Interactive Physical Experiments in an Advanced Undergraduate Structural Dynamics Course

This paper describes a number of physical models and hands-on lab activities incorporated in an advanced undergraduate structural dynamics lecture and laboratory course pairing offered within the Architectural Engineering department at California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo. These course modifications were designed and implemented in the Winter 2018 quarter to enable students to: Collect acceleration data during free or forced vibration tests using a smartphone accelerometer application to generate data plots in Matlab; Conduct free vibration tests on various single-degree of freedom (SDOF) systems to investigate effects of varying mass, stiffness/height, material type, and damping type (pendulum or sloshing damper) on structural period and damping behavior; Observe and analyze data from forced vibration tests using a small-scale shake table or eccentric mass shaker for various SDOF systems, diaphragms, and multi-story frames to understand natural frequency, dynamic amplification, and mode shapes; and Execute a parametric study using Matlab interface that animates modal and time history response of a rigid diaphragm to illustrate impacts of changing mass, geometry, or