Free in-plane vibrations of highly buckled beams carrying a lumped mass

Free undamped in-plane vibrations of shear undeformable beams around their highly buckled configurations are investigated neglecting rotary inertia effects. The beams are inertially nonuniform since a lumped mass is rigidly clamped along the span. Two mechanical models are considered depending on the boundary conditions in the post-buckling phases. First, the beam is considered inextensible because it is hinged at one end and is acted upon by an axial compressive force on the other end, a roller support, both in the buckling and post-buckling phases. In the second model, the beam is extensible in the post-buckling phase because the roller support boundary is changed into a fixed hinged end. Free undamped vibrations are governed, in the first case, by a homogeneous integral-partial-differential equation and, in the second case, by two coupled partial-differential equations with variable coefficients. The solutions of the associated eigenvalue problems are found employing two approaches: a semi-analytical method based on Galerkin discretization and a finite element method. A close agreement in the outcomes is found. The leading differences relating to the natural frequencies and linear normal modes of the two pre-stressed curved beam models are discussed; in particular, the occurrence of the veering phenomenon and the crossovers are outlined. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]