On coupled transversal and axial motions of two beams with a joint

In this paper we develop and analyze a mathematical model for combined axial and transverse motions of two Euler-Bernoulli beams coupled through a joint composed of two rigid bodies. The motivation for this problem comes from the need to accurately model damping and joints for the next generation of inflatable/rigidizable space structures. We assume Kelvin-Voigt damping in the two beams whose motions are coupled through a joint which includes an internal moment. The resulting equations of motion consist of four, second-order in time, partial differential equations, four second-order ordinary differential equations, and certain compatibility boundary conditions. The system is re-cast as an abstract second-order differential equation in an appropriate Hilbert space, consisting of function spaces describing the distributed beam deflections, and a finite-dimensional space that projects important features at the joint boundary. Semigroup theory is used to prove the system is well posed, and that with positive damping parameters the resulting semigroup is analytic and exponentially stable. The spectrum of the infinitesimal generator is characterized.     

Well-posedness and exponential stability of a thermoelastic Joint–Leg–Beam system with Robin boundary conditions

An important class of proposed large space structures features a triangular truss backbone. In this paper we study thermomechanical behavior of a truss component; namely, a triangular frame consisting of two thin-walled circular beams connected through a joint. Transverse and axial mechanical motions of the beams are coupled though a mechanical joint. The nature of the external solar load suggests a decomposition of the temperature fields in the beams leading to two heat equations for each beam. One of these fields models the circumferential average temperature and is coupled to axial motions of the beam, while the second field accounts for a temperature gradient across the beam and is coupled to beam bending. The resulting system of partial and ordinary differential equations formally describes the coupled thermomechanical behavior of the joint–beam system. The main work is in developing an appropriate state-space form and then using semigroup theory to establish well-posedness and exponential stability.     

Analytical study on dynamic responses of a curved beam subjected to three-directional moving loads

Considering the warping resistance, inertia force and moving three-directional loads, a more comprehensive set of governing equations for vertical, torsional, radial and axial motions of the curved beam are derived. The analytical solutions for vertical, torsional, radial and axial responses of the curved beam subjected to three-directional moving loads are obtained, using the Galerkin method to discretize the partial differential equations and the modal superposition method to decouple the ordinary differential equations. The analytical results are compared with the numerical integration and a published work to verify the validity of the proposed solutions. Effects of Galerkin truncation terms and damping ratio on solution convergence are also discussed. Considering first-mode and higher-mode truncation respectively, the conditions of resonance and cancellation are analyzed for vertical, torsional, radial and axial motions of the curved beam. Taking a curved bridge under passage of a vehicle as an example, the influences of system parameters, such as vehicle speed, braking acceleration, bridge curve radius, bridge span and bridge deck elastic modulus, on bridge midpoint vibration are explored. The proposed approach and results may be beneficial to enhance understanding the three-directional vehicle-induced dynamic responses of curved bridges. It is shown that when the axial motion, or the multiple moving loads are involved, the first-order truncation are not accurate enough and one should use higher-mode truncation to study the responses of curved beams. In addition, it is necessary to consider damping in the vibration study of curved beams.     

Two-dimensional nonlinear dynamics of an axially moving viscoelastic beam with time-dependent axial speed

In the present study, the coupled nonlinear dynamics of an axially moving viscoelastic beam with time-dependent axial speed is investigated employing a numerical technique. The equations of motion for both the transverse and longitudinal motions are obtained using Newton’s second law of motion and the constitutive relations. A two-parameter rheological model of the Kelvin–Voigt energy dissipation mechanism is employed in the modelling of the viscoelastic beam material, in which the material time derivative is used in the viscoelastic constitutive relation. The Galerkin method is then applied to the coupled nonlinear equations, which are in the form of partial differential equations, resulting in a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with time-dependent coefficients due to the axial acceleration. A change of variables is then introduced to this set of ODEs to transform them into a set of first-order ordinary differential equations. A variable step-size modified Rosenbrock method is used to conduct direct time integration upon this new set of first-order nonlinear ODEs. The mean axial speed and the amplitude of the speed variations, which are taken as bifurcation parameters, are varied, resulting in the bifurcation diagrams of Poincaré maps of the system. The dynamical characteristics of the system are examined more precisely via plotting time histories, phase-plane portraits, Poincaré sections, and fast Fourier transforms (FFTs).     

Study on vibration and stability of an axially translating viscoelastic Timoshenko beam: Non-transforming spectral element analysis

Engineering systems, such as rolled steel beams, chain and belt drives and high-speed paper, can be modeled as axially translating beams. This article scrutinizes vibration and stability of an axially translating viscoelastic Timoshenko beam constrained by simple supports and subjected to axial pretension. The viscoelastic form of general rheological model is adopted to constitute the material of the beam. The partial differential equations governing transverse motion of the beam are derived from the extended form of Hamilton's principle. The non-transforming spectral element method (NTSEM) is applied to transform the governing equations into a set of ordinary differential equations. The formulation is similar to conventional FFT-based spectral element model except that Daubechies wavelet basis functions are used for temporal discretization. Influences of translating velocities, axial tensile force, viscoelastic parameter, shear deformation, beam model and boundary condition types are investigated on the underlying dynamic response and stability via the NTSEM and demonstrated via numerical simulations.     

Dynamic modeling for rotating composite Timoshenko beam and analysis on its bending-torsion coupled vibration

A formulation is presented for steady-state dynamic responses of rotating bending-torsion coupled composite Timoshenko beams (CTBs) subjected to distributed and/or concentrated harmonic loadings. The separation of cross section's mass center from its shear center and the introduced coupled rigidity of composite material lead to the bending-torsion coupled vibration of the beams. Considering those two coupling factors and based on Hamilton's principle, three partial differential non-homogeneous governing equations of vibration with arbitrary boundary conditions are formulated in terms of the flexural translation, torsional rotation and angle rotation of cross section of the beams. The parameters for the damping, axial load, shear deformation, rotation speed, hub radius and so forth are incorporated into those equations of motion. Subsequently, the Green's function element method (GFEM) is developed to solve these equations in matrix form, and the analytical Green's functions of the beams are given in terms of piecewise functions. Using the superposition principle, the explicit expressions of dynamic responses of the beams under various harmonic loadings are obtained. The present solving procedure for Timoshenko beams can be degenerated to deal with for Rayleigh and Euler beams by specifying the values of shear rigidity and rotational inertia. Cantilevers with bending-torsion coupled vibration are given as examples to verify the present theory and to illustrate the use of the present formulation. The influences of rotation speed, bending-torsion couplings and damping on the natural frequencies and/or shape functions of the beams are performed. The steady-state responses of the beam subjected to external harmonic excitation are given through numerical simulations. Remarkably, the symmetric property of the Green's functions is maintained for rotating bending-torsion coupled CTBs, but there will be a slight deviation in the numerical calculations.     

Dynamic response of clamped axially moving beams: Integral transform solution

The generalized integral transform technique (GITT) is employed to obtain a hybrid analytical-numerical solution for dynamic response of clamped axially moving beams. The use of the GITT approach in the analysis of the transverse vibration equation leads to a coupled system of second order differential equations in the dimensionless temporal variable. The resulting transformed ODE system is then solved numerically with automatic global accuracy control by using the subroutine DIVPAG from IMSL Library. Excellent convergence behavior is shown by comparing the vibration displacement of different points along the beam length. Numerical results are presented for different values of axial translation velocity and flexural stiffness. A set of reference results for the transverse vibration displacement of axially moving beam is provided for future co-validation purposes.     

An asymptotic approach to the problem of the free oscillations of a beam

Equations describing the free small longitudinal and transverse oscillations of a straight elastic beam of rectangular cross section are obtained using the plane linear theory of elasticity and the method of integrodifferential relations. The initial system of partial differential equations is reduced to a system of ordinary linear differential equations with constant coefficients. The effect of the geometrical and elastic characteristics of the beam on the frequency and form of the natural oscillations is investigated. For longitudinal motions it is shown that different types of natural displacements and internal stresses of the beam exist. For transverse oscillations, it is found that there are frequency zones corresponding to different forms of the solutions of the characteristic equation obtained using the proposed model.     

Bifurcation and chaos of an axially accelerating viscoelastic beam

This paper investigates bifurcation and chaos of an axially accelerating viscoelastic beam. The Kelvin–Voigt model is adopted to constitute the material of the beam. Lagrangian strain is used to account for the beam's geometric nonlinearity. The nonlinear partial–differential equation governing transverse motion of the beam is derived from the Newton second law. The Galerkin method is applied to truncate the governing equation into a set of ordinary differential equations. By use of the Poincaré map, the dynamical behavior is identified based on the numerical solutions of the ordinary differential equations. The bifurcation diagrams are presented in the case that the mean axial speed, the amplitude of speed fluctuation and the dynamic viscoelasticity is respectively varied while other parameters are fixed. The Lyapunov exponent is calculated to identify chaos. From numerical simulations, it is indicated that the periodic, quasi-periodic and chaotic motions occur in the transverse vibrations of the axially accelerating viscoelastic beam.     

Uniform stabilization of a nonlinear structural acoustic model with a Timoshenko beam interface

This paper is concerned with a nonlinear model which describes the interaction of sound and elastic waves in a two‐dimensional acoustic chamber in which one flat ‘wall’, the interface, is flexible. The composite dynamics of the structural acoustic model is described by the linearized equations for a gas defined on the interior of the chamber and the nonlinear Timoshenko beam equations on the interface. Uniform stability of the energy associated with the interactive system of partial differential equations is achieved by incorporating a nonlinear feedback boundary damping scheme in the equations for the gas and the beam. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A fluid–structure interaction model with interior damping and delay in the structure

A coupled system of partial differential equations modeling the interaction of a fluid and a structure with delay in the feedback is studied. The model describes the dynamics of an elastic body immersed in a fluid that is contained in a vessel, whose boundary is made of a solid wall. The fluid component is modeled by the linearized Navier-Stokes equation, while the solid component is given by the wave equation neglecting transverse elastic force. Spectral properties and exponential or strong stability of the interaction model under appropriate conditions on the damping factor, delay factor and the delay parameter are established using a generalized Lax-Milgram method.     

A dynamic analysis of a coupled beam/slider system

The paper deals with transverse vibration of a beam with moving boundary conditions. In order to examine the transfer of energy between a moving support and a vibrating beam under assumption of zero slope of the beam elastic line at the moving support, dynamic analysis of a coupled beam/slider system is carried out. The moving support is modelled as a slider attached to a spring which realizes definite boundary conditions. Equations of motion are derived using Hamilton’s principle. Because length of the beam varies appropriate transformations of time and position variables are made to convert the solution space into a rectangle and, subsequently, to solve the partial differential equation of transverse vibration of the beam using the FDM. The phenomenon of the energy flow between the slider and the beam is a subject of the detailed analysis. The beam vibration with a fixed formula of length is examined, too. The dynamic characteristics of the system is brought forward from spectral analysis of numerical solutions.     

Influence of the Lateral Eigenstrains on the Transverse Displacement of Wide Beams

The present paper studies the influence of lateral eigenstrains on the transverse deflection of wide beams. We show that in this case a laterally nonuniform transverse displacement becomes notable; moreover, it turns out that the axial variation of the transverse displacement is significantly altered in comparison to the results obtained from beam theory. In order to derive a corrected analytical solution for the transverse displacement of wide beams, the latter are modeled as thin plates with induced eigenstrains in both in–plane directions. A Galerkin method is utilized to solve the plate equations, in which solutions for the transverse displacement resulting from beam theory are used as shape functions for the plate deflection. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Natural damped vibrations of anisotropic box beams of polymer composite materials. 2. Numerical experiments

The influence of the orientation of reinforcing fibers on the natural frequencies and mechanical loss coefficient of coupled vibrations of unsupported symmetric and asymmetric box beams, as evaluated in numerical experiments, is discussed. The calculations were performed under the assumption that the real parts of the complex moduli and mechanical loss coefficient are frequency-independent. Vibration modes were identified by their surface shapes. The boundaries of the regions of mutual transformation of interacting vibration modes were determined by the joint analysis of the dependences of the coupled and partial eigenfrequencies and the mechanical loss coefficients on the orientation angle of reinforcing fibers. It is established that vibrations of a symmetric box beam give rise to two primary interactions: bending–torsional and longitudinal–shear ones, which are united into a unique longitudinal–bending–torsional–shear interaction by the secondary interaction caused by transverse shear strains. Vibrations of an asymmetric box beam give rise to longitudinal–torsional and bending–bending (in two mutually orthogonal planes) interactions. It is shown that in a number of cases variation in the orientation angle of reinforcing fibers is accompanied with a mutual transformation of coupled vibration modes. If the differential equations for natural vibrations involve odd-order derivatives with respect to the spatial variable (a symmetric beam and the bending–bending interaction of an asymmetric beam), then, with variation in the orientation angle of reinforcing fibers, the mutual transformation of coupled vibration modes proceeds. If the differential equations for natural vibrations involve only even-order derivatives (the longitudinal–torsional interaction of an asymmetric beam), no mutual transformation of coupled vibration modes occurs.     

Heat and mass transfer in MHD non-Darcian flow of a micropolar fluid over a stretching sheet embedded in a porous media with non-uniform heat source and thermal radiation

A mathematical analysis has been carried out to study magnetohydrodynamic boundary layer flow, heat and mass transfer characteristic on steady two-dimensional flow of a micropolar fluid over a stretching sheet embedded in a non-Darcian porous medium with uniform magnetic field. Momentum boundary layer equation takes into account of transverse magnetic field whereas energy equation takes into account of Ohmic dissipation due to transverse magnetic field, thermal radiation and non-uniform source effects. An analysis has been performed for heating process namely the prescribed wall heat flux (PHF case). The governing system of partial differential equations is first transformed into a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations using similarity transformation. The transformed equations are non-linear coupled differential equations which are then linearized by quasi-linearization method and solved very efficiently by finite-difference method. Favorable comparisons with previously published work on various special cases of the problem are obtained. The effects of various physical parameters on velocity, temperature, concentration distributions are presented graphically and in tabular form.     

Utilization of characteristic polynomials in vibration analysis of non-uniform beams under a moving mass excitation

Vibration of non-uniform beams with different boundary conditions subjected to a moving mass is investigated. The beam is modeled using Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. Applying the method of eigenfunction expansion, equation of motion has been transformed into a number of coupled linear time-varying ordinary differential equations. In non-uniform beams, the exact vibration functions do not exist and in order to solve these equations using eigenfunction expansion method, an adequate set of functions must be selected as the assumed vibration modes. A set of polynomial functions called as beam characteristic polynomials, which is constructed by considering beam boundary conditions, have been used along with the vibration functions of the equivalent uniform beam with similar boundary conditions, as the assumed vibration functions. Orthogonal polynomials which are generated by utilizing a Gram–Schmidt process are also used, and results of their application show no advantage over the set of simple non-orthogonal polynomials. In the numerical examples, both natural frequencies and forced vibration of three different non-uniform beams with different shapes and boundary conditions are scrutinized.     

Dynamic analysis of a micro-resonator driven by electrostatic combs

The dynamic response of a micro-resonator driven by electrostatic combs is investigated in this work. The micro-resonator is assumed to consist of eight flexible beams and three rigid bodies. The nonlinear partial differential equations that govern the motions of the flexible beams are obtained, as well as their boundary and matching conditions. The natural matching conditions for the flexible beams are the governing equations for the rigid bodies. The undamped natural frequencies and mode shapes of the linearized model of the micro-resonator are determined, and the orthogonality relation of the undamped global mode shapes is established. The modified Newton iterative method is used to simultaneously solve for the frequency equation and identify repeated natural frequencies that can occur in the micro-resonator and their multiplicities. The Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization method is extended to orthogonalize the mode shapes of the continuous system corresponding to the repeated natural frequencies. The undamped global mode shapes are used to spatially discretize the nonlinear partial differential equations of the micro-resonator. The simulation results show that the geometric nonlinearities of the flexible beams can have a significant effect on the dynamic response of the micro-resonator.     

A mixed differential quadrature and finite element free vibration and buckling analysis of thick beams on two-parameter elastic foundations

As a first endeavor, a mixed differential quadrature (DQ) and finite element (FE) method for boundary value structural problems in the context of free vibration and buckling analysis of thick beams supported on two-parameter elastic foundations is presented. The formulations are based on the two-dimensional theory of elasticity. The problem domain along axial direction is discretized using finite elements. The resulting system of equations and the related boundary conditions are discretized in the thickness direction and in strong-form using DQM. The method benefits from low computational efforts of the DQ in conjunction with the effectiveness of the FE method in general geometry and systematic boundary treatment resulting in highly accurate and fast convergence behavior solution. The boundary conditions at the top and bottom surface of the beams are implemented accurately. The presented formulations provide an effective analysis tool for beams free of shear locking. Comparisons are made with results from elasticity solutions as well as higher-order beam theory.     

Numerical solution of the momentum and heat transfer equations for a hydromagnetic flow due to a stretching sheet of a non-uniform property micropolar liquid

A study of the hydromagnetic flow due to a stretching sheet and heat transfer in an incompressible micropolar liquid is made. Temperature-dependent thermal conductivity and a non-uniform heat source/sink render the problem analytically intractable and hence a numerical study is made using the shooting method based on Runge-Kutta and Newton-Raphson methods. The two problems of horizontal and vertical stretching are considered to implement the numerical method. The former problem involves one-way coupling between linear momentum and heat transport equations and the latter involves two-way coupling. Further, both the problems involve two-way coupling between the non-linear equations of conservation of linear and angular momentums. A similarity transformation arrived at for the problem using the Lie group method facilitates the reduction of coupled, non-linear partial differential equations into coupled, non-linear ordinary differential equations. The algorithm for solving the resulting coupled, two-point, non-linear boundary value problem is presented in great detail in the paper. Extensive computation on velocity and temperature profiles is presented for a wide range of values of the parameters, for prescribed surface temperature (PST) and prescribed heat flux (PHF) boundary conditions.     

Modeling and boundary stabilization of a multiple beam system

In this paper we consider two mathematical models for a multiple beam system (MBS) which is composed of two rigidly and angularly connected Euler-Bernoulli beams The cantilevered structure is clamped at one end, and has point controls for forces and bending moments imposed at the other end and at the connection between the two beams The first model incorporates not only transverse deformations of both beams, but also axial compression/extension of the beams. The second model involves only transverse deformations of the beam. By imposing point controls, an unbounded input operator is obtained A variational formulation of the models is used to show well-posedness. Uniform exponential stabilizability of the second model through boundary feedback is established via energy arguments