A ‘multiple determinant parabolic interpolation method’ is described and evaluated, principally by using a plane frame test-bed program. It is intended primarily for solving the transcendental eigenvalue problems arising when the ‘exact’ member equations obtained by solving the governing differential equations of members are used to find the eigenvalues (i.e. critical buckling loads or undamped natural frequencies) of structures. The method has five stages which together ensure successful convergence on the required eigenvalues in all circumstances. Thus, whenever checks indicate its suitability, parabolic interpolation is used to obtain eigenvalues more rapidly than would the popular bisection alternative. The checks also ensure a wise choice of the determinant used by the interpolation. The determinants available are all usually zero at eigenvalues, and comprise the determinant of the overall stiffness matrix Kn and the determinants which result, with negligible extra computation, from effectively considering all except the last m (m=1, 2,…, n−1) freedoms to which Kn corresponds as internal substructure freedoms. Tests showed time savings compared to bisection of 31 per cent when finding non-coincident eigenvalues to relative accuracy ϵ = 10−4, increasing to 62 per cent when ϵ = 10−8. The tests also showed time savings of about 10 per cent compared with an earlier Newtonian approach. The method requires no derivatives and its use in the widely available space frame program BUNVIS-RG has demonstrated how easily it can replace bisection, which was used in the earlier program BUNVIS.
[1]
R. K. Livesley,et al.
Stability functions for structural frameworks
,
1956
.
[2]
Michael R. Horne,et al.
The stability of frames
,
1965
.
[3]
F. W. Williams,et al.
A GENERAL ALGORITHM FOR COMPUTING NATURAL FREQUENCIES OF ELASTIC STRUCTURES
,
1971
.
[4]
F. W. Williams,et al.
An Algorithm for Computing Critical Buckling Loads of Elastic Structures
,
1973
.
[5]
Frederic W. Williams,et al.
Exact Buckling and Frequency Calculations Surveyed
,
1983
.
[6]
J. R. Banerjee,et al.
Concise equations and program for exact eigensolutions of plane frames including member shear
,
1983
.
[7]
A. Simpson.
On the solution of S(ω)x=0 by a Newtonian procedure
,
1984
.
[8]
J. R. Banerjee,et al.
Evaluation of efficiently computed exact vibration characteristics of space platforms assembled from stayed columns
,
1984
.
[9]
D. B. Warnaar,et al.
User manual for BUNVIS-RG: an exact buckling and vibration program for lattice structures, with repetitive geometry and substructuring options
,
1986
.
[10]
Inclusion of elastically connected members in exact buckling and frequency calculations
,
1986
.
[11]
F. W. Williams,et al.
BUNVIS-RG - Exact frame buckling and vibration program, with repetitive geometry and substructuring
,
1987
.