Single-beam analysis of damaged beams: Comparison using Euler–Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theory

A new general formulation that is applicable to the damaged, linear elastic structures ‘unified framework’ is used to obtain analytical expressions for natural frequencies and mode shapes. The term mode shapes is used to mean the displacement modes, the section rotation modes, the sectional bending strain modes and sectional shear strain modes. The formulation is applicable to damaged elastic self-adjoint systems. The formulation has two unique aspects: First, the theory is mathematically rigorous since no assumptions are made regarding the physical behavior at a damage location, therefore there is no need to substitute the damage with a hypothetical elastic element such as a spring. Since the beam is not divided at the damage location, rather than an 8 by 8, only a 4 by 4 matrix is solved to obtain the natural frequencies and mode shapes. Second, the inertia effects due to damage which have till now been neglected by researchers are accounted for. The formulation uses a geometric damage model, perturbation of mode shapes and natural frequencies, and a modal superposition technique to obtain and solve the governing differential equation. Timoshenko beam theory is then taken as an example, and its results are compared with results using Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and finite element models. The range of applicability of the two theories is ascertained for damage characteristics such as depth and extent of damage and beam characteristics such as slenderness ratio and Poisson?s ratio. The paper considers rectangular notch like non-propagating damage as an example of the damage.     

Dynamic analysis of practical blades with shear center effect

Shear center effects on the natural frequencies and mode shapes of rotating and non-rotating practical blades are considered. An 18 degrees of freedom thick beam finite element is developed. Bending and shear force displacements and slopes, and torsional displacements are taken as degrees of freedom at both ends of the element. Total blade deflection slopes are considered as composed of bending and shear force deflection slopes in calculations of blade strain and kinetic energy. This element is compared with the existing thin and thick beam finite elements, and theoretical models. Results obtained for the vibration characteristics of rotating and non-rotating non-uniform aerofoil cross-sectioned blades are compared with the available calculated and experimental values. In all cases considered the element exhibits good convergence characteristics and produces accurate results.     

An automatic mode pairing strategy using an enhanced modal assurance criterion based on modal strain energies

In the context of finite element model updating using output-only vibration test data, natural frequencies and mode shapes are used as validation criteria. Consequently, the correct pairing of experimentally obtained and numerically derived natural frequencies and mode shapes is important. In many cases, only limited spatial information is available and noise is present in the measurements. Therefore, the automatic selection of the most likely numerical mode shape corresponding to a particular experimentally identified mode shape can be a difficult task. The most common criterion for indicating corresponding mode shapes is the modal assurance criterion. Unfortunately, this criterion fails in certain cases and is not reliable for automatic approaches.In this paper, the purely mathematical modal assurance criterion will be enhanced by additional physical information from the numerical model in terms of modal strain energies. A numerical example and a benchmark study with experimental data are presented to show the advantages of the proposed energy-based criterion in comparison to the traditional modal assurance criterion.     

Direct mode-shape expansion of a spatially incomplete measured mode by a hybrid-vector modification

A direct estimation method for expanding incomplete experimental mode shapes is presented. The approach adopts a hybrid vector which includes measured data at master degrees of freedom (dofs) and constant values at slave dofs. The constant values are refined by a set of mode-correction factors. Modelling errors between the analytical model and tested structure are also considered by introducing a series of model-correction factors. Initial-guess values of the mode-correction factors are used to decouple the coupled constructed equations, and an iterative technique for solving these equations is proposed. The results from a five-degree-of-freedom mass–spring system indicate that the proposed approach provided a better performance than the commonly used existing expansion methods and can reliably estimate unmeasured components of mode shapes, even in cases with limited modal measurements and severe measurement noise. The performance of the proposed method was also investigated using real measurements from a steel cantilever-beam experiment. Experimental data were measured by 20 accelerometers mounted at the cantilever beam: among these accelerometers, three of these were assumed to be measured, and the others were used to check the estimation accuracy of the proposed method. The results show that the unmeasured components in the mode shapes were properly estimated by implementing the proposed method, even for high-frequency modes.     

NATURAL VIBRATIONS OF LAMINATED COMPOSITE BEAMS BY USING MIXED FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING

A six-node, plane-stress mixed finite element model has been developed by using Hamilton's energy principle for the natural vibrations of laminated composite beams. Continuity of the transverse stress and displacement fields has been enforced through the thickness of the laminated beam in the formulation for proper modelling. The transverse stress components have been invoked as the nodal degrees of freedom by applying elasticity relations. Natural frequencies of laminated composite beams obtained through the present formulation have been shown to be in good agreement with the data available in the literature. Various mode shapes have also been presented as benchmark solutions.     

