The lateral vibration of cracked isotropic thick beams is investigated. Generally, the analysis of thick beam based on line elements can be undertaken using either Timoshenko beam theory or a third order beam theory (TSDT) such as Reddy beam theory. TSDT is superior to Timoshenko beam theory, as it eliminates the need for a shear correction coefficient. However, there is no available solution for a cracked beam based on Reddy beam theory which is the main focus of this paper. The investigated beam is divided into several elements where their stiffness and mass matrices are derived using Reddy beam theory. Each element has two nodes with 3 degrees of freedom (1 lateral and 2 rotational) at each node. The crack was modeled using two rotating springs with stiffnesses that varied with crack depth. These elements are used to connect the adjacent beam elements. The impact of boundary conditions, slenderness ratio, crack location, and crack depth are investigated. In addition, experimental and finite element analyses of cracked steel beams is undertaken to validate the results of the present model. The results show that the maximum deviation between the analytical and the experimental results is less than 3% up to the third mode shape.

The present study investigates the free vibration behavior of rotating beams made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) with a tapered geometry. The material properties of the beams are characterized by an exponential distribution model. The stiffness and mass matrices of the beams are derived using the principle of virtual energy. These matrices are then evaluated using three different beam theories: Bernoulli–Euler (BE) or Classical Beam Theory (CBT), Timoshenko (T) or First-order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT), and Reddy (R) or Third-order Shear Deformation Theory (TSDT). Additionally, the study incorporates uncertainties in the model parameters, including rotational velocity, beam material properties, and material distribution. The mean-centered second-order perturbation method is employed to account for the randomness of these properties. To ensure the robustness and accuracy of the probabilistic framework, numerical examples are presented, and the results are compared with those obtained through the Monte Carlo simulation technique. The investigation explores the impact of critical parameters, including material distribution, taper ratios, aspect ratio, hub radius, and rotational speed, on the natural frequencies of the beams is explored within the scope of this investigation. The outcomes are compared not only with previously published research findings but also with the results of 3-Dimensional Finite Element (3D-FE) simulations conducted using ANSYS to validate the model’s effectiveness. The comparisons demonstrate a strong agreement across all evaluations. Specifically, it is observed that for thick beams, the results obtained from FSDT and TSDT exhibit a greater agreement with the 3D-FE simulations compared to CBT. It is shown that the coefficient of variation (C.O.V.) of first mode eigenvalue of TSDT, FSDT and CBT are approximately identical for random rotational velocity and discernible deviations are noted in CBT compared to FSDT and TSDT in the case of random material properties. The findings suggest that TSDT outperforms FSDT by eliminating the need for a shear correction coefficient, thereby establishing its superiority in accurately predicting the natural frequencies of rotating, tapered beams composed of FGMs.

The free vibration of multistepped nanobeams is studied using the dynamic stiffness matrix method. The beam analysis is based on the Bernoulli–Euler theory, and the nanoscale analysis is based on the Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity theory. The nanobeam is attached to linear and rotational elastic supports at the start, end, and intermediate boundary conditions. The effect of the nonlocal parameter, boundary conditions, and step ratios on the nanobeam natural frequency is investigated. The results of the dynamic stiffness matrix methods are validated by comparing selected cases with the literature, which give excellent agreement with those literatures. The results show that the dimensionless natural frequency parameter is inversely proportional to the nonlocal parameters except in the first mode for clamped-free boundary conditions. Also, the gap between every two consecutive modes decreases with the increasing of the nonlocal parameter.

Purpose: Mechanical properties of 1D nanostructures are of great importance in nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) applications. The free vibration analysis is a non-destructive technique for evaluating Young's modulus of nanorods and for detecting defects in nanorods. Therefore, this paper aims to study the longitudinal free vibration of a stepped nanorod embedded in several elastic media. Methods: The analysis is based on Eringen’s nonlocal theory of elasticity. The governing equation is obtained using Hamilton’s principle and then transformed into the nonlocal analysis. The dynamic stiffness matrix (DSM) method is used to assemble the rod segments equations. The case of a two-segment nanorod embedded in two elastic media is then deeply investigated. Results: The effect of changing the elastic media stiffness, the segments stiffness ratio, boundary conditions and the nonlocal parameter are examined. The nano-rod spectrum and dispersion relations are also investigated. Conclusion: The results show that increasing the elastic media stiffness and the segment stiffness ratio increases the natural frequencies. Furthermore, increasing the nonlocal parameter reduces natural frequencies slightly at lower modes and significantly at higher modes.

In this study, the linear free vibration of intact and cracked functionally graded material plates is investigated numerically and experimentally. The experimental work is limited to the isotropic materials. The numerical work is based on finite element, where a code is developed to obtain the natural frequencies of intact plates based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) using MATLAB software. Also, a model of through-cracked FGM plate is developed using ANSYS Workbench with the help of APDL coding. The material properties of the plates under study are graded in one, two, and three directions. The novelty of this study emerges through its examination of the synergistic impacts resulting from variations in FGM material properties, crack length, crack orientation, and crack location. These effects are comprehensively discussed in the results section. The result of the present model shows that the use of three-directional FGM reduces the natural frequency compared with the other cases of two-directional and unidirectional FGM. Also, the results show that the effect of FGM gradient on the frequency of intact and cracked plate is high when the gradient index $$n < 3 .$$n<3. The present paper results are useful for the design of FGM plates especially when cracks exist.