A new approach for free vibration of axially functionally graded beams with non-uniform cross-section

This paper studies free vibration of axially functionally graded beams with non-uniform cross-section. A novel and simple approach is presented to solve natural frequencies of free vibration of beams with variable flexural rigidity and mass density. For various end supports including simply supported, clamped, and free ends, we transform the governing equation with varying coefficients to Fredholm integral equations. Natural frequencies can be determined by requiring that the resulting Fredholm integral equation has a non-trivial solution. Our method has fast convergence and obtained numerical results have high accuracy. The effectiveness of the method is confirmed by comparing numerical results with those available for tapered beams of linearly variable width or depth and graded beams of special polynomial non-homogeneity. Moreover, fundamental frequencies of a graded beam combined of aluminum and zirconia as two constituent phases under typical end supports are evaluated for axially varying material properties. The effects of the geometrical and gradient parameters are elucidated. The present results are of benefit to optimum design of non-homogeneous tapered beam structures.     

Free vibration analysis of Mindlin plates with linearly varying thickness

A method based on the variational principles in conjunction with the finite difference technique is applied to examine the free vibration characteristics of isotropic rectangular plates of linearly varying thickness by including the effects of transverse shear deformation and rotary inertia. The validity of the present approach is demonstrated by comparing the results with other solutions proposed for plates with uniform and linearly varying thickness. Natural frequencies and mode shapes of Mindlin plates with simply supported and clamped edges are determined for various values of relative thickness ratio and the taper thickness constant.     

Postbuckling and vibration of end-supported elastica pipes conveying fluid and columns under follower loads

Fluid-conveying pipes with supported ends buckle when the fluid velocity reaches a critical value. For higher velocities, the postbuckled equilibrium shape can be directly related to that for a column under a follower end load. However, the corresponding vibration frequencies are different due to the Coriolis force associated with the fluid flow. Clamped–clamped, pinned–pinned, and clamped–pinned pipes are considered first. Axial sliding is permitted at the downstream end. The pipe is modeled as an inextensible elastica. The equilibrium shape may have large displacements, and small motions about that shape are analyzed. The behavior is conservative in the prebuckling range and nonconservative in the postbuckling range (during which the Coriolis force does work and the motions decay). Next, related columns are studied, first with a concentrated follower load at the axially sliding end, and then with a distributed follower load. In all cases, a shooting method is used to solve the nonlinear boundary-value problem for the equilibrium configuration, and to solve the linear boundary-value problem for the first four vibration frequencies. The results for the three different types of loading are compared.     

Stability and performance limits for active vibration isolation using blended velocity feedback

This paper presents a theoretical study of active vibration isolation on a two degree of freedom system. The system consists of two lumped masses connected by a coupling spring. Both masses are also attached to a firm reference base by a mounting spring. The lower mass is excited by a point force. A reactive control force actuator is used between the two masses in parallel with the coupling spring. Both masses are equipped with an absolute velocity sensor. The two sensors and the actuator are used to implement velocity feedback control loops to actively isolate the upper mass from the vibrations of the lower mass over a broad range of frequencies. The primary concern of the study is to determine what type of velocity feedback configuration is suitable with respect to the five parameters that characterise the system (the three spring stiffnesses and the two masses). It is shown analytically that if the ratio of the lower mounting spring stiffness to the lower mass is larger than the ratio of the upper mounting spring stiffness to the upper mass (supercritical system), feeding back the absolute upper mass velocity to the reactive force actuator results in an unconditionally stable feedback loop and the vibration isolation objective can be fully achieved without an overshot at higher frequencies. In contrast, if the ratio of the lower mounting spring stiffness to the lower mass is smaller than the ratio of the upper mounting spring stiffness to the upper mass (subcritical system), the upper mass velocity feedback is conditionally stable and the vibration isolation objective cannot be accomplished in a broad frequency band. For subcritical systems a blended velocity feedback is proposed to stabilise the loop and to improve the broad-band vibration isolation effect. A simple inequality is introduced to derive the combinations between the two error velocities that guarantee unconditionally stable feedback loops.     