Mode shape expansion using perturbed force approach

A new approach for expanding incomplete experimental mode shapes is presented which considers the modelling errors in the analytical model and the uncertainties in the vibration modal data measurements. The proposed approach adopts the perturbed force vector that includes the effect of the discrepancy in mass and stiffness between the finite element model and the actual tested dynamic system. From the developed formulations, the perturbed force vector can be obtained from measured modal data and is then used for predicting the unmeasured components of the expanded experimental mode shapes. A special case that does not require the experimental natural frequency in the mode shape expansion process is also discussed. A regularization algorithm based on the Tikhonov solution incorporating the generalized cross-validation method is employed to filter out the influence of noise in measured modal data on the predictions of unmeasured mode components. The accuracy and robustness of the proposed approach is verified with respect to the size of measured data set, sensor location, model deficiency and measurement uncertainty. The results from two numerical examples, a plane frame structure and a thin plate structure, show that the proposed approach has the best performance compared with the commonly used existing expansion methods, and can reliably produce the predictions of mode shape expansion, even in the cases with limited modal data measurements, large modelling errors and severe measurement noise.     

Geometrical effects on the tuning of Chinese and Korean stone chimes

The vibrational mode frequencies and mode shapes of ancient stone chimes are analyzed and their dependence on stone shapes are discussed. Mode shapes and frequencies of several chime models are determined by using finite element methods, and these show good agreement with mode shapes and frequencies observed in Korean pyeongyeong chime stones using holographic interferometry and experimental modal testing. The dependence of mode shapes and frequencies on vertex angle and base curvature suggests that the geometries used in late Chinese bianqing and Korean pyeongyeong may have been selected to give the best sound.     

Probabilistic investigation of sensitivities of advanced test-analysis model correlation methods

The industry standard method used to validate finite element models involves correlation of test and analysis mode shapes using reduced Test-Analysis Models (TAMs). Some organizations even require this model validation approach. Considerable effort is required to choose sensor locations and to create a suitable TAM so that the test and analysis mode shapes will be orthogonal to within the required tolerance. This work uses a probabilistic framework to understand and quantify the effect of small errors in the test mode shapes on test-analysis orthogonality. Using the proposed framework, test-orthogonality is a probabilistic metric and the problem becomes one of choosing sensor placement and TAM generation techniques that assure that the orthogonality has a high probability of being within an acceptable range if the model is correct, even though the test measurements are contaminated with random errors. A simple analytical metric is derived that is shown to give a good estimate of the sensitivity of a TAM to errors in the test mode shapes for a certain noise model. These ideas are then applied to a generic satellite system, using TAMs generated by the Static, Modal and Improved Reduced System (IRS) reduction methods. Experimental errors are simulated for a set of mode shapes and Monte Carlo simulation is used to estimate the probability that the orthogonality metric exceeds a threshold due to experimental error alone. For the satellite system considered here, the orthogonality calculation is highly sensitive to experimental errors, so a set of noisy mode shapes has a small probability of passing the orthogonality criteria for some of the TAMs. A number of sensor placement techniques are used in this study, and the comparison reveals that, for this system, the Modal TAM is twice as sensitive to errors on the test mode shapes when it is created on a sensor set optimized for the Static TAM rather than one that was optimized specifically for the Modal TAM. These findings are evaluated in light of previously published studies of TAM sensitivity, and special attention is given to Gordis's theory, which suggest that TAM sensitivity is related to the natural frequencies of the structure when all measurement points are fixed. Some aspects of TAM sensitivity are problem dependent, so this one work cannot achieve a conclusive ranking of all of the available methodologies. Instead, this work focuses on presenting a set of tools and a probabilistic framework that can be used to correctly quantify TAM sensitivity and demonstrating the approach for one dynamic system and for a particular probabilistic model for the errors contaminating the test mode shapes.     

Vibration frequency of a curved blade with weighted edge

The natural vibration frequencies and mode shapes of a curved cylindrical blade with a weighted edge are investigated. A finite element method is used, in which curved cylindrical shell finite elements are utilized to model the blade. The weighted edge is modelled as a beam with its stiffness and mass added into the stiffness and mass of the blade. Vibration frequencies and mode shapes for blades with different boundary conditions and with different radii of curvature are obtained. Finite element results are compared with experimental results.     

