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The Scientific World Journal logoLink to The Scientific World Journal
. 2015 Mar 1;2015:825342. doi: 10.1155/2015/825342

Free Vibrations of a Cantilevered SWCNT with Distributed Mass in the Presence of Nonlocal Effect

M A De Rosa 1,*, M Lippiello 2, H D Martin 3
PMCID: PMC4359880  PMID: 25815371

Abstract

The Hamilton principle is applied to deduce the free vibration frequencies of a cantilever single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) in the presence of an added mass, which can be distributed along an arbitrary part of the span. The nonlocal elasticity theory by Eringen has been employed, in order to take into account the nanoscale effects. An exact formulation leads to the equations of motion, which can be solved to give the frequencies and the corresponding vibration modes. Moreover, two approximate semianalytical methods are also illustrated, which can provide quick parametric relationships. From a more practical point of view, the problem of detecting the mass of the attached particle has been solved by calculating the relative frequency shift due to the presence of the added mass: from it, the mass value can be easily deduced. The paper ends with some numerical examples, in which the nonlocal effects are thoroughly investigated.

1. Introduction

Carbon nanotubes (CNT)—as discovered by Iijima in 1991 (see [1])—have unique electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties, so that they are widely used in a large range of technical areas: nanoelectronics, scanning probes, nanoscale sensors, biomedical devices, and others. From a theoretical point of view, the nanoscale of these structures suggests an atomistic model, but this approach turns out to be very expensive. On the other hand, the usual beam theories (Euler-Bernoulli, Timoshenko, or even higher-order theories [2]) do not capture the influence of the size-effects, because they are inherently scale-free, so that it is usual to adopt the nonlocal elasticity theory, as developed by Eringen in [3, 4]. One of the most important goals of the nanomechanics is to use biosensors in order to detect external deposited masses, and a good mechanical model can be assumed to be a cantilever beam with an attached added mass along the span. It is important to note that the usual hypothesis of a “point mass” is not always justified [511], whereas a more realistic model [12] should assume a distributed added mass along a finite portion of the span. For this model, the free vibration frequencies can be calculated according to the classical energy method: the equations of motion and the boundary conditions are derived by applying the Hamilton principle, and the resulting boundary value problem is solved, to give the secular equation, which in turn permits deducing the frequencies.

Sometimes it is necessary to deduce the influence of some control parameter on the free vibration frequencies, so that some parametric curves must be sketched: in these cases the so-called semianalytical (SAN) methods become unvaluable, because they lead to approximate closed-form formulae for the frequencies as functions of the control parameter. In this paper, the added mass will be treated as a control parameter, and the use of two approximate approaches will permit us to examine the variation of the first frequency as a function of the added mass. In the first approach, we generalize a Meirovitch suggestion [13], starting from the equations of motion, in the spirit of Galerkin, whereas in the second method we start from the energies, following a Ritz-like approach. Both methods give close approximations to the true results, so that it is possible to use the parametric curve in order to find the added mass in terms of the frequency shift.

2. Analysis of the Problem

Let us consider the cantilevered nanotube in Figure 1, with span L, cross-sectional area A, second moment of area I, and mass density ρ. The well-known Euler-Bernoulli theory for slender beams will be used, so that the Young modulus E suffices to define the material properties. Finally, an attached distributed mass m- is located, between the abscissae γ 1 L and γ 2 L. In order to take into account the nanoscale effects, the nonlocal elasticity theory has been adopted, as suggested by Eringen.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Geometrical properties of the nanotube.

According to Hamilton principle it is possible to write

t1t2δTtδETtdt=0, (1)

where

T=120γ1LρAv1(z,t)t2dz+12γ1Lγ2LρAv2(z,t)t2dz+12γ2LLρAv3(z,t)t2dz+12γ1Lγ2Lmv2(z,t)t2dz (2)

is the sum of the kinetic energies of the nanotube in the three sections, v 1 between (0, γ 1 L), v 2 between (γ 1 L, γ 2 L), and v 3 between (γ 2 L, L), respectively, and of the kinetic energy of the added mass. Moreover,

ET=LeP=120γ1LEI2v1(z,t)z22dz+12γ1Lγ2LEI2v2z,tz22dz+12γ2LLEI2v3(z,t)z22dz0γ1LρA2v1(z,t)t2μ22v1(z,t)z2dzγ1Lγ2LρA2v2(z,t)t2μ22v2(z,t)z2dzγ2LLρA2v3(z,t)t2μ22v3(z,t)z2dz (3)

is the total potential energy, L e is the strain energy of the nanotube, and P is the potential energy of the inertial force (ρA(∂2 v(z, t)/∂t 2)) due to the additional displacement μ 2(∂2 v(z, t)/∂z 2) [14]. Here μ 2 = (e 0 a)2, where e 0 is a material constant, which has to be defined through experimental results, and a is the internal characteristic length of the nanotube.

