Computers and Geotechnics 36 (2009) 743750

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Computers and Geotechnics

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Linear and nonlinear vibration of non-uniform beams on two-parameter

foundations using p-elements
B. Zhu a,b,*, A.Y.T. Leung b
a
b

Department of Civil Engineering, Zhejiang University, 388#, Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
Department of Building and Construction, City University of Hong Kong, China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 28 August 2008
Received in revised form 13 December 2008
Accepted 15 December 2008
Available online 20 January 2009
Keywords:
Beams
Foundations
Vibration
Nonlinear
p-Element

a b s t r a c t
A hierarchical nite element is presented for the geometrically nonlinear free and forced vibration of a
non-uniform Timoshenko beam resting on a two-parameter foundation. Legendre orthogonal polynomials are used as enriching shape functions to avoid the shear-locking problem. With the enriching degrees
of freedom, the accuracy of the computed results and the computational efciency are greatly improved.
The arc-length iterative method is used to solve the nonlinear eigenvalue equation. The computed
results of linear and nonlinear vibration analyses show that the convergence of the proposed element
is very fast with respect to the number of Legendre orthogonal polynomials used. Since the elastic foundation and the axial load applied at both ends of the beam affect the ratios of linear frequencies associated with the internal resonance, they inuence the nonlinear vibration characteristics of the beam.
The axial tensile stress of the beam in nonlinear vibration is investigated in this paper, and attention
should be paid to the geometrically nonlinear vibration resulting in considerably large axial tensile
stress in the beam.
Crown Copyright 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The dynamic innite element [1,2], the exact high-order accurate articial boundaries [3,4] and some other numerical techniques simulating the innite media were well developed for the
vibration analysis of soilstructure interaction. Some soilstructure interaction problems such as the pile foundation and the mining panel can also be approximately modeled by means of a beam
resting on an elastic foundation [57]. Nonlinear vibration of these
structures will be induced when subjected to dynamic forces of
earthquake, machine oscillation, etc. Compared with those methods dealing with the innite media of the soilstructure interaction, the use of two-parameter foundations is a more rough
approximation of representing the innite medium on which the
beam is rested But the nite element method (FEM) based on the
two-parameter foundation approximation can be easily used to
analyze the soil-beam interaction problems, and this method has
also become one of the most popular methods for these problems
[810]. If the beam is with immovable supports, the equation of
transverse vibration is nonlinear due to the signicant inuence
of axial force, and the nonlinear vibration characteristics of the
beam are much different from the linear ones [11,12].
* Corresponding author. Address: Department of Civil Engineering, Zhejiang
University, 388#, Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
E-mail address: zhubin_ccea@yahoo.com.cn (B. Zhu).

Since the nonlinear stiffness matrices are required to be reconstructed during iterations, the computational complexity increases
considerably with the increase of the number of degrees of freedom (DOFs). Therefore, using less number of DOFs for the same
accuracy is very desirable for a nonlinear vibration analysis. In
general, the p-version elements converge more rapidly than the
h-version elements in a nite element analysis [1114]. One whole
non-uniform beam can be modeled by just one element while satisfying the accuracy requirement using the p-version element.
Both the properties make the p-version elements more popular
for the nonlinear vibration analyses of beams [11,12,15,16]. So
far, the studies of nonlinear vibration analyses are limited to the
uniform beams, most of which are based on the EulerBernoulli
beam theory.
In this paper a hierarchical nite element (HFE) for nonlinear
free and forced vibration analyses of non-uniform Timoshenko
beams resting on two-parameter foundations is presented. An initial axial load is applied at both ends of the beam. The element
takes into account the effects of transverse shear deformation
and rotatory inertia. The nonlinear eigenvalue equation of the
beam is obtained by applying the harmonic balance method
(HBM) and solved by the arc-length iterative method. Convergence
of the present hierarchical element for linear and nonlinear vibration is studied and the effects of the foundation parameters, the
initial axial load and the variation of the section of the beam to
the nonlinear free vibration are investigated.

