A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF IMPACT AND LINEAR-ELASTIC/PERFECTLY-PLASTIC NONLINEARITIES ON STRUCTURAL DYNAMIC BEHAVIORS

Nonlinearities can considerably affect the linear behaviors of structural systems; specifically, when inertial forces are of high importance. This paper presents a comparison between the effects of two types of nonlinear dynamic behaviors; 1) impact, and 2) linear-elastic/perfectly-plastic behaviors, significantly effectual in the damages of the past earthquakes. To briefly state the conclusion; whereas, the main effect of elastic-plastic behavior is changing the static equilibrium statuses of structural systems, impact affects the responses frequency contents.