; n)

(11)

R(t) = [r1 (t); r2 (t);


; rn (t)T = T F

(12)

where
The solution of (11) with the initial onditions i (0) = 0 and i (0) = 0 is given by
1 Z t r (r)
sin ! (t  )d ;
(i = 1;


; n)
 =
0

mi !i

or

=

B
B
B
0 
t

(13)

...
sin !i (t  )
m i !i

...

C
C
C
A

T F ( )d

(14)

Substituting (14) into (8), we get the general solution of for ed motion as follows:
1
0
...
X =

Z tB
B
B
0 

sin !i (t  )
mi !i

...

C
C
C
A

T F ( )d

(15)

If there is only a single for e f (t) a ting on the system, say, at the j -th node, then F (t) =
[0;


; 0; f (t); 0;


; 0T . The elasti de e tion x0 at the j -th node, a ording to (15), is given
by
n
X

where

2i0
x0 =
mi !i
i=1

f ( )
sin !i(t  )d

i0 = i at the j -th node:

3

(16)
(17)

Hertz Law for Elasti Impa t Between Two Bod-

ies

For the ase of elasti impa t between two bodies, the onstitutive equation, namely, the Hertz
law [1 is given by
3

f (t) =  2 (t)

(18)

where (t) is the relative displa ement between the two impa t points, f (t) is the onta t for e
during the impa t time interval. Equation (18) expresses a nonlinear relation between the
impa t for e and the relative displa ement. The oe ient  is determined by the following
formula [2:
4
(19)
 = 1  2 1 v2
p
3 E1 1 + E2 2 k1 + k2
where ki (i = 1; 2) are the average urvatures of the two lo al surfa es at the two impa t
points respe tively. Ei and i (i = 1; 2) are the Young's moduli and Poission's ratios of the two
impa t materials respe tively. If the two lo al impa t surfa es are a ball surfa e and a plane
respe tively, k1 = 1=R1 and k2 = 0, then
pR
4
 =
1  2 11  2
(20)
3
1 +
2
E1
E 2
where R1 is the radius of the lo al ball surfa e.
6

Ball-Rigid Plate Impa t

First, let us dis uss the simplest ase that a ball impa ts towards a rigid plate with an initial
velo ity v0 . During the impa t period, 0  t  tm , the displa ement of the ball is
Z

x(t) = v0 t

m0

dt1

t1

f ( )d ;

(0  t  tm )

(21)

where f (t) is the impa t for e, m0 is the mass of the ball.

Note that (21) is just the relative displa ement (t) between the ball and the wall, be ause
the wall is rigidly xed and annot have any elasti displa ement ex ited by the impa t for e
f (t). So we have
Z

(t) = v0 t

m0

dt1

t1

f ( )d ;

(0  t  tm )

(22)

(0  t  tm )

(23)

Substituting the Hertz law (18) into (22), we get


m0

v0 t

dt1

t1

2 ( )d = (t) ;

This is the derived non-linear impa t equation. After twi e derivatives of (23), the following
non-linear dierential equation of motion for (t) is obtained:
mo  +  2 = 0
3

(24)

with the following initial onditions:

_ (t) = v0

(25)

4  52 = 0
5 m0

(26)

(0) = 0 ;

The equation (24) an be easily integrated as

_ 2

or

v02 +

 52
m

(27)

h 15 m v 2  1  2
2 i 2
p0R 0 E 11 + 1 E 2 5
= 16
2
1

(28)

_ = v0 1

where
m

5 m

2 2
0 0 5

v
4 

(27) an be further integrated to obtain

Z

dx

1 x

5
2

8
v0 t
>
>
<

0t

= > vmt

(2 t)  t  2

>
: 0

(29)

(29) is the obtained omplete solution of (t), whi h is sket hed out in Fig. 1 by the solid line,
where
=

Z 1
0

dt

1 x

5
2

 1:4716

(30)

The impa t interval, tm , then an be obtained as

tm = 2

m
v0

 2:9432 v0  3 v0
0
0

(31)

As the on lusion of this se tion, we list some exa t results obtained above for ball-rigid
plate impa t:
1. The maximum relative displa ement:
5 m

