A general nonlocal beam theory: Its application to nanobeam bending, buckling and vibration

In the present study, a generalized nonlocal beam theory is proposed to study bending, buckling and free vibration of nanobeams. Nonlocal constitutive equations of Eringen are used in the formulations. After deriving governing equations, different beam theories including those of Euler–Bernoulli, Timoshenko, Reddy, Levinson and Aydogdu [Compos. Struct., 89 (2009) 94] are used as a special case in the present compact formulation without repeating derivation of governing equations each time. Effect of nonlocality and length of beams are investigated in detail for each considered problem. Present solutions can be used for the static and dynamic analyses of single-walled carbon nanotubes.     

Size-dependent dynamic pull-in analysis of geometric non-linear micro-plates based on the modified couple stress theory

This paper focuses on the size-dependent dynamic pull-in instability in rectangular micro-plates actuated by step-input DC voltage. The present model accounts for the effects of in-plane displacements and their non-classical higher-order boundary conditions, von Kármán geometric non-linearity, non-classical couple stress components and the inherent non-linearity of distributed electrostatic pressure on the micro-plate motion. The governing equations of motion, which are clearly derived using Hamilton's principle, are solved through a novel computationally very efficient Galerkin-based reduced order model (ROM) in which all higher-order non-classical boundary conditions are completely satisfied. The present findings are compared and successfully validated by available results in the literature as well as those obtained by three-dimensional finite element simulations carried out using COMSOL Multyphysics. A detailed parametric study is also conducted to illustrate the effects of in-plane displacements, plate aspect ratio, couple stress components and geometric non-linearity on the dynamic instability threshold of the system.     

Spectrum of boundary states in N=1 SUSY sine-Gordon theory

We consider N=1 supersymmetric sine-Gordon theory (SSG) with supersymmetric integrable boundary conditions (boundary SSG=BSSG). We find two possible ways to close the boundary bootstrap for this model, corresponding to two different choices for the boundary supercharge. We argue that these two bootstrap solutions should correspond to the two integrable Lagrangian boundary theories considered recently by Nepomechie.     

Free vibration of size-dependent Mindlin microplates based on the modified couple stress theory

This paper develops a Mindlin microplate model based on the modified couple stress theory for the free vibration analysis of microplates. This non-classical plate model contains an internal material length scale parameter related to the material microstructures and is capable of interpreting the size effect that the classical Mindlin plate model is unable to describe. The higher-order governing equations of motion and boundary conditions are derived using the Hamilton principle. The p-version Ritz method is employed to determine the natural frequencies of the microplate with different boundary conditions. A detailed parametric study is conducted to study the influences of the length scale parameter, side-to-thickness ratio and aspect ratio on the free vibration characteristics of the microplate. It is found that the size effect is significant when the thickness of microplate is close to the material length scale parameter.     

Dynamic stiffness matrix of thin-walled composite I-beam with symmetric and arbitrary laminations

For the spatially coupled free vibration analysis of thin-walled composite I-beam with symmetric and arbitrary laminations, the exact dynamic stiffness matrix based on the solution of the simultaneous ordinary differential equations is presented. For this, a general theory for the vibration analysis of composite beam with arbitrary lamination including the restrained warping torsion is developed by introducing Vlasov's assumption. Next, the equations of motion and force–displacement relationships are derived from the energy principle and the first order of transformed simultaneous differential equations are constructed by using the displacement state vector consisting of 14 displacement parameters. Then explicit expressions for displacement parameters are derived and the exact dynamic stiffness matrix is determined using force–displacement relationships. In addition, the finite-element (FE) procedure based on Hermitian interpolation polynomials is developed. To verify the validity and the accuracy of this study, the numerical solutions are presented and compared with analytical solutions, the results from available references and the FE analysis using the thin-walled Hermitian beam elements. Particular emphasis is given in showing the phenomenon of vibrational mode change, the effects of increase of the modulus and the bending–twisting coupling stiffness for beams with various boundary conditions.     

Free vibration analysis of magneto-electro-elastic microbeams subjected to magneto-electric loads

Different types of actuating and sensing mechanisms are used in new micro and nanoscale devices. Therefore, a new challenge is modeling electromechanical systems that use these mechanisms. In this paper, free vibration of a magnetoelectroelastic (MEE) microbeam is investigated in order to obtain its natural frequencies and buckling loads. The beam is simply supported at both ends. External electric and magnetic potentials are applied to the beam. By using the Hamilton's principle, the governing equations and boundary conditions are derived based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. The equations are solved, analytically to obtain the natural frequencies of the MEE microbeam. Furthermore, the effects of external electric and magnetic potentials on the buckling of the beam are analyzed and the critical values of the potentials are obtained. Finally, a numerical study is conducted. It is found that the natural frequency can be tuned directly by changing the magnetic and electric potentials. Additionally, a closed form solution for the normalized natural frequency is derived, and buckling loads are calculated in a numerical example.     

