Analytical modelling and extraction of the modal behaviour of a cantilever beam in fluid interaction

When carrying out vibration health monitoring (VHM) of a structure it is usually assumed that the structure is in the absence of fluid interaction and/or that any environmental effects which can cause changes in the vibration response of the structure either remain constant or are negligible. In general, the natural frequencies of a structure are the first candidates to be considered for damage features. But the natural frequencies would also change as a result of the interaction of the structure with a fluid/gas environment. For the purpose of VHM, one needs the pure structural natural frequencies corresponding to conditions when the structure does not interact with the environment. Therefore, in certain cases when the above assumptions cannot be made it becomes necessary to extract values of natural frequencies of the structure if it were in the absence of fluid interaction from those values measured. This paper considers the case of a cantilever beam in contact with a fluid cavity giving rise to strong structural/fluid vibration interaction and develops a method by which the natural frequencies of the beam in the absence of fluid interaction can be obtained from those of the beam in interaction.