2 2
0 0 5

v
4 

m =

(32)

2. The maximum amplitude of the impa t for e:

3

fm = m2 = 

23
0 0 5

5 m

v
4 

(33)

3. The impa t stiness oe ient:

1
fm
=
m2
m

km =

(34)

4. The impa t exibility oe ient:

m =

1 = m
fm

km

(35)

5. The impa t period:

 3vm

(36)

 3 v0  t :
m
m

(37)

tm = 2

m
v0

6. The impa t frequen y:

!0 =

v0
m

Impa t Between Ball and Elasti Stru ture

Indeed the most ommon impa t ase is that a ball impa ts to an elasti stru ture. Let the
mass and the initial impa t velo ity of the ball be still denoted by m0 and v0 respe tively.
During the impa t period (0  t  tm ), the absolute displa ement of the ball is
x1 (t) = v0 t

m0

dt1

t1

f ( )d ; (0  t  tm ) ;

(38)

whereas the absolute displa ement of the impa t point on the elasti stru ture, a ording to
(16), is
n
X

2i0
x2 (t) =
mi !i
i=1

Z
0

f ( )
sin !i (t  )d ; (0  t  tm )

(39)

The relative displa ement of the two impa t points is

= x1 x2

(40)

x1 = x2 +

(41)

or

Substituting (38) and (39) into (41), we ome to the following equation:
v0 t

m0

Z
0

dt1

t1

f ( )d =

n
X

2i0
mi !i
i=1

Z
0

f ( ) sin !i(t  )d + (t) ;

(0  t  tm )
or
v0 t


m0

Z
1

dt1

Z
0

t1

2 ( )d = 

n
X

2i0
mi !i
i=1

2 ( ) sin !i(t  )d + (t) ;

(0  t  tm )

(42)

Equation (42) is the nonlinear impa t equation dedu ed here, from whi h (t) an be solved.
And the impa t period tm an be obtained by following ondition:
(tm ) = 0

(43)

It is di ult to nd out analyti al solution of (42). Usually it should be solved numeri ally
step by step with time t by a dieren e method. For this reason, it is mu h onvenient to
alter (42) into a non-dimensional form. Taking the hara teristi quantities of (32)-(37) for
9

ball-rigid plate impa t and the ball mass m0 as the s ale quantities, all the non-dimensional
quantities an be dened as follows:
f (t)
fm

(t)
(t) =
m
t = !0 t

f(t) =

 = !0 
!
! i = i
!0
mi
m
i = m
0

Substituting all above quantities into (42) and (18), the general non-dimensional impa t equation and Hertz law are written as
Z t1
Z t
n
2 Z t
3
 32 ( )d = 5 X i0
t 5 dt1
 2 ( ) sin ! i (t )d + (t) ;
4 0
4 i=1 m
 i ! i 0
0
(44)
(0  t  tm )
f(t) =  2 (t) ;

(45)

(tm ) = 0 :

(46)

where tm satises

Linear Theory

By virtue of the approximate simple linear theory, we an inspe t some important impa t
properties analyti ally. It is also helpful to numeri ally solve the non-linear equation (44) as
a omparison.
6.1

Linear Impa t Constitutive Equation

In the linear impa t theory, the Hertz law (18) should be repla ed by the following linear
approximation
f (t) = k0
(t)
10

(47)

where k0 is an equivalent stiness oe ient, whi h an be determined by the following strain
energy balan e onsideration:
Z m
3
2 5
k0 2
 2 d = 
m2
m =
(48)
2
5
0
i.e.,
4 1  4  45  45 (m v2 ) 15
k0 = m2 =
(49)
0 0
5
5
6.2

Equation of Motion

Substituting (47) into (42), the impa t equation is redu ed to

v0 t

k0
m0

dt1

t1

( )d =

Z
n
X
2i0 k0
i=1

mi !i

( ) sin !i (t  )d + (t) :

(50)

Letting
 k
qi (t) = i0 0
mi !i

Z
0

( ) sin !i (t  )d

(51)

(50) then an be written as

v0 t

k0
m0

dt1

Z
0

t1

( )d =

n
X
i=1

i0 qi (t) + (t)

(52)

By dierentiating (52) and (51) twi e respe tively with respe t to time t, we get the following
equivalent set of dierential equations of motion
0
B

!02 B
B

...

