Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700

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Journal of Sound and Vibration

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jsvi

An analytical method for free vibration analysis of functionally

graded beams with edge cracks
Dong Wei, Yinghua Liu n, Zhihai Xiang
Department of Engineering Mechanics, AML, School of Aerospace, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

a r t i c l e in f o abstract

Article history: In this paper, an analytical method is proposed for solving the free vibration of cracked
Received 14 December 2009 functionally graded material (FGM) beams with axial loading, rotary inertia and shear
Received in revised form deformation. The governing differential equations of motion for an FGM beam are
21 November 2011
established and the corresponding solutions are found first. The discontinuity of
Accepted 21 November 2011
rotation caused by the cracks is simulated by means of the rotational spring model.
Handling Editor: S. Ilanko
Available online 27 December 2011 Based on the transfer matrix method, then the recurrence formula is developed to get
the eigenvalue equations of free vibration of FGM beams. The main advantage of the
proposed method is that the eigenvalue equation for vibrating beams with an arbitrary
number of cracks can be conveniently determined from a third-order determinant. Due
to the decrease in the determinant order as compared with previous methods, the
developed method is simpler and more convenient to analytically solve the free
vibration problem of cracked FGM beams. Moreover, free vibration analyses of the
Euler–Bernoulli and Timoshenko beams with any number of cracks can be conducted
using the unified procedure based on the developed method. These advantages of the
proposed procedure would be more remarkable as the increase of the number of cracks.
A comprehensive analysis is conducted to investigate the influences of the location and
total number of cracks, material properties, axial load, inertia and end supports on the
natural frequencies and vibration mode shapes of FGM beams. The present work may
be useful for the design and control of damaged structures.
& 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Functionally gradient materials have distinctive properties that would gradually vary with different locations within
the material. The material properties can be designed so as to improve its strength, toughness, high temperature
withstanding ability, etc. As a consequence, these materials have been widely used in many structures of civil, aerospace,
automotive industry and biomedical engineering. However, cracks in a structural element in the form of initial defects
within the material or caused by fatigue or stress concentration certainly lower the structural integrity. The investigation
on free vibration and dynamic response of cracked structures is of prime importance in structural health monitoring and
safety assessment because the predicted vibration data can be used to detect, locate and quantify the extent of the cracks
or damages in a structure [1].
Numerous investigations on the free vibration and dynamic response of functionally gradient components are available
in open literatures, for example, those by Loy et al. [2], Yang et al. [3], Vel et al. [4], Stephen [5] and Pradhan et al. [6]. Among

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 86 10 62773751; fax: þ86 10 62781824.
E-mail address: yhliu@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn (Y. Liu).

0022-460X/$ - see front matter & 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jsv.2011.11.020
 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700 1687

of those, Sankar [7] established a functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli beam model to solve the static problem of a simply
supported beam. The corresponding free vibration problem has also been investigated by Aydogdu and Taskin [8]. Li [9]
presented a new unified approach for analyzing the static and dynamic behaviors of functionally graded beams with the
rotary inertia and shear deformation included. All physical quantities of interest can be expressed in terms of the solution of
the resulting equation. In addition, many finite element methods (FEM) have been developed to study the thermo-elastic
behavior, free vibration and dynamic response of FGM beams [10–12]. For the structures with defects, the reduction in the
beam bending stiffness caused by the cracks was usually simulated by means of a line spring [13–15], and the equivalent
lumped stiffness was determined through fracture mechanics analysis, starting from the knowledge of stress intensity
factor (SIF). Using the differential quadrature method and the spring model, Hsu [16] studied the flexural vibration and
dynamic response of an isotropic homogenous beam with edge crack resting on an elastic foundation. Bikri et al. [17]
investigated the geometrically nonlinear free vibrations of a clamped–clamped beam with an open crack. A semi-analytical
model based on an extension of the Rayleigh–Ritz method was used in their study. Yang and Chen [1] presented a
theoretical investigation on free vibration and elastic buckling of cracked FGM beams using Euler–Bernoulli beam theory
and the rotational spring model. They also studied the free and forced vibration of cracked Euler–Bernoulli inhomogeneous
beams under an axial force and a transverse moving load [18]. Ke et al. [19] analytically discussed the influence of open
edge cracks on the vibration and buckling of Timoshenko FGM beams with different boundary conditions, and their method
addressing the discontinuity caused by the cracks was the same as that of Yang and Chen [1,18].
The transfer matrix method is a very powerful technique to investigate the homogeneous beams and stepped beams,
satisfactorily dealing with a variety of subjects such as free vibration and dynamic response [20–22], static buckling [15]
and structural analysis [23–25]. Besides, this method has been widely developed to address the multi-layered medium
with material properties varying in each sub-layer to analyze the stress, wave propagation and fracture problem of
functionally graded members [26–28]. However, literature review shows that no previous work investigating the vibration
of cracked FGM structures by this method has been reported.
From the available literature, a perfect FGM beam with special end conditions may be exactly solved by considering it as an
elasticity problem. However, the calculation of free vibration of a cracked FGM beam is fairly cumbersome due to the increase
of the degree of freedom introduced by cracks. Moreover, although quite a few papers presenting crack and fracture analyses
of the FGM structures have been reported [29,30], there are few previous works that are directly related to investigate the
vibration of cracked FGM beams [1]. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a simple method which both captures the nature of
mechanical behaviors and produces enough accurate results of the free vibration of cracked FGM beams.
The objective of this paper is to present a new exact approach for studying the free vibration of a cracked FGM beam
with axial loading, rotary inertia and shear deformation included. In the current research, the rotational spring model is
used to simulate the discontinuity of rotation caused by the cracks. Based on the closed-form solutions and transfer matrix
method, the recurrence formula of solving the free vibration problem of an FGM beam with an arbitrary number of cracks
and any kinds of end supports is developed in the present study. The eigenvalue equations of vibrating beams can be
conveniently obtained from a third-order determinant. The effects of the location and number of cracks, axial load, rotary
inertia, shear deformation, material properties and various boundary conditions on the frequencies and vibration mode
shapes are investigated through comprehensive parametric analysis, which may be helpful in understanding the free
vibration of FGM beams with cracks.