Damage identification for beams in noisy conditions based on Teager energy operator-wavelet transform modal curvature

Modal curvatures have been widely used in the detection of structural damage. Attractive features of modal curvature include great sensitivity to damage and instant determination of damage location. However, an intrinsic deficiency in a modal curvature is its susceptibility to the measurement noise present in the displacement mode shape that produces the modal curvature, likely obscuring the features of damage. To address this deficiency, the Teager energy operator together with wavelet transform is tactically utilized to treat modal curvature, producing a new modal curvature, termed the Teager energy operator-wavelet transform modal curvature. This new modal curvature features distinct capabilities of suppressing noise, canceling global trends, and intensifying the singular feature caused by damage for a measured mode shape involving noise. These features maximize the sensitivity to damage and accuracy of damage localization. The proposed modal curvature is demonstrated in several analytical cases of cracked pinned–pinned, clamped–free and clamped–clamped beams, with emphasis on characterizing damage in noisy conditions, and it is further validated by an experimental program using a scanning laser vibrometer to acquire mode shapes of a cracked aluminum beam. The Teager energy operator-wavelet transform modal curvature essentially overcomes the deficiency of conventional modal curvature, providing a new dynamic feature well suited for damage characterization in noisy environments. (The Matlab code for implementing Teager energy operator-wavelet transform modal curvature can be provided by the corresponding author on request.)     

Experimental modal analysis of three small-scale vibration isolator models

This paper discusses the experimentally measured free–free dynamics of three small-scale vibration isolator models: two single-stage isolators and one two-stage isolator. The first comprises two steel plates and one rubber element, the second two steel plates and four rubber elements, and the third three steel plates and eight rubber elements. The natural frequencies, mode shapes and associated modal damping derived from curve-fitting procedures applied to the measured frequency-response functions (FRFs) are presented. The modal behaviour of the isolators is more complicated than might at first be assumed, a major feature being significant coupling between different degrees of freedom. The modal properties can be used to reconstruct a complete set of FRFs for the isolator, including FRFs which were not measured directly. Vibration isolators are often characterised through the use of four-pole parameters or various transmissibilities, and so methods for calculating these parameters from the reconstructed FRFs are also given.     

A NEW METHOD FOR IN-PLANE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF CIRCULAR RINGS WITH WIDELY DISTRIBUTED DEVIATION

A new analytical method was developed to predict the in-plane mode shapes and the natural frequencies of a ring with widely distributed deviation. The Laplace transform was used to find the exact solution of eigenvalue problem without assuming any trial functions and finite elements. The widely distributed deviation was effectively formulated in the theory using Gauss-Legendre quadrature. The validity of the proposed method was examined through finite element analysis and modal test. The effects of partial change of the density, the stiffness, and the thickness on the natural frequencies of the ring were investigated.     

VIBRATIONS OF NON-UNIFORM CONTINUOUS BEAMS UNDER MOVING LOADS

The dynamic behavior of multi-span non-uniform beams transversed by a moving load at a constant and variable velocity is investigated. The continuous beam is modelled using Bernoulli-Euler beam theory. The solution is obtained by using both the modal analysis method and the direct integration method. The natural frequencies and mode shapes used in the solution of this problem are obtained exactly by deriving the exact dynamic stiffness matrices for any polynomial variation of the cross-section along the beam using the exact element method. The mode shapes are expressed as infinite polynomial series. Using the exact mode shapes yields the exact solution for general variation of the beam section in case of constant and variable velocity. Numerical examples are presented in order to demonstrate the accuracy and the effectiveness of the present study, and the results are compared to previously published results.     

Structural-acoustic coupling effect on the nonlinear natural frequency of a rectangular box with one flexible plate

The nonlinear natural frequency of a rectangular box, which consists of one flexible plate and five rigid plates, is studied in this paper. The flexible plate is assumed to vibrate like a simple piston. The behavior of the structural-acoustic coupling between the flexible plate and the air cavity is analyzed by using the proposed finite element modal method. The system finite element equation is reduced and expressed in terms of the modal coordinates with small degrees of freedom by using the proposed reduction method. The system nonlinear stiffness matrix representing the large amplitude vibration can be transformed to be a constant modal matrix. The natural frequencies are determined by using the harmonic balance method to solve the eigenvalue equations of the structural-acoustic system. The effect of the cavity depth on the natural frequencies and convergence studies are discussed in detail.     

