Abstract
Free vibration characteristics of cantilevered laminated composite beams with a transverse non0propagating open carck are investigated. In the present analysis a special ply-angle distribution referred to as asymmetric stiffness configuration inducing the elastic coupling between chord-wise bending and extension is considered. The open crack is modelled as an equivalent rotational spring whose spring constant is calculated on the basis of fracture mechanics of composite material structures. Governing equations of a composite beam with a open crack are derived via Hamilton's Principle and Timoshenko beam theory encompassing transverse shear and rotary inertia effect. the effects of various parameters such as the ply angle, fiber volume fraction, crack depth, crack position and transverse shear on the free vibration characteristics of the beam with a crack is highlighted. The numerical results show that the natural frequencies obtained from Timoshenko beam theory are always lower than those from Euler beam theory. The presence of intrinsic cracks in anisotropic composite beams modifies the flexibility and in turn free vibration characteristics of the structures. It is revealed that non-destructive crack detection is possible by analyzing the free vibration responses of a cracked beam.