2. Theoretical model for the free vibration

2.1. Material properties

It is assumed that an FGM beam of length L and thickness h is shown in Fig. 1. An open crack with depth a, being
perpendicular to the beam surface, is located at a distance L1 from the left end of the beam. The shear modulus G, Young’s
modulus E and mass density r of the beam only vary in the thickness direction and follow the exponential distributions
below:
GðyÞ ¼ G0 eby , EðyÞ ¼ E0 eby , rðyÞ ¼ r0 eby (1)

where G0, E0 and r0 present the values of the shear modulus, Young’s modulus and mass density at the midplane (y¼0) of
the beam, respectively. b is a constant defining the material property variation along the thickness direction. In particular,

Fig. 1. An FGM beam with an open edge crack.

1688 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700

it is obvious that b ¼0 corresponds to an isotropic homogeneous beam. Poisson’s ratio m is held constant since its influence
on the stress intensity factors (SIF) is quite limited [30].

2.2. Displacement and strain field

The present study is carried out within the framework of small deformation theory. The constitutive material is
assumed to be linear elastic and the displacement field of any point in the beam is
uðx,y,tÞ ¼ uðx,tÞ þ ycðx,tÞ (2)

vðx,y,tÞ ¼ vðx,tÞ (3)

where u(x,t) and v(x,t) are mid-surface displacements in the x and y directions, respectively. Also, c(x,t) is the rotation of
the cross section at the mid-plane. According to the first-order shear deformation beam theory developed by Dadfarnia
[31], the section’s normal vector remains straight but not necessarily normal to the section after deformation.
Within the framework of small perturbations, the normal strain exx and shear strain gxy can be expressed in terms of u, v
and c as follows:
@u @c
exx ¼ þy (4)
@x @x
@v
gxy ¼ þc (5)
@x
For plane strain problems, the strain components in Eqs. (4) and (5) are related to their corresponding stress
components through the basic constitutive law
EðyÞ
sxx ¼ exx , txy ¼ GðyÞgxy (6)
1m2

2.3. Euler–Lagrange equation

In order to obtain governing differential equations, the Hamilton principle is written as

Z t2
ðdW int þ dW ext þ dTÞ dt ¼ 0 (7)
t1

where W int , Wext and T are the potential, external and kinetic potential energy of the system respectively. Also, t1 and t2 are
two arbitrary times. The energy variations can be written as
ZZ
dW int ¼ b sij deij dx dy (8)
Vol

Z L
dW ext ¼ b Pcdc dx (9)
0
ZZ
dT ¼ b ru_ i du_ i dx dy (10)
V ol

where P is the follower force and b is the width of the cross-section.

Substituting Eqs. (2)–(6) into Eqs. (8) and (10) yields
Z L 
@N @M @Q L L L
dW int ¼ b du þ dcQ dc þ dv dx þbN du90 þ bMdc90 þ bQ dv90 (11)
0 @x @x @x
Z L
dT ¼ b € Þdu þ ðI u€ þ I c
½ðI1 u€ þ I2 c € € dv dx
2 3 Þdc þ I1 v (12)
0

where I1, I2 and I3 are the normal, coupled normal rotary and rotary inertia terms, respectively, which can be written as
follows:
Z h=2
ðI1 ,I2 ,I3 Þ ¼ rð1,y,y2 Þ dy (13)
h=2

The Euler–Lagrange equations can be obtained by substituting from Eqs.(9), (11) and (12) into Eq. (7), and then using
fundamental lemma of calculus of variations as
@N @2 u @2 c
¼ I1 2 þ I2 2 (14)
@x @t @t
 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700 1689

@Q @2 v
¼ I1 2 (15)
@x @t

@M @2 u @2 c
þ P cQ ¼ I2 2 þI3 2 (16)
@x @t @t
where N is the stress resultant, M is the moment resultants and Q is the shear force resultants normal to the mid-plane,
which can be defined as
@u @c
N ¼ A11 þ B11 (17)
@x @x

@u @c
M ¼ B11 þD11 (18)
@x @x

Q ¼ C 11 gxy (19)

The coefficients A11 and B11, etc., are defined in terms of the stiffness coefficients E(y) and G(y) as
Z h=2
EðyÞ
ðA11 ,B11 ,D11 Þ ¼ ð1,y,y2 Þ dy (20)
h=2 1m
2

Z h=2
C 11 ¼ kGðyÞ dy (21)
h=2

where k is shear correction factor and k ¼5/6 is used in this paper [19,32].

