Current Applied Physics xxx (2011) 1e5

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Current Applied Physics

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cap

Longitudinal vibration of cracked nanobeams using nonlocal elasticity theory

Jung-Chang Hsu, Haw-Long Lee, Win-Jin Chang*
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kun Shan University, Tainan 71003, Taiwan, ROC

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

Article history: The aim of this paper is to study the longitudinal frequency of a cracked nanobeam. The frequency
Received 27 January 2011 equation of the nanobeam with clampedeclamped and clampedefree boundary conditions is derived
Received in revised form based on the nonlocal elasticity theory. According to the equation, it can be found that the effects of the
2 April 2011
crack parameter, crack location, and nonlocal parameter on the longitudinal frequency of the cracked
Accepted 6 April 2011
nanobeam are significant. The frequency decreases with an increase of the crack parameter. However, the
Available online xxx
increasing nonlocal parameter results in a decrease of the crack effect on the frequency. In addition,
when the crack location is near the support, a larger decrease in the frequency can be observed.
Keywords:
Cracked nanobeam
Ó 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Longitudinal vibration
Nonlocal elasticity theory

1. Introduction
In recent years, the study of the mechanical behavior of beam-
like structures such as cantilevers and bridges in nanoscale
devices has been of significant interest to researchers due to
nanoscientific and nanotechnological development [1]. Nowadays,
it is still a challenge to study the mechanics of nanomaterials by
means of experimental tests due to the difficulties encountered on
the nanoscale. Therefore, the theoretical methods such as atomistic
simulations and continuum mechanics theories are often used to
analyze the dynamic responses of nanostructures [2e4].
It is known that by use of an atomistic simulation method is an
extremely time-consuming task. On the other hand, conventional
continuum mechanics theories assume that the stress at a point is
a function of strain at that point in local elasticity. Material
behaviors predicted by such a local theory are assumed to be scale-
independence in the constitutive law. When the continuum elas-
ticity theory is applied to the analysis of the nanoscale structures, it
is found to be inadequate because of ignoring the small scale effect.
For improving this situation, the nonlocal elasticity theory was
presented by Eringen [5]. The theory assumes that the stress at
a given point is a function of strain at every point in the body.
Accordingly, the small scale effect can be taken into account in the
constitutive equation. The nonlocal elasticity theory has been often
used to analyze the mechanical behavior of nanostructures in
recent years [6e9].
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ886 (6) 2050883; fax: þ886 (6) 2050509.
E-mail address: changwj@mail.ksu.edu.tw (W.-J. Chang).
Due to different causes, cracks are often found in the nano-
structures. For example, thermally-induced crack in the fabrication
process of nanomaterials such as ZnO nanorods and nanowires may
be formed during heating [10,11]. The presence of the cracks in the
nanodevices affects the safety and reliability in applications.
However, only a limited portion of studies published were con-
cerned with the aspect of mechanical analysis of cracked nano-
structures [12,13].
Recently, nonlocal beam model has been adopted for the flex-
ural vibration analysis of cracked nanostructures [14]. As far as we
know, however, there has been no investigation on the longitudinal
vibration of a nanostructure with cracks. In this paper, the longi-
tudinal vibration of a cracked nanobeam with different boundary
conditions is studied using the nonlocal elasticity theory. The
effects of the crack parameter, crack location, and nonlocal
parameter on the vibration frequency of the cracked nanobeam are
studied.
2. Analysis
A schematic diagram of a cracked nanobeam is depicted in Fig. 1.
The nanobeam with length L has the Young’s modulus E and the
uniform cross-section A. The crack at location C is simulated by an
equivalent linear spring k connecting the two segments of the
nanobeam [15]. In this work, the nanobeam with a single crack for
a longitudinal vibration is explored based on the nonlocal elastic
theory.
The nonlocal constitutive relations for one-dimensional case can
be written as [16].

1567-1739/$ e see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cap.2011.04.026

Please cite this article in press as: J.-C. Hsu, et al., Longitudinal vibration of cracked nanobeams using nonlocal elasticity theory, Current Applied
Physics (2011), doi:10.1016/j.cap.2011.04.026
2 J.-C. Hsu et al. / Current Applied Physics xxx (2011) 1e5

In this paper, the vibrations of the clampedefree and clam-

pedeclamped nanobeams are explored. The two ends of the
nanobeam must satisfy the following conditions:
U1 ð0; tÞ ¼ 0; U20 ðL; tÞ ¼ 0 for clampedefree (9)

U1 ð0; tÞ ¼ 0; U2 ðL; tÞ ¼ 0 clampedeclamped (10)

