Acta Mechanica Sinica (2014) 30(4):607–614
DOI 10.1007/s10409-014-0039-4
RESEARCH PAPER
Coupled bending-torsion vibration of a homogeneous beam with a
single delamination subjected to axial loads and static end moments
Yang Liu · Dong-Wei Shu
Received: 11 August 2013 / Revised: 29 September 2013 / Accepted: 29 November 2013
©The Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Abstract Delaminations in structures may significantly re-
duce the stiffness and strength of the structures and may
affect their vibration characteristics. As structural compo-
nents, beams have been used for various purposes, in many
of which beams are often subjected to axial loads and static
end moments. In the present study, an analytical solution is
developed to study the coupled bending-torsion vibration of
a homogeneous beam with a single delamination subjected
to axial loads and static end moments. Euler–Bernoulli beam
theory and the “free mode” assumption in delamination vi-
bration are adopted. This is the first study of the influences of
static end moments upon the effects of delaminations on nat-
ural frequencies, critical buckling loads and critical moments
for lateral instability. The results show that the effects of de-
lamination on reducing natural frequencies, critical buckling
load and critical moment for lateral instability are aggravated
by the presence of static end moment. In turn, the effects of
static end moments on vibration and instability characteris-
tics are affected by the presence of delamination. The analyt-
ical results of this study can serve as a benchmark for finite
element method and other numerical solutions.
Keywords Vibration · Delamination · End moments · Nat-
ural frequency · Critical moment for lateral instability
1 Introduction
Delaminations in structures may arise from manufacturing
(e.g., incomplete wetting, air entrapment) or during service
(e.g., low velocity impact) [1]. They may not be visible on
the surface since they are embedded within the structures.
However, the presence of delamination may significantly re-
Y. Liu · D.-W. Shu (¬)
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,
Nanyang Technological University,
50 Nanyang Avenue 639798, Singapore
e-mail: mdshu@ntu.edu.sg
duce the stiffness and strength of the structures [2] and may
affect their vibration characteristics (e.g., natural frequencies
and mode shapes). Damage detection/structural health mon-
itoring problems are also considered in the frameworks of
vibration analysis [3]. Therefore, it is of great practical im-
portance to understand how the presence of delamination (its
length and location) affects the natural frequency and mode
shape of the structures.
To study the influence of a through-width delamination
on the free vibration of an isotropic beam, Wang et al. [4]
presented an analytical model using four Euler–Bernoulli
beams that are joined together. They assumed that the delam-
inated layers deform “freely” without touching each other
(“free mode”) and will have different transverse deforma-
tions. While Mujumdar and Suryanarayan [5] assumed that
the delaminated layers are in touch along their whole length
all the time, but are allowed to slide over each other (“con-
strained mode”). Thus, the delaminated layers are “con-
strained” to have identical transverse deformations. This
“constrained mode” was extended by Shu and Fan [6] on a
bimaterial beam.
At the same time, the buckling of delaminated beams
is also a common subject of investigation. Jonsson and
Storakers [7] studied the buckling and fracture behavior of
delaminations, with special emphasis laid on elliptic crack
contours. Shu and Parlapalli [8] conducted buckling analy-
sis of two-layer delaminated beams with bridging by using
Rayleigh–Ritz energy method. Li and Zhou [9] provided
a buckling analysis of delaminated beam using the higher-
order shear deformation theory. The variational principle
and Euler equations were applied to obtain the governing
equations and boundary conditions. Hunt et al. [10] con-
ducted a phenomenological overview of the buckling and
post-buckling of fully and partially delaminated struts by
using a simple four-degree-of-freedom nonlinear Rayleigh–
Ritz formulation. They concluded that depending on the ge-
ometry and position of the delamination, thoroughly stable,
608 Y. Liu, D.-W. Shu