2.4. Governing equations and solutions

Usually, the free vibration of the Timoshenko and Euler–Bernoulli beams has been studied separately irrespective of the
use of numerical techniques or analytical approaches [9]. The procedure developed in this paper is a unified method to
solve the free vibration of cracked FGM beams with axial loading, rotary inertia and shear deformation. Unless otherwise
stated, the rotary inertia is excluded in the following free vibration analysis of an FGM beam. Besides, the longitudinal
vibration is neglected here.
First, for shear locking: gxy ¼ 0, we have c ¼  @v/@x and exx ¼ y@2 v=@x2 when u¼0, which is in exact agreement with
the well-known result of the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. When c ¼ @v/@x, the equations of motion for the functionally
graded Euler–Bernoulli beam can be written as the following forms according to Eqs. (14)–(19):
@2 u @3 v
A11 B11 3 ¼ 0 (22)
@x2 @x

@4 v @2 v
d þI1 2 ¼ 0 (23)
@x4 @t
where d ¼ D11 B211 =A11 .
Second, the equations of motion for the functionally graded Timoshenko beam take the forms of
@2 u @2 c
A11 2
þB11 2 ¼ 0 (24)
@x @x

@4 v @2 v I 1 @4 v
d þ I1 2 d ¼0 (25)
@x4 @t K @x2 @t 2
where K is the shear stiffness of the FGM beam.
Third, suppose that the functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli beam is subjected to axial compressive load P, which can be
considered as the special case that an FGM beam is under forced vibration, the differential equations of an FGM beam
under free vibration are given by
@2 u @3 v
A11 B11 3 ¼ 0 (26)
@x2 @x

@4 v @2 v @2 v
d þ I1 2 þ P 2 ¼ 0 (27)
@x4 @t @x
Fourth, when the effects of the inertia term and shear deformation on the free vibration of FGM beam are considered,
the equations of motion are derived as
@2 u @2 c @2 c
A11 2
þ B11 2 ¼ I2 2 (28)
@x @x @t
1690 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700

  4
@4 v @2 v dI1 @ v I 3 I 1 @4 v
d þ I 1  I 3 þ þ ¼0 (29)
@x4 @t 2 K @t 2 @x2 K @t 4
For harmonic vibrations, the displacements of free vibration of the functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli beam can be
written as
uðx,tÞ ¼ UðxÞeiot (30)

vðx,tÞ ¼ VðxÞeiot (31)

where o is the natural frequency of an FGM beam. Substituting Eq. (30) and (31) into Eq. (22) and (23), respectively, leads
to the axial displacement and the deflection solution
B11 le  
UðxÞ ¼ cosðle xÞf 1 sinðle xÞf 2 þ coshðle xÞf 3 þ sinhðle xÞf 4 þxf 5 þ f 6 (32)
A11

VðxÞ ¼ sinðle xÞf 1 þ cosðle xÞf 2 þsinhðle xÞf 3 þcoshðle xÞf 4 (33)
where l4e
¼ o2 I1 =d and d ¼ D11 B211 =A11 .
Similarly, the axial displacement and deflection solution of the Timoshenko beam under free vibration are, respectively,
expressed as
B11 b   B11 c  
UðxÞ ¼  cosðl1s xÞf 1 sinðl1s xÞf 2  coshðl2s xÞf 3 þ sinhðl2s xÞf 4 þxf 5 þ f 6 (34)
A11 A11

VðxÞ ¼ sinðl1s xÞf 1 þ cosðl1s xÞf 2 þsinhðl2s xÞf 3 þcoshðl2s xÞf 4 (35)
where
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
g2 g2 I1 o2 I 1 o2 1 2 1 2
l1s ¼ ða4 þ g 4 =4Þ1=2 þ , l2s ¼ ða4 þ g 4 =4Þ1=2  ; a4 ¼ , g2 ¼ ; and b ¼  ðl g 2 Þ, c¼ ðg 2 þ l2s Þ
2 2 d K l1s 1s l2s

According to Eq. (26) and Eq. (27), the general solutions of the FGM beam subjected to axial compressive load take the
following forms of:
B11 l1P   B11 l2P  
UðxÞ ¼ cosðl1P xÞf 1 sinðl1P xÞf 2 þ coshðl2P xÞf 3 þ sinhðl2P xÞf 4 þxf 5 þ f 6 (36)
A11 A11

VðxÞ ¼ sinðl1P xÞf 1 þ cosðl1P xÞf 2 þsinhðl2P xÞf 3 þcoshðl2P xÞf 4 (37)
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
1=2 1=2 2
where l1P ¼ ða4 þ s4 =4Þ þðs2 =2Þ, l2P ¼ ða4 þ s4 =4Þ ðs2 =2Þ and s ¼P/d.
Putting Eqs. (30) and (31) into Eqs. (28) and (29), respectively, the general solutions of an FGM beam with the inertia
term and shear deformation included can be written as
c1   c2  
UðxÞ ¼ cosðl1a xÞf 1 sinðl1a xÞf 2 þ coshðl2a xÞf 3 þsinhðl2a xÞf 4 þxf 5 þ f 6 (38)
A11 A11

VðxÞ ¼ sinðl1a xÞf 1 þ cosðl1a xÞf 2 þsinhðl2a xÞf 3 þcoshðl2a xÞf 4 (39)
where
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi  
e2 e2 I 3 o2
l1a ¼ ðm4 þe4 =4Þ1=2 þ , l2a ¼ ðm4 þ e4 =4Þ1=2  , m4 ¼ a4 1 ,
2 2 K
! !
I 3 I 1 o2 I2 o2 I 2 o2 I 1 o2 I1 o2
e2 ¼ a4 þ ; and c1 ¼ 2
B11 a1 , c2 ¼ 2
þ B11 a2 , a1 ¼ l1a , a2 ¼ l2a þ :
I1 K l1a l2a K l1a K l2a

