ON THE RELATION BETWEEN COMPLEX MODES AND WAVE PROPAGATION PHENOMENA

Abstract This paper discusses the well-known, but often misunderstood, concept of complex modes of dynamic structures. It shows how complex modes can be interpreted in terms of wave propagation phenomena caused by either localized damping or propagation to the surrounding media. Numerical simulation results are presented for different kinds of structures exhibiting modal and wave propagation characteristics: straight beams, an L-shaped beam, and a three-dimensional frame structure. The input/output transfer relations of these structures are obtained using a spectral formulation known as the spectral element method (SEM). With this method, it is straightforward to use infinite elements, usually known as throw-off elements, to represent the propagation to infinity, which is a possible cause of modal complexity. With the SEM model, the exact dynamic behavior of structures can be investigated. The mode complexity of these structures is investigated. It is shown that mode complexity characterizes a behavior that is half-way between purely modal and purely propagative. A coefficient for quantifying mode complexity is introduced. The mode complexity coefficient consists of the correlation coefficient between the real and imaginary parts of the eigenvector, or of the operational deflection shape (ODS). It is shown that, far from discontinuities, this coefficient is zero in the case of pure wave propagation in which case the plot of the ODS in the complex plane is a perfect circle. In the other extreme situation, a finite structure without damping (or with proportional damping), where the mode shape (or the ODS) is a straight line on the complex plane, has a unitary complexity coefficient. For simple beam structures, it is shown that the mode complexity factor can also be calculated by curve-fitting the mode to an ellipse and computing the ratio of its radii.