Vibration-based diagnostics of fatigue damage of beam-like structures

The analytical investigation of vibration of damaged structures is a complicated problem. This problem may be simplified if a structure can be represented in the form of a beam with corresponding boundary and loading conditions. In this connection, free vibrations of an elastic cantilever Bernoulli-Euler beam with a closing edge transverse crack is considered in the present work as a model of a structure with a fatigue crack. The modelling of bending vibrations of a beam with a closing crack is realized based on the solutions for an intact beam and for a beam with an open crack. The algorithm of consecutive (cycle-by-cycle) calculation of beam mode shapes amplitudes is presented. It is shown that at the instant of crack opening and closing, the growth of the so-called concomitant mode shapes which differ from the initially given mode shape takes place. Moreover, each of the half-cycles is characterized by a non-recurrent set of amplitudes of concomitant modes of vibration and these amplitudes are heavily dependent on the crack depth. The vibration characteristics of damage based on the estimation of non-linear distortions of the displacement, acceleration and strain waves of a cracked beam are investigated, and the comparative evaluation of their sensitivity is carried out. (C) 2002 Academic Press.