3. Crack model

Let n denote the total number of cracks. The n cracks are, respectively, located at points x1,x2,y,xn, with the assumption
that 0 ox1 ox2 oyoxn oL. Therefore, the member is divided into (nþ1) sub-beams by the n cracks. Based on the
rotational spring model, the cracked beam can be treated as (nþ 1) sub-beams connected by n massless rotational springs
at the cracked sections. The existence of the ith (irn) crack causes that the rotation ci þ 1 at the ith point (x ¼xi) of (iþ1)th
sub-beam has a jump, which is expressed as the following form [14]:
ci þ 1 ¼ ci þMi =kT (40)

where ci is the rotation at the ith point of ith sub-beam and Mi is the bending moment at the cracked section. Note that
Eq. (40) would be changed into the following form as @vi þ 1/@x¼@vi/@x Mi/kT according to the Euler–Bernoulli beam
theory. Compared with the discontinuity in bending slope of mode I fracture, the previous studies [33,34] show that the
 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700 1691

discontinuity in transverse displacement of mode II fracture has a much smaller contribution to system’s total strain
energy. Therefore, the effect of mode II fracture is neglected in the present analysis.
The bending stiffness kT of the cracked section is related to the flexibility C by
kT ¼ C1 (41)

Based on Broek’s investigation [35], the flexibility of the crack beam can be obtained as
1m2 2 M 2i @C
K ¼ (42)
EðaÞ I 2 @a
where KI is the stress intensity factor (SIF) under mode I loading and E(y) is Young’s modulus at the crack tip. In the case of
an FGM strip with an open edge crack under bending, the magnitude of SIF can be obtained from the investigation of
Erdogan and Wu [30]
pffiffiffi
4 aGðaÞ X1
KI ¼  an (43)
1þm n ¼ 0

where m ¼ ð34mÞ for plane strain problem, an are determined through calculating the boundary integrals using the
Gaussian quadrature approach and then solving the resulting functional equation by means of the collocation method.

4. Transfer matrix method

As mentioned in Section 1, the calculation of free vibration of an FGM beam with cracks is fairly cumbersome through
previously analytical methods or the FEM. Based on the same coefficient matrix, the transfer matrix method can transfer
the parameters at one end to those at another end of the beam with an arbitrary number of cracks. As a consequence, the
computational time required by this method for solving the title problem can be reduced significantly due to the decrease
of the determinant order as compared with previously procedures [15].
Based on the fundamental solutions of free vibration of FGM beams, the relationships of fundamental solutions and the
displacements, section rotation c, normal resultant force N, bending moment M and shear force Q are given as follows:
2 3 2 3
U f1
6 7 6 7
6V 7 6f2 7
6 7 6 7
6c7 6f3 7
6 7 6 7
6 7 ¼ ½TðxÞ6 7 (44)
6N7 6f4 7
6 7 6 7
6M7 6f 7
4 5 4 55
Q f6

where the matrixes [T(x)] are different when the effects of the axial load, inertia term and shear deformation on the free
vibration of FGM beams are, respectively, considered. The detailed expressions of [T(x)] related to the four cases in Section 2.4
are shown in Appendix A.
The relationship between the parameters at the two ends of the first sub-beam for a cracked beam can be expressed as
2 3 2 3
Uðx11 Þ Uðx10 Þ
6 7 6 7
6 Vðx11 Þ 7 6 Vðx10 Þ 7
6 7 6 7
6 cðx11 Þ 7 6 cðx10 Þ 7
6 7 6 7
6 7 ¼ ½T1 6 7 (45)
6 Nðx11 Þ 7 6 Nðx10 Þ 7
6 7 6 7
6 Mðx11 Þ 7 6 Mðx10 Þ 7
4 5 4 5
Q ðx11 Þ Q ðx10 Þ

where [T1]¼[T(x11)][T(x10)]  1. [T1] is the transfer matrix, which transfers the parameters at the end x10 to those at the end
x11 of the first sub-beam.
The compatibility conditions require that the displacement, bending moment and shear force at the boundary of the
first and second sub-beams are continuous. However, the slope at the cracked section has a jump. The relationship
between the parameters at the crack section are written as
2 3 2 32 Uðx Þ 3
Uðx20 Þ 1 0 0 0 0 0 11
6 7 6 6 7
6 Vðx20 Þ 7 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 766 Vðx 11 Þ7
6 7 6 7 7
6 cðx20 Þ 7 6 0 0 1 0 y 0 76 cðx11 Þ 7
6 7 6 7 6 7
6 7¼ 6 7 (46)
6 Nðx20 Þ 7 6 0 0 0 1 0 07 76 Nðx11 Þ 7
6 7 66 7 6 7
6 Mðx20 Þ 7 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 56 Mðx11 Þ 7
4 5 4 5
Q ðx20 Þ 0 0 0 0 0 1 Q ðx11 Þ

where y ¼ 1/kT, and the bending stiffness kT of the cracked section can be achieved according to Eq. (40). When c ¼  qv/qx,
y ¼  1/kT for the Euler–Bernoulli beam.
1692 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700

Substituting Eq. (45) into Eq. (46) leads to

2 3 2 3
Uðx20 Þ Uðx10 Þ
6 7 6 7
6 Vðx20 Þ 7 6 Vðx10 Þ 7
6 7 6 7
6 cðx20 Þ 7 6 cðx10 Þ 7
6 7 6 7
6 7 ¼ ½T1c 6
 7 (47)
6 Nðx20 Þ 7 6 Nðx10 Þ 7
6 7 6 7
6 Mðx20 Þ 7 6 Mðx10 Þ 7
4 5 4 5
Q ðx20 Þ Q ðx10 Þ

in which
2 3
1 0 0 0 0 0
60 1 0 0 0 07
6 7
6 7
60 0 1 0 y 07
½T1c  ¼ 6
60
7½T1  (48)
6 0 0 1 0 07
7
6 7
40 0 0 0 1 05
0 0 0 0 0 1