A distributed-mass approach for dynamic analysis of Bernoulli-Euler plane frames

The exact dynamic analysis of plane frames should consider the effect of mass distribution in beam elements, which can be achieved by using the dynamic stiffness method. Solving for the natural frequencies and mode shapes from the dynamic stiffness matrix is a nonlinear eigenproblem. The Wittrick-Williams algorithm is a reliable tool to identify the natural frequencies. A deflated matrix method to determine the mode shapes is presented. The dynamic stiffness matrix may create some null modes in which the joints of beam elements have null deformation. Adding an interior node at the middle of beam elements can eliminate the null modes of flexural vibration, but does not eliminate the null modes of axial vibration. A force equilibrium approach to solve for the null modes of axial vibration is presented. Orthogonal conditions of vibration modes in the Bernoulli-Euler plane frames, which are required in solving the transient response, are theoretically derived. The decoupling process for the vibration modes of the same natural frequency is also presented.     

Optimization of a clamped plate silencer

A previous theoretical study [L. Huang, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 119, 2628-2638 (2006)] shows that, in a duct, a simply supported plate covering a side-branch rigid cavity can function effectively as a wave reflector over a broad range of low to medium frequencies. In this study, analytical formulation is extended to the boundary condition of clamped plate, which is easier to implement in practice. The theoretical model is tested experimentally using balsawood, which has a very high stiffness to mass ratio. The spectral peaks and shapes of the measured TL are in agreement with those calculated theoretically, attempts are also made to account for the considerable sound absorption in the rig. Further numerical studies based on the validated model show that, for a uniform plate, the optimal stopband is narrower and the lower band limit is worse than that of the simply supported configuration. However, a wave reflector using nonuniform, clamped plates with thinner ends out-performs the simply supported configuration in every aspect. Analyses show that the improvement is attributed to the increased acoustic radiation efficiency over the bulk length of the nonuniform plate, which behaves more like a rigid plate.     

Vibrational analysis of carbon nanotubes using molecular mechanics and artificial neural network

This paper presents the molecular mechanics based finite element modeling of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their applications as mass sensors. The beam element with elastic behavior is considered as the bond between the carbon atoms and its properties are obtained using equating continuum and molecular characteristics. The first five natural frequencies of CNTs in cantilever and doubly clamped boundary conditions (BCs) and their corresponding mode shapes are studied in detail. Furthermore, a multilayer perceptron neural network is used to predict the fundamental vibration frequencies of the CNTs with different diameters and lengths. In addition, variations of the natural frequencies of the CNTs with distorted cross sections are investigated. Moreover, the effects of some attached masses with various values on the first three natural frequencies of a considered CNT are studied here.     

The effects of large vibration amplitudes on the axisymmetric mode shapes and natural frequencies of clamped thin isotropic circular plates. Part I: iterative and explicit analytical solution for non-linear transverse vibrations

The effects of large vibration amplitudes on the first two axisymmetric mode shapes of clamped thin isotropic circular plates are examined. The theoretical model based on Hamilton's principle and spectral analysis developed previously by Benamar et al. for clamped-clamped beams and fully clamped rectangular plates is adapted to the case of circular plates using a basis of Bessel's functions. The model effectively reduces the large-amplitude free vibration problem to the solution of a set of non-linear algebraic equations. Numerical results are given for the first and second axisymmetric non-linear mode shapes for a wide range of vibration amplitudes. For each value of the vibration amplitude considered, the corresponding contributions of the basic functions defining the non-linear transverse displacement function and the associated non-linear frequency are given. The non-linear frequencies associated to the fundamental non-linear mode shape predicted by the present model were compared with numerical results from the available published literature and a good agreement was found. The non-linear mode shapes exhibit higher bending stresses near to the clamped edge at large deflections, compared with those predicted by linear theory. In order to obtain explicit analytical solutions for the first two non-linear axisymmetric mode shapes of clamped circular plates, which are expected to be very useful in engineering applications and in further analytical developments, the improved version of the semi-analytical model developed by El Kadiri et al. for beams and rectangular plates, has been adapted to the case of clamped circular plates, leading to explicit expressions for the higher basic function contributions, which are shown to be in a good agreement with the iterative solutions, for maximum non-dimensional vibration amplitude values of 0.5 and 0.44 for the first and second axisymmetric non-linear mode shapes, respectively.     

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.     

Stability and free vibration analyses of cantilever shear buildings with semi-rigid support conditions and multiple masses

The stability and free vibration analyses of a cantilever shear building with generalized support conditions and with multiple masses (rotational and translational) rigidly attached at both ends and along its height are presented. The proposed model includes the simultaneous effects of: (1) lateral and rotational elastic restraints at the base support; (2) a uniform distributed mass and rotary inertia plus lumped rotary and translational masses rigidly attached at both extremes and along its height; (3) linearly distributed axial load plus the concentrated vertical axial loads caused by the lumped masses; and (4) shear deformations and shear forces induced by the applied axial forces. A parametric study is carried out that shows the importance of all variables included in this work on the stability and dynamic behavior of cantilever shear buildings, particularly the effects of the attached lumped masses and the rotational and translational constraints at the base support. A comparison with results presented by other researchers in previous studies shows that the proposed method and corresponding equations can be very useful in the assessment design of cantilever shear buildings. The main objective is to present readily solutions on the static stability and free vibration of cantilever shear buildings with generalized support conditions and multiple masses rigidly attached. The proposed method and corresponding expressions for the natural frequencies and modal shapes, buckling modes and axial critical loads are extensions of those presented recently by the senior author.     

The vibration modes of concentrically supported free circular plates

Vibration of a circular plate internally concentrically supported is basic in structural mechanics. The complete first six frequencies and mode shapes are determined for clamped, simply-supported, sliding, and ring supports using exact characteristic frequency equations. Complex mode switches occur as the support radius is varied. Asymptotic formulas for large support radii are derived. Different types of singularities as the support radius shrinks to zero are distinguished and classified.     

Index to volume 95

The linear and non-linear (large amplitude), axisymmetric free vibration of a circular plate of variable thickness, with immovable edges, is analyzed by applying the transfer matrix method. Two types of circular plate are studied: the stepped thickness plate and the continuously variable thickness plate. Numerical calculations are carried out for these two types of plate, with both simply supported and clamped edges, and the backbone curves and mode shapes are determined. The results are compared with those of other authors.     

A damping mechanics model and a beam finite element for the free-vibration of laminated composite strips under in-plane loading

A theoretical framework is presented for predicting the nonlinear damping and damped vibration of laminated composite strips due to large in-plane forces. Nonlinear Green-Lagrange axial strains are introduced in the governing equations of a viscoelastic composite and new nonlinear damping and stiffness matrices are formulated including initial stress effects. Building upon the nonlinear laminate mechanics, a damped beam finite element is developed. Finite element stiffness and damping matrices are synthesized and the static equilibrium is predicted using a Newton-Raphson solver. The corresponding linearized damped free-vibration response is predicted and modal frequencies and damping of the in-plane deflected strip are calculated. Numerical results quantify the nonlinear effect of in-plane loads on structural modal damping of various laminated composite strips. The modal loss-factors and natural frequencies of cross-ply Glass/Epoxy beams subject to in-plane loading are measured and correlated with numerical results.     

Structural–acoustic model of a rectangular plate–cavity system with an attached distributed mass and internal sound source: Theory and experiment

In this paper three approaches are combined to develop a structural–acoustic model of a rectangular plate–cavity system with an attached distributed mass and internal sound source. The first approach results from a recently presented analysis based on the Rayleigh–Ritz method and is used to circumvent the difficulties in obtaining the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a plate with an attached, distributed mass. Furthermore, different plate boundary conditions can be accommodated. The resulting mode shapes are defined as continuous functions; this is advantageous as they can be directly used in the second approach, i.e., the classic modal-interaction approach in order to obtain the coupled equations of the system. Finally, in the third approach a group of point sources emitting a pressure pulse in the time domain is used to model an internal sound source. For the validation of the developed model an experiment was conducted in two configurations using a simply supported aluminium plate and a clamped plate coupled with a plexiglas box containing a loudspeaker. Good agreement was found between the analytical and experimental data.     

A variable kinematic Ritz formulation for vibration study of quadrilateral plates with arbitrary thickness

A new variable kinematic Ritz method applied to free vibration analysis of arbitrary quadrilateral thin and thick isotropic plates is presented. Carrera's unified formulation and the versatile pb-2 Ritz method are properly combined to build a powerful yet simple modeling and solution framework. The proposed technique allows to generate arbitrarily accurate Ritz solutions from a large variety of refined two-dimensional plate theories by expanding so-called Ritz fundamental nuclei of the plate mass and stiffness matrices. Theoretical development of the present methodology is described in detail. Convergence and accuracy of the method are examined through several examples on thin, moderately thick, and very thick plates of rectangular, skew, trapezoidal and general quadrilateral shapes, with an arbitrary combination of clamped, free and simply supported edges. Present results are compared with existing three-dimensional solutions from open literature. Maximum and average differences of various higher-order plate theories and three-dimensional results are also presented with the aim of providing useful guidelines on the choice of appropriate plate theory to get a desired accuracy on frequency parameters.     

Improved eigenvalues for combined dynamical systems using a modified finite element discretization scheme

New approaches are presented to discretize an arbitrarily supported linear structure carrying various lumped attachments. Specifically, the exact eigendata, i.e., the exact natural frequencies and mode shapes, of the linear structure without the lumped attachments are first used to modify its finite element mass and stiffness matrix so that the eigensolutions of the discretized system coincide with the exact modes of vibration. This is achieved by identifying a set of minimum changes in the finite element system matrices and enforcing certain constraint conditions. Once the updated matrices for the linear structure are found, the finite element assembling technique is then used to include the lumped attachments by adding their parameters to the appropriate elements in the modified mass and stiffness matrices. Numerical experiments show that for the same number of elements, the proposed scheme returns higher natural frequencies that are substantially more accurate than those given by the finite element model. Alternatively, the proposed discretization scheme allows one to efficiently and accurately determine the higher natural frequencies of a combined system without increasing the number of elements in the finite element model.     

Vibration and stability of elastically supported multi-span beams under conservative and non-conservative loads

This paper deals with the vibration and stability of multi-span beams elastically supported against translation and rotation at several intermediate points as well as both ends. The beam is subjected to an axial or tangential load at the ends. The problem is studied on the basis of the Timoshenko beam theory. The influence of the support stiffness on the natural frequencies and the divergence and flutter instability loads are studied in detail.     

Effect of a concentrated mass on large amplitude,free flexural vibrations of elastic plates and beams

This paper presents an approximate solution to the title problem for the following situations: (a) supported and clamped rectangular plates, (b) circular plates with edges elastically restrained against rotation, and (c) beams with ends flexibly attached.The approach is quite simple and it is shown that the engineering accuracy achieved is satisfactory from the point of view of the determination of fundamental frequencies in a wide variety of structural elements commonly used in transducer design and aerospace and naval engineering applications.     

Vibration and stability of elastically supported beams carrying an attached mass under axial and tangential loads

The vibration and stability of an elastically supported beam carrying an attached mass and subjected to axial and tangential compressive loads are investigated. The analysis is based on the Timoshenko beam theory and the effects of the attached mass are expressed with Dirac delta functions. The influences of the support stiffness, the direction of loading, and the slenderness ratio on the natural frequency and critical load of a beam are discussed.     

A simplified method for the free vibration and flutter analysis of bridge decks

A simplified method for the free vibration and flutter analysis of bridge decks is presented. Bending-torsion coupled beam theory with warping stiffness included is used in the structural idealization of bridge decks in order to derive explicit formulae for natural frequencies and mode shapes. These are used to perform the flutter analysis. The time-dependent aerodynamic forces are modelled using Theodorsen type flat plate theory. Expressions for generalized mass, generalized stiffness and generalized aerodynamic force terms are derived in compact explicit form. The flutter problem is then formulated by summing algebraically the analytical expressions for generalized mass, generalized stiffness and generalized aerodynamic forces, and the associated flutter determinant is expanded in analytical form. Finally, the flutter speed and flutter frequency are thereby determined by using a standard root finding procedure. The method is demonstrated by numerical results. This is followed by some concluding remarks.