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Modal analysis of cracked cantilever beam using ANSYS software

Article  in  Materials Today: Proceedings · January 2022

DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2022.01.055

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 Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Modal analysis of cracked cantilever beam using ANSYS software

Dhiraj Ahiwale a,⇑, Harshada Madake b, Nikita Phadtare b, Amit Jarande b, Deepak Jambhale b
a
Department of Civil Engineering, Vidya Pratishthan’s Kamalnayan Bajaj Institute of Engineering and Technology, Baramati, Pune 413133, India
b
UG Civil Engineering Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Vidya Pratishthan’s Kamalnayan Bajaj Institute of Engineering and Technology, Baramati, Pune 413133, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: All structures with a crack are prone to failure, depending on the failure mechanism of the resonance-
Available online xxxx induced vibration. Periodic forces acting on a structure are combined with that structure’s natural fre-
quency to form the resonance. As a result, the natural frequency should be determined to estimate the
Keywords: periodic load resonance condition.
Cantilever beam In this study, a mild steel cantilever beam with a length of 3 m, a width of 0.25 m, and a depth of 0.20 m
Crack is considered. Modal analysis was used to study the natural frequency, mode shapes, and deflection of the
Modal analysis
first three modes of transverse vibration for a cracked cantilever beam. The cantilever beam’s modal anal-
Natural frequency
Mode shapes
ysis is performed with a crack located from a fixed end at 0.5 m, 1 m, 1.5 m, 2 m, 2.5 m from the top,
ANSYS software middle, and bottom faces of the cantilever beam. For all models, the crack’s width and depth are fixed
to 0.002 m and 0.1 m, respectively. For better outcomes, hexahedral meshing is utilized for cracked
beams. The FEA simulation is carried out with the help of the ANSYS software. The theoretically obtained
results are validated with the finite element analysis results to ensure the accuracy and the obtained
results are approximately the same. The natural frequency of cracked beams decreases for the top and
bottom surfaces, but the crack at the middle surface of the beam remains constant. Also, the effect of a
crack is not uniform across all modes of vibration. As a result, the failure of a cracked beam can be iden-
tified, and corrective steps can be taken prior to the occurrence of cantilever beam fractures.
Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Materials, Machines and Information Technology-2022.

1. Introduction
All structures are prone to degenerative effects throughout the
operation, which may result in the commencement of structural
flaws such as cracks, which can lead to catastrophic failure or col-
lapse of the structure over time. The dynamical behaviour of a
structural element is influenced by cracks or imperfections, which
modify its stiffness and damping qualities. As a result, the struc-
ture’s Natural frequencies and mode shapes convey information
about the damage’s position and proportions. Cantilever beams
made of mild steel are commonly utilized in ships and offshore
platforms. It is also used to build stadiums, bridges, buildings,
high-rise towers, and other constructions. As a result, a single crack
in a cantilever beam can lead to the collapse of a large structure. It
is difficult to perform modal analysis of a cantilever beam using an
analytical approach when there are discontinuities. Finite element
analysis is the most effective method for handling these problems
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: dhiraj.ahiwale@vpkbiet.org (D. Ahiwale).
to date, and in this study, ANSYS is utilized to carry out all the
computations.
The author gives a free vibration beam model with open edges.
It examined how depth and position affect crack frequency. A para-
metric study and various boundary conditions of cracked beams
are studied. The results of previous research studies are compared
to ABAQUS finite element analysis [1]. Simply supported beam
with triangular cracks’ natural frequency was quantified using
FEA and ANSYS. The effects of various crack locations are compared
to a simply supported beam without a crack. The beam vibration
study shows that the beam without cracks has a lower fundamen-
tal frequency than the cracked beams [2]. Gudmonson [3] and
Liang et al. [4,5] illustrate that the ratio of two natural frequency
shifts is location dependent. As a result, detecting the depth and
position of a single crack in a beam is rather straightforward. The
most common method for finding cracks in structures is modal
analysis. A beam with a single-edged notch was analyzed using
ANSYS Mechanical APDL 15.0. Modal analysis was used to estimate
the beam’s mode shape and natural frequency. A decrease in stiff-
ness results in a lower fundamental frequency as the crack depth

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.01.055
2214-7853/Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Materials, Machines and Information Technology-2022.

