Vibration analysis of Euler-Bernoulli beams in multiple steps and different shapes of cross section

Stepped beams with elastic end supports have been extensively investigated due to their importance in structural engineering fields, including active structures, structural elements with integrated piezoelectric materials, shaft-disc system components, turbomachinery blades and many other structural configurations. Considering the importance of the use of discontinuous structures in the engineering, the authors propose a mathematic modeling which advantage is that the results are independent of the degree of mesh refinement. The analysis is based on the classical Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. In comparison with the published literature on the transverse vibration of single cross section change beams, there are relatively few works covering beam vibration when there is more than one change in the beam cross section. In the present study, the natural frequencies and the mode shapes of beams with variable geometry or material discontinuities are investigated. The mode shapes of a beam with multiple step changes in cross section are discussed theoretically and experimentally. Numerical results obtained by Euler-Bernoulli beam theory are compared with experimental results.