The first variation of these two energies can be easily calculated so that (1) gives

t1t20γ1LρAv1(z,t)tδv1(z,t)tdz+γ1Lγ2LρAv2z,ttδv2z,ttdz+γ2LLρAv3(z,t)tδv3(z,t)tdz+γ1Lγ2Lmv2(z,t)tδv2(z,t)tdz0γ1LEI2v1z,tz2δ2v1z,tz2llllllllllllllllllllμ2ρA2v1z,tt2δ2v1z,tz2dzγ1Lγ2LEI2v2z,tz2δ2v2z,tz2llllllllllllllllllllμ2ρA2v2z,tt2δ2v2z,tz2dzγ2LLEI2v3(z,t)z2δ2v3(z,t)z2llllllllllllllllllllμ2ρA2v3z,tt2δ2v3z,tz2dzdt=0. (4)

Integrations by part (see Appendix) lead to a system of three equations of motion:

EI4v1z,tz4μ2ρA4v1z,tz2t2+ρA2v1z,tt2=0,gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg10<z<γ1L,EI4v2z,tz4μ2ρA4v2z,tz2t2+(ρA+M)2v2z,tt2=0,gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggγ1L<z<γ2L,EI4v3z,tz4μ2ρA4v3z,tz2t2+ρA2v3z,tt2=0,ggggggggggggggggggggggggggglγ2L<z<L, (5)

together with the following general boundary conditions at the ends:

v1(0,t)=0,v10,tz=0,EI3v3L,tz3μ2ρA3v3L,tt2z=0,EI2v3L,tz2+μ2ρA2v3L,tt2=0. (6)

The boundary conditions for z = γ 1 L are given by

v1γ1L,t=v2γ1L,t,v1γ1L,tz=v2γ1L,tz,μ2ρA3v1γ1L,tt2zEI3v1γ1L,tz3μ2ρA3v2γ1L,tt2z+EI3v2γ1L,tz3=0,μ2ρA2v1γ1L,tt2EI2v1γ1L,tz2μ2ρA2v2γ1L,tt2+EI2v2γ1L,tz2=0, (7)

and finally, at z = γ 2 L,

v2γ2L,t=v3γ2L,t,v2γ2L,tz=v3γ2L,tz,μ2ρA3v2γ2L,tt2zEI3v2γ2L,tz3μ2ρA3v3γ2L,tt2z+EI3v3γ2L,tz3=0,μ2ρA2v2γ2L,tt2EI2v2γ2L,tz2μ2ρA2v3γ2L,tt2+EI2v3γ2L,tz2=0. (8)

The solutions of (5) can be expressed as

vh(z,t)=vh(z)eiωt,h=1,2,3. (9)

If the nondimensional abscissa ζ = z/L can be introduced, the system of three equations of motion (5) becomes

4v1ζζ4+η2Ω42v1ζζ2Ω4v1ζ=0for  0<ζ<γ1,4v2ζζ4+η2Ω42v2ζζ21+λΩ4v2ζ=0ggggggggggggggggggggggggfor  γ1<ζ<γ2,4v3ζζ4+η2Ω42v3ζζ2Ω4v3ζ=0for  γ2<ζ<1, (10)

where the following nondimensional parameters have been introduced:

λ=mρA;η=μL;Ω=ρAL4ω2EI. (11)

The boundary conditions for clamped-free nanotube are given by

v1(0)=0,v1(0)ζ=0,v1γ1=v2γ1,v1γ1ζ=v2γ1ζ,η2Ω4v1γ1ζ+3v1γ1ζ3η2Ω4v2γ1ζ3v2γ1ζ3=0,η2Ω4v1γ1+2v1γ1ζ2η2Ω4v2γ12v2γ1ζ2=0,v2γ2=v3γ2,v2γ2ζ=v3γ2ζ,η2Ω4v2γ2ζ+3v2γ2ζ3η2Ω4v3γ2ζ3v3γ2ζ3=0,η2Ω4v2γ2+2v2γ2ζ2η2Ω4v3γ22v3γ2ζ2=0,3v3(1)ζ3+η2Ω4v3(1)ζ=0,2v31ζ2η2Ω4v3(1)=0. (12)