Please cite this article as: D. Ahiwale, H. Madake, N. Phadtare et al., Modal analysis of cracked cantilever beam using ANSYS software, Materials Today:
Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.01.055
D. Ahiwale, H. Madake, N. Phadtare et al.
increases [6]. The natural frequencies reduce as the crack depth
increases on the beam. Therefore, the natural frequencies fall,
and the mode shape of both crack and non-crack beam modes
changes. The FEA research is carried out on cracked and uncracked
simply supported continuous beams composed of structural steel
and aluminum using the ANSYS V15 software [7]. This study’s goal
is to measure fracture size in damaged beams. It is based on exper-
imental modal analysis. A defect-free beam and a fractured beam
were studied. The study’s findings show that vibration patterns
may be utilized to gauge fracture depth. The experimental data
and ANSYS simulations are quite similar [8].
Previous studies focused on the impacts of cracks on the top
edges of cantilever beams. Thus, research into the effects of the
top, middle, and bottom edge cracks on cantilever beam structures
is required. The top, middle, and bottom edge cracks on the steel
cantilever beam are studied because they occur due to the fatigue
load.
2. Analytical investigation
2.1. Geometry of model
For modal analysis, the triangular size top, middle, and bottom
edge cracked instances are examined in this study. The beam is 3 m
in length (L), 0.25 m in width (w), and 0.2 m in thickness (t). The
beam’s cross-sectional area (A) is 0.05 m2. Fig. 1 illustrates the
top edge crack, where x denotes the location of the first crack from
the fixed end of the cantilever beam and d represents the depth
crack. The specimen’s material properties are as follows: Young’s
Modulus (E) is 210
109 N/m2, Density (q) is 7860 Kg/m3. Poisons
ratio (l) is 0.3 (Tested in VPKBIET Lab, Baramati).
The current study looks at fifteen cracked models of triangular
edge cracks. These cracked models are being used to investigate
the effect of a triangular shape crack on the dynamic behavior of
a cantilever beam. Cases 1, 2, and 3 each have a crack on the can-
tilever beam’s top, middle, or bottom edge. In cases 1, 2, and 3,
transverse rectangular cracks are located at 0.5 m, 1 m, 1.5 m,
2 m, and 2.5 m intervals from the fixed end of the cantilever beam.
Furthermore, the constant crack depth and width of 0.1 m and
0.002 m are considered.
2.2. Validation
Initial validation used a theoretical uncracked cantilever beam
natural frequency. Then the same uncracked beam was analyzed
with ANSYS. Finally, equation (1) from Pilkey [11] is used for the-
oretical calculations.
p on the position of the crack. Table 2 shows the frequency of modes
xn ¼ k2=L2 ðEI=qÞ ð1Þ
Fig. 1. Section of a cantilever beam.
2
Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
The natural frequencies (xn) of modes 1, 2, and 3 are 18.56, 114,
and 309.67 cycles/sec, respectively. ANSYS [12] used hexahedral
mesh elements to analyze the model. The hexahedral element
has been considered with reduced and Gauss point integration.
Fig. 5 shows the hexahedral element used for meshing. Figs. 2–4
show that using the hexahedral element with Gauss point integra-
tion improves the results for the first three modes. The result of
reduced integration for the hexahedral element deviates greatly
from theoretical values. Table 1 compares theoretical and modal
analysis values for an uncracked cantilever beam in Mode 1, Mode
2, and Mode 3.
3. Finite element modelling and analysis
The cracked beams’ natural frequencies are estimated using the
finite element program ANSYS [12]. As a result, a triangle region is
formed. This region is extruded in the third direction, and small tri-
angular cracks with widths of 0.002 m and depths of 0.1 m are cre-
ated and extruded at the desired locations. These minor crack
volumes are subtracted from a large cantilever beam model to
obtain three-dimensional models with triangle cracks along the
cantilever beam’s top, middle, and bottom sides. A 20-node
solid186 element is employed to describe the beam because of
its remarkable qualities, such as stress stiffening, considerable
strain, and high deflection. Fig. 4 shows a hexahedral element
being used to mesh a cracked model. Finite element boundary con-
straints are applied to the beam at the farthest left end to confine
all degrees of freedom. The natural frequencies of the beams are
determined using modal analysis. Figs. 6–8 demonstrate the max-
imum natural frequency of mode 3 at a 1.5 m crack location com-
pared to other crack locations for top, middle, and bottom edge
cracks, and such frequency variation is due to changes in beam
stiffness.
4. Result and discussion
4.1. Frequencies of cracked cantilever beam
Figs. 9–11 illustrate the frequency of cracks at the beam’s top,
middle, and bottom relative to the fixed end. When damage is
applied to the beam’s top, middle, and bottom, the most significant
frequency is at the middle edge from 1.5 m, 2.5 m, and 2.5 m from
the fixed end for Mode 1, Mode 2, and Mode 3, respectively, and is
18.55, 113.77 309.27 cycles/sec. Furthermore, the frequency of the
middle edge is uniform across all crack locations. The frequency of
top and bottom edge cracks, on the other hand, varies depending
1, 2, and 3 at various crack locations. Figs. 9–11 demonstrate that
D. Ahiwale, H. Madake, N. Phadtare et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 2. Uncracked cantilever beam frequency in mode 1.