effectively neutral, or potentially unstable buckling can oc- a benchmark for FEM and other numerical solutions.
cur in the post-buckling regime.
Analytical solutions for the vibration of beams with 2 Formulation
multiple delaminations have been presented by many re-
The analytical solution to the coupled bending-torsion vibra-
searchers. An analytical formulation was proposed and stud-
tion of beams subjected to axial load and static end moments,
ied by Lee et al. [11] for the vibration analysis of composite
reported by Joshi and Suryanarayan [25], is adopted here.
beams with arbitrary lateral and longitudinal multiple delam-
“Free mode” assumption [14] in delamination vibration is
inations. Saravanos and Hopkins [12] provided an analyt-
used in the present study. Figure 1a shows an isotropic beam
ical solution for the damped free vibration of delaminated
with length L and thickness H1 . The Young’s modulus of
beams. Luo and Hanagud [13] presented a new analytical
the beam is E. The beam is separated along the interface
model for composite beams with delaminations. Nonlin-
by a delamination with length a and located at a distance d1
ear interaction, due piecewise linear spring models between
from the center of the beam, the thicknesses of the top and
the delaminated sub-laminates, were also included. Della et
bottom layers are H1 and H2 . The beam can then be sub-
al. [14–16] used the “free mode” and “constrained mode” as-
divided into three span-wise regions, a delamination region
sumptions to study beams with several delamination config-
and two integral regions. The delamination region is com-
urations. Liu and Shu [17] conducted free vibration analysis
prised of two segments (delaminated layers), beam 2 and
of rotating Timoshenko beams with multiple delaminations.
beam 3, which are joined at their ends to the integral seg-
Beams are often subjected to different types of load- ments, beam 1 and beam 4. Each of the four beams is treated
ings at the boundary due to their wide application as struc- as an Euler–Bernoulli beam.
tural components. The effects of delaminations on the natu-
ral frequencies are consequently influenced by the presence
of different loadings at the boundary [15]. End moments are
commonly exerted on beams by the connections, which are
expected to transmit axial force, shear and moment between
connecting members [18]. For example, welded connection
behavior in structures is often semi-rigid with a resultant end
moment upon the supporting members, beams, columns and
plates, etc. [19]. In structural engineering, the most com-
monly used materials are steel and concrete [20], both of Fig. 1 Beam with a single delamination subjected to axial load and
which suffer the problem of delamination [20–22]. At the end moments
same time the use of composite laminates has been spread-
ing for building constructions [18], making the delamination
problem more common. 2.2 Governing equations and analytical solutions
According to Chen and Atsuta [23], static end mo- The governing equations [25] for the coupled bending-
ments couple transverse bending and torsion of beams, hence torsion vibration of beam subjected to axial loads and static
the lateral buckling involves lateral bending and axial tor- end moments are (i = 1–4)
sion. Analytical solution for coupled bending-torsion vibra-
tion is introduced by Joshi and Suryanarayan [24–26]. Doku- ∂4 wi ∂2 wi ∂2 θi ∂2 wi
−EIi + P i + Mzz,i − ρi A i = 0, (1)
maci [27] presented an exact determination of coupled bend- ∂x4 ∂x2 ∂x2 ∂t2
ing and torsion vibration characteristics of uniform beams Pi I p,i ∂2 θi ∂2 wi ∂2 θi
having single cross-sectional symmetry. Suresh et al. [28] GJi + + Mzz,i 2 − ρi I p,i 2 = 0, (2)
Ai ∂x 2 ∂x ∂t
analyzed the structural dynamical characteristics of compos-
ite beams by using two alternative formulations. Banerjee where wi (x, t) and θi (x, t) denote the midplane deflection and
and Williams [29] provided an accurate method for deter- torsion displacement of beam i. ρ is the mass density, G is
mining the natural frequencies of a coupled bending-torsion shear modulus and Ai is the cross-sectional area, Ji is the St
clamped-clamped beam. Venant torsion constant, I p,i is the polar moment of inertia,
EIi is the bending stiffness of beam (i = 1, 2, 3, 4). Pi de-
This is the first study on the influences of static end
notes the static axial force exerted on beam. P2 and P3 can
moments upon the effects of delamination on natural fre-
be solved from the axial force equilibrium and the axial dis-
quencies, critical buckling loads and critical moments for
placement equilibrium, as are stated in Eqs. (3) and (4)
lateral instability. In the present work, an analytical solu-
tion is developed to study the coupled bending-torsion vibra- P1 = P2 + P3 , (3)
tion of delaminated isotropic beams subjected to axial loads
P2 a P3 a
and static end moments. Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and = , (4)
the “free mode” assumption in delamination vibration are EA2 EA3
adopted. The analytical results of this study can serve as hence
Coupled bending-torsion vibration of a homogeneous beam with a single delamination subjected to axial loads and static end moments 609