The equation of the (nþ1)th sub-beam can be established using Eqs. (47) and (45) repeatedly as follows:
2 3 2 3
Uðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ Uðx10 Þ
6 Vðx 7 6 7
6 ðn þ 1Þ1 Þ 7 6 Vðx10 Þ 7
6 7 6 7
6 cðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ 7 6 cðx10 Þ 7
6 7 6 7
6 7 ¼ ½T6 7 (49)
6 Nðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ 7 6 Nðx10 Þ 7
6 7 6 7
6 Mðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ 7 6 Mðx10 Þ 7
4 5 4 5
Q ðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ Q ðx10 Þ

in which [T]¼[T(n þ 1)][Tnc][T(n  1)c]y[T1c]. For free vibration analysis of the Euler–Bernoulli beam or Timoshenko beam
with any number of cracks, note that [T] is a 6  6 matrix.
The FGM beams with three end supports are considered in the present study, i.e., a beam with left end clamped and the
other end free (clamped-free), a beam hinged at both ends (hinged-hinged), and a beam clamped at both ends (clamped-
clamped).
The associated boundary conditions of a perfect FGM beam require that
Nðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ ¼ 0, Mðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ ¼ 0, Q ðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ ¼ 0 at x ¼ L (50)

Uðx10 Þ ¼ 0, Vðx10 Þ ¼ 0, cðx10 Þ ¼ 0 at x ¼ 0 (51)

for the clamped-free condition, and
Uðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ ¼ 0, Vðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ ¼ 0, Mðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ ¼ 0 at x ¼ L (52)

Uðx10 Þ ¼ 0, Vðx10 Þ ¼ 0, Mðx10 Þ ¼ 0 at x ¼ 0 (53)

for the hinged-hinged condition, and
Uðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ ¼ 0, Vðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ ¼ 0, cðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ ¼ 0 at x ¼ L (54)

Uðx10 Þ ¼ 0, Vðx10 Þ ¼ 0, cðx10 Þ ¼ 0 at x ¼ 0 (55)

for the clamped–clamped condition.
Substituting Eqs. (50) and (51) into Eq. (49) leads to the eigenvalue equation of clamped-free beam as the following
form, which is a matrix equation that consists of 6 algebraic equations:
2 3 2T T 12 T 13 T 14 T 15 T 16
32
0
3
Uðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ 11
6 Vðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ 7 6 76
T 21 T 22 T 23 T 24 T 25 T 26 76 0 7
7
6 7 6
6 7 6 76 7
6 cðxðn þ 1Þ1 Þ 7 6 T 31 T 32 T 33 T 34 T 35 T 36 76 0 7
6 76
7
6 7¼6 (56)
6 0 7 6 T 41 T 42 T 43 T 44 T 45 T 46 76 Nðx10 Þ 7
76
7
6 7 6 76 7
6 7 6
4 0 5 4 T 51 T 52 T 53 T 54 T 55 T 56 76
54 Mðx10 Þ 5
7
0 T 61 T 62 T 63 T 64 T 65 T 66 Q ðx10 Þ

As a consequence, the eigenvalue equation can be found from the above equation
 
 T 44 T 45 T 46 
 
T 
 54 T 55 T 56  ¼ 0 (57)
 
 T 64 T 65 T 66 
 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700 1693

Similarly, the eigenvalue equation of a hinged–hinged (H–H) beam is gained as

 
 T 13 T 14 T 16 
 
T 
 23 T 24 T 26  ¼ 0 (58)
 
 T 53 T 54 T 56 

And for a clamped–clamped (C–C) beam

 
 T 14 T 15 T 16 

T T 25 T 26  ¼ 0
 24 (59)
 
 T 34 T 35 T 36 

Solving those above equations, the natural frequencies and the associated mode shapes of cracked FGM beams with
three end supports can be readily achieved.

5. Numerical results and discussion

The frequency ratios on/on0 of cracked FGM beams are calculated and analyzed here, where on0 denotes the nth
frequencies of the intact counterparts. Unless otherwise stated, the following parameters will be used in numerical
examples: the beam thickness h ¼0.1 m; the slenderness ratio L/h¼ 10; the crack depth ratio a/h ¼0.2; Young’s modulus
ratio E2/E1 ¼0.2, 1 and 5, where E1 and E2 denote Young’s modulus at the top and bottom surfaces of the beam,
respectively. It is obvious that E2/E1 ¼1 represents a particular case where the beam is isotropic homogeneous. The top
surface of the beam is pure aluminum with the material parameters: E1 ¼70 GPa, m ¼0.33, r1 ¼2780 kg/m3.
Table 1 gives the fundamental frequency ratio o1/o10 of a clamped-free isotropic beam (L/h¼4.0, m ¼0.3) with an open
edge crack of depth a/h¼0.2 at different locations L1/L¼0.2,0.4,0.6. Based on Bernoulli–Euler beam theory, this example
was previously analyzed by Yokoyama and Chen [13] using the FEM and Yang and Chen [1] using the theoretical method,
respectively. Table 2 lists the first three dimensionless natural frequencies of intact functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli
beam, Timoshenko beam and FGM beam with the rotary inertia and shear deformation included, which are respectively
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
denoted by oE , oT and oTR . The frequencies are normalized by on ¼ on = d0 =I10 , where d0 and I10 denote the values of d

Table 1
Fundamental frequency ratio o1/o10 of at different locations.

