An investigation into the vibration analysis of a plate with a surface crack of variable angular orientation

An analytical approach is presented for the forced vibration analysis of a plate containing a surface crack of variable angular orientation, based on three different boundary conditions. The method is based on classical plate theory. Firstly, the equation of motion is derived for the plate containing the angled surface crack with respect to one side of the plate and subjected to transverse harmonic excitation. The crack formulation representing the angled surface crack is based on a simplified line-spring model. Then, by employing the Berger formulation, the derived governing equation of motion of the cracked plate model is transformed into a cubic nonlinear system. The nonlinear behaviour of the cracked plate model is thus investigated from the amplitude–frequency equation by use of the multiple scales perturbation method. For both cracked square and rectangular plate models, the influence of the boundary conditions, the crack orientation angle, crack length, and location of the point load is demonstrated. It is found that the vibration characteristics and nonlinear characteristics of the plate structure can be greatly affected by the orientation of the crack in the plate. Finally the validity of the developed model is shown through comparison of the results with experimental work.     

Vibration analysis of a rectangular thin isotropic plate with a part-through surface crack of arbitrary orientation and position

In this paper, vibration analysis of a rectangular thin isotropic plate with a part-through surface crack of arbitrary orientation and position is performed by using the Kirchhoff plate theory. Simply supported (SSSS), clamped (CCCC) and simply supported–clamped (SCSC) boundary conditions are considered for the analysis. First, the governing differential equation of a cracked plate is formulated. A modified line spring model is then used to formulate the crack terms in the governing equation. Next, by the application of Burger's formulation, the differential equation is transformed into the well-known Duffing equation with cubic and quadratic nonlinearities. The Duffing equation is then solved by the method of multiple scales (MMS) to extract the frequency response curve. Natural frequencies are evaluated for different values of length, angle and position of a part-through surface crack. Some results are compared with the published literature. Amplitude variation with different values of length, angle and position of a part-through surface crack are presented, for all three types of the plate boundary conditions.     

A novel method for crack detection in beam-like structures by measurements of natural frequencies

A novel method is proposed for calculating the natural frequencies of a multiple cracked beam and detecting unknown number of multiple cracks from the measured natural frequencies. First, an explicit expression of the natural frequencies through crack parameters is derived as a modification of the Rayleigh quotient for the multiple cracked beams that differ from the earlier ones by including nonlinear terms with respect to crack severity. This expression provides a simple tool for calculating the natural frequencies of the beam with arbitrary number of cracks instead of solving the complicated characteristic equation. The obtained nonlinear expression for natural frequencies in combination with the so-called crack scanning method proposed recently by the authors allowed the development of a novel procedure for consistent identification of unknown amount of cracks in the beam with a limited number of measured natural frequencies. The developed theory has been illustrated and validated by both numerical and experimental results.     

The use of roving discs and orthogonal natural frequencies for crack identification and location in rotors

A variety of approaches that have been developed for the identification and localisation of cracks in a rotor system, which exploit natural frequencies, require a finite element model to obtain the natural frequencies of the intact rotor as baseline data. In fact, such approaches can give erroneous results about the location and depth of a crack if an inaccurate finite element model is used to represent an uncracked model. A new approach for the identification and localisation of cracks in rotor systems, which does not require the use of the natural frequencies of an intact rotor as a baseline data, is presented in this paper. The approach, named orthogonal natural frequencies (ONFs), is based only on the natural frequencies of the non-rotating cracked rotor in the two lateral bending vibration x–z and y–z planes. The approach uses the cracked natural frequencies in the horizontal x–z plane as the reference data instead of the intact natural frequencies. Also, a roving disc is traversed along the rotor in order to enhance the dynamics of the rotor at the cracked locations. At each spatial location of the roving disc, the two ONFs of the rotor–disc system are determined from which the corresponding ONF ratio is computed. The ONF ratios are normalised by the maximum ONF ratio to obtain normalised orthogonal natural frequency curves (NONFCs). The non-rotating cracked rotor is simulated by the finite element method using the Bernoulli–Euler beam theory. The unique characteristics of the proposed approach are the sharp, notched peaks at the crack locations but rounded peaks at non-cracked locations. These features facilitate the unambiguous identification and locations of cracks in rotors. The effects of crack depth, crack location, and mass of a roving disc are investigated. The results show that the proposed method has a great potential in the identification and localisation of cracks in a non-rotating cracked rotor.     

