Computation of Rayleigh Damping Coefficients for the Seismic Analysis of a Hydro-Powerhouse

Abstract

The mass and stiffness of the upper and lower structures of a powerhouse are different. As such, the first two vibration modes mostly indicate the dynamic characteristics of the upper structure, and the precise seismic response of a powerhouse is difficult to obtain on the basis of Rayleigh damping coefficients acquired using the fundamental frequencies of this structure. The damping ratio of each mode is relatively accurate when the least square method is used, but the accuracy of the damping ratios that contribute substantially to seismic responses is hardly ensured. The error of dynamic responses may even be amplified. In this study, modes that greatly influence these responses are found on the basis of mode participation mass, and Rayleigh damping coefficients are obtained. Seismic response distortion attributed to large differences in Rayleigh damping coefficients because of improper modal selection is avoided by using the proposed method, which is also simpler and more accurate than the least square method. Numerical experiments show that the damping matrix determined by using the Rayleigh damping coefficients identified by our method is closer to the actual value and the seismic response of the powerhouse is more reasonable than that revealed through the least square method.