L1/L ¼0.2 L1/L¼ 0.4 L1/L¼ 0.6

Present 0.92926 0.96963 0.99238

Yokoyama et al. [13] 0.94101 0.96667 0.99583
Yang et al. [1] 0.97833 0.99107 0.99776

Table 2
First three dimensionless natural frequencies of intact FGM beams.

L E2 Clamped-free Hinged–hinged Clamped–clamped

h E1

oE =oT =oTR oE =oT =oTR oE =oT =oTR

o1 o2 o3 o1 o2 o3 o1 o2 o3

3.30 20.70 57.97 10.05 37.09 84.28 21.02 57.94 113.59

0.2 3.28 19.89 52.94 9.90 35.33 75.88 19.79 51.17 93.30
3.28 19.69 51.84 9.86 34.83 73.91 19.71 50.50 91.24
3.52 22.03 61.70 9.87 39.48 88.83 22.37 61.67 120.90
10 1.0 3.49 21.06 55.74 9.73 37.38 79.16 20.91 53.69 96.64
3.49 20.81 54.48 9.69 36.90 77.36 20.83 53.06 95.39
3.30 20.70 57.97 10.05 37.09 84.28 21.02 57.94 113.59
5.0 3.28 19.89 52.94 9.90 35.33 75.88 19.79 51.17 93.30
3.28 19.69 51.84 9.86 34.83 73.91 19.71 50.50 91.24

0.83 5.18 14.49 2.51 9.27 21.07 5.25 14.49 28.40

0.2 0.82 5.12 14.14 2.50 9.16 20.48 5.17 14.00 26.83
0.82 5.11 14.05 2.50 9.12 20.30 5.17 13.94 26.59
0.88 5.51 15.42 2.47 9.87 22.21 5.59 15.42 30.23
20 1.0 0.88 5.44 15.01 2.46 9.73 21.52 5.50 14.84 28.35
0.88 5.43 14.90 2.46 9.69 21.35 5.49 14.78 28.12
0.83 5.18 14.49 2.51 9.27 21.07 5.25 14.49 28.40
5.0 0.82 5.12 14.14 2.50 9.16 20.48 5.17 14.00 26.83
0.82 5.11 14.05 2.50 9.12 20.30 5.17 13.94 26.59
1694 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700

and I1i of an isotropic homogeneous beam (E2/E1 ¼1), respectively, and Iki(k ¼1,2,3) is the normal term of the ith sub-beam
divided by the crack. The natural frequencies of FGM beams with E2/E1 ¼0.2 and E2/E1 ¼5.0 are the same because their
values of d/I1i are almost identical. Table 3 shows the fundamental frequency ratios of functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli
beam with three edge cracks, in which they are assumed to be located at L1/L¼0.25, L2/L¼0.50 and L3/L¼0.75. From Tables
1–3, our solutions are in good agreement with the results of previous studies. Especially, the results of the Euler–Bernoulli
beam in Table 2 are the same as the investigations of Yang and Chen [1]. As a consequence, the results given by Yang and
Chen are not listed in Table 2.
It is found in Table 2 that the effects of shear deformation on frequencies of FGM beams are very remarkable with the
diminishment of slenderness ratio and the increase of the order of frequency. Compared with the effects of shear
deformation, those of the rotary inertia is greatly small. Especially, the effects of rotary inertia can be neglected in
investigating the fundamental frequency of a beam. Moreover, since the cracks would reduce the structural local
flexibility, it is obvious that the presence of cracks considerably diminishes the natural frequencies of beams as the total
number of cracks increases.
Table 4 presents the first three dimensionless natural frequencies of intact functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli beam
subjected to axial compressive load (P=ðp2 EI=L2 Þ¼0.01, 0.05 and 0.1), which are, respectively, expressed by o0:01 , o0:05 and
o0:1 . The frequencies are normalized by on ¼ on =on0 , where on0 denotes the nth natural frequency of free vibration of
functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli beam. Obviously, the effects of axial loading as well as those of rotary inertia and shear
deformation would lower the natural frequencies of FGM beams. Besides, the natural frequencies of FGM beams with
E2/E1 ¼0.2 and E2/E1 ¼ 5.0 are also identical due to the same values of d/I1i. However, the effects of axial loading on high
frequencies of FGM beams are very small, which is different from those of rotary inertia and shear deformation.
Fig. 2 gives the fundamental frequency ratios o1/o10 of FGM beams with a single crack at different locations, in which
the functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli beam, Timoshenko beams and the beams subjected to the axial compressive load
(P=ðp2 EI=L2 Þ ¼ 0:01) are considered. The results of functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli beam in Fig. 2 agree well with those
of Yang and Chen [1]. It is shown that the characteristics of fundamental frequency ratios of the functionally graded Euler–
Bernoulli beams, Timoshenko beams and FGM beams subjected to the axial compressive load are almost identical. For
example, there is a bigger reduction in the fundamental frequency ratio of the beam with a smaller slenderness ratio. The
fundamental frequency ratios versus crack location curves are symmetric for geometrically symmetric structures such as
hinged–hinged and clamped–clamped beams. Moreover, the frequency ratio is the minimum when the crack is located at
the fixed end, the midpoint, and the beam ends for the clamped-free beam, the hinged–hinged beam and the clamped–
clamped beam, respectively, because the maximum bending moments are achieved in these sites.
Fig. 3 shows the fundamental frequency ratios o1/o10 of FGM beams with different slenderness ratios, in which the FGM
beams with an open edge crack at location L1/L¼0.5 are analyzed. Obviously, the shear deformation plays an important role
in the free vibration of FGM beams and should be considered in the case that the slenderness ratio is less than some range

Table 3
Fundamental frequency ratios o1/o10 of FGM beams with three edge cracks.