THE FORCED VIBRATION AND BOUNDARY CONTROL OF PRETWISTED TIMOSHENKO BEAMS WITH GENERAL TIME DEPENDENT ELASTIC BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

The governing differential equations and the general time-dependent elastic boundary conditions for the coupled bending-bending forced vibration of a pretwisted non-uniform Timoshenko beam are derived by Hamilton's principle. By introducing a general change of dependent variable with shifting functions, the original system is transformed into a system composed of four non-homogeneous governing differential equations and eight homogeneous boundary conditions. The transformed system is proved to be self-adjoint. Consequently, the method of separation of variables can be used to solve the transformed problem. The physical meanings of these shifting functions are explored. The orthogonality condition for the eigenfunctions of a pretwisted non-uniform beam with elastic boundary conditions is also derived. The relation between the shifting functions and the stiffness matrix is derived. The boundary control of a pretwist Timoshenko beam is studied. The effects of the total pretwist angle, the position of loading and the boundary spring constants on the energy required to control the performance of a pretwisted beam are investigated.     

Buckling of single layer graphene sheet based on nonlocal elasticity and higher order shear deformation theory

Higher order shear deformation theory (HSDT) is reformulated using the nonlocal differential constitutive relations of Eringen. The equations of motion of the nonlocal theories are derived. The developed equations of motion have been applied to study buckling characteristics of nanoplates such as graphene sheets. Navier's approach has been used to solve the governing equations for all edges simply supported boundary conditions. Analytical solutions for critical buckling loads of the graphene sheets are presented. Nonlocal elasticity theories are employed to bring out the small scale effect on the critical buckling load of graphene sheets. Effects of (i) nonlocal parameter, (ii) length, (iii) thickness of the graphene sheets and (iv) higher order shear deformation theory on the critical buckling load have been investigated. The theoretical development as well as numerical solutions presented herein should serve as reference for nonlocal theories as applied to the stability analysis of nanoplates and nanoshells.     

Prediction capabilities of classical and shear deformable beam models excited by a moving mass

In this paper, a comprehensive assessment of design parameters for various beam theories subjected to a moving mass is investigated under different boundary conditions. The design parameters are adopted as the maximum dynamic deflection and bending moment of the beam. To this end, discrete equations of motion for classical Euler-Bernoulli, Timoshenko and higher-order beams under a moving mass are derived based on Hamilton's principle. The reproducing kernel particle method (RKPM) and extended Newmark-β method are utilized for spatial and time discretization of the problem, correspondingly. The design parameter spectra in terms of the beam slenderness, mass weight and velocity of the moving mass are introduced for the mentioned beam theories as well as various boundary conditions. The results indicate the existence of a critical beam slenderness mostly as a function of beam boundary condition, in which, for slenderness lower than this so-called critical one, the application of Euler-Bernoulli or even Timoshenko beam theories would underestimate the real dynamic response of the system. Moreover, there would be a roughly linear relation between the weight of the moving mass and the design parameters for a certain value of the moving mass velocity in most cases of boundary conditions.     

Lamb wave extraction of dispersion curves in micro/nano-plates using couple stress theories

In this paper, Lamb wave propagation in a homogeneous and isotropic non-classical micro/nano-plates is investigated. To consider the effect of material microstructure on the wave propagation, three size-dependent models namely indeterminate-, modified- and consistent couple stress theories are used to extract the dispersion equations. In the mentioned theories, a parameter called ‘characteristic length’ is used to consider the size of material microstructure in the governing equations. To generalize the parametric studies and examine the effect of thickness, propagation wavelength, and characteristic length on the behavior of miniature plate structures, the governing equations are nondimensionalized by defining appropriate dimensionless parameters. Then the dispersion curves for phase and group velocities are plotted in terms of a wide frequency-thickness range to study the lamb waves propagation considering microstructure effects in very high frequencies. According to the illustrated results, it was observed that the couple stress theories in the Cosserat type material predict more rigidity than the classical theory; so that in a plate with constant thickness, by increasing the thickness to characteristic length ratio, the results approach to the classical theory, and by reducing this ratio, wave propagation speed in the plate is significantly increased. In addition, it is demonstrated that for high-frequency Lamb waves, it converges to dispersive Rayleigh wave velocity.     

