The effect of finit crack on the dynamic characteristics and the harmonic response are investigated in this thesis. The energy release rate introduced by the crack is used to derive the local stiffness. Two methods : the modal expansion method and the two-span beam analytical method are proposed to analyze the dynamic response of a cracked beam. The effect of crack length and crack position on the beam natural frequ- encies and mode shapes are also analyzed. Results indicate that the proposed two methods are feasible and reliable.
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