0266-352X/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compgeo.2008.12.006

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B. Zhu, A.Y.T. Leung / Computers and Geotechnics 36 (2009) 743750

Nomenclature
degrees of freedom of transverse displacements
degrees of freedom of rotations
element shape functions
number of enriching shape functions
Youngs modulus
shear modulus
density of the beam
shear correction factor
Poissons ratio
width of the beam
depth of the beam
length of the beam
cross-sectional area
second moment of area

yi
hi
Ni
P
E
G
H
k0

m
b
t
L
A
I

radius of gyration
natural frequency
frequency parameter
non-dimensional parameter of initial axial load
non-dimensional parameter of Winkler foundation
modulus
non-dimensional parameter of shear foundation modulus
vector of generalized transverse displacements
vector of generalized rotations
vector of generalized total DOFs
linear stiffness and mass matrices
nonlinear stiffness matrix
vector of generalized external excitation force

rg

x
c
Pr
k
kG
qw
qh
q
Kl ; Ml
K4
Q

2. Formulation

h
2.1. Finite element formulation
A p-version element of a non-uniform Timoshenko beam resting on a two-parameter elastic foundation is depicted in Fig. 1.
The elastic foundation model is characterized by the Winkler foundation modulus k and the shear foundation modulus kG. For the
sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the cross-section of the beam
is rectangular, the beams width and depth, the foundation parameters k and kG are functions of x given by

bx

b i xi ;

tx

i0

kG x

t i xi ;

kx

i0

k i xi ;

i0

kGi xi

i0

It is noted that there are additional internal degrees of freedom

(DOFs) yi and hi (3 6 i 6 p 2) as shown in Fig. 1. The C0 shape
functions N for transverse displacement w and rotation h are

Ni n fi n i 1; 2; . . .

 2
ou 1 ow

ox 2 ox
oh
j
ox
ow
h
/
ox

3a



qw
qh

Nw
Nh

where q is the vector of generalized degrees of freedom; qw and qh

are vectors of generalized transverse displacements and rotations,
respectively. Then the exural strain and the shear strain in Eq.
(3) are given by

oh oNh

q Bh q
ox
ox 

ow
oNw
/
h
 Nh q Bw  Nh q Bs q
ox
ox

5a
5b

Taking into account the effects of the transverse shear deformation, the elastic foundation and the rotatory inertia, the Hamilton
principle yields the nonlinear motion equation

x2 Ml Kl

K4


qQ

where Q is the vector of generalized external excitation force. The

linear stiffness and mass matrices for transverse vibration Kl and
Ml are given by [17]

where n = x/l. The rst two terms are traditionally used for C 2node linear element and the additional enriching shape functions
using Legendre orthogonal polynomials fi(n) (3 6 i 6 p 2) lead to
zero displacements at both nodes [7]. The geometrically nonlinear
axial strain, the exural strain and the shear strain are given by

Kl

h
0
l  Bh T EIBh Bs T k GABs Nw T kNw
0


i
Kw Kwh
Bw T kG  PBw dn
Khw Kh

Ml

l  Nw T qANw Nh T qINh dn diagMw ; Mh 

7a

7b

3b
3c

where u is the axial displacement, w is the transverse displacement

and h is the rotation. Neglecting the longitudinal inertia forces and
the longitudinal displacements, one can interpolate w and h as

K4

1

2

Z
0

i
ElAxN;x T N;x qw qTw N;x T N;x dn

where N,x is the rst-order differential of N with respect to x. It

should be noted that the linear matrices in Eq. (7) and the nonlinear
matrix in Eq. (8) can be obtained with analytic integrations.

y
y1

where Khw KTwh ; E is the Youngs modulus; q is the mass density;

A(x) is the cross-sectional area; I(x) is the second moment of area; k0
is the shear correction factor; G is the shear modulus; and P is the
initial axial force applied at both ends of the beam. K4 is a quadratic
function of qw and can be expressed as [15,16]

yi

y2

k, k G
Fig. 1. A p-version element of non-uniform Timoshenko beam resting on elastic
foundation.

2.2. Arc-length iteration for free and forced nonlinear vibration

The external excitation force considered per unit length is given
by Q0(x,t), and then the vector of generalized external force has the
form

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B. Zhu, A.Y.T. Leung / Computers and Geotechnics 36 (2009) 743750

Table 1
p
Frequency parameter c of a hingedhinged Timoshenko beam resting on two-parameter foundations.
k

kG

Mode

Exact [20]

