Dynamic analysis of beam-cable coupled systems using Chebyshev spectral element method

The dynamic characteristics of a beam–cable cou-pled system are investigated using an improved Chebyshev spectral element method in order to observe the effects of adding cables on the beam. The system is modeled as a double Timoshenko beam system interconnected by discrete springs. Utilizing Chebyshev series expansion and mesh-ing the system according to the locations of its connections, numerical results of the natural frequencies and mode shapes are obtained using only a few elements,and the results are validated by comparing them with the results of a finite-element method.Then the effects of the cable parameters and layout of connections on the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a fixed-pinned beam are studied.The results show that the modes of a beam–cable coupled system can be classi-fied into two types,beam mode and cable mode,according to the dominant deformation.To avoid undesirable vibrations of the cable,its parameters should be controlled in a reasonable range,or the layout of the connections should be optimized.