Dynamic analysis of non-uniform taper bars in post-elastic regime under body force loading

This paper presents a simulation study of the free flexural vibration behavior of non-uniform taper bars of circular and rectangular cross-section under body force loading due to gravity. The loading is controlled statically to take the bar to its post-elastic state so as to predict its dynamic behavior in the presence of plastic deformation. Hence the analysis is carried out in two parts; first the static problem under axial gravity loading is solved, then the dynamic problem is solved in this loaded condition. Appropriate variational method is employed to derive the set of governing equations for both the problems. The formulation is based on unknown displacement field which is approximated by finite linear combinations of orthogonal admissible functions. The present method is validated successfully with a well-known finite element package. Results are presented to investigate the effect of shape and size on the dynamic behavior of non-uniform taper bars. The study can be extended to study the post-elastic dynamic behavior of other related problems such as rotating beams and rotating disks.