E2 Clamped-free Hinged–hinged Clamped–clamped

E1

Yang et al. [1] Present Yang et al. [1] Present Yang et al. [1] Present

0.2 0.9811 0.9755 0.9535 0.9501 0.9871 0.9855

1.0 0.9951 0.9921 0.9912 0.9874 0.9966 0.9954
5.0 0.9986 0.9949 0.9992 0.9985 0.9990 0.9987

Table 4
First three dimensionless natural frequencies of intact FGM beams subjected to axial compressive load.

E2 Clamped-free Hinged–hinged Clamped–clamped

E1

o0:01 =o0:05 =o0:1 o0:01 =o0:05 =o0:1 o0:01 =o0:05 =o0:1

o1 o2 o3 o1 o2 o3 o1 o2 o3

0.9812 0.9969 0.9990 0.9958 0.9987 0.9995 0.9988 0.9994 0.9997

0.2 0.9011 0.9836 0.9950 0.9785 0.9937 0.9973 0.9939 0.9970 0.9983
0.7865 0.9667 0.9899 0.9565 0.9874 0.9945 0.9878 0.9940 0.9967

0.9812 0.9967 0.9990 0.9950 0.9987 0.9995 0.9989 0.9994 0.9997

1.0 0.9011 0.9834 0.9950 0.9747 0.9937 0.9973 0.9940 0.9970 0.9983
0.7865 0.9664 0.9899 0.9487 0.9874 0.9945 0.9879 0.9940 0.9967

0.9812 0.9969 0.9990 0.9958 0.9987 0.9995 0.9988 0.9994 0.9997

5.0 0.9011 0.9836 0.9950 0.9785 0.9937 0.9973 0.9939 0.9970 0.9983
0.7865 0.9667 0.9899 0.9565 0.9874 0.9945 0.9878 0.9940 0.9967
 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700 1695

Fig. 2. Fundamental frequency ratios of FGM beams with an edge crack at varying locations: (a) clamped-free, (b) hinged–hinged and (c) clamped–
clamped.

(L/hr10). It is also found that the frequency ratio tends to be apparently lower as Young’s modulus ratio E2/E1 decreases
from 5.0 to 0.2 and the slenderness ratio L/h decreases from 50 to 5, which indicates that the natural frequencies of FGM
beams with weaker bending stiffness are higher sensitive to the presence of cracks. It is because that the influences of
Young’s modulus and slenderness ratio on the bending stiffness of a beam are more evident than the crack. In other words,
the beam with a smaller Young’s modulus ratio and slenderness ratio would have a lower frequency ratio.
1696 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700

Fig. 3. Fundamental frequency ratios of FGM beams with different slenderness ratios: (a) clamped-free, (b) hinged–hinged and (c) clamped–clamped.

Fig. 4 presents the results of FGM beams (L/h¼20) with two cracks at different locations, in which the first crack is
assumed to be located at L1/L¼0.2. The results of this example agree well with those of Yang and Chen [1]. Compared with
the fundamental frequencies of perfect FGM beams, those of the beams with edge cracks reduce remarkably. When the
second crack is located at the middle of the hinged–hinged beam or at the right end point of the clamped–clamped beam,
 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700 1697

Fig. 4. Fundamental frequency ratio of FGM beams with two edge cracks at varying locations: (a) clamped-free, (b) hinged–hinged and (c) clamped–
clamped.

there is the most reduction in the fundamental frequency. Besides, the fundamental frequency ratio of the clamped-free
beam decreases as the second crack is located closer to the point of clamped end.
The mode shapes of vibration of the perfect isotropic Timoshenko and Euler–Bernoulli beams (E2/E1 ¼1.0, L/h¼10) with
the hinged–hinged end conditions are shown in Fig. 5 for the first three natural frequencies. Fig. 6 demonstrates the
change of the fundamental vibration mode shapes of isotropic Euler–Bernoulli beam (E2/E1 ¼1.0, L/h¼4.0) with the
clamped-free end conditions due to a crack at different locations. Obviously, both the shear deformation and the crack
1698 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700

Fig. 5. First three mode shapes of vibration of the perfect beam: (a1) the first mode, (a2) the second mode and (a3) the third mode.

Fig. 6. First mode shapes of free vibration of the cracked beam.

would lower the bending stiffness of a beam. As a consequence, they would change the vibration amplitudes of
FGM beams.

6. Conclusions

Combining the transfer matrix method with rotational spring model, an analytical method is proposed in this paper to
solve the free vibration of cracked FGM beams with axial loading, rotary inertia and shear deformation. A parametric study
has been carried out to analyze the effects such as the material composition, crack location, axial load, rotary inertia, shear
deformation and slenderness ratio on the frequencies and vibration mode shapes of FGM beams, which can provide
reference for the design and control of damaged FGM members. From our investigations, the conclusions can be drawn as
follows:

(1) Compared with the previous procedures, numerical examples show that the developed method is simpler and more
convenient to analytically solve the free vibration problem of cracked FGM beams. Moreover, free vibration analyses of
the Euler–Bernoulli and Timoshenko beams with any number of cracks can be conducted using the unified procedure
based on the proposed method, which shows that the universal applicability of this approach is much better than the
previous methods. Note that these advantages of the developed method would be more remarkable as the increase of
the number of cracks.
(2) The characteristics of fundamental frequency ratios of the functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli beams, Timoshenko
beams and the beams subjected to the axial compressive load are almost identical. The shear deformation plays an
 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700 1699

important role in the free vibration of FGM beams and should be considered in the case that the slenderness ratio is
less than some range (L/h r10). However, the effect of rotary inertia is very small and can be neglected in investigating
the fundamental frequency of a beam.
(3) The presence of cracks apparently reduces the frequencies and changes the vibration mode shapes of FGM beams. As
the total number of cracks increases, the presence of cracks considerably diminishes the natural frequency ratios of
beams. Moreover, it is found that the slenderness ratio and Young’s modulus ratio E2/E1 are more sensitive to the free
vibration of cracked FGM beams than the presence of cracks.

