Cantilever beam: Loading type?

ACT

Hello,

I am modeling a Cantilever beam and there will be no loading except an excitation at the calmped end.

Should I describe it as uniformally loaded or purely free? am confused :S

Mech_Engineer

By definition, a cantilever beam cannot have an excitation at its fixed end. So either this will be a steady-state beam that does nothing, or it's loading condition is not really as you have described it...

ACT

thanks for your reply!

> a steady-state beam

hmm, could you please elaborate?

I will have to excite the clamped end with displacement (x) and the other end will be free!

this is my loading condition. it is not wrong.

Mech_Engineer

I see, so what you're wanting to do is look at a beam's frequency response to an excitement (movement) at the base. I think what I would first try to do is rather than fixing the "fixed" end in all 6 degrees of freedom, only fix it in five. In other words, look at a modal analysis of the beam where a single degree of freedom is free at the fixed end of the beam, such as vertical translation.

Will you be doing this analysis in an FEA package, or analytically?

ACT

the movement will be in the vertical direction (along the z-axis say!) all the rest of the displacements is zero !

how can i do the modal analysis am a bit beginner :S

i will do it analytically and then use matlab...

is there any free software for FE online?

thanks