Two fundamental challenges in investigation of nonlinear behavior of cantilever beam are the reliability of developed theory in facing with the reality and selecting the proper assumptions for solving the theory-provided equation. In this study, one of the most applicable theory and assumption for analyzing the nonlinear behavior of the cantilever beam is examined analytically and experimentally. The theory is concerned with the slender inextensible cantilever beam with large deformation nonlinearity, and the assumption is using the first-mode discretization in dealing with the partial differential equation provided by the theory. In the analytical study, firstly the equation of motion is derived based on the theory of large deformable inextensible beam. Then, the partial differential equation of motion is discretized using the Galerkin method via the assumption of the first mode. An exact solution to the obtained nonlinear ordinary differential equation is developed, because the available semi analytical and approximated methods, due to their limitations, are not always sufficiently reliable. Finally, an experiment set-up is developed to measure the nonlinear frequency of oscillations of an aluminum beam within a domain of initial displacement. The results show that the proposed analytical method has excellent convergence with experimental data.

This paper investigates the influence of surface effects on free transverse vibration of piezoelectric nanowires (NWs). The dynamic model of the NW is tackled using nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory. By implementing this theory with consideration of both non-local effect and surface effect under simply support boundary condition, the natural frequencies of the NW are calculated. Also, a closed form solution is obtained in order to calculate fundamental buckling voltage. Finally, the effect of small scale effect on residual surface tension and critical electric potential is explored. The results can help to design piezo-NW based instruments.

The paper presents the results of investigations concerning the influence of gray cast iron modification on free vibration frequency of the disc casting. Three different chemical composition melts of gray cast iron were prepared in induction furnace. During gravity casting 0.05% and 0.3% mass of the Inolate modifier was added on stream of metal for changing graphite flakes in castings. Sound signal vibration of cast iron sample was registered by means on microphone for free vibration frequency measurements. Decreasing of free vibration frequency of modified cast iron in comparison with non modified castings was observed. Higher contents of modifier causes more decreasing of free vibration frequency. Cast iron with smaller contents of carbon and silicon have higher free vibration frequency in comparison with eutectic composition cast iron. Hardness of examined cast iron is lower when the more modifier is added during modification process. Free frequency is smaller with smaller Brinell hardness of disc casting. It was concluded that control of free vibration frequency of disc castings by means of chemical composition and modification process can improved comfort and safety of working parts.

In this paper, a comprehensive study is carried out on the dynamic behaviour of Euler–Bernoulli and Timoshenko beams resting on Winkler type variable elastic foundation. The material properties of the beam and the stiffness of the foundation are considered to be varying along the length direction. The free vibration problem is formulated using Rayleigh-Ritz method and Hamilton’s principle is applied to generate the governing equations. The results are presented as non-dimensional natural frequencies for different material gradation models and different foundation stiffness variation models. Two distinct boundary conditions viz., clamped-clamped and simply supported-simply supported are considered in the analysis. The results are validated with existing literature and excellent agreement is observed between the results.

In this paper, nonlinear free vibration analysis of micro-beams resting on the viscoelastic foundation is investigated by the use of the modified couple stress theory, which is able to capture the size effects for structures in micron and sub-micron scales. To this aim, the gov-erning equation of motion and the boundary conditions are derived using the Euler–Bernoulli beam and the Hamilton’s principle. The Galerkin method is employed to solve the governing nonlinear differential equation and obtain the frequency-amplitude algebraic equation. Final-ly, the effects of different parameters, such as the mode number, aspect ratio of length to height, the normalized length scale parameter and foundation parameters on the natural fre-quency-amplitude curves of doubly simply supported beams are studied.

Complex structures used in various engineering applications are made up of simple structural members like beams, plates and shells. The fundamental frequency is absolutely essential in determining the response of these structural elements subjected to the dynamic loads. However, for short beams, one has to consider the effect of shear deformation and rotary inertia in order to evaluate their fundamental linear frequencies. In this paper, the authors developed a Coupled Displacement Field method where the number of undetermined coefficients 2n existing in the classical Rayleigh-Ritz method are reduced to n, which significantly simplifies the procedure to obtain the analytical solution. This is accomplished by using a coupling equation derived from the static equilibrium of the shear flexible structural element. In this paper, the free vibration behaviour in terms of slenderness ratio and foundation parameters have been derived for the most practically used shear flexible uniform Timoshenko Hinged-Hinged, Clamped-Clamped beams resting on Pasternak foundation. The findings obtained by the present Coupled Displacement Field Method are compared with the existing literature wherever possible and the agreement is good.

In this work, transient and free vibration analyses are illustrated for a functionally graded Timoshenko beam (FGM) using finite element method. The governing equilibrium equations and boundary conditions (B-Cs) are derived according to the principle of Hamilton. The materials constituents of the FG beam that vary smoothly along the thickness of the beam (along beam thickness) are evaluated using the rule of mixture method. Power law index, slenderness ratio, modulus of elasticity ratio, and boundary conditions effect of the cantilever and simply supported beams on the dynamic response of the beam are studied. Moreover, the influence of mass distribution and continuous stiffness of the FGM beam are deeply investigated. Comparisons between the current free vibration results (fundamental frequency) and other available studies are performed to check the formulation of the current mathematical model. Good results have been obtained. A significant effect is noticed in the transient response of both simply supported and cantilever beams at the smaller values of the power index and the modulus elasticity ratio.

In this paper, a semi-analytical solution for free vibration differential equations of curved girders is proposed based on their mathematical properties and vibration characteristics. The solutions of in-plane vibration differential equations are classified into two cases: one only considers variable separation of non-longitudinal vibration, while the other is a synthesis method addressing both longitudinal and non-longitudinal vibrationusing Rayleigh’s modal assumption and variable separation method. A similar approach is employed for the out-of-plane vibration, but further mathematical operations are conducted to incorporate the coupling effect of bending and twisting. In this case study, the natural frequencies of a curved girder under different boundary conditions are obtained using the two proposed methods, respectively. The results are compared with those from the finite element analysis (FEA) and results show good convergence.