Quasi-static response of linear viscoelastic cantilever beams subject to a concentrated harmonic end load

This study evaluates the response of a uniform cantilever beam with a symmetric cross-section fixed at one end, and submitted to a lateral concentrated sinusoidal load at the free extremity. The beam material is assumed to be homogeneous, isotropic and linear viscoelastic. Due to the nature of the loading and the beam slenderness, large displacements are developed but the strains are considered small. Consequently, the mathematical formulation only involves geometrical non-linearity. It is also assumed that the beam is inextensible (neutral axis length is constant) and that inertial forces are negligible, i.e., dynamic effects are insignificant and the system can thus be modeled quasi-statically. The beam is therefore subject to oscillations caused by the sinusoidal time-dependent load, leading to a transient response until the material stabilizes and the system exhibits a periodic response, which can be conveniently described in the frequency domain. The time domain solution of this problem is elaborated by considering the quasi-static response for each time interval. The mathematical equations are presented in dimensional and dimensionless forms, and for the latter case, a numerical solution is generated and several case studies are presented. The problem is governed by a set of non-linear ordinary differential equations encompassing functions of space and time that relate the curvature, rotation angle, bending moment and geometrical coordinates. In this study, an elegant solution is deduced using perturbation theory, yielding a precise steady-state solution in the frequency domain with considerable computational economy. The solutions for both time and frequency domain methods are developed and compared using a case study for a series of dimensionless parameters that influence the response of the system.