Solution of Free Vibration Equations of Euler-Bernoulli Cracked Beams by Using Differential Transform Method

Abstract

In this paper, free vibration differential equations of cracked beam are solved by using differential transform method (DTM) that is one of the numerical methods for ordinary and partial differential equations. The Euler–Bernoulli beam model is proposed to study the frequency factors for bending vibration of cracked beam with ant symmetric boundary conditions (as one end is clamped and the other is simply supported). The beam is modeled as two segments connected by a rotational spring located at the cracked section. This model promotes discontinuities in both vertical displacement and rotational due to bending. The differential equations for the free bending vibrations are established and then solved individually for each segment with the corresponding boundary conditions and the appropriated compatibility conditions at the cracked section by using DTM and analytical solution. The results show that DTM provides simple method for solving equations and the results obtained by DTM converge to the analytical solution with much more accurate for both shallow and deep cracks. This study demonstrates that the differential transform is a feasible tool for obtaining the analytical form solution of free vibration differential equation of cracked beam with simple expression.