Nonlinear dynamics of parametrically excited cantilever beams with a tip mass considering nonlinear inertia and Duffing-type nonlinearity

The response of a parametrically excited cantilever beam (PECB) with a tip mass is investigated in this paper. The paper is mainly focused on accurate prediction of the response of the system, in particular, its hardening and softening characteristics when linear damping is considered. First, the method of varying amplitudes (MVA) and the method of multiple scales (MMS) are employed. It is shown that both Duffing nonlinearity and nonlinear inertia terms govern the hardening or softening behaviour of a PECB. MVA results show that for frequencies around the principal parametric resonance, the term containing a linear combination of nonlinear inertia and Duffing nonlinearity in the frequency response equation can tend to zero, resulting in an exponential growth of the vibrations, and results are validated by numerical results obtained from direct integration (DI) of the equation of motion, while the MMS fails to predict this critical frequency. A criterion for determining the hardening and softening characteristics of PECBs is developed and presented using the MVA. To verify the results, experimental measurements for a PECB with a tip mass are presented, showing good agreement with analytical and numerical results. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the mass added at the cantilever tip can change the system characteristics, enhancing the softening behaviour of the PECB. It is shown that, within the frequency range considered, increasing the value of the tip mass decreases the amplitude response of the system and broadens the frequency range in which a stable response can exist.