 + !02 + 0q = 0 ;

1
m0
mj

...

C
C T
C 0 + q
A

+B
B


...

!j2

...

C
C
Cq
A

=0

(53)

where
0 = [10 ; 20 ;


; n0
q

= [r
q1 ; q2 ;


; qn T

!0 =

It an be justied that !0 =

k0
m0

k0
m0

(54)
(55)
(56)

is equal to the impa t frequen y (37) dened in se tion 4.

11

It should be pointed out that from (39) and (51) we have

x2 =

2
X
i=1

i0
qi = T0 q

(57)

So q = [q1 ; q2 ;


; qn T is the set of n normal mode oordinates of the elasti stru ture.
Thus the set of equations (53) an be obtained alternatively by Lagrange pro edure with the
following kineti and potential energy expressions of the linear impa t system:
1 m x_ 2 + 1 x_ 2 = 1 m (_ +  q_)2 + 1 q_T [m q_ ;
0
i
2 0 1 2 20 2 0
2
1
...
C
B
1
1
C
2
V = k0 2 + q T B
Cq :
B
m
!
i i
2
2 
A
...
T =

6.3

(58)
(59)

Solutions of the Linear Equations

Letting = ~eipt and q = q~eipt and substituting them into (53), we get the eigenvalue problem
of the linear system:
0
B

!02 B
B

(!02 p2 )~ p2 0 q~ = 0 ;
1
...
C
C
B
C
C T~
B
2
2
~=0
Cq
C 0 + B
!
p
j
A
A

...
...
1

...
m0
mj

(60)

Form the se ond equation of (60), we have

0

q~ = !

B
B

...

2B
0B

m0
mj (!j2 p2 )

...

C
C T
C  ~
C 0
A

(61)

Substituting it into the rst equation of (60), we get

0

2
0

p!

2 2
0

B
B
0 B
B


...
m0
mj (!j2 p2 )

...

C
C T
C
C 0
A

This is the hara teristi equation of the eigenvalue problem (60)

12

=0

(62)

On e all the n + 1 eigenvalues pi (i = 1; 2;


; n + 1) are evaluated from (62), the orre.

sponding eigenve tors Q~i = [~ .. q~T Ti (i = 1; 2;


; n + 1) an be given from (61) as
2

2
6

3
7

~i = 66


77
Q
4

or alternatively

8
>
>
<~i

!02 m0
mj (!j2 p2i )

...

7
7
7
7
1
7
7
7
C
7
C
C T 7
0
7
C
5
A

=1

>
>
:q~ji

6.4

q~

6
6
6
60
6
= 66B . . .
6B
6B
6B
4

(63)

(64)

!02 m0
 ; (j = 1; 2;


; n)
mj (!j2 p2i ) j 0
(i = 1; 2;


; n + 1) :

Impa t Solution

Now the impa t problem of linear model is lassied into the free vibration problem with the
following initial onditions:
(0) = 0; q = 0

(65)

_ (0) = 0; q_ (0) = 0

(66)

The solution satisfying (65) has the following general form:

2
6
6
6
4

(t) 7

775 = Q~ 1 ; Q~ 2;

6
6
 6
; Q~ n+1 6
6
6
4

a1 sin p1 t
a2 sin p2 t

3
7
7
7
7
7
7
5

(67)
..
.
q (t)
an+1 sin pn+1 t
where oe ients ai (i = 1; 2;


; n + 1) in (67) should be determined by the initial velo ity
onditions (66), i.e.,
n
+1
X

ai p i = 0

(68)

ai pi
= 0 (j = 1; 2;


; n):
mj (!j2 p2i )

(69)

i=1
n
+1
X
i=1

After ai (i = 1; 2;


; n + 1) have been determined from (68) and (69), (t) and q (t) are then
obtained from (67). The linear impa t problem is thus ompletely solved.
13