Fig. 3. Uncracked cantilever beam frequency in mode 2.

Fig. 4. Uncracked cantilever beam frequency in mode 3.

Table 1 frequency variation is dependent on the crack location and surface

Natural frequencies of un-cracked beam.
Mode number Modal analysis
Frequency (Cyc/sec)
1 18.56
2 114.00
3 309.67
and that the pattern of fluctuation varies for various mode shapes.
Theoretical analysis For top and bottom edge cracks, the frequency of mode-1 increases
Frequency (Cyc/sec) as the damage goes away from the fixed end, the frequency of
18.55 mode-2 decreases and then increases again, and the frequency of
116.28 mode-3 is a repeated pattern of decrease-increase-decrease. When
325.59 the crack is placed on the middle edge of the beam, the frequency
is consistent across all crack locations for modes-1, mode-2, and

Fig. 5. Hexahedral element finite element modelling.

3
D. Ahiwale, H. Madake, N. Phadtare et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 6. Mode shape 3 for the crack 1.5 m from the fixed end in the beam’s top edge.

Fig. 7. Mode shape 3 for the crack 1.5 m from the fixed end in the beam’s middle edge.

mode-3. As a result, the natural frequency reduces due to cracks at
various locations and variations in the stiffness characteristic of
beams [9,10].
4.2. Maximum deflection of cracked cantilever beam
Figs. 12–14 show the maximum deflection of cracks at the
beam’s top, middle, and bottom relative to the fixed end. When
damage is applied to the beam’s top, middle, and bottom, the most
significant deflection is at the top edge from 1.5 m, 2.5 m, and
2.5 m from the fixed end for Mode 1, Mode 2, and Mode 3, respec-
tively, and is 1.8904 mm, 1.9918 mm, and 2.3167 mm. Further-
more, the deflection of the middle edge is uniform across all
crack locations. The deflection of top and bottom edge cracks, on
the other hand, varies depending on the position of the crack.
Table 3 shows the deflection of modes 1, 2, and 3 at various crack
locations. Figs. 12–14 indicate that the deflection variation
depends on the position and surface of the crack, and the variation
pattern varies based on the mode shape. For example, for top and
bottom edge cracks, mode-1 deflection increases and decreases as

Fig. 8. Mode shape 3 for the crack 1.5 m from the fixed end in the beam’s bottom edge.

4
D. Ahiwale, H. Madake, N. Phadtare et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 9. Natural frequency at mode 1 for cracks in different positions on the beam.

