Transverse vibrations of pre-twisted sandwich beams

A set of equations of motion governing the bending and extensional displacements of a pre-twisted sandwich beam of rectangular cross-section are derived by using Hamilton's principle. The middle viscoelastic core is assumed to deform mainly through the classical shearing mechanism. The eigenvalues and loss factors of simply supported pre-twisted sandwich beams are computed by using the variational method. Analysis of the results revealed that pre-twisting the beam increases the real part of the eigenvalue by as much as 20% while reducing the loss factor by as much as 30 %. The loss factor of very soft, thickcored beams is especially sensitive to even small angles of pre-twist: e.g., a 22· 5° pre-twist may reduce the loss factor by as much as 80%. The effect of pre-twist is, however, shown not to be appreciable for soft, thin-cored beams. In any case, pre-twisting of the beam has a detrimental effect on the maximum loss factor that one can obtain for a specific size of the beam when only the shear parameter of the beam is changed.     

OPTIMIZATION OF ANISOTROPIC SANDWICH BEAMS FOR HIGHER SOUND TRANSMISSION LOSS

This paper presents a study on the optimization of sound transmission loss across anisotropic sandwich beams. It has been found in earlier studies that there is a significant increase in the sound transmission loss for sandwich beams with anisotropic materials compared to those with isotropic ones. The optimization studies presented in this work further validate this concept. The material and geometric properties of the structure are treated as the design variables with the objective to maximize the sound transmission loss across the beam. Appropriate constraints are imposed to maintain material and structural integrity.     

Optimal design of thin-walled I beams for a given natural frequency of torsional vibrations

A method of extremum weight design of thin-walled I beams for a given natural frequency of torsional vibrations is presented. The effects of warping stresses and constant axial loads are taken into account. The optimality condition for only one (except for the web height) dimension of the cross-section, variable along the axis of the beam, is derived by using Pontryagin's maximum principle. The solution of the problem formulated, with account also taken of the additional geometrical conditions, is obtained in an iterative way. Some numerical examples of optimal design of an I beam with variable flange width, for a specified fundamental frequency, are given.     

Optimal design of thin walled I beams for extreme natural frequency of torsional vibrations

The optimal design of thin-walled I beams so as to extremize the natural frequency of torsional vibration is considered. It is assumed that only one dimension of the cross-section, except for the web height, may be variable in given limits, along the axis of the beam. The optimality condition for the variable dimension is settled by means of Pontryagin's maximum principle. The effect of the constant, axial loads is also included. the solution of the problem formulated is generally found in an iterative way. Some numerical examples of optimization of the I beam with variable widt of flanges are given.     

An integral equation analysis of the harmonic response of three-layer beams

The integral equations of harmonic motion have been derived and solved for three-layer sandwich beams with a constrained linear viscoelastic core. The method of solution required first the construction of the Green's vector for a beam in analytical form. Following this, the integral equations were derived and readily approximated by matrix equations which were finally solved numerically. In addition to this analysis, the corresponding eigenvalue problem has been solved so that the modal frequencies and the beam loss factor could be calculated directly. The integral equation analysis offers a fast and efficient alternative to the traditional methods based on the solution of the differential equations of motion. The method has been verified by comparison with experimental results for three-layer cantilevers and simply supported beams.     

Structural waveguide behaviour of a beam–plate system

Structures which have a constant cross-section normal to a longitudinal axis can be considered as waveguides in which vibration can propagate in the form of various waves in the longitudinal direction. The dynamic behaviour of such systems can be found by using a Fourier transform approach in terms of wavenumbers in the longitudinal direction. Analytical solutions are available for simple, infinitely long waveguides, whereas for more complex waveguides numerical approaches have been developed using finite element techniques to describe the cross-section. In the present paper an analytical Fourier transform approach is used to find the dynamic behaviour of a system consisting of two parallel beams coupled by a plate, when a point force is applied to one of the beams. Multiple waves occur in the longitudinal direction, the number of waves depending on the number of modes of the equivalent cross-section. However, the motion of the driven beam is shown to be dominated by the contribution from only one or two waves at each frequency, these having wavenumbers closest to that of the uncoupled beam. The motion of the plate is also shown to be dominated by these wavenumbers for excitation on the beam. Experimental results are obtained on beam–plate–beam systems with identical and non-identical beams, which show good agreement with the predictions. In particular, these confirm that the plate response is dominated by waves with wavenumbers in the beam direction that follow those of the excited beam.     

Tilted foil polarization of radioactive beam nuclei

Tilted foil polarization has up to now been mostly applied to nuclear reaction products recoiling out of a target traversed by a primary particle beam. Being a universal phenomenon it can be applied equally well to beams of particles, primary or secondary, radioactive or other. There are however some technical considerations arising from the nature of the beam particles. Radioactive beams are associated with ground state nuclei. They usually have low nuclear spin and as a consequence-as will be shown later-low polarization. Secondary beams are usually low in intensity and do not impose any constraints on the foils they traverse; unlike intense primary heavy ion beams which, if they traverse the foils, essentially limit the foil material to carbon. We review here briefly the tilted foil polarization process and then discuss an experiment with an isomer beam. Finally we review experiments with radioactive beams, past, present and planned for the future.     