6.5

Perturbation Solution

It is di ult to get an expli it solution of ai from (68) and (69). However, m0 =mj (j = 1;


; n)
are usually small omparing with 1. We an pursue a perturbation solution of ai from (68)
and (69).
First, if m0 =mj = 0; (j = 1;


; n), the i-th eigensolution an be obtained dire tly from
(60) and that
8
>
>
>
~i
>
>
<

= 1;

pi = !i ; Q~ i = (~qj )i = 0; (j = 1;


; n; j 6= i)
>
>
>
>
>
:(~
qi )i

(70)

= !!0i2 !i0i
(i = 1;


; n)

and
pn+1 = !0 ; Q~ n+1 =

8
>
<~n+1

=1

>
:(~
q)

j n+1

= 0; (j = 1;


; n)

(71)

Substituting (70) and (71) into (68) and (69), we get

a1 =


= an = 0; an+1 =

v0
:
!0

(72)

And from (67), we have

8
>
< (t)
>
:q (t)

= !v0 sin !0 t
=0

(73)

It is obvious that (73) is the ball-rigid body impa t solution for linear impa t model.
Now let the value of m0 =mj (j = 1;


; n) are all small
m0
= m
 j ; (j = 1;


; n)
mj

(74)

where  is a small hara teristi quantity. Taking (70) and (71) as the zero order approximate

14

solution, then onsider the following perturbation solution Eq. (60):

8
>
>
p2i
>
>
>
<

= !i2 + p2i

!02 !i2
+ (qi )i
(~
q
i )i =
2
>

(75)

! i i0
qj )i
j )i = (

>
>
>
>
:(~
q

and

8
>
<p2

n+1

>
:(q

= !02 + p2n+1 ;

(76)

qj )n+1
j )n+1 = (

where p2i ; (qi )i ; (qj )i ; p2n+1 , and (qj )n+1 are rst order perturbation terms whi h are undetermined.
Now substituting (75) and (76) into (60), and reserving only all the rst order terms, we
obtain the following perturbation solutions:
m0 !02 !i2 2i0


mi !i2 !02
n
2
2
m0
!04 i0
2i0
!02 X
0




+
(~qi )i = !0 2 !i + m
mi !i2 (!02 !i2 ) i0 j =i mj !i2 !j2
!i i0
p2i = !02 +

!
0


(~qj )i = m
(i = 1;


; n)
mj !j2 !i2

(77)

j =1

2
0 i0

and
n
X

m0 2i0
mj !j2 !02
j =1
= !02 m0 2i0 2 ; (j = 1;


; n) :
mj !j !0

Pn2+1 = !02 !04

(qi )n+1

(78)

Now onsider the perturbation solutions of (68) and (69). Assuming

8
>
<ai

>
:an+1

= ai ; (j = 1;


; n)
= !v0 + an+1
0

(79)

Substituting (79), (77) and (78) into (68) and (69), we have
8
>
>
i
<a

>
>
:a
n+1

2
2
= m0
v02!0 !i 2i02 ; (i = 1;


; n)
mi (!i !0 )
Pn m0 v0 !0 (!i2 + !02 )2i0

2(!2 !2)2
=
i=1
mi
0
i

15

(80)

At last, from (67) we get the rst order solution of the relative displa ement
(t ) =

n
+1
X
i=1

ai sin pi t

n


2
X
= v0 sin !0 1 !03 m0 2i0 2 t
!0
2 i=1 mi !i !0

n
X
m0
i=1

v0 !02 !i2i0
sin !i t
mi (!i2 !02 )2

m0 v0 !0 (!i2 + !02 )2i0 

sin !0 t
mi 2(!i2 !02 )2
i=1

n
X

(81)

>From above solution (81) we ome to the following on lusions:

1. The major pattern of ball-elasti stru ture impa t is not very far from that of the orresponding ball-rigid body impa tion, whi h is expressed by (t) = mv00 sin !0 t. This
fundamental pattern is purely due to the lo al deformation at the impa t regions.
2. The additional ee t of the stru ture elasti ity is mainly due to these normal modes
whose natural frequen ies !i are not very far from the impa t frequen y !0 .
7