P1 EA2 P1 EA3 Wi ( x ) = f1,i sin(k1,i x) + f2,i cos(k1,i x) + f3,i sinh(k2,i x)

P2 = , P3 = , (5)
EA2 + EA3 EA2 + EA3
+ f4,i cosh(k2,i x) + f5,i sin(k3,i x) + f6,i sin(k3,i x),
Mzz,i denotes static end moments exerted on beam i, where φi ( x ) = g1,i [ f1,i sin(k1,i x) + f2,i cos(k1,i x)] (15)
Mzz,2 and Mzz,3 can be obtained by solving Eqs. (6) and (7)
+g2,i [ f3,i sinh(k2,i x) + f4,i cosh(k2,i x)]
Mzz,1 = Mzz,2 + Mzz,3 , (6) +g3,i [ f5,i sin(k3,i x) + f6,i sin(k3,i x)].
Mzz,2 b3 H2 Mzz,3 b3 H3 x = x/L and
= = k, (7)
12E 12E √
g j,i = −M z,i S [(S + P) + λ4 /(−k2j,i )],
where b is the width of the beam. As shown in Fig. 1b,
Eq. (6) represents the moment equilibrium and Eq. (7) in- i = 1 − 4, j = 1, 2, 3. (16)
dicates that beam 2 and beam 3 have the same curvature,
k = d2 v/(dx2 ), where v is deflection in the y direction, as a 2.2 “Free mode”
result of the static end moments. Hence
Governing equations (10) and (11) are applied to the four in-
Mzz,1 H2 Mzz,1 H3 terconnected sub-beams, respectively (Fig. 1a). The appro-
Mzz,2 = , Mzz,3 = . (8)
H2 + H 3 H2 + H 3 priate boundary conditions that can be applied at the sup-
ports, x = x1 and x = x4 , are Wi = 0, Wi = 0, and φi = 0,
For free harmonic vibration, the deformation mode
if the end of the beam is clamped, Wi = 0, Wi = 0, and
shape can be assumed as
φi = 0 if the end of the beam is simply supported, Wi = 0,
Wi = 0, and φi = 0 if the end of the beam is free.
wi (x, t) = Wi (x) sin(ωt), θi (x, t) = θi (x) sin(ωt). (9)
The continuity conditions for bending displacement,
Substituting Eq. (9) in Eqs. (1) and (2) yields slope and torsion displacement at x = x2 are

