VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF AN OPEN CRACKED BEAM WITH ELASTIC SUPPORT

The presences of cracks change the physical characteristics of a structure which in turn alter its dynamic response characteristics. Crack depth and location are the main parameters for the vibration analysis. So it becomes very important to monitor the changes in the response parameters of the structure to access structural integrity, performance and safety. In this current study the response characteristics of a beam is predicted for both intact and cracked beams. In addition to that the response characteristics for different crack depths are studied. In the present study, vibration analysis is carried out on a cantilever beam with elastic support, with and without crack to study the response characteristics. Aluminum beam is used for the numerical analysis. The results obtained numerically are validated with the results obtained from the simulation. The simulations have done with the help of ANSYS software. Stability of the elastic supports for different end conditions is also analyzed under buckling load. It is verified from both computational and simulation analysis that the presence of crack decreases the natural frequency of vibration. The mode shapes also changes considerably due to the presence of crack.