Ref. [21] 64 DOFs

Ref. [22] 20 DOFs

1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3

3.092
5.881
8.301
4.267
6.795
9.085
9.984
10.187
10.903
10.044
10.400
11.278

3.09
5.88
8.31
4.27
6.80
9.09
9.98
10.19
10.90
10.04
10.40
11.28

3.092
5.882
8.305
4.267
6.796
9.088
9.984
10.187
10.905
10.044
10.400
11.280

2.5p2

104

2.5p2

(R

1
0

lbQ 0 x; tNT dn

)
9

Note that the nonlinearity of the system is cubic with respect to

the displacement, and only odd harmonics are considered in the
solution [18]. Using the rst three odd harmonics, one has

b0

qh

3
X

14

16

18

3.092
5.881
8.320
4.267
6.795
9.102
9.984
10.187
10.911
10.044
10.400
11.287

3.092
5.881
8.302
4.267
6.795
9.085
9.984
10.187
10.903
10.044
10.400
11.278

3.092
5.881
8.301
4.267
6.795
9.085
9.984
10.187
10.903
10.044
10.400
11.278

qc2i1 cos2i  1xt qs2i1 sin2i  1xt

i1

10
where x is the circular frequency. Since the vibration considered
herein is undamped, the sine terms in Eq. (10) are not necessary.
Inserting Eq. (10) into Eq. (6) and applying HBM leads to the following nonlinear eigenvalue problem when Q = 0

t0

qw

Present (DOFs)

"
e4
K
2
f
e
Ml x Kl
0

#!
qQ 0

where q colqwc1 ; qwc3 ; qwc5 ; qhc1 ; qhc3 ; qhc5 ; F is the residual force
vector used in the iterations, and it is in general not vanishing when
e l and f
M l are given
qi ; x2i is not the exact solution. The matrices K
by

L
Fig. 2. A non-uniform beam with rectangular cross-section.

Table 2
Natural frequencies x (rad/s) of a hingedhinged Timoshenko beam with linearly
varying width and depth.



e l D1 D2
K
D3 D4
f
M l diagMw ; 9Mw ; 25Mw ; Mh ; 9Mh ; 25Mh 

Method

where the sub-matrices are given by

24
28
32
36
24
32

Mode number
1

6.259
6.259
6.259
6.259
6.56
6.259
6.259

21.974
21.974
21.974
21.974
22.68
21.979
21.975

46.429
46.428
46.428
46.428
47.09
46.463
46.435

74.110
74.082
74.080
74.080
73.95
74.222
74.112

104.885
104.752
104.704
104.703
103.14
105.219
104.811

Table 3
Frequency parameter c of hingedhinged Timoshenko beams resting on different
foundations (Pr = 0.6p2, L/rg = 10).
Beam

k0

kG0

0.6p4

0.6p4

p2

0
0.6p4
0.6p4

0
0

0
0.6p4
0.6p4

0
0

Values in parentheses are from Ref. [17].

p2

p2

Mode
1

3.47
(3.47)
8.21
(8.22)
12.64
(12.64)

19.22
(19.31)
20.59
(20.67)
28.03
(28.10)

35.08
(35.48)
35.86
(36.25)
45.92
(46.34)

8.20
10.11
12.63

25.33
26.08
30.47

31.92
31.99
32.24

6.63
9.16
12.38

23.36
24.25
29.23

34.45
34.59
35.51

2
D1 diagKw ; Kw ; Kw ;

Kwh

6
D2 4 Kwh
Kwh

D3

DT2 ;

Kwh

12a
12b

Kwh

Kwh

7
Kwh 5;

Kwh

Kwh

D4 diagKh ; Kh ; Kh :

300

c5

240

Frequency parameter c

Present
p=5
p=6
p=7
p=8
Ref. [23]
Ref. [22]

DOFs

11

=0.6 4
G= 2

180

L/rg=100

120

c4
c3

c2

60

c1
0

3
Pr / 2

Fig. 3. Frequency parameters of a hingedhinged beam subjected to axial loads.

746

B. Zhu, A.Y.T. Leung / Computers and Geotechnics 36 (2009) 743750

Table 4
Results of nonlinear free vibration for a thin hingedhinged beam k 0; kG 0; Pr 0; L=r g 1000.

a/rg

x/xl

1.0000
2.0000
3.0000

1.0892
1.3177
1.6256

Ref. [19]

Ref. [18]

Present

x/xl

x/xl

One harmonic

1.0897
1.3229
1.6400

1.0865
1.3331
1.6422

Three harmonics

x/xl

a/rg

x/xl

a/rg

x/xl

1.0034
1.9989
3.0093

1.2711
1.8160
2.4382

0.9973
1.9991
2.9991

1.0977
1.3354
1.6359

1.0006
1.9990
3.0210

1.0983
1.3353
1.6431

e 4 can be found in Ref.