A general solution procedure for vibrations of systems with cubic nonlinearities and nonlinear/time-dependent internal boundary conditions

The subject of this paper is the development of a general solution procedure for the vibrations (primary resonance and nonlinear natural frequency) of systems with cubic nonlinearities, subjected to nonlinear and time-dependent internal boundary conditions—this is a commonly occurring situation in the vibration analysis of continuous systems with intermediate elements. The equations of motion form a set of nonlinear partial differential equations with nonlinear, time-dependent, and coupled internal boundary conditions. The method of multiple timescales, an approximate analytical method, is applied directly to each partial differential equation of motion as well as coupled boundary conditions (i.e. on each sub-domain and the corresponding internal boundary conditions for a continuous system with intermediate elements) which ultimately leads to approximate analytical expressions for the frequency-response relation and nonlinear natural frequencies of the system. These closed-form solutions provide direct insight into the relationship between the system parameters and vibration characteristics of the system. Moreover, the suggested solution procedure is applied to a sample problem which is discussed in detail.     

Free vibration analysis of beams and frames with multiple cracks for damage detection

The problem of calculating the natural frequencies of beams with multiple cracks and frames with cracked beams is studied. The natural frequencies are obtained using a new method in which a rotational spring model is used to represent the cracks. For beams, dynamic stiffness matrices of order 4 are obtained in a recursive manner, according to the number of cracks, by applying partial Gaussian elimination. The Wittrick–Williams algorithm is used to compute the natural frequencies in the resulting transcendental eigenvalue problem. Published numerical examples for cracked beams are used for validation. The global dynamic stiffness matrix of a frame with multiply cracked members is then assembled. A published two bay frame example is used to evaluate the new method. The effect of changing the location of a crack in a two bay two storey frame is studied numerically, giving insight into the inverse problem of damage detection.     

DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR OF A CRACKED SOLDERED JOINT

The two-dimensional “in-plane” time-harmonic elastodynamic problem for a multi-layered cracked soldered joint system is studied. This problem is solved by using a hybrid of both displacement and hyper-singular traction boundary integral equation method. The proposed method directly accounts for the effect of the outer boundary of a finite multi-layered body and the interaction between the internal and interface cracks. The open fracture model is used to present the interface crack. Numerical results are shown and discussed to reveal the effect of the existence and sizes of cracks, the crack interaction, the debonding effect, the influence of the wave frequency and the type of the material combination on the crack-tip fracture parameters and the displacement scattered far field.     

Vibration based algorithm for crack detection in cantilever beam containing two different types of cracks

In this paper, a simple method for detection of multiple edge cracks in Euler–Bernoulli beams having two different types of cracks is presented based on energy equations. Each crack is modeled as a massless rotational spring using Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) theory, and a relationship among natural frequencies, crack locations and stiffness of equivalent springs is demonstrated. In the procedure, for detection of m cracks in a beam, 3m equations and natural frequencies of healthy and cracked beam in two different directions are needed as input to the algorithm.     