Aero-thermo-mechanical characteristics of imperfect shape memory alloy hybrid composite panels

A nonlinear finite element model is provided to predict the static aero-thermal deflection and the vibration behavior of geometrically imperfect shape memory alloy hybrid composite panels under the combined effect of thermal and aerodynamic loads. The nonlinear governing equations are obtained using Marguerre curved plate theory and the principle of virtual work taking into account the temperature-dependence of material properties. The effect of large deflection is included in the formulation through the von Karman nonlinear strain-displacement relations. The thermal load is assumed to be a steady-state constant-temperature distribution, whereas the aerodynamic pressure is modeled using the quasi-steady first-order piston theory. The Newton-Raphson iteration method is employed to obtain the nonlinear aero-thermal deflections, while an eigenvalue problem is solved at each temperature step and static aerodynamic load to predict the free vibration frequencies about the deflected equilibrium position. Finally, the nonlinear deflection and free vibration characteristics of a composite panel are presented, illustrating the effects of geometric imperfection, temperature rise, aerodynamic pressure, boundary conditions and shape memory alloy fiber embeddings on the panel response.     

Effects of surface and interface energies on the bending behavior of nanoscale multilayered beams

A modified continuum model of the nanoscale multilayered beams is established by incorporating surface and interface energies. Through the principle of minimum potential energy, the governing equations and boundary conditions are obtained. The closed-form solutions are presented and the overall Young's modulus of the beam is studied. The surface and interface energies are found to have a major influence on the bending behavior and the overall Young's modulus of the beam. The effect of surface and interface energies on the overall Young's modulus depends on the boundary condition of the beam, the values of the surface/interface elasticity constants and the initial surface/interface energy of the system. The results can be used to guide the determinations of the surface/interface elasticity properties and the initial surface/interface energies of the nanoscale multilayered materials through nanoscale beam bending experiments.     

The refined theory of deep rectangular beams for symmetrical deformation

Based on elasticity theory, various one-dimensional equations for symmetrical deformation have been deduced systematically and directly from the two-dimensional theory of deep rectangular beams by using the Papkovich-Neuber solution and the Lur’e method without ad hoc assumptions, and they construct the refined theory of beams for symmetrical deformation. It is shown that the displacements and stresses of the beam can be represented by the transverse normal strain and displacement of the mid-plane. In the case of homogeneous boundary conditions, the exact solutions for the beam are derived, and the exact equations consist of two governing differential equations: the second-order equation and the transcendental equation. In the case of non-homogeneous boundary conditions, the approximate governing differential equations and solutions for the beam under normal loadings only and shear loadings only are derived directly from the refined beam theory, respectively, and the correctness of the stress assumptions in classic extension or compression problems is revised. Meanwhile, as an example, explicit expressions of analytical solutions are obtained for beams subjected to an exponentially distributed load along the length of beams. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10702077, 10672001, and 10602001), the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 1083012), and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany     

Application of elastically supported single-walled carbon nanotubes for sensing arbitrarily attached nano-objects

The potential application of SWCNTs as mass nanosensors is examined for a wide range of boundary conditions. The SWCNT is modeled via nonlocal Rayleigh, Timoshenko, and higher-order beam theories. The added nano-objects are considered as rigid solids, which are attached to the SWCNT. The mass weight and rotary inertial effects of such nanoparticles are appropriately incorporated into the nonlocal equations of motion of each model. The discrete governing equation pertinent to each model is obtained using an effective meshless technique. The key factor in design of a mass nanosensor is to determine the amount of frequency shift due to the added nanoparticles. Through an inclusive parametric study, the roles of slenderness ratio of the SWCNT, small-scale parameter, mass weight, number of the attached nanoparticles, and the boundary conditions of the SWCNT on the frequency shift ratio of the first flexural vibration mode of the SWCNT as a mass sensor are also discussed.     

Size-dependent geometrically nonlinear free vibration analysis of fractional viscoelastic nanobeams based on the nonlocal elasticity theory

In recent decades, mathematical modeling and engineering applications of fractional-order calculus have been extensively utilized to provide efficient simulation tools in the field of solid mechanics. In this paper, a nonlinear fractional nonlocal Euler–Bernoulli beam model is established using the concept of fractional derivative and nonlocal elasticity theory to investigate the size-dependent geometrically nonlinear free vibration of fractional viscoelastic nanobeams. The non-classical fractional integro-differential Euler–Bernoulli beam model contains the nonlocal parameter, viscoelasticity coefficient and order of the fractional derivative to interpret the size effect, viscoelastic material and fractional behavior in the nanoscale fractional viscoelastic structures, respectively. In the solution procedure, the Galerkin method is employed to reduce the fractional integro-partial differential governing equation to a fractional ordinary differential equation in the time domain. Afterwards, the predictor–corrector method is used to solve the nonlinear fractional time-dependent equation. Finally, the influences of nonlocal parameter, order of fractional derivative and viscoelasticity coefficient on the nonlinear time response of fractional viscoelastic nanobeams are discussed in detail. Moreover, comparisons are made between the time responses of linear and nonlinear models.     