The general solutions of (10) are given by

v1ζ=A1cos(αζ)+A2sin(αζ)+A3cosh(αζ)+A4sinhαζ,v2ζ=B1cosα1ζ+B2sinα1ζ+B3coshβ1ζ+B4sinhβ1ζ,v3ζ=C1cos(αζ)+C2sin(αζ)+C3cosh(βζ)+C4sinh(βζ) (13)

with

α=12η2Ω4+Ω24+η4Ω4;β=12η2Ω4+Ω24+η4Ω4;α1=12η2Ω4+Ω24+4λ+η4Ω4;β1=12η2Ω4+Ω24+4λ+η4Ω4. (14)

The twelve constants can be found by imposing the boundary conditions (12). The resulting homogeneous system has nontrivial solutions if and only if the coefficient determinant is zero and the corresponding secular equation has infinite solutions Ω j. The circular frequencies ω j can be easily deduced, as well as the natural frequencies f j = ω j/2π.

2.1. Nonlocal Fundamental Natural Frequency on CNT with Attached Mass-First Method

Starting from the equations of motion (5), it is possible to integrate each of them in their domain, and the resulting integrals can be summed up:

0LEI4v(z)z4dz+ω20Lμ2ρA2v(z)z2dzω20LρAv(z)dzω2γ1Lγ2Lmv(z)dz=0. (15)

It is now possible to insert a trial function y(z) [14], leading to

0LEI4v(z)z4y(z)dz+ω20Lμ2ρA2v(z)z2y(z)dzω20LρAv(z)y(z)dzω2γ1Lγ2Lmv(z)y(z)dz=0. (16)

Two successive integrations by part can be performed:

0LEI4vzz4yzdz=EI3vzz3yz0L0LEI3v(z)z3y(z)zdz=EI3vzz3yz0LEI2vzz2yzz0L+0LEI2vzz22yzz2dz,ω20Lμ2ρA2vzz2yzdz=ω2μ2ρAv(z)zy(z)0Lω20Lμ2ρAv(z)zy(z)zdz=ω2μ2ρAv(z)zy(z)0Lω2μ2ρAv(z)y(z)z0L+ω20Lμ2ρAv(z)2y(z)z2dz (17)

so that (16) becomes

0LEI2v(z)z22y(z)z2dzω20LρAv(z)y(z)dzω2γ1Lγ2Lmv(z)y(z)dz+ω20Lμ2ρAv(z)2y(z)z2dz+EI3v(z)z3y(z)0LEI2v(z)z2y(z)z0L+ω2μ2ρAvzzyz0Lω2μ2ρAvzyzz0L=0. (18)

The boundary conditions at the right end permit simplifying the previous equation:

0LEI2vzz22yzz2dz+ω20Lμ2ρAv(z)2y(z)z2dzω20LρAv(z)y(z)dzω2γ1Lγ2Lmv(z)y(z)dz+EI3v(L)z3y(L)EI2v(L)z2y(L)z+ω2μ2ρAvLzy(L)ω2μ2ρAv(L)yLz=0, (19)

whereas the free end will be subjected to the following equilibrium conditions:

ω2μ2ρAv(L)z+EI3v(L)z3=0,ω2μ2ρAv(L)EI2vLz2=0. (20)

Finally, (19) reduces to

0LEI2v(z)z22y(z)z2dz+ω20Lμ2ρAv(z)2y(z)z2dzω20LρAv(z)y(z)dzω2γ1Lγ2Lmv(z)y(z)dz=0 (21)

and the frequency ω 2 can be written down, putting y(z) = v(z), as

ω2=0LEI2v(z)z22v(z)z2 dz ×0Lμ2ρAv(z)2v(z)z2dz0LρAv2zdz+γ1Lγ2Lmv2zdz0Lμ2ρAv(z)2v(z)z2dz1 (22)

or, in terms of the nondimensional abscissa ζ = z/L,

ω2=EIL3012v(ζ)ζ22v(ζ)ζ2dζ×η2ρAL01v(ζ)2v(ζ)ζ2dζρAL01v2(ζ)dζ+mLγ1γ2v2(ζ)dζη2ρAL01v(ζ)2v(ζ)ζ2dζ1. (23)

In order to obtain a satisfactory approximation of the fundamental frequency, we use as approximating function v(ζ) the exact displacement of the cantilever beam without added mass:

vζ=Cosh1.8751ζCos1.8751ζSinh1.8751Sin1.8751Cosh1.8751+Cos1.8751×Sinh1.8751ζSin1.8751ζ. (24)

The following integrals can be defined [15]:

I1=01v2ζdζ=1,I3=012v(ζ)ζ22v(ζ)ζ2dζ=12.3623. (25)