Fig. 12. Maximum deflection at mode 1 for cracks in different positions on the
beam.

Fig. 10. Natural frequency at mode 2 for cracks in different positions on the beam.

Fig. 13. Maximum deflection at mode 2 for cracks in different positions on the
beam.

Fig. 11. Natural frequency at mode 3 for cracks in different positions on the beam.
Fig. 14. Maximum deflection at mode 3 for cracks in different positions on the
Table 2 beam.
Frequency in different crack location for mode 1, 2 and 3.
Table 3
Crack surface Crack location(m) Frequency (Cycle/sec)
Maximum deflection in different crack location for mode 1, 2 and 3.
Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3
Crack surface Crack location(m) Maximum deflection (mm)
Uncracked 0.0 18.56 114.00 309.67
Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3
Top edge 0.5 15.20 112.49 303.95
0.5 15.20 112.49 303.95 Top edge 0.5 1.8111 1.8747 1.7790
1.0 16.61 107.66 257.90 1.0 1.8685 1.6936 1.9207
1.5 17.72 97.04 309.20 1.5 1.8904 1.7255 1.8080
2.0 18.35 100.34 268.61 2.0 1.8745 1.9809 1.5701
2.5 18.55 111.57 280.17 2.5 1.8492 1.9918 2.3167

Middle edge 0.5 18.51 113.87 309.19 Middle edge 0.5 1.8411 1.8369 1.8335
1.0 18.54 113.88 309.19 1.0 1.842 1.8356 1.8348
1.5 18.55 113.77 309.27 1.5 1.8423 1.836 1.8328
2.0 18.56 113.81 308.99 2.0 1.8423 1.8386 1.8329
2.5 18.56 113.94 309.17 2.5 1.8422 1.8392 1.8380

Bottom edge 0.5 15.72 112.72 304.95 Bottom edge 0.5 1.8156 1.8692 1.7908
1.0 16.95 108.66 281.03 1.0 1.8642 1.7171 1.9091
1.5 17.89 99.665 309.25 1.5 1.8814 1.7449 1.8117
2.0 18.40 102.78 274.30 2.0 1.8679 1.9608 1.6168
2.5 18.55 112.06 285.83 2.5 1.8478 1.9618 2.2437

5
D. Ahiwale, H. Madake, N. Phadtare et al.
the damage goes away from the fixed end, mode-2 deflection
decreases and increases again, and mode-3 deflection is a slightly
repeated pattern increase-decrease-increase. However, mode-1,
mode-2, and mode-3 deflections are consistent across all crack
locations when the crack is given on the beam’s middle edge. As
a result, the higher the deflection, the lower the value of beam stiff-
ness, and hence the lower the natural frequency [10].
5. Conclusions
The following conclusions have been reached from the modal
analysis of uncracked and cracked cantilever beam investigations:
 Analytical identification of natural frequency values is highly
accurate in terms of obtaining theoretical values.
 The presence of cracks reduces the natural frequency, and the
amount of reduction varies depending on the position of the
cracks (top, middle, or bottom).
 The natural frequency of cracked cantilever beams reduces
when the crack is provided on the top and bottom edges of
the beam, but the crack in the middle of the beam remains
stable.
 The natural frequency changes slightly as the crack shifts from
the fixed to the free end of the cantilever beam.
 The mode shapes of a cracked cantilever beam depend on the
depth and position of the crack.
 The effect of a crack varied based on the mode of vibration.
 The above information can be utilized to predict beam failure
and take preventative measures.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the support of Vidya Pratishthan’s
Kamalnayan Bajaj Institute of Engineering and Technology, Bara-
mati. This research Conceptualization, Supervision, Validation,
Visualization, Writing original draft, Writing review and editing
was performed by Dhiraj Ahiwale. Harshada Madake and Nikita
Phadtare has been done Data curation, Formal analysis, Investiga-
tion, Methodology and Project administration, Resources were pro-
vided by Amit Jarande and Deepak Jambhale.
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