Regularised finite element model updating using measured incomplete modal data

This paper presents an effective approach for directly updating finite element model from measured incomplete vibration modal data with regularised algorithms. The proposed method is based on the relationship between the perturbation of structural parameters such as stiffness change and the modal data measurements of the tested structure such as measured mode shape readings. In order to adjust structural parameters at detailed locations, structural updating parameters will be selected at critical point level to reflect the modelling errors at the connections of structural elements. These updating parameters are then evaluated by an iterative or a direct solution procedure, which gives optimised solutions in the least squares sense without requiring an optimisation technique. In order to reduce the influence of modal measurement uncertainty, the Tikhonov regularisation method incorporating the L-curve criterion is employed to produce reliable solutions for the chosen updating parameters. Numerical simulation investigations and experimental studies for the laboratory tested space steel frame structure are undertaken to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed methods for adjusting the stiffness at the joints of structural members. The results demonstrate that the proposed methods provide reliable estimates of finite element model updating using the measured incomplete modal data.     

A note on vibration of a cantilever plate immersed in water

The added mass of the fluid surrounding it plats an important role in the dynamic behaviour of a submerged structure. The first few mode shapes and the respective natural frequencies of a submerged cantilever plate are found by using a finite element procedure, eigenvalues being obtained by a simultaneous iteration technique. The influence of the water depth below the plate and also of the water's lateral extent is considered, in order to test the convergency of the results. Results on the effects of the depth of immersion on the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the cantilever plate for different aspect ratios are presented.     

Analysis of mode shapes of a rigidly backed cylindrical foam using three-dimensional finite element acoustical analysis

In this study, the three-dimensional finite element frequency domain acoustical analysis is used to determine the modal shapes of cylindrical foam with a rigid backing and subjected to a unit normal incidence impulsive sound pressure loading while placed in the impedance tube. The acoustic results predicted for the foam are validated by data from the two-microphone acoustic measurements, and good agreement between the measured and predicted acoustic results is observed. The mode shapes of the incident face of the foam at a low frequency, resonant and anti-resonant frequencies as well as the frequency that occurring the peak loss modulus are illustrated. It is found that the modal behaviors of the cylindrical foam are dominated by the fluid, although the acoustic properties of the cylindrical foam are also influenced by the circumferential edge constraints and the modal movements of the solid skeleton.     

Modeling and analysis of the in-plane vibration of a complex cable-stayed bridge

The in-plane vibration of a complex cable-stayed bridge that consists of a simply-supported four-cable-stayed deck beam and two rigid towers is studied. The nonlinear and linear partial differential equations that govern transverse and longitudinal vibrations of the cables and transverse vibrations of segments of the deck beam, respectively, are derived, along with their boundary and matching conditions. The undamped natural frequencies and mode shapes of the linearized model of the cable-stayed bridge are determined, and orthogonality relations of the mode shapes are established. Numerical analysis of the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the cable-stayed bridge is conducted for various symmetrical and non-symmetrical bridge cases with regards to the sizes of the components of the bridge and the initial sags of the cables. The results show that there are very close natural frequencies when the bridge model is symmetrical and/or partially symmetrical, and the mode shapes tend to be more localized when the bridge model is less symmetrical. The relationships between the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the cable-stayed bridge and those of a single fixed–fixed cable and the single simply-supported deck beam are analyzed. The results, which are validated by commercial finite element software, demonstrate some complex classical resonance behavior of the cable-stayed bridge.     

Vibration analysis of annular-like plates

The existence of eccentricity of the central hole for an annular plate results in a significant change in the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the structure. In this paper, the vibration analysis of annular-like plates is presented based on numerical and experimental approaches. Using the finite element analysis code Nastran, the effects of the eccentricity, hole size and boundary condition on vibration modes are investigated systematically through both global and local analyses. The results show that analyses for perfect symmetric conditions can still roughly predict the mode shapes of “recessive” modes of the plate with a slightly eccentric hole. They will, however, lead to erroneous results for “dominant” modes. In addition, the residual displacement mode shape is verified as an effective parameter for identifying damage occurring in plate-like structures. Experimental modal analysis on a clamped-free annular-like plate is performed, and the results obtained reveal good agreement with those obtained by numerical analysis. This study provides guidance on modal analysis, vibration measurement and damage detection of plate-like structures.     

Bending vibrations of wedge beams with any number of point masses

The natural frequencies and mode shapes of beams with constant width and linearly tapered depth (or thickness) carrying any number of point masses at arbitrary positions along the length of the beams were investigated using the Euler-Bernoulli equation. Use of the closed-form (exact) solutions for the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the unconstrained single-tapered beam (without carrying any point masses) and incorporation of the expansion theorem, the equation of motion for the associated constrained beam (carrying any point masses) were derived. Solution of the last equation will yield the desired natural frequencies and mode shapes of the constrained single-tapered beam. The bending vibrations of a single-tapered beam with six kinds of boundary conditions were investigated. Comparison with the existing literature or the traditional finite element method results reveals that the adopted approach has excellent accuracy and simple algorithm.