For the case of distributed added mass between the abscissae γ 1 L and γ 2 L, the integral I 2 can be defined as

I2=γ1γ2v2ζdζ0γ11;0γ21, (26)

and finally, in order to take into account the nonlocal effects, we define the fourth integral:

I4=01v(ζ)2v(ζ)ζ2dζ=0.858264. (27)

The fundamental natural frequency can be deduced from (23) in terms of these four integrals as

fn1=ω2π=β2πI3I1+λI2η2I4. (28)

Finally, it is usual to cancel out the first integral, so arriving to the natural frequency,

fn1=β2πCk1+λCmη2Cn1, (29)

where

β=EImL4;Ck=I3I1=3.5160;Cn1=I4I1=0.858264;Cm=I2I1 (30)

and C k, C n1, and C m are the so-called calibration constants.

2.2. Nonlocal Fundamental Natural Frequency on CNT with Attached Mass-Second Method

In this approach, let us start from the energy terms:

T=120LρAv(z,t)t2dz+12γ1Lγ2Lmv(z,t)t2dz,ET=LeP=120LEI2vzz22dz0Lμ2ρA2v(z,t)t22v(z,t)z2dz (31)

and let us assume the separation of variables

v(z,t)=v(z)Cos(ωt) (32)

so that the energies read

T=ω220LρAvz2dz+γ1Lγ2Lmvz2dzCos2ωt,ET=LeP=120LEI2v(z)z22dzSin2(ωt)+ω20Lμ2ρAvz2vzz2dzSin2ωt. (33)

The maximum kinetic energy will be equal to the maximum total potential energy, so that

120LEI2v(z)z22dz+ω20Lμ2ρAv(z)2v(z)z2dz=ω220LρAvz2dz+ω22γ1Lγ2Lmvz2dz (34)

and the frequency ω 2 can be deduced as

ω2=120LEI2vzz22dz×0Lμ2ρAvz2vzz2dz120LρAvz2dz+12γ1Lγ2Lmvz2dz0Lμ2ρAvz2vzz2dz1 (35)

or, in terms of the nondimensional abscissa ζ = z/L,

ω2=12EIL3012v(ζ)ζ22v(ζ)ζ2dζ×η2ρAL01v(ζ)2v(ζ)ζ2dζ12ρAL01v2ζdζ+12mLγ1γ2v2ζdζη2ρAL01v(ζ)2v(ζ)ζ2dζ1. (36)

Let us assume the same approximating function equation (24), so that the following integrals can be calculated:

I1=01v2ζdζ=1,I3=012v(ζ)ζ22v(ζ)ζ2dζ=12.3623;I4=01v(ζ)2v(ζ)ζ2dζ=0.858264, (37)

and finally if the added mass is placed between the abscissae γ 1 L and γ 2 L, the integral I 2 can be obtained as

I2=γ1γ2v2ζdζ;0γ11;0γ21. (38)

Therefore, an alternative version of the natural frequency can be obtained as

fn2=β2πCk1+λCmη2Cn2 (39)

with the three calibration constants:

Ck=I3I1=3.51601;Cn2=2I4I1=1.71653;Cm=I2I1. (40)

3. Nonlocal Sensor Equations

The sensor equations in the presence of nonlocal elasticity can now be deduced, and the added mass m- of a biomolecule can be detected by calculating the corresponding CNT frequency shift. In fact, let us start from the natural frequency of the CNT without the added mass:

fn0=12πCkβ, (41)

and let us express the natural frequency, in the presence of the added mass, as (cf. (29) and (39))

fni=fn01+λCmη2Cni, i =1,2. (42)

The frequency shift of the biosensor can be defined as

Δf=fn0fni (43)

and finally the relative frequency shift is given by

Δffn0=111+λCmη2Cni (44)

from which the value of the added mass m- can be easily obtained:

Δffn012=11+λCmη2Cni, (45)
λ=1CmΔf/fn012+Cniη2Cm1Cm (46)
m=ρACmΔf/fn012+Cniη2ρACmρACm (47)

and i = 1 for the first approach and i = 2 for the second approach.

4. Numerical Examples

4.1. First Example

Table 1 shows properties of the cantilever nanotube, which will be used throughout this section. The added distributed mass will be placed from the section γ 1 L to the free end, so that γ 2 = 1, and γ 1 will vary from 0.9 to 0.1. In Table 2 the fundamental natural frequency is given for various values of the γ = γ 2γ 1 = 1 − γ 1 parameter and for increasing values of the nondimensional η coefficient (see (11)). The first column gives the fundamental natural frequency in the absence of nonlocal effects. The table has been obtained by solving the system of three differential equations of motion (13), so that the results can be considered “exact.” As can be easily observed, the first fundamental natural frequency increases for increasing values of the η parameter, whereas it decreases for increasing values of the γ parameter.