The expressions of the nonlinear matrix K
[18]. In this work arc-length iterative method is used to solve the
nonlinear eigenvalue problem [16,19]. The rst point in backbone
curve and the frequency response function (FRF) curve is obtained
by the Newton method. Then, the subsequent points are obtained
by the arc-length method. When the residual force vector F is sufciently small, the solutions of the next equilibrium state m+1q and
m+1 2
x is obtained. During each increment, the following constrain
equation controls each iteration:
m

Two harmonics

a/rg

q  q q  q Dq Dq s

13

where Dq is the total increment of q. Inserting the obtained solutions of q into Eq. (4), one nds the transverse displacement of a
certain harmonic

wi Nqwci

4
2

=0.006 4, G=0.01

Amplitude ratio w1 / rg

Exact

Pr =0.006

=0.060 4, G=0.10

L/rG =100

=0.120 4, G=0.20

=0.180 4, G=0.30

1
0
-1
-2
-3
1.00

14

1.04

1.08

1.12

1.16

1.20

Frequency ratio / l1
3. Numerical results

ters are dened: c x

kG kG L2 =EI0 .

qA0 L =EI0 , Pr = PL2/(EI0), k kL =EI0 ;

3.1. Linear vibration analyses

With only one p-element, the computed rst three natural frequencies of a uniform hingedhinged beam fully supported on a
constant two-parameter foundation are listed in Table 1. The following parameters are used in
the computation:
L = 25 m, G/
p
p
0
E = 3/8, m = 1/3, k = 2/3, b0 1= 12 and t 0 12. The results are

0.25

Amplitude ratio w3 / rg

In this paper, uniform and non-uniform Timoshenko beams are

analyzed. The slenderness ratio
of the
beam is L/rg, in which L is the
p
length of the beam and r g I0 =A0 is the radius of gyration with
following non-dimensional parameA0 = b0t0 and I0 b0 t30 =12.
qThe

0.00

-0.25
4

Pr =0.006

L/rG =100

=0.006 , G=0.01

-0.50

=0.060 , G=0.10

=0.120 , G=0.20

-0.75
1.00

=0.180 , G=0.30

1.04

1.08
1.12
Frequency ratio / l1

1.16

1.20

1.0

3.0

L/rg =100
'

Amplitude ratio |w1+w3+w5| / rg

|w1+w3+w5| / rg

0.8

k =2/3
=0.25
=0.6 4
G = 2

0.6

Pr =0.6 2
0.4

p=6
p=7
p=8

0.2

2.5
2.0

4
5
/ l1

Fig. 4. Convergence study for a uniform hingedhinged beam.

Pr =0.006

L/rG =100

=0.060 , G=0.10

=0.120 , G=0.20
=0.180 , G=0.30

1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
1.00

0.0

=0.006 , G=0.01

1.04

1.08

1.12

1.16

Frequency ratio / l1
Fig. 5. Backbone curves of a uniform clampedhinged beam.

1.20

747

B. Zhu, A.Y.T. Leung / Computers and Geotechnics 36 (2009) 743750

Amplitude ratio w1 / rg

3
2

Pr =0.006 2

=0.006 4, G=0.01 2

Pr =0.012

L/rG =100

b0

t0

Pr =0.024 2

t0

Pr =0.036 2

L
b0

2b0

b0
t0

2t0

5b0

-1

b0
t0

5t0

-2
-3
1.00

Fig. 7. A uniform beam and two non-uniform beams.