Optimal design of beams in torsion under periodic loading

The optimal design of beams in torsion under harmonically varying torques is discussed. The analysis covers the cases when the excitation frequency is either less than or greater than the fundamental frequency of the beam. The beams analyzed are in the main assumed to have rectangular cross-section but the theory is easily extended to other section shapes. In each case the problem is stated in variational form with the introduction of constraints through Lagrange multipliers. The mathematical analysis of the various problems presented results in a system of non-linear differential equations with associated boundary conditions. The solutions given for some of the cases provide expressions for the design variable and the response, along the length of the beam, in terms of the forcing frequency and some constants which can be determined for the particular problem. The computed results and data are given in tabular form and some optimum profiles are shown graphically.     

Mass optimization of non-conservative cantilever beams with internal and external damping

An adjoint variational principle has been developed for a non-conservatively loaded cantilever beam with Kelvin-Voigt internal and linear external damping and is applied to a beam with a linearly distributed tangential load acting along the centerline of the beam. Relative mass optimization for beams of both rectangular and circular crosssections is considered from a graphical standpoint and from the viewpoint of a computer optimization routine with data given and discussed in both instances. In going to a Rosenbrock optimization routine for beams of rectangular cross-section with a minimum tip thickness constraint imposed it was quite clear that mass ratio reductions in the range 14·9 % to 38 % are possible and that the values of internal and external damping appear influential in determining just how much of a mass reduction is possible. Similarly, for beams of circular cross-section a Rosenbrock optimization routine with a minimum tip diameter constraint imposed showed that mass ratio reductions of the order of 27 % are possible.     

The influence of the transmission function of the impedance head on the measurement of the complex elastic modulus of a viscoelastic beam by the driving point impedance method

The driving point impedance method, as described theoretically by Snowdon [1], for measuring the complex modulus of elasticity of a beam has been implemented experimentally, with use of a vibrational impedance head. The influence of the transmission function of the impedance head as well as of the mass impedance of the element connecting the beam and the head on the measured results for the complex moduli of elasticity of viscoelastic beams has been examined theoretically and experimentally. Values of the loss factor and Young's modulus have been determined at resonance and antiresonance modes of a Plexiglass beam over the frequency range 40–7000 Hz.     

Determination of the steady state response of a Timoshenko beam of varying cross-section by use of the spline interpolation technique

The steady state response of an internally damped Timoshenko beam of varying cross-section to a sinusoidally varying point force is determined by use of the spline interpolation technique. For this purpose, with the beam divided into small elements, the response of each element is expressed by a quintic spline function with unknown coefficients. The response is obtained by determining these coefficients so that the spline function satisfies the equation of motion of the beam at each dividing point and also satisfies the boundary conditions at both ends. In this case, the slope due to pure bending of the beam is conveniently adopted as the function essentially expressing the response, from which the transverse deflection, driving point impedance, transfer impedance and force transmissibility of the beam are derived. The method is applied to cantilever beams with linearly, parabolically and exponentially varying rectangular cross-sections; these responses of the beams are calculated numerically and the effects of the varying cross-section on them are studied.     

Vibration and dynamic stability of a traveling sandwich beam

The vibration and dynamic stability of a traveling sandwich beam are studied using the finite element method. The damping layer is assumed to be linear viscoelastic and almost incompressible. The extensional and shear moduli of the viscoelastic material are characterized by complex quantities. Complex-eigenvalue problems are solved by the state-space method, and the natural frequencies and modal loss factors of the composite beam are extracted. The effects of stiffness and thickness ratio of the viscoelastic and constrained layers on natural frequencies and modal loss factors are reported. Tension fluctuations are the dominant source of excitation in a traveling sandwich material, and the regions of dynamic instability are determined by modified Bolotin's method. Numerical results show that the constrained damping layer stabilizes the traveling sandwich beam.     

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.     

The thermal effects on high-frequency vibration of beams using energy flow analysis

In this paper, the energy flow analysis (EFA) method is developed to predict the high-frequency response of beams in a thermal environment, which is a topic of concern in aerospace and automotive industries. The temperature load applied on the structures can generate thermal stresses and change material properties. The wavenumber and group velocity associated with the in-plane axial force arising from thermal stresses are included in the derivation of the governing energy equation, and the input power is obtained from the derived effective bending stiffness. In addition, effect of temperature-dependent material properties is considered in the EFA model. To verify the proposed formulation, numerical simulations are performed for a pinned–pinned beam in a uniform thermal environment. The EFA results are compared with the modal solutions for various frequencies and damping loss factors, and good correlations are observed. The results show that the spatial distributions and levels of energy density can be affected by the thermal effects, and the vibration response of beams increases with temperature.     