In order to find the longitudinal vibration frequency, the
following harmonic solutions are assumed:

U1 ðX; tÞ ¼ W1 ðXÞeiut (11)

U2 ðX; tÞ ¼ W2 ðXÞeiut (12)

where u is the longitudinal frequency.
Fig. 1. Configuration of a cracked nanobeam with simulation by an equivalent linear The dimensionless variables are defined as follows:
spring connecting the two segments.
C
x ¼ X=L; u1 ¼ W1 =L; u2 ¼ W2 =L; b ¼ ;
L
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
v2 N vU
e0 a u2 mL2 EA
N  ðe0 aÞ2 ¼ EA (1)
e¼ ; b¼ ; K ¼ (13)
L EA kL
vX 2 vX
where U is the longitudinal displacement depends on the spatial where, e, b, and K denote the dimensionless nonlocal parameter,
coordinate along the longitudinal axis X; N is the axial force, EA is longitudinal frequency, and stiffness parameter of crack, respectively.
the effective axial rigidity, and e0a is the nonlocal constant which is Substituting the harmonic solution given by Eqs. (11) and (12)
used to modify the classical elasticity theory and is limited to apply into Eqs. (5)e(10) and using the dimensionless variables given by
to a device on the nanometer scale. Eq. (13), the governing equations, continuity conditions and asso-
In addition, the equation of motion for the longitudinal vibration ciated boundary conditions can be simplified to the following
of a uniform nanobeam is expressed by dimensionless forms:

vN v2 U
d2 u1 b 2
þ u ¼ 0; 0x<b (14)
¼ m 2 (2) dx2 1  e2 b
2 1
vX vt
where m is the mass per length, and t is time. d2 u2 b 2
Using Eqs. (1) and (2), the axial force N with nonlocal effect can þ u ¼ 0;
2 2
bx<1 (15)
be expressed as:
dx2 1  e2 b

  
v vU u1 ðbÞ þ K 1  e2 b u01 ðbÞ ¼ u2 ðbÞ
2
(16)
N ¼ EA þ ðe0 aÞ2 m 2 (3)
vt vX
The governing equation of longitudinal vibration for the nano- u01 ðbÞ ¼ u02 ðbÞ; (17)
beam with nonlocal effect can be expressed as
" # u1 ð0Þ ¼ 0; u02 ð1Þ ¼ 0 for clampedefree (18)
v2 U v2 v2 U
EA ¼ 1  ðe0 aÞ2 2 m 2 (4)
vX 2 vX vt u1 ð0Þ ¼ 0; u2 ð1Þ ¼ 0 clampedeclamped (19)
The cracked nanobeam is assumed to be divided into two The solutions of Eqs. (14) and (15) can be expressed in the
segments by the crack. Therefore, the governing equation can be following forms:
rewritten as
" # u1 ðxÞ ¼ A1 cos ðUxÞ þ B1 sin ðUxÞ (20)
v2 U1 v2 v 2 U1
EA ¼ 1  ðe0 aÞ2 2 m 0X<C (5)
vX 2 vX vt 2 u2 ðxÞ ¼ A2 cos ðUxÞ þ B2 sin ðUxÞ (21)
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
" # where U ¼ b2 =1  e2 b2
v2 U2 2 v2 v 2 U2 Using the continuity conditions Eqs. (16) and (17) and the
EA ¼ 1  ðe0 aÞ m C<XL (6) clampedefree boundary conditions given by Eq. (18), the eigen-
vX 2 vX 2 vt 2
function of longitudinal vibration frequency can be obtained as:
where the continuity conditions of the displacement and axial force 0 1 0 1
for the two adjacent portions of the nanobeam can be expressed by qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
B b C 2 B b b C
the following jump conditions as [17]. cos @qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiA  K b 1  e2 b cos @qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiA
1e b 1e b
2 2 2 2

 0 1
v vU1
k½U1 ðC; tÞ  U2 ðC; tÞ ¼  EA þ ðe0 aÞ2 m 2 (7)
vt vX B b  bb C
sin @qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiA ¼ 0
1  e2 b
2
vU1 ðC; tÞ vU2 ðC; tÞ
¼ ; (8) (22)
vX vX