∂4 Wi ∂2 Wi ∂2 θi W1 = W2 = W3 , (17)
−EIi + P i + Mzz,i + ρi Ai Wi = 0, (10)
∂x4 ∂x2 ∂x2 W1 = W2 = W3 , (18)
Pi I p,i ∂2 θi ∂2 wi
GJi + + Mzz,i 2 − ρi I p,i θi = 0. (11) φ1 = φ2 = φ3 . (19)
Ai ∂x 2 ∂x
The continuity condition for shear and bending moments at
Based on the work of Joshi and Suryanarayan [25], a closed x = x2 are
form solution is adopted to solve analytically the natural fre-
quencies and corresponding mode shapes. Normalizing the EI1 W1 = EI2 W2 + EI3 W3 , (20)
above two equations, one obtains
EI1 W1 = EI2 W2 + EI3 W3 − T 2 (H1 /2 − H2 /2)
⎡ ⎤⎧ ⎫
⎢⎢⎢ −D4 + PD2 + λ4 Mz ⎥⎥⎥ ⎪ ⎨ Wi ⎪
⎪ ⎪
⎬
⎢⎢⎢⎣ √ 2 ⎥⎥⎥⎦ ⎪
⎪ ⎪ = 0, (12) +T 3 (H1 /2 − H3 /2). (21)
2 4 ⎩ θi ⎪ ⎭
Mz S D (S + P)D + λ
The axial force T i can be solved from the compatibility be-
where D is the dimensional differentiation operator, λ is the 4 tween the stretching/shortening of the delaminated layers
dimensionless frequency parameter, S is the uncoupled tor- and axial equilibrium [5], as shown in Fig. 2, thus
sion value of, P is the axial load parameter, Mz is the moment (T 3 a)/(EA3) − (T 2 a)/(EA2) = (W1 (x2 ) − W4 (x2 ))H1 /2, (22)
parameter.
The characteristic root equation can be obtained from T1 = T2 + T3. (23)
Eq. (12) as By substituting Eqs. (22) and (23) into Eq. (21), the continu-
ity condition of bending moment can be expressed as
a1 D6 + a2 D4 + a3 D2 + a4 = 0, (13)
(EH2 EH3 )H12
where EI1 W1 + = EI2 W2 + EI3 W3 . (24)
4a(EH2 + EH3 )
a1 = −(S + P), a2 = P(S + P) − λ4 My S , And similarly, one can derive the continuity conditions at
(14)
a1 = (S + 2P)λ , 4
a4 = λ . 8 x = x2 . The total number of boundary and continuity con-
ditions is 24, which is equal to the total number of unknown
Equation (13) is cubic in terms of D2 and yields three char- coefficients. A non-trivial solution exists only when the de-
acteristic roots: −k12 , k22 , k32 . Then, the general solution for terminant of the coefficient matrix vanishes. The natural fre-
the displacements can be expressed as quencies can be obtained as eigenvalues.
610 Y. Liu, D.-W. Shu

the current study. The first and second non-dimensional

Fig. 2 The compatibility between the stretching/shortening of the
delaminated layers and the axial equilibrium. a Deformation and
stresses with the layers free to slide; b Deformation and stresses
when the compatibility of axial displacement is satisfied
3 Results and discussions
3.1 Verification
In this section, several comparisons are made to validate
natural frequencies of a clamped-clamped beam for a mid-
plane central delamination with different lengths, without
subjecting to axial load and static end moments (by denot-
ing P1 = 0.001 and Mz,1 = 0.001), are compared with the
analytical results of Wang et al. [4] and the FEM results of
Lee [30], as shown in Table 1.
Table 2 shows the comparison of the current results
against the experimental results of Mujumdar and Surya-
narayan [5] and the mixed-FEM results of Ramtekkar [31].
The first and second natural frequency of an isotropic can-
tilever beam with a single delamination (H2 /H1 = 0.33) is
tabulated here.
The first natural frequencies of the coupled vibration of
simply supported undelamianted beams (by denoting a/L =
0.001) subjected to axial loads and static end moments are
compared with the analytical results of Joshi and Surya-
narayan [24], as shown in Table 3. Here, the axial load is
normalized with respect to the critical buckling load of an
undelaminated beam Pcr , so that P01 = P01 /Pcr . And the end
moment is normalized with respect to the critical moment
for lateral instability √
of an undelaminated beam Mcr , so that
M = M/Mcr = M/(π EIGJ/L). Table 3 shows good agree-
ments between the present results and the results of previous
studies.
Table 4 shows the comparison between the analytical
results and the FEM simulation results for a pre-stressed
modal analysis (using Element type of Solid 185) in ANSYS
12.1, as shown in Fig. 3a. The Young’s modulus E = 193 GPa