Dynamic stiffness vibration analysis of an elastically connected three-beam system

An exact dynamic stiffness method is developed for predicting the free vibration characteristics of a three-beam system, which is composed of three non-identical uniform beams of equal length connected by innumerable coupling springs and dashpots. The Bernoulli-Euler beam theory is used to define the beams’ dynamic behaviors. The dynamic stiffness matrix is formulated from the general solutions of the basic governing differential equations of a three-beam element in damped free vibration. The derived dynamic stiffness matrix is then used in conjunction with the automated Muller root search algorithm to calculate the free vibration characteristics of the three-beam systems. The numerical results are obtained for two sets of the stiffnesses of springs and a large variety of interesting boundary conditions.     

Boundary data immersion method for Cartesian-grid simulations of fluid-body interaction problems

A new robust and accurate Cartesian-grid treatment for the immersion of solid bodies within a fluid with general boundary conditions is described. The new approach, the Boundary Data Immersion Method (BDIM), is derived based on a general integration kernel formulation which allows the field equations of each domain and the interfacial conditions to be combined analytically. The resulting governing equation for the complete domain preserves the behavior of the original system in an efficient Cartesian-grid method, including stable and accurate pressure values on the solid boundary. The kernel formulation allows a detailed analysis of the method, and it is demonstrated that BDIM is consistent, obtains second-order convergence relative to the kernel width, and is robust with respect to the grid and boundary alignment. Formulation for no-slip and free slip boundary conditions are derived and numerical results are obtained for the flow past a cylinder and the impact of blunt bodies through a free surface. The BDIM predictions are compared to analytic, experimental and previous numerical results confirming the properties, efficiency and efficacy of this new boundary treatment for Cartesian grid methods.     

Post-buckling longterm dynamics of a forced nonlinear beam: A perturbation approach

The aim of this paper is to determine by a singular perturbation approach the dynamic response of a harmonically forced system experiencing a pitchfork bifurcation. The model of an extensible beam forced by a harmonic excitation and subject to an axial static buckling is space-discretized by a Galerkin approach and studied by the Normal Form Method for different values of equation parameters influencing the nonlinear dynamic behavior like damping coefficient, load amplitude and frequency. A relevant issue in the perturbation methods is the concept of small and zero divisors which are related to the possibility to build a transformation that simplifies the original studied problem, i.e. to obtain the Normal Form, by eliminating as much as possible nonlinearities in the equations. For nonconservative systems, like structural damped systems, there are no conditions in the prior literature that define what “small” means relatively to a divisor. In the present paper some conditions about the order of magnitude of the divisors with respect to the perturbation entity are given and related to some physical parameters in the governing equations in order to estimate the relevance of some nonlinear effects.     

Wave propagation in double-walled carbon nanotubes on a novel analytically nonlocal Timoshenko-beam model

This paper is concerned with the characteristics of wave propagation in double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs). The DWCNTs is simulated with a Timoshenko beam model based on the nonlocal continuum elasticity theory, referred to as an analytically nonlocal Timoshenko-beam (ANT) model. The governing equations of the DWCNTs beam consist of a set of four equations that are derived from the variational principle of the beam with high-order boundary conditions at the both ends, in which the effects of the nano-scale nonlocality and the van der Waals interaction between inner and outer tubes are inclusive. The characteristics of the wave propagation in the DWCNTs beam were analyzed with the new ANT model proposed and the comparisons with the partially nonlocal Timoshenko-beam (PNT) models in publication were made in details. The results show that the nonlocal effects of the ANT model proposed in the present study on the wave propagations are more significant because it is in stronger stiffness enhancement to the DWCNTs beam.     

Analytical formulation and evaluation for free vibration of naturally curved and twisted beams

An analytical study for free vibration of naturally curved and twisted beams with uniform cross-sectional shapes is carried out using spatial curved beam theory based on the Washizu's static model. In the governing equations of motion of the beams, all displacement functions and the generalized warping coordinate are defined at the centroid axis and also the effects of rotary inertia, transverse shear deformations and torsion-related warping are included in the proposed model. Explicit analytical expressions are derived for the vibrating mode shapes of a curved, bending-torsional-shearing coupled beam under clamped-clamped boundary condition with the help of symbolic computing package Mathematica, and a process of searching is used to determine the natural frequencies. Comparisons of the present results with the FEM results using beam elements in ANSYS code show good accuracy in computation and validity of the model. Further, the present model is used for cylindrical helical springs with circular cross-section fixed at both ends, and the results indicate that the natural frequencies agree well with the theoretical and experimental results available.