Please cite this article in press as: J.-C. Hsu, et al., Longitudinal vibration of cracked nanobeams using nonlocal elasticity theory, Current Applied
Physics (2011), doi:10.1016/j.cap.2011.04.026
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When the parameters of K, b, and e are known, the dimension- previous study, the crack effect on the frequency analysis was not
less longitudinal frequency b of a single cracked nanobeam with taken account. For the no crack case, it can be seen that the result
nonlocal effect for various vibration modes will be solved by using presented in the paper is in agreement with the previous analytical
the above equation. result [16]. A similar result can also be seen in Fig. 2(b) for the
If the nanobeam without crack is assumed (i.e., K ¼ 0), the clampedeclampled nanobeam with the nonlcal parameter of
dimensionless longitudinal vibration frequency bN based on Eq. e0a ¼ 1 nm.
(22) for various vibration modes can be expressed as Fig. 3(a) depicts the dimensionless frequencies of the first three
modes of the clampedefree nanobeam at the crack location of
p C/L ¼ 0.4 with different crack parameters. It can be seen that the
ð2n  1Þ
2
bN ¼ rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 2ffi; n ¼ 1; 2; 3; . (23) frequencies of the first three modes are maximum for no crack (i.e.,
2 2 p K ¼ 0) case. The presence of a crack in a nanobeam leads to lower
1 þ ð2n  1Þ e
2 frequencies because of the added flexibility. The frequencies
Furthuremore, when the nonlocal effect is not considered (i.e., decrease with an increase of the crack parameter. In addition, the
e ¼ 0), the dimensionless longitudinal frequency bL of the clam- effect of the crack parameter on the frequencies is significant for the
pedefree nanobeam without crack for various vibration modes can lower value of the nonlocal parametere0a/L, especially, for the case of
be obtained as: e0a/L ¼ 0. The nonlocal effect is taken account in the analysis that
makes the nanobeam stiffer. Therefore, a larger nonlocal parameter
p leads to a decrease of the crack effect on the frequency. A similar
bL ¼ ð2n  1Þ n ¼ 1; 2; 3; . (24)
2 situation can also be found in Fig. 3(b) that shows the frequency of
Similarly, the eigenfunction of longitudinal frequency for the a clampedeclamped nanobeam. Comparing the two figures, for
clampedeclamped nanobeam can be obtained as
0 1
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2 0 1 a 5
B b C 26 B b C
2sin @qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiA þ K b 1  e2 b 4cos @qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiA
Present method
1e b 1e b
2 2 2 2
M. Aydogdu, [16]
0 13 (25) 4
B b  2bb C7
N

mode 3
þ cos @qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiA5 ¼ 0
/

2
1  e2 b
L

3
Frequency ratio,

In addition, bL and bL for the clampedeclamped nanobeam are

np
bN ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi; n ¼ 1; 2; 3; . (26) 2
1 þ n2 p2 e2 mode 2
and
1
bL ¼ np; n ¼ 1; 2; 3; . (27) mode 1

3. Results and discussion 0

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
L (nm)
In order to verify the equations analytically derived as above, we
compare the results obtained by using the present method with b 5
that obtained by Singh [17] for the case of e0a/L ¼ 0 with
C/L ¼ 0.2002 and K ¼ 0.1144. The comparison result for the natural Present method
frequencies of the clampedefree beam with a single crack for 4
M. Aydogdu, [16]
different modes is listed in Table 1. It can be seen that the present mode 3
N

result is in good agreement with the previous study [17].

/

In addition, the comparison of the results obtained by using the

L

present method and that obtained by Aydogdu [16] for the ratio of 3
Frequency ratio,

local frequency to nonlocal frequency, bL/bN, of the first three

modes of the clampedefree nanobeam with the nonlcal parameter
of e0a ¼ 1 nm and with no crack is shown in Fig. 2(a). In the mode 2
2

Table 1
The comparison of natural frequencies of the clampedefree beam with a single crack
for different methods. 1 mode 1
Mode number Numerical method [17] Present method
1 1.4278 1.4278
2 4.5579 4.5576 0
3 7.8540 7.8540 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
4 10.4471 10.4486 L (nm)
5 12.8476 12.8741
. .. . Fig. 2. The comparison of frequency ratio of (a) the clampedefree nanobeam and
10 31.7540 31.7497 (b) the clampedeclamped nanobeam with the nonlocal parameter of e0a ¼ 1 nm for
different vibration modes.