Table 1 Non-dimensional fundamental frequencies (λ2 ) of a clamped-clamped isotropic beam with a central midplane delamination,
without subjecting to axial load and static end moments (P01 = 0.001 and M 1 = 0.001)

Delamination First mode Second mode

length a/L Present free mode Analytical [4] FEM [30] Present free mode Analytical [4] FEM [30]
0 22.37 22.39 22.36 61.67 61.67 61.61
0.10 22.37 22.37 22.36 60.81 60.76 60.74
0.20 22.36 22.35 22.35 56.00 55.97 55.95
0.30 22.24 22.23 22.23 49.00 49.00 48.97
0.40 21.83 21.83 21.82 43.89 43.87 43.86

Table 2 First and second natural frequency of cantilever beam with a single delamination,
without subjecting to axial load and static end moments (P01 = 0.001 and M 1 = 0.001)

First mode Second mode

Specimen Dimension
a Experiment [5] Unconstrained-inter- Present Experiment [5] Unconstrained-inter- Present
span/mm L/2−d1
face model [31] free mode face model [31] free mode
240.0 153.5 96.0 31.6 31.11 32.25 172.1 156.24 159.93
250.0 104.0 148.0 31.7 31.51 31.88 190.5 197.23 198.81
175.0 133.0 88.5 56.9 56.35 57.89 339.3 244.42 248.83
200.0 122.0 106.0 46.6 46.34 47.26 291.0 258.95 260.71
155.0 122.0 61.0 69.1 68.82 69.82 363.7 249.20 281.82
Coupled bending-torsion vibration of a homogeneous beam with a single delamination subjected to axial loads and static end moments 611

and density ρ = 7.92×103 kg/m3, with L = 10 m, H1 = 0.5 m
and b = 1 m. The delamination locates at the central of the
beam, with H2 /H1 = 0.2, for different delamination length,
a/L = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4. The end moment is modeled as
a linearly varying load across the end face of the beam, as
shown in Fig. 3b. The boundary condition studied here is
clamped-clamped. One can observe from Table 4 that the
analytical results agree well with the FEM results, and there
is relatively small difference between the “free mode” and
“constrained mode” frequencies in the FEM results.

Fig. 3 a FEM meshing of the delaminated beam; b The modeling of end moment as a linearly varying load across the end face of the beam

Table 3 Non-dimensional mode 1 frequencies (λ4 /λ4d ) of a simply supported isotropic beam
without delamination, slenderness ratio b/L  0

M 1 = 0.75 M 1 = 1.0
Axial force P01
Present Ref. [24] Present Ref. [24]
0 0.478 0.481 0 0
0.10 0.575 0.578 0.095 0.100
0.20 0.673 0.675 0.195 0.200
0.30 0.771 0.773 0.296 0.300
0.40 0.869 0.870 0.397 0.400
0.50 0.976 0.976 0.499 0.500

Table 4 First natural frequency of the clamped-clamped beam with a single delamination, H2 /H1 = 0.2, d1 = 0,
subjected to static end moments only

a/L = 0.2 a/L = 0.3 a/L = 0.4

M/Mcr Analytical FEM Analytical FEM Analytical FEM
“Free” “Free” “Constrained” “Free” “Free” “Constrained” “Free” “Free” “Constrained”
0 159.22 158.47 158.17 157.91 157.23 153.85 152.31 151.71 145.60
0.1 158.77 157.69 157.39 157.27 156.28 152.92 151.05 150.17 144.12
0.2 157.38 155.04 154.48 155.30 153.08 149.54 146.60 144.59 138.53
0.3 155.03 151.89 150.62 151.71 148.51 144.38 134.97 132.00 125.86
0.4 151.63 146.99 142.75 145.62 141.12 134.36 88.56 85.80 80.12