Table 1.

Nanotube properties (see [16]).

SWCNT properties density Symbol Value Unit
Cross section area A 7.851 10−19 m2
Radius R 0.5 10−9 m
Length L 9 10−9 m
Moment of inertia I 4.91 10−38 m4
Density ρ 2300 Kg/m3
Young's modulus E 1000 109 Pa

Table 2.

The first exact natural frequency (×1010) f 0 for various values of the nondimensional length of the added mass and for four increasing values of the nonlocal nondimensional coefficient η.

γ η = 0 η = 0.1 η = 0.3 η = 0.5
0.1 3.10361 3.11245 3.20756 3.46665
0.2 2.84585 2.85418 2.9260 3.10933
0.3 2.7036 2.71057 2.77009 2.91661
0.4 2.62348 2.6297 2.68251 2.80985
0.5 2.58023 2.58605 2.63527 2.75263
0.6 2.55911 2.56473 2.6122 2.72473
0.7 2.55048 2.55602 2.60277 2.71335
0.8 2.54791 2.55342 2.59996 2.70995
0.9 2.54749 2.55301 2.59951 2.70941

The fundamental natural frequency f n1 is reported in Table 3, as obtained by means of (29) and with λ = 1. A numerical comparison with the exact values in Table 1 shows that the relative error is greater for γ = 0.1, whereas the results for γ = 0.9 almost coincide. At γ = 0.1, the relative error varies between 0.035% for η = 0.1, 0.34% for η = 0.3, and finally 2.36% for η = 0.5. Of course, this η value can be considered as a limiting case, whereas η = 0.1 and η = 0.3 are more realistic choices. For example (see [17]), η = 0.235 is adopted. In Table 4 the fundamental natural frequency f n2 is given, as obtained by means of (39) and with λ = 1. A numerical comparison with the exact values in Table 2 shows that the relative error is greater than the previous case. More particularly, for γ = 0.1 it varies between 0.36% for η = 0.1, 2.83% for η = 0.3, and finally 8.45% for η = 0.5. Therefore, the first method seems to be more reliable than the second one.

Table 3.

First approximate fundamental natural frequency (×1010) f n1, as obtained using (29), for various values of the nondimensional length of the added mass and for four increasing values of the nonlocal nondimensional coefficient η.

γ η = 0 η = 0.1 η = 0.3 η = 0.5
0.1 3.10361 3.11354 3.19659 3.38478
0.2 2.84803 2.85570 2.91937 3.06061
0.3 2.70498 2.71154 2.76586 2.88508
0.4 2.62411 2.63011 2.67959 2.78756
0.5 2.580453 2.586150 2.63315 2.73539
0.6 2.55916 2.56472 2.61054 2.71007
0.7 2.55050 2.5560 2.60135 2.69979
0.8 2.54792 2.55341 2.59861 2.69673
0.9 2.54750 2.55299 2.59817 2.69624

Table 4.

First exact fundamental natural frequency (×1010) f n2, as obtained using (39), for various values of the nondimensional length of the added mass and for four increasing values of the nonlocal nondimensional coefficient η.

γ η = 0 η = 0.1 η = 0.3 η = 0.5
0.1 3.10361 3.12357 3.29845 3.75946
0.2 2.84803 2.86343 2.99634 3.32922
0.3 2.70498 2.71816 2.83106 3.10674
0.4 2.62411 2.63614 2.73875 2.98593
0.5 2.58045 2.59188 2.68921 2.92207
0.6 2.55916 2.57032 2.66515 2.89127
0.7 2.55050 2.56154 2.65536 2.87879
0.8 2.54792 2.55893 2.65246 2.87509
0.9 2.54750 2.55851 2.65199 2.87449

4.2. Second Example

As a second example, let us suppose that the added mass is distributed along a fixed length, so that γ = γ 2γ 1 = 0.3, but its real placement along the nanotube is unknown. In Table 5 the first fundamental natural frequency is reported, for different placements of the added mass and for four η parameters. The frequencies have been obtained by solving the equations of motion, so that the results can be considered exact, and the nonlocal parameter has been allowed to vary between 0 and 0.3. The fundamental natural frequency increases for increasing values of the nonlocal η parameter, and higher values correspond to added masses nearer to the clamped end. The same example is illustrated in Tables 6 and 7, using the approximate formula (29) and the approximate formula (39), respectively. As in the first example, the first method gives better results.