Coupled horizontal and vertical bending vibrations of a stationary shaft with two cracks

This paper investigates the coupled bending vibrations of a stationary shaft with two cracks. It is known from the literature that, when a crack exists in a shaft, the bending, torsional, and longitudinal vibrations are coupled. This study focuses on the horizontal and vertical planes of a cracked shaft, whose bending vibrations are caused by a vertical excitation, in the clamped end of the model. When the crack orientations are not symmetrical to the vertical plane, a response in the horizontal plane is observed due to the presence of the cracks. The crack orientation is defined by the rotational angle of the crack, a parameter which affects the horizontal response. When more cracks appear in a shaft, then the coupling becomes stronger or weaker depending on the relative crack orientations. It is shown that a double peak appears in the vibration spectrum of a cracked or multi-cracked shaft.Modeling the crack in the traditional manner, as a spring, yields analytical results for the horizontal response as a function of the rotational angle and the depths of the two cracks. A 2×2 compliance matrix, containing two non-diagonal terms (those responsible for the coupling) serves to model the crack. Using the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory, the equations for the natural frequencies and the coupled response of the shaft are defined. The experimental coupled response and eigenfrequency measurements for the corresponding planes are presented. The double peak was also experimentally observed.     

Accurate vibration analysis of thick, cracked rectangular plates

This work applies the Ritz method to accurately determine the frequencies and nodal patterns of thick, cracked rectangular plates analyzed using Mindlin plate theory. Two types of cracked configuration are considered, namely, side crack and internal crack. To enhance the capabilities of the Ritz method in dealing with cracked plates, new sets of admissible functions are proposed to represent the behaviors of true solutions along the crack. The proposed admissible functions appropriately describe the stress singularity behaviors around a crack tip and the discontinuities of transverse displacement and bending rotations across the crack. The present solutions monotonically converge to the exact frequencies as upper bounds when the number of admissible functions increases. The validity and accuracy of the present solutions are confirmed through comprehensive convergence studies and comparison with the published results based on the classical thin plate theory. The proposed approach is further employed to investigate the effects of the length, location, and orientation of crack on frequencies and nodal patterns of simply supported and cantilevered cracked rectangular plates. The results shown are the first ones available in the published literature.     

The propagation of in-plane P-SV waves in a layered elastic plate with periodic interface cracks: exact versus spring boundary conditions

The propagation of in-plane (P-SV) waves in a symmetrically three-layered thick plate with a periodic array of interface cracks is investigated. The exact dispersion relation is derived based on an integral equation approach and Floquet's theorem. The interface cracks can be a model for interface damage, but a much simpler model is a recently developed spring boundary condition. This boundary condition is used for the thick plate and also in the derivation of plate equations with the help of power series expansions in the thickness coordinate. For low frequencies (cracks small compared to the wavelength) the three approaches give more or less coinciding dispersion curves, and this is a confirmation that the spring boundary condition is a reasonable approximation at low frequencies.     

CRACK IDENTIFICATION IN VIBRATING BEAMS USING THE ENERGY METHOD

An energy-based numerical model is developed to investigate the influence of cracks on structural dynamic characteristics during the vibration of a beam with open crack(s). Upon the determination of strain energy in the cracked beam, the equivalent bending stiffness over the beam length is computed. The cracked beam is then taken as a continuous system with varying moment of intertia, and equations of transverse vibration are obtained for a rectangular beam containing one or two cracks. Galerkin's method is applied to solve for the frequencies and vibration modes. To identify the crack, the frequency contours with respect to crack depth and location are defined and plotted. The intersection of contours from different modes could be used to identify the crack location and depth.     

Accurate free vibration analysis of thick laminated circular plates with attached rigid core

This paper deals with the free vibration behavior of laminated transversely isotropic circular plates with axisymmetric rigid core attached at the center. The governing equations of motion are obtained based on Mindlin's first-order shear deformation plate theory. Two possible categories of vibration modes related to up-down translation of the core and wobbly rotation of the core about a diameter are studied. Accurate natural frequencies hitherto not reported in the literature are presented for a wide range of thickness-to-radius ratio, inner-to-outer radius ratio, mass and moment of inertia ratios of the core and various boundary conditions at the outer edge of the plate. Numerical results are compared with those of a three-dimensional finite element method (3-D FEM) to demonstrate the high accuracy and reliability of the current analysis.     