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the project of National Key Basic Research Special Funds of China (No. 2001CB409603). The
authors are grateful for this financial support.

Appendix A

[T(x)] can be written as follows:

2 3
B11 le
cosðle xÞ  BA1111le sinðle xÞ B11 le
coshðle xÞ B11 le
sinhðle xÞ x 1
6 A11 A11 A11
7
6 sinðle xÞ cosðle xÞ sinhðle xÞ coshðle xÞ 0 07
6 7
6 7
6 le cosðle xÞ le sinðle xÞ le coshðle xÞ le sinhðle xÞ 0 07
½TðxÞ ¼ 6
6
7
6 0 0 0 0 A11 077
6 7
6 dl2e sinðle xÞ 2
dle cosðle xÞ
2
dle sinhðle xÞ
2
dle coshðle xÞ B11 07
4 5
3 3 3 3
dle cosðle xÞ dle sinðle xÞ dle coshðle xÞ dle sinhðle xÞ 0 0

for the functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli beams, and

2 3
 BA1111b cosðl1s xÞ B11 b
A11 sinðl1s xÞ  BA1111c coshðl2s xÞ  BA1111c sinhðl2s xÞ x 1
6 7
6 sinð l xÞ cosðl1s xÞ sinhðl2s xÞ coshðl2s xÞ 0 07
6 1s 7
6 7
6 bcosðl1s xÞ b sinðl1s xÞ c coshðl2s xÞ c sinhðl2s xÞ 0 07
½TðxÞ ¼ 6
6
7
6 0 0 0 0 A11 077
6 7
6 dl1s b sinðl1s xÞ dl1s b cosðl1s xÞ dl2s c sinhðl2s xÞ dl2s c coshðl2s xÞ B11 07
4 5
2 2 2 2
dl1s b cosðl1s xÞ dl1s b sinðl1s xÞ dl2s c coshðl2s xÞ dl2s c sinhðl2s xÞ 0 0

for the functionally graded Timoshenko beams, and

2 B11 l1P 3
A cosðl1P xÞ  B11A11l1P sinðl1P xÞ B11 l2P
A11 coshðl2P xÞ B11 l2P
A11 sinhðl2P xÞ x 1
6 11 7
6 sinðl1P xÞ cosðl1P xÞ sinhðl2P xÞ coshðl2P xÞ 0 07
6 7
6 l cosðl xÞ l1P sinðl1P xÞ l2P coshðl2P xÞ l2P sinhðl2P xÞ 0 07
6 1P 1P 7
½TðxÞ ¼ 6 7
6 0 0 0 0 A11 07
6 7
6 dl2 sinðl xÞ 2
dl1P cosðl1P xÞ
2
dl2P sinhðl2P xÞ
2
dl2P coshðl2P xÞ B11 07
4 1P 1P 5
e1 cosðl1P xÞ e1 sinðl1P xÞ e2 coshðl2P xÞ e2 sinhðl2P xÞ 0 0
3 3
where e1 ¼ dl1P P l1P , e2 ¼ dl2P þ Pl2P
for the functionally graded Euler–Bernoulli beams subjected to the axial compressive load, and
2 c1 3
A11 cosðl1a xÞ  Ac111 sinðl1a xÞ Ac11
2
coshðl2a xÞ c2
A11 sinhðl2a xÞ x 1
6 7
6 sinðl1a xÞ cosðl1a xÞ sinhðl2a xÞ coshðl2a xÞ 0 07
6 7
6 a cosðl xÞ a1 sinðl1a xÞ a2 coshðl2a xÞ a2 sinhðl2a xÞ 0 07
6 1 1a 7
½TðxÞ ¼ 6 7
6 h1 sinðl1a xÞ h1 cosðl1a xÞ h2 sinhðl2a xÞ h2 coshðl2a xÞ A11 07
6 7
6 m sinðl xÞ m cosðl xÞ m sinhðl xÞ m2 coshðl2a xÞ B11 07
4 1 1a 1 1a 2 2a 5
n1 cosðl1a xÞ n1 sinðl1a xÞ n2 coshðl2a xÞ n2 sinhðl2a xÞ 0 0

where
h1 ¼ c1 l1a þ B11 a1 l1a , h2 ¼ c2 l2a B11 a2 l2a , m1 ¼ ðB11 c1 =A11 Þl1a þ D11 a1 l1a , m2 ¼ ðB11 c2 =A11 Þl2a D11 a2 l2a ,
B11 c1 2 B11 c2 2
n1 ¼ l þ D11 a1 l21a a1 I3 o2 , n2 ¼ l D11 a2 l22a a2 I3 o2 ,
A11 1a A11 2a

for the FGM beams with the rotary inertia and shear deformation included.
1700 D. Wei et al. / Journal of Sound and Vibration 331 (2012) 1686–1700

Appendix B. Supporting information

Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the online version at doi:10.1016/j.jsv.2011.11.020.

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