Table 5.

First exact fundamental natural frequency (×1010) f 0 for various values of the nondimensional length of the added mass (with γ = 0.3) and for four increasing values of the nonlocal nondimensional coefficient η.

γ1 γ2 η = 0 η = 0.1 η = 0.2 η = 0.3
0.7 1 2.70498 2.71057 2.73205 2.77009
0.6 0.9 2.90531 2.91317 2.9375 2.98072
0.5 0.8 3.10026 3.10941 3.13780 3.18851
0.4 0.7 3.27557 3.28637 3.31997 3.38053
0.3 0.6 3.41695 3.42952 3.46879 3.54028
0.2 0.5 3.51481 3.52888 3.57304 3.65415
0.1 0.4 3.57016 3.58519 3.63251 3.71994
0.0 0.3 3.59421 3.60970 3.65848 3.74886

Table 6.

First exact fundamental natural frequency (×1010) f 1, as obtained using (29), for various values of the nondimensional length of the added mass (with γ = 0.3) and for four increasing values of the nonlocal nondimensional coefficient η.

γ1 γ2 η = 0 η = 0.1 η = 0.2 η = 0.3
0.7 1 2.70498 2.71154 2.73154 2.76586
0.6 0.9 2.90556 2.91370 2.93855 2.98142
0.5 0.8 3.10177 3.11168 3.14201 3.19457
0.4 0.7 3.27802 3.28973 3.32563 3.38815
0.3 0.6 3.41894 3.43224 3.47306 3.54445
0.2 0.5 3.51573 3.53019 3.57465 3.65264
0.1 0.4 3.57039 3.585549 3.63215 3.71405
0.0 0.3 3.59424 3.60969 3.65727 3.74092

Table 7.

First exact fundamental natural frequency (×1010) f 2, as obtained using (39), for various values of the nondimensional length of the added mass (with γ = 0.3) and for four increasing values of the nonlocal nondimensional coefficient η.

γ1 γ2 η = 0 η = 0.1 η = 0.2 η = 0.3
0.7 1 2.70498 2.71816 2.75890 2.83106
0.6 0.9 2.90556 2.92191 2.97270 3.06355
0.5 0.8 3.10177 3.12169 3.18385 3.29624
0.4 0.7 3.27802 3.30157 3.37536 3.51017
0.3 0.6 3.41894 3.44568 3.52982 3.68488
0.2 0.5 3.51573 3.54482 3.63663 3.80690
0.1 0.4 3.57039 3.60087 3.69723 3.87658
0.0 0.3 3.59424 3.62534 3.72373 3.90716

4.3. Third Example

Finally, let us address the practical problem of the added mass detection. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to plot the relationship between the added mass m- equation (47) and the relative frequency shift equation (44). More precisely, in Figure 2 the nondimensional mass ratio M/ρAL⁡ is plotted against the relative frequency shift equation (44), with M=m-(γ2-γ1)L, and the four curves refer to four different η values, η = 0 (without nonlocal effects), η = 0.1, η = 0.2, and η = 0.3. The added mass is placed at the tip of the cantilever nanotube, so that η 2 = 1, whereas (γ 2γ 1) is allowed to vary between 0.05 and 0.6. The geometrical data of the nanotube are given in Table 1. It is interesting to note that, according to our results, the relative frequency shift decreases for increasing values of the nonlocal coefficient η. This should be compared with the different behaviour exhibited by the results given in [17]. The curves in Figure 2 have been drawn using the first approach, because it gives better approximations to the true values. Actually, in Figure 3 we have compared the exact method with the two proposed approaches, for η = 0.2, but the curve describing the first approach is undistinguishable from the exact curve.

Figure 2.

Figure 2

The nondimensional mass ratio M/ρAL⁡ is plotted against the relative frequency shift—as obtained using (44)—with M=m-γ2-γ1L. The four curves refer to four different η values, η = 0 (without nonlocal effects), η = 0.1, η = 0.2, and η = 0.3.

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Numerical comparison between two proposed approaches.

5. Conclusions

The frequency shift between the free vibration frequencies of a cantilever nanotube with, and without, an attached distributed mass has been used, in order to detect the added mass value. It is shown that the size-effects must be taken into account, and the frequencies have to be calculated according to the nonlocal elasticity theory. Three different approaches have been proposed to solve the problem, and their results have been compared for a couple of examples. Moreover, the relative frequency shift decreases, for increasing values of the nonlocal coefficient η, so that careful calibration of this coefficient η becomes necessary, in order to obtain reliable values of the added mass.