An approximate method for determining the static deflection and natural frequency of a cracked beam

This paper provides an approximate method to determine the stiffness and the fundamental frequency of a cracked beam. The cracked beam is first represented as an un-cracked beam with equivalent reduced sections around the cracks. The effect of the cracks is explained, visualised and quantified using the equivalence concept developed for stepped beams with periodically variable cross-sections. Then an alternative expression of the improved Rayleigh method is provided to calculate the natural frequencies of a beam with a variable stiffness distribution along its length. As the method is insensitive to the assumed mode shapes, it avoids the difficulty in choosing appropriate mode shapes and yields accurate results. This is shown using several examples to compare the results determined using the proposed method and the Finite Element method (FEM). The method greatly simplifies the calculation of cracked beams with complicated configurations, such as a beam with several cracks, a cracked beam with concentrated masses, a beam with cracks close to each other, and a beam with periodically distributed cracks.     

Crack as modulator,detector and amplifier in structural health monitoring

A model of a one-dimensional cracked cantilever bar subjected to longitudinal harmonic excitation is used to analyse a nonlinear response as a way to monitor structural health. The effect of the bilinear (nonlinear) character of the crack on the dynamics of the structure is studied. Simulation and experiments were performed to analyse the nonlinear behaviour of the cracked bar. In simulation the nonlinear information is obtained based on a combination of the analytical technique and the Matlab–Simulink computation. From analysis and experiment, it is found that the crack-induced nonlinearity leads to the generation of higher harmonics, whose intensity is a function of a distance from the crack. Side band frequencies were clearly revealed as well. The latter indicate modulation of exciting frequency due to systematic interaction of crack faces. The nonlinear transformation of modulated vibration by crack leads to generation of a low frequency periodic component. Its intensity is proportional to the forced response of the cracked bar at the exciting frequency. The phenomenology revealed can be effective for Structural Health Monitoring.     

Reduced-order modeling for mistuned centrifugal impellers with crack damages

An efficient method for nonlinear vibration analysis of mistuned centrifugal impellers with crack damages is presented. The main objective is to investigate the effects of mistuning and cracks on the vibration features of centrifugal impellers and to explore effective techniques for crack detection. Firstly, in order to reduce the input information needed for component mode synthesis (CMS), the whole model of an impeller is obtained by rotation transformation based on the finite element model of a sector model. Then, a hybrid-interface method of CMS is employed to generate a reduced-order model (ROM) for the cracked impeller. The degrees of freedom on the crack surfaces are retained in the ROM to simulate the crack breathing effects. A novel approach for computing the inversion of large sparse matrix is proposed to save memory space during model order reduction by partitioning the matrix into many smaller blocks. Moreover, to investigate the effects of mistuning and cracks on the resonant frequencies, the bilinear frequency approximation is used to estimate the resonant frequencies of the mistuned impeller with a crack. Additionally, statistical analysis is performed using the Monte Carlo simulation to study the statistical characteristics of the resonant frequencies versus crack length at different mistuning levels. The results show that the most significant effect of mistuning and cracks on the vibration response is the shift and split of the two resonant frequencies with the same nodal diameters. Finally, potential quantitative indicators for detection of crack of centrifugal impellers are discussed.     

Nonlinear free transverse vibrations of in-plane moving plates: Without and with internal resonances

In this paper, nonlinear free transverse vibrations of in-plane moving plates subjected to plane stresses are investigated. The Hamilton principle is applied to derive the governing equation and the associated boundary conditions. The method of multiple scales is employed to analyze the nonlinear partial differential equation. The solvability conditions are established in the cases without internal resonance and with 3:1 or 1:1 internal resonances. Some numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effects of in-plane moving speeds on the frequencies. The nonlinear frequencies of the in-plane moving plate without internal resonances are numerically calculated. The relationship between the nonlinear frequencies and the initial amplitudes is showed at different in-plane moving speeds and the nonlinear coefficients, respectively. It is feasible to investigate resonances without the modes not involved in the resonances. The effects of the related parameters are demonstrated for the case of 3:1 and 1:1 internal resonances, respectively. The differential quadrature scheme is developed to solve numerically the governing equation and confirm results via the method of multiple scales.     

Modal analysis of circular plates with radial side cracks and in contact with water on one side based on the Rayleigh–Ritz method

In this paper, free vibrations of the baffled circular plates with radial side cracks and in contact with water on one side are investigated based on the Rayleigh–Ritz method. The completely free, simply supported and completely clamped boundary conditions are considered. Corner functions are introduced to describe the singularities at the crack tip. The motion of water is expressed by the velocity potential and the interaction between the water and the plate is derived in the form of an integral equation including the dynamic deformation of the cracked plate. The convergence studies are carried out and the numerical results show that the distinctions between the dry and wet mode shapes will be increased obviously excluding the first symmetric and antisymmetric modes when cracks appear. When the approximate methods based on the assumption that the wet modes are identical with the dry modes are adopted to calculate the eigenfrequencies, the errors of the results for cracked circular plates are larger than those for intact ones. The influences of the water on the symmetric and antisymmetric modes are different evidently, and the greatest reduction ratio of eigenfrequency and least difference between dry and wet mode are relative to the first symmetric mode. The verifications based on numerical simulation show that the proposed method is adequate for the investigation of free vibration of baffled circular plates with radial side cracks and in contact with water on one side.     

Meshless formulation using NURBS basis functions for eigenfrequency changes of beam having multiple open-cracks

This paper presents a meshless formulation using non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) basis functions, and its applications to evaluate natural frequencies of a beam having multiple open-cracks. Node-based NURBS basis functions are used to construct the approximation function. The characteristic differentiability of the NURBS basis functions allows it to represent a function having specific degrees of smoothness and/or discontinuity. The discontinuity can be incorporated simply by assigning multiple knots at those locations. Hence, it can yield exact solutions having interior discontinuous derivatives. These advantages of NURBS are well known, and have been used extensively in graphical approximation of geometrical surfaces. However, it is seldom used in other engineering applications. To model the multiple open-cracks in a beam, quartic NURBS basis functions are employed and quadruplicate knots are assigned at the crack locations. Hence, it is capable to model the abrupt changes of slope (the first derivative of displacement) across a crack. In the present applications, additional equivalent massless rotational springs are inserted at the crack locations to represent the local flexibility caused by the cracks. As such, the cracked beam can be treated in the usual manner as a continuous beam. By adopting the meshless Petrov–Galerkin formulation, a generalized stiffness matrix for the cracked beam can be derived. Compared to the conventional finite element method, the present method does not require a finite element mesh for the purposes of interpolation and numerical integration. The advantages and effectiveness of the present method is illustrated in solving the eigenfrequencies of a beam having multiple open-cracks of different depths.     

Frequencies of Lock Gate Structure Coupled with Reservoir Fluid

This study determines the natural frequencies of the lock gate structure, considering the coupled effect of reservoir fluid on one side using the finite element method (FEM). The gate is assumed to be a uniformly thick plate, and its material is isotropic, homogeneous, and elastic. The reservoir fluid is assumed to be inviscid and incompressible in an irrotational flow field. The length of the reservoir domain is truncated using the far boundary condition by adopting the Fourier series expansion theory. Two different assumptions on the free surface, i.e., undisturbed and linearized, are considered in the fluid domain analysis. The computer code is written based on the developed finite element formulations. The natural frequencies of the lock gate are computed when interacting with and without reservoir fluid. Several numerical problems are studied considering the effects of boundary conditions, aspect ratios, and varying dimensions of the gate and the fluid domain. The frequencies of gate reduce significantly due to the presence of fluid. The frequencies increase when the fluid extends to either side of the gate. The frequencies reduce when the depth of the fluid domain above the top edge of the gate increases. The frequencies drop considerably when the free surface condition is taken into account. The results of frequencies of lock gate structure may be useful to the designer if it is experienced in natural catastrophes.