Influence of Crack and Slenderness Ratio on the Eigenfrequencies of Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko Beams

Limited amount of research has been done in the past to investigate the influence of crack and slenderness on the eigenfrequencies of beams. Yet, there is a conflict in the literature as to the effect of crack on natural frequencies of Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theories. The purpose of this study is to clarify this issue. Beams with one, two, and three cracks with a range of depth ratios and slenderness ratios are considered. It is found that as the crack depth increases, the difference between the two beams decreases. The difference, however, increases with increasing slenderness.