Appendix

Equation (4), which is reported here for the sake of readability, has to be integrated by part:

t1t20γ1LρAv1(z,t)tδv1(z,t)tdz+γ1Lγ2LρAv2(z,t)tδv2(z,t)tdz+γ2LLρAv3(z,t)tδv3(z,t)tdz+γ1Lγ2Lmv2(z,t)tδv2(z,t)tdz0γ1LEI2v1(z,t)z2δ2v1(z,t)z2ggggggggggμ2ρA2v1z,tt2δ2v1z,tz2dzγ1Lγ2LEI2v2z,tz2δ2v2z,tz2ggggggggggμ2ρA2v2z,tt2δ2v2z,tz2dzγ2LLEI2v3z,tz2δ2v3z,tz2ggggggggggμ2ρA2v3z,tt2gggggggggl×δ2v3z,tz2dzdt=0. (A.1)

The first three terms of (A.1) can be treated as follows:

0γ1Lt1t2ρAv1(z,t)tδv1(z,t)tdtdz=0γ1LρAv1z,ttδv1z,tt1t2dz0γ1Lt1t2ρA2v1z,tt2δv1z,tdtdz;γ1Lγ2Lt1t2ρAv2z,ttδv2z,ttdtdz=γ1Lγ2LρAv2(z,t)tδv2(z,t)t1t2dzγ1Lγ2Lt1t2ρA2v2(z,t)t2δv2(z,t)dtdz;γ2LLt1t2ρAv3z,ttδv3z,ttdtdz=γ2LLρAv3(z,t)tδv3z,tt1t2dzγ2LLt1t2ρA2v3z,tt2δv3z,tdtdz, (A.2)

where we considered the fact that δ(v i(z, t)) = 0 at t = t 1 and t = t 2.

Quite similarly, the single term of the distributed mass becomes

γ1Lγ2Lt1t2mv2z,ttδv2z,ttdtdz=γ1Lγ2Lmv2z,ttδv2z,tt1t2dzγ1Lγ2Lt1t2m2v2z,tt2δv2z,tdtdz. (A.3)

The nonlocal effects are contained into three integrals, which can be integrated as follows:

t1t20γ1Lμ2ρA2v1z,tt2δ2v1z,tz2dzdt=t1t2μ2ρA2v1(z,t)t2δv1(z,t)z0γ1Ldtt1t20γ1Lμ2ρA3v1(z,t)t2zδv1(z,t)zdzdt=t1t2μ2ρA2v1(z,t)t2δv1(z,t)z0γ1Ldtt1t2μ2ρA3v1z,tt2zδv1z,t0γ1Ldt+t1t20γ1Lμ2ρA4v1(z,t)t2z2δv1z,tdzdt;t1t2γ1Lγ2Lμ2ρA2v2(z,t)t2δ2v2(z,t)z2dzdt=t1t2μ2ρA2v2(z,t)t2δv2(z,t)zγ1Lγ2Ldtt1t2γ1Lγ2Lμ2ρA3v2(z,t)t2zδv2(z,t)zdzdt=t1t2μ2ρA2v2(z,t)t2δv2(z,t)zγ1Lγ2Ldtt1t2μ2ρA3v2(z,t)t2zδv2(z,t)γ1Lγ2Ldt+t1t2γ1Lγ2Lμ2ρA4v2(z,t)t2z2δv2z,tdzdt;t1t2γ2LLμ2ρA2v3(z,t)t2δ2v3(z,t)z2dzdt=t1t2μ2ρA2v3(z,t)t2δv3(z,t)zγ2LLdtt1t2γ2LLμ2ρA2v3(z,t)t2δv3(z,t)zdzdt=t1t2μ2ρA2v3(z,t)t2δv3(z,t)zγ2LLdtt1t2μ2ρA3v3(z,t)t2zδv3(z,t)γ2LLdt+t1t2γ2LLμ2ρA4v3(z,t)t2z2δv3(z,t)dzdt. (A.4)