1.04

1.08
1.12
Frequency ratio / l1

1.16

1.20

1.0
4

=0.006 , G =0.01

Amplitude ratio w5 / rg

0.8

L/rG =100

0.6

0.4

P r =0.006 2
P r =0.012 2
P r =0.024 2

0.2

P r =0.036 2

0.0
1.00

1.04

1.08
1.12
1.16
Frequency ratio / l1

1.20

Amplitude ratio |w1+w3+w5| / rg

4.0
3.5

Pr =0.006 2

=0.006 4, G=0.01 2

3.0

Pr =0.012 2

L/rG =100

Pr =0.024

2.5

Pr =0.036 2

2.0

The beam is analyzed by two p-version beam elements. For the left
element, b0 = 12, b1 = 3/25, t0 = 10 and t1 = 1/10. Comparison between the solutions with two p-elements and those in literatures
[22,23] is carried out in Table 2. One can observe that the present
element converges more rapidly than that given in Ref. [22].
Unless otherwise stated in the rest of this work, the computational parameters are: Youngs modulus E = 2.1295  1011 N/m2,
the shear correction factor k0 = 2/3, Poissons ratio m = 0.25, the
mass density q = 7829 kg/m3, the length of beam L = 1 m, the axial
load Pr = 0.6p2, foundation parameters k0 0:6p4 and kG0 p2 ,
number of additional hierarchical shape functions p = 8. The linear
and nonlinear vibration is analyzed using only one p-element with
three harmonics.
Three square cross-sectional hingedhinged beams resting on
different foundations are analyzed. An axial load Pr = 0.6p2 is applied at both ends of the beam. The width and depth of the rst
beam are constant. For the second beam, the width and depth
are linearly varying, and b1 = t1 = b0, k1 k0 , kG1 kG0 . For the third
beam, the width and depth are quadratic functions of x, and
=
b0, k1 kG1
0; k2 k0 , kG2 kG0 . The common
b1 = t1 = 0, b2 = t2 p
p
parameters b0 12=10, t 0 12=10 are used in the analyses in
all three cases. With the number of additional hierarchical shape
functions p = 8, the computed results of these three beams resting
on different foundations are listed in Table 3. For the uniform
beam, the computed rst three frequencies by the present element
with 18 DOFs are more accurate than those of Ref. [17] with 32
DOFs. A nite element considering the coupling relationship between the transverse displacement and the rotation is used in

1.5
1.0

L/rg =100

0.5

'

1.04

1.08
1.12
Frequency ratio / l1

1.16

1.20

Fig. 6. Backbone curves of a uniform clampedclamped beam.

compared with the existing solutions in Refs. [2022]. Ref. [22]

introduced the Hermite C1 shape functions to interpolate the transverse displacement and the rotation, respectively. It can be observed that the convergence of the proposed element is the
fastest. The present solutions with 18 DOFs are in excellent agreement with the exact solutions.
The second example is a symmetric rectangular cross-sectional
beam with linearly varying width and depth (see Fig. 2). Both ends
of the beams are hinged. Data in Refs. [22,23] are adopted here as
follows, L = 100 m, E = 3  106 N/m2, m = 0.3, k0 = 0.85, q = 1 kg/m3.

|w1 +w3 +w5 | / rg

0.0
1.00

k =2/3
=0.25
0 =0.6 4
G0 = 2

Pr =0.6 2

Uniform beam
Non-uniform beam 1
Non-uniform beam 2

0
1.0 0

1.05

1.1 0

1.15

/ l1

1.2 0

Fig. 8. Backbone curves of three beams.

1.25

1.30

748

B. Zhu, A.Y.T. Leung / Computers and Geotechnics 36 (2009) 743750

Ref. [17]. The convergence of this element is fast, but the assumption that the shear strain over the element is constant is not suitable for non-uniform beams.
The axial load reduces the stiffness and also the natural frequencies of the Timoshenko beam resting on elastic foundation.
Fig. 3 plots the frequency parameter c of a uniform hingedhinged
beam with slenderness ratio L/rg = 100 as a function of the axial
 r make the frequencies
load parameter Pr. The critical axial loads P
of the beam vanish.
3.2. Nonlinear vibration analyses
A thin uniform EulerBernoulli beam with hingedhinged ends
and the parameters k 0; kG 0, Pr = 0, L/rg = 1000 is analyzed by
one p-element with one, two and three odd harmonics, respectively. In Table 4, a comparison of the present results with the exact
solutions and those previously published in Refs. [18,19] is given. In
P
the table, xl is the fundamental linear natural frequency; a = | wi|/
rg with wi are the vibration amplitudes of the rst, third or fth harmonics in the middle of the beam. The results in Ref. [19] are obtained by one hierarchical element and in Ref. [18] are found by
six nite elements. Good agreement between the present solutions
with three harmonics and the existing results is observed.
To study the convergence of the present hierarchical element
for nonlinear vibration analyses, the free vibration of a uniform

hingedhinged beam with L/rg = 100 resting on an elastic foundation with k 0:6p4 , kG p2 is analyzed using one p-element with
different numbers of hierarchical terms. An axial load Pr = 0.6p2 is
applied at both ends of the beam. The backbone curves describing
the relation between amplitude of vibration and the frequency are
plotted in Fig. 4. The parameter xl1 is the fundamental linear natural frequency, and wi represents the amplitudes of vibration displacements at x = 0.25L. Hardening spring effect is observed in
the plot. For the rst three nonlinear modes, the solutions of the
present element with p = 8 can achieve excellent convergence.
An internal resonance of order three exists as the ratio of the
second and the rst linear natural frequencies is about three for
the clampedhinged beam, and a fth order internal resonance is
seen in the clampedclamped beam [18]. If the rst frequency increases, a characteristic loop will be observed on the backbone
curves. To study the effects of the elastic foundations and the axial
loads on the nonlinear free vibration of the Timoshenko beam, the
response curves around