what's "participation factors"

[jisb]

Hi,

From a natural frequency extraction procedure, there's also report on "participation factors". Could someone give me a hint what this is, and possibly point me to some reading materials? Thanks very much,

Sean

 

[Faycalby]

Hi jisb,

Actually, the particiapation factor references the effective mass being considered in the modale analysis. To increase that factor one need to consider more modes.

Faycal

 

[Drej]

Strictly speaking the participation factor (of a mode) is the square root of the effective mass. Hence, the square of the participation factor is the natural frequency for that mode, with a further square of the natural frequency being the eigenvalue for that mode.

See Clough & Penzien (Dynamics of Structures) and Anil Chopra (Dynamics of Structures) for more information.

Cheers,

-- drej --