Perturbation Solution for Non-linear Impa t Equa-

tion

The perturbation method also an be used to solve the non-linear impa t equation (44). For
the sake of onvenien e, dierentiate eq. (44) twi e with respe t to time t and then integrate
it on e with respe t to spa e . The result is
Z 
n


2 Z t
 32 ( )
os ! j ( )d d :
_ 2 1 +  52 = 5 X m0 i0 _ () d

2 j =1 mj 0
d 0

(82)

When m0 =mj = 0; (j = 1;


; n), the zero order solution 0 (t) is just the solution (29) for
ball-rigid body model. Its non-dimensional form is
Z 0
0

dx

1 x

5
2

= t

(83)

The urve (83) is shown in Fig. 1 by the solid line, whi h an be approximated by a half
period sine urve:
0 (t) = sin e0 t
16

(84)

where
e0 =


2

 1:0674

(85)

and is dened by (30). The urve (84) is also shown in Fig. 1 by the line of dashes.
Now let us onsider the perturbation solution of (82). Assuming m0 =mj (j = 1;


; n) are
small quantities just as before, set
(t) = 0 (t) + 1 (t)

(86)

where 1 (t) is an unknown rst order perturbation term. Substituting (86) into (82), reserving
the rst order terms only, we get
!

Z  3
Z t
n
2
02 ( ) X m0 i0 os ! j ( )d d
_0 _1 + 5 032 1 = 5 _0 () d

4
4 0
mj
d 0
j =1

(87)

>From (83) we further have

0 = 5 032
4

(88)

Substituting above equation into (87), we get

!

Z 
n
  Z t
0 ( ) X m0 2i0 os ! j ( )d d
_02 d 1 = _ 0 () d
dt _ 0
mj
d 0
0
j =1

(89)

whi h an be further integrated out as

1 (t) = _0 (t)

Z t
0

f ()
d
2
_ 0 ()

(90)

where
f () =

Z 
0

_0 ()

d
d

Z 
0

0 ( )

n
X
m0 2j 0
j =1

mj

os ! j ( )d d

(91)

Approximately substituting (84) into (91), f () an be simply integrated out as

f () = e40

m0 2i0 h ! j
!j os ! j 
os e0  + e0 sin ! j 
sin e0 )
2
2 )2 (
m
(
e
!

j
0
j
j =1

n
X

! j2
(e20 ! j2 )2

sin2 e0  i :
2(e20 ! j2 )
17

(92)

Substituting it into (90) the rst order perturbation term is obtained as

1 (t) = e30

1 C (t) ;
m0 2i0
2
m
(
e
! j2 )2 j
j
0
j =1

n
X

(93)

where
Cj (t) = os e0 t
Z t
! j (!j os ! j 
os e0  + e0 sin ! j 
sin e0 )
os2 e0 
0

e20 !
 j2

sin2 e0  ! j2

d

(94)

It an be veried that Cj (t) is a bounded fun tion. So eq. (93) shows that all those terms
in the summation whose ! j is mu h larger than e0  1:064 ould be negle ted be ause their
attribution to the summation are too small to ount in. Only those terms whose ! j is not
very far from e0 have essential ee t on the value of j (t). This means that all the ee t of the
higher modes on the impa t an be omitted. Meanwhile, if !0 is large enough, the lower j -th
modes ! j = !j =!0 are also very small. In these ases, the ee t of lower modes an also be
negle ted. These on lusions dedu ed from nonlinear theory are onsistent with that of linear
theory at the end of se tion 6.

18

Referen es

[1 Flugge, W. (1962). Handbook of Engineering Me hani s, M Graw-Hill Book Company,

In .
[2 Timosenko, S. and Goodier, J.N. (1951). Theory of Elasti ity, M Graw-Hill Book Company, In .
[3 Zhang, W., (1983). Impulsive Equation by Pseduo-Velo ities and Its Matrix Solution,
ACTA Me hani a Solida Sini a No. 4, 520-531.

19

Fig. 1

20