3.2 Coupled vibration of beams with a single delamination
3.2.1 Delaminated beams subjected to end moments only
Figure 4a shows the normalized “free mode” non-
dimensional frequency λ2 /λ2d of clamped-clamped beams
subjected only to static end moments without axial force,
for a single central delamination with different lengths. The
non-dimensional frequency of the delaminated beam λ2 is
normalized with respect to that of undelaminated beam λ2d .
As shown in Fig. 4a, one can see that the decrement of
natural frequencies from delamination lengths a/L = 0.2 to
0.3, 0.3 to 0.4, 0.4 to 0.5 become bigger when the static end
612
moments increases. This can be explained that the presence
of static end moments contributes to the reduction of equiv-
alent bending stiffness [24, 25], which enhances the effect
of delamination on reducing natural frequency [1]. It indi-
cates that the effect of delamination on natural frequencies
becomes more significant when the beam is subjected to a
bigger static end moments.
As the end moments increase, the natural frequency de-
clines gently at first, then it shows an abrupt drop when the
end moments approach the critical load for lateral instabil-
ity, where λ = 0. Identifying the location of the approx-
imate starting point of such precipitous decline is of great
practical significance, since a slight change of end moments
may cause a significant change of natural frequency when
the static end moments are close to the critical point from
which the abrupt decline starts.
It is also shown in Fig. 4 that the critical load for lateral
instability drops when the delamination becomes longer. It
can be explained that an increasing delamination length will
decrease the critical moment for lateral instability (for beam
2) and since in “free mode” model, the frequency is depen-
dent upon the thinner one of the delaminated layers [1], the
Fig. 4 a Mode 1 “free mode” frequency λ2 /λ2d versus the end moment; b Mode 1 “free mode” frequency λ2 /λ2d versus the thickness-wise
location considering different static end moments
3.2.2 Modes 1 and 2 “free mode” frequencies of beams with
single delamination
Figure 5 shows the modes 1 and 2 “free mode” natural fre-
quencies of clamped-clamped beams with a single central
delamination (H2 /H1 = 0.2) under the effect of axial loads
and static end moments.
For both modes 1 and 2, the natural frequencies de-
crease when the static end moments increase or when the
axial load decreases. The differences of natural frequencies
between P01 = −0.5 and 1.0 increase when the static end mo-
ments become larger.
It can also be observed from Fig. 5, for both modes 1
and 2, the critical load for lateral instability decreases when
the axial load decreases. Therefore, when the beam is sub-
jected to a bigger tensile axial load, the critical moment for
lateral instability becomes bigger, enabling the beam to en-
dure a larger range of end moments before reaching instabil-
ity.
Y. Liu, D.-W. Shu
critical moment for the entire beam also decreases. How-
ever, the decrease of critical load for lateral instability from
a/L = 0.4 to a/L = 0.5 is smaller than that from a/L = 0.2
to a/L = 0.3. This result indicates that as the delamination
length increases, its effect on decreasing the critical load for
lateral instability becomes less prominent.
Figure 4b shows the “free mode” normalized frequency
λ2 /λ2d versus the thickness-wise location H2 /H1 , considering
different values of static end moments, with a/L = 0.2. As
shown in Fig. 4b, the frequency increases as the delamina-
tion moves towards the midplane. Since the “free mode”
frequency depends on the stiffness of the weaker delami-
nated layer, as the delamination moves towards the midplane,
the weaker layer strengthens, consequently, the natural fre-
quency increases. It can also be observed from Fig. 4b that
the difference of natural frequencies, between different static
end moment M z,1 = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5, increase when
the delamination is closer to the midplane. It indicates that
the effect of static end moment on the natural frequencies of
delaminated beams is aggravated when the delamination is
closer to the midplane.
However, such effect becomes less prominent with a
longer delamination, when comparison is made between two
delamination lengths a/L = 0.1 and a/L = 0.4, i.e., between
Figs. 5a and 5b.
3.2.3 Effect of the span-wise location of delamination on the
coupled vibration of delaminated beams
Figure 6 shows the effect of span-wise location on the nat-
ural frequencies of clamped-clamped beams with a single
midplane (H2 /H1 = 0.5) delamination under the effect of
axial load and static end moments. As shown in Fig. 6, the
critical load for lateral instability becomes smaller when the
delamination span-wise location moves from 0.1 to 0.2. It
can be explained by referring to the work of Mujumdar and
Suryanarayan [5] (Fig. 9). Since the natural frequency de-
creases as the delamination moves towards the boundary, so
less static end moments are required to bring the beam to
the critical point of lateral instability, where λ = 0. When
d1 /L = 0.1, the increase of critical load for lateral instability
Coupled bending-torsion vibration of a homogeneous beam with a single delamination subjected to axial loads and static end moments 613