Finally, the first variation of the strain energy can be treated as usual:

t1t20γ1LEI2v1z,tz2δ2v1z,tz2dzdt=t1t2EI2v1(z,t)z2δv1(z,t)z0γ1Ldt+t1t20γ1LEI3v1(z,t)z3δv1(z,t)zdzdt=t1t2EI2v1(z,t)z2δv1(z,t)z0γ1Ldt+t1t2EI3v1(z,t)z3δv1z,t0γ1Ldtt1t20γ1LEI4v1(z,t)z4δv1z,tdzdt;t1t2γ1Lγ2LEI2v2(z,t)z2δ2v2(z,t)z2dzdt=t1t2EI2v2(z,t)z2δv2(z,t)zγ1Lγ2Ldt+t1t2γ1Lγ2LEI3v2(z,t)z3δv2(z,t)zdzdt=t1t2EI2v2(z,t)z2δv2(z,t)zγ1Lγ2Ldt+t1t2EI3v2(z,t)z3δv2z,tγ1Lγ2Ldtt1t2γ1Lγ2LEI4v2(z,t)z4δv2z,tdzdt;t1t2γ2LLEI2v3(z,t)z2δ2v3(z,t)z2dzdt=t1t2EI2v3(z,t)z2δv3(z,t)zγ2LLdt+t1t2γ2LLEI3v3(z,t)z3δv3(z,t)zdzdt=t1t2EI2v3(z,t)z2δv3(z,t)zγ2LLdt+t1t2EI3v3(z,t)z3δv3z,tγ2LLdt  t1t2γ2LLEI4v3(z,t)z4δv3z,tdzdt. (A.5)

All the previous integrated terms can be collected together, leading to

t1t20γ1LρA2v1z,tt2δv1z,tdz0γ1LEI4v1z,tz4δv1z,tdz+0γ1Lμ2ρA4v1(z,t)t2z2δv1z,tdzγ1Lγ2LρA2v2z,tt2δv2z,tdzγ1Lγ2LEI4v2z,t4δv2z,tdz+γ1Lγ2Lμ2ρA4v2z,tt2z2δv2z,tdzγ2LLρA2v3z,tt2δv3z,tdzγ2LLEI4v3z,tz4δv3z,tdz+γ2LLμ2ρA4v3z,tt2z2δv3z,tdzγ1Lγ2Lm2v2(z,t)t2δv2z,tdzdt=0; (A.6)
t1t2μ2ρA2v1(z,t)t2δv1(z,t)z0γ1Lμ2ρA3v1(z,t)t2zδv1(z,t)0γ1LEI2v1(z,t)z2δv1(z,t)z0γ1L+EI3v1(z,t)z3δv1(z,t)0γ1L+μ2ρA2v2(z,t)t2δv2(z,t)zγ1Lγ2Lμ2ρA3v2(z,t)t2zδv2(z,t)γ1Lγ2LEI2v2(z,t)z2δv2(z,t)zγ1Lγ2L+EI3v2(z,t)z3δv2(z,t)γ1Lγ2L+μ2ρA2v3(z,t)t2δv3(z,t)zγ2LLμ2ρA3v3(z,t)t2zδv3(z,t)γ2LLEI2v3(z,t)z2δv3(z,t)zγ2LL+EI3v3(z,t)z3δv3(z,t)γ2LLdt=0. (A.7)

Finally, from (A.6) the following equations can be deduced (cf. (4)):

EI4v1(z,t)z4μ2ρA4v1(z,t)z2t2+ρA2v1(z,t)t2=0,ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg10<z<γ1L,EI4v2(z,t)z4μ2ρA4v2(z,t)z2t2+ρA+m2v2(z,t)t2=0,ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggγ1L<z<γ2L,EI4v3(z,t)z4μ2ρA4v3(z,t)z2t2+ρA2v3(z,t)t2=0,ggggggggggggggggggggggggg1ggγ2L<z<L, (A.8)

whereas the boundary conditions can be deduced from (A.7),

v10,t=0,v10,tz=0, (A.9)

for z = 0 and for z = L,

EI3v3(L,t)z3μ2ρA3v3L,tt2z=0,EI2v3L,tz2+μ2ρA2v3L,tt2=0. (A.10)

The boundary conditions for z = γ 1 L are

v1γ1L,t=v2γ1L,t,v1γ1L,tz=v2γ1L,tz,μ2ρA3v1γ1L,tt2zEI3v1γ1L,tz3μ2ρA3v2γ1L,tt2z+EI3v2γ1L,tz3=0,μ2ρA2v1γ1L,tt2EI2v1γ1L,tz2μ2ρA2v2γ1L,tt2+EI2v2γ1L,tz2=0 (A.11)

and those for z = γ 2 L are

v2γ2L,t=v3γ2L,t,v2γ2L,tz=v3γ2L,tz,μ2ρA3v2γ2L,tt2zEI3v2γ2L,tz3μ2ρA3v3γ2L,tt2z+EI3v3γ2L,tz3=0,μ2ρA2v2γ2L,tt2EI2v2γ2L,tz2μ2ρA2v3γ2L,tt2+EI2v3γ2L,tz2=0. (A.12)

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

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