Harmonic analysis of the vibrations of cantilevered beams with a closing crack

In this article, the vibrational response of a cracked cantilevered beam to harmonic forcing is analysed. The study has been performed using a finite element model of the beam, in which a so-called closing crack model, fully open or fully closed, is used to represent the damaged element. Undamaged parts of the beam are modelled by Euler-type finite elements with two nodes and 2 d.f. (transverse displacement and rotation) at each node. Recently the harmonic balance method has been employed by other researchers to solve the resulting non-linear equations of motion. Instead, in this study, the analysis has been extended to employ the first and higher order harmonics of the response to a harmonic forcing in order to characterize the non-linear behaviour of the cracked beam. Correlating the higher order harmonics of the response with the forcing term the so-called higher order frequency response function (FRFs), defined from the Volterra series representation of the dynamics of non-linear systems, can be determined by using the finite element model to simulate the time domain response of the cracked beam. Ultimately the aim will be to employ such a series of FRFs, an estimate of which in practice could be measured in a stepped sine test on the beam to indicate both the location and depth of the crack, thus forming the basis of an experimental structural damage identification procedure.