is 0.188 (0.442–0.254) when axial load increase from 0.0 to as the span-wise location of delamination d1 /L moves from
0.5, which is smaller compared to the case of d1 /L = 0.2. 0.1 to 0.2, the effect of axial load on expanding the range
Similar results can be observed for the increases of critical of end moments the beam can endure before reaching lateral
load for instability from P01 = 0.5 to 1.0. This indicates that instability becomes stronger.

Fig. 5 Mode 1 and mode 2 “free mode” frequencies λ2 /λ2d versus the end moment for a homogeneous clamped-clamped beam with single
delamination, considering different axial load. a a/L = 0.1; b a/L = 0.4

Fig. 6 Influence of span-wise location of delamination on coupled vibration mode 1 “free mode” frequencies λ2 /λ2d for a homogenous
clamped-clamped beam with a single delamination. a d1 /L = 0.1; b d1 /L = 0.2

3.2.4 Buckling load
When beams are subjected to static end moments, the nat-
ural frequencies are affected, so is the buckling load. Fig-
ure 7 shows the effect of static end moments on buckling
load of delaminated beams subjected to a clamped-clamped
boundary condition. One can see from Figs. 7a and 7b that
an increasing end moment will decrease the buckling load.
The drops of buckling load when M 1 increases from 0.2 to
0.4 ((0.983 − 0.918)/0.983 = 0.049) and from 0.4 to 0.6
((0.918 − 0.79)/0.918 = 0.055) are smaller when the de-
lamination length a/L = 0.2, compared with the case when
a/L = 0.3. The buckling load decreases as the delamination
becomes longer, and such decrease is more prominent as the
static end moments increase. It can be so explained that as
the delamination length increases, the stiffness of the beam
decreases, causing the axial compressive load necessary for
buckling to decrease. At the same time, as the static end mo-
ment increases, the natural frequency decreases, therefore
a relatively small axial compressive force would cause the
buckling.

Fig. 7 Influence of end moment on the buckling loads of a clamped-clamped beam with a single midplane delamination. a a/L = 0.2;
b a/L = 0.3
614
4 Conclusions
In the present study, the analytical solution to the coupled
bending-torsion vibration of delaminated beams subjected to
axial load and end moments is developed. We study how
axial loads and static end moments influence the effect of
delamination on natural frequencies, buckling load and crit-
ical moment for lateral instability. Based on the theoretical
investigations the following conclusions may be drawn.
(1) The effect of delamination on reducing both modes 1 and
2 natural frequencies becomes more prominent when the
static end moments increase.
(2) The effect of static end moments on the natural frequen-
cies of delaminated beam is aggravated when the delam-
ination occurs closer to the midplane.
(3) Increase in axial tensile load or decrease in axial com-
pressive load can effectively weaken the effect of end
moment on aggravating the influence of delamination on
reducing natural frequency and critical moment for lat-
eral instability.
(4) The effect of delamination length and locations on buck-
ling load and critical moments for lateral instability is
aggravated by the presence of static end moments.
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