Please cite this article in press as: J.-C. Hsu, et al., Longitudinal vibration of cracked nanobeams using nonlocal elasticity theory, Current Applied
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a 8 a 1.6

K=0
K = 0.5
1.5

Dimensionless frequency of mode 1,

K = 0.8
6 m e0 a / L = 0
od
Dimensionless frequency,

e3 e0 a / L = 0.1
1.4 e0 a / L = 0.2
mo
de
2
4 1.3

1.2
2 mode 1

1.1

0 1
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
e0 a / L
C/L
b 10 b 3.2

K=0
K = 0.5 Dimensionless frequency of mode 1, 3
8 K = 0.8
m
Dimensionless frequency,

od
e3 2.8
mo
6 de
2

2.6

4
mode 1 2.4
e0 a / L = 0
2 e0 a / L = 0.1
2.2 e0 a / L = 0.2

0 2
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
e0 a / L C/L
Fig. 3. The dimensionless frequency of (a) the clampedefree nanobeam and (b) the Fig. 4. The dimensionless frequency of mode 1 of (a) the clampedefree nanobeam and
clampedeclamped nanobeam at the crack location of C/L ¼ 0.4 with different crack (b) the clampedeclamped nanobeam with crack parameter of K ¼ 0.5 for different
parameters for different vibration modes. nonlocal parameters and crack location ratios.

different nonlocal parameters it can be seen that the effect of the
crack parameter on the frequency of mode 1 of the clampedefree
nanobeam is larger than that of the clampedeclamped nanobeam.
The comparison of the nature frequencies of mode 1 of longi-
tudinal and transverse vibrations for the clampedeclamped beam
with a single cracked nanobeam at C/L ¼ 0.25 for various crack
parameters is list in Table 2. The nature frequencies of transverse
vibration was obtained by Loya et al. [14]. It can be found that the
effect of the crack effect on the frequency of longitudinal vibration
is larger than that of transverse vibration for different nonlocal
parameters.
In addition, the effect of crack location along the length of the
nanobeam is investigated. The dimensionless frequency of mode 1
of the clampedefree nanobeam with crack parameter of K ¼ 0.5 is
shown in Fig. 4(a). It can be seen that the influence of a crack on the
vibration behavior of the nanobeam is sensitive to its location. The
crack near the fixed end shows a larger decrease in the frequency
than that closer to the free end. This is because the elastic strain

Table 2
The comparison for nature frequencies of longitudinal and transverse vibrations of the clampedeclamped beam with a single cracked nanobeam at mode 1 and C/L ¼ 0.25 for
various crack parameters.

Vibration type e0a/L ¼ 0.2 e0a/L ¼ 0.4

K¼0 K ¼ 0.065 K ¼ 0.35 K¼2 K¼0 K ¼ 0.065 K ¼ 0.35 K¼2

Transverse* 4.2766 4.2752 4.2705 4.2595 3.5923 3.5920 3.5903 3.5810
longitudinal 2.6601 2.6173 2.4668 2.1506 1.9562 1.9467 1.9071 1.7663

The symbol * denotes the data obtained from Ref. [14].

Please cite this article in press as: J.-C. Hsu, et al., Longitudinal vibration of cracked nanobeams using nonlocal elasticity theory, Current Applied
Physics (2011), doi:10.1016/j.cap.2011.04.026
 J.-C. Hsu et al. / Current Applied Physics xxx (2011) 1e5
energy of a cracked nanobeam gradually decreases as the crack
location is closer to the fixed end. The maximum frequency of mode
1 of the clampedeclamped nanobeam with a crack occurred at
C/L ¼ 0.4 is observed as shown in Fig. 4(b), which is different with
the clampedefree case as shown in Fig. 4(a). Due to the symmetric
boundary conditions, the symmetric frequency distribution of the
nanobeam with a crack occurred at C/L ¼ 0.4 is also be observed.
The comparison of the results with different boundary conditions
as depicted in Fig. 4(a) and (b), for the clampedeclamped case it can
be seen that the frequency of mode 1 of the cracked nanobeam is
more sensitive to increasing nonlocal effect.
4. Conclusions
The longitudinal vibration analysis of a cracked nanobeam with
clampedeclamped and clampedefree boundary conditions was
studied using nonlocal elasticity theory. Based on the analysis, it was
observed that the influences of nonlocal effect, crack parameter, and
crack location on the frequency of the crack nanobeam were
significant. The results showed that the frequency decreased with
an increase of the crack parameter for the nanobeam with clam-
pedeclamped and clampedefree boundary conditions. However,
the increasing nonlocal effect resulted in a decrease of the crack
effect on the frequency. In addition, there was a significant decrease
in the frequency when the crack location is near the support.
Please cite this article in press as: J.-C. Hsu, et al., Longitudinal vibration of cracked nanobeams using nonlocal elasticity theory, Current Applied
Physics (2011), doi:10.1016/j.cap.2011.04.026
5
Acknowledgment
The authors wish to thank the National Science Council of the
Republic of China in Taiwan for providing financial support for this
study under Projects NSC 99-2221-E-168-019 and NSC 99-2221-E-
168-031.
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