1. Definition

The main aim of this document is to quantify the dynamic amplification of a time-dependent force F (t ) or time-dependent acceleration A (t ) (accelerogram), a type of stress found in many studies (earthquake, water hammer, shock, explosion, etc.).

Dynamic amplification expresses the amplifying effects of a structure on an applied force or acceleration. It is defined as the ratio of the maximum response to the maximum load, the latter being a force F (t ) or an acceleration A (t ).

If the maximum of the load depends only on time t, the maximum of the response to this load depends on time t, the natural pulsation of the oscillator in question ω and the reduced damping ζ.

As the reduced damping ζ is often fixed (ζ = 0.05 in general for steel structures), we will lighten the writing by not making the parameter ζ explicit...