Transient response in flexure to general uni-directional loads of variable cross-section beam with concentrated tip inertias immersed in a fluid

This paper presents a method for solving problems of transient response in flexure due to general unidirectional dynamic loads of beams of variable cross section with tip inertias. An elastodynamic theory which includes effects of continuous mass and rigidity of the beam has been applied. In the analysis the general dynamic load is expanded into a Fourier series and the beam is divided into many small uniform thickness segments. The equation of motion of each segment is mapped onto the complex domain by use of the Laplace transform method. The solutions of each set of adjoining segments are related to each other at the boundaries by the use of the transfer matrix method. The displacement, the bending slope, the bending moment and the shearing force at each boundary and at arbitrary time are obtained from the Laplace transform inversion integral by using the residue theorem. The theoretical results given in this paper are applicable to problems of dynamic response due to arbitrary loads varying with time of beams of arbitrary shape with concentrated tip inertias. As applications of the present theoretical results, numerical calculations have been carried out for two cases: a uniform beam with a tip inertia and a non-uniform beam (a truncated cone) with a tip inertia. Both are immersed in a fluid and subjected to large waves such as cnoidal waves.