On the determination of natural frequencies of a cantilever beam in free bending vibration: a rigid multibody approach

A new approximate method for the determination of natural frequencies of a cantilever beam in free bending vibration by a rigid multibody system is proposed. Uniform Euler-Bernoulli cantilever beams with and without a lumped mass at the tips are considered. The modelling method consists of two steps. In the first step, the cantilever beam is replaced by lumped masses interconnected by massless flexible beams. In the second step, the massless flexible beams are replaced by massless rigid beams connected through revolute and prismatic joints with corresponding springs in them. Elastic properties of the massless flexible beams are modelled by the springs introduced. The method proposed is compared with similar ones in the literature.