Optimal design of beams under flexural vibration

The minimum weight design of a cantilever beam in flexural vibration is considered. The aim is the maximization of a given natural bending frequency (usually the first) for a given beam weight or equivalently the minimization of beam weight for a specified value of a natural frequency. The beams considered are of rectangular section and are subject, in a range of cases presented, to a variety of constraints on lower and upper bounds on the cross-section dimensions or to the specification of a point mass at the end of the beam. Simple bending theory is regarded as applicable to the problem. A variational statement of the problem is made and the necessary conditions for a minimum are obtained as a system of non-linear equations which are solved numerically. Results are given in the form of tables and of figures showing computed optimum profiles. Some experiments on a sample set of beams of equal mass are described briefly. The optimum profile beam was found to have the greatest fundamental frequency, in support of the theoretical predictions.     

On the shear coefficient in Timoshenko's beam theory

Some existing formulations for the shear coefficient in Timoshenko's beam theory are discussed, especially through evaluation of the accuracy to which natural frequencies of simply supported, prismatic, thin walled beams can be obtained. The main conclusion drawn is that if a consistent expression for the shear coefficient, such as those given by Cowper [1] or Stephen [2], is used in Timoshenko's beam theory, then very high accuracies can be expected for the natural frequencies, even for wavelengths of the same magnitude as the transverse dimension of the beam. It is noted that no reduction of the moment of inertia due to shear lag effects should be made as these effects are included in the consistent formulas for the shear coefficient. Finally, some apparently paradoxical results indicating that a reduction in shear stiffness occurs in rare cases if more material is added to a section are discussed and explained as resulting from the use of integrated rather than pointwise deflection measures in the derivation of consistent shear coefficient expressions. The results are discussed in the light of the importance of the shear stiffness of the hull girder in ship hull vibration analysis.     

Dynamic analysis of magnetorheological elastomer-based sandwich beam with conductive skins under various boundary conditions

The dynamic analysis of a three-layered symmetric sandwich beam with magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) embedded viscoelastic core and conductive skins subjected to a periodic axial load have been carried out under various boundary conditions. As the skins of the sandwich beam are conductive, magnetic loads are applied to the skins during vibration. Due to the field-dependent shear modulus of MRE material, the stiffness of the MRE embedded sandwich beam can be changed by the application of magnetic fields. Using extended Hamilton’s principle along with generalized Galarkin’s method the governing equation of motion has been derived. The free vibration analysis of the system has been carried out and the results are compared with the published experimental and analytical results which are found to be in good agreement. The parametric instability regions of the sandwich beam have been determined for various boundary conditions. Here, recently developed magnetorheological elastomer based on natural rubber containing iron particles and carbon blacks have been used. The effects of magnetic field, length of MRE patch, core thickness, percentage of iron particles and carbon blacks on the regions of parametric instability for first three modes of vibration have been studied. These results have been compared with the parametric instability regions of the sandwich beam with fully viscoelastic core to show the passive and active vibration reduction of these structures using MRE and magnetic field. Also, the results are compared with those obtained using higher order theory.     

Torsional-flexural waves in thin-walled open beams

A one-dimensional theory is developed for coupled torsional-flexural waves in thin-walled elastic beams of arbitrary open cross-section. Complex kinematical effects are fully taken into account with an emphasis on consistency. Exact equations of motion are obtained in terms of generalized stresses and generalized displacements defined by an averaging procedure. Constitutive relations accounting for flexural-torsional couplings are proposed. They include and generalize the static laws of strength of materials. General features of the dispersion are analyzed. This theory is applied to the case of a standard angle-section of which the dispersion curves are given.     

Generation of coherent X-rays from a relativistic electron beam backscattered by a CO2 laser

On the basis of Palmer's criterion for the self-bunching effect of a relativistic electron beam in a helical magnetic field, it is shown that coherent X-rays can be generated from relativistic electron beams backscattered by laser beams without the need of any resonant cavity.     

Influence of Adhesive Characteristics on the Interfacial Stress Concentrations in Externally FRP Plated Steel Beams

This paper deals with the influence of adhesive properties on the interlaminar stress in externally FRP plated steel beams. The analysis provides efficient calculations for both shear and normal interfacial stresses in steel beams strengthened with composite plates, and accounts for various effects of Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus of adhesive. Such interfacial stresses play a fundamental role in the mechanics of plated beams, because they can produce a sudden and premature failure. The analysis is based on equilibrium and deformations compatibility approach developed by Tounsi [1]. In the present theoretical analysis, the adherend shear deformations are taken into account by assuming a parabolic shear stress through the thickness of both the steel beam and bonded plate. The paper concludes with a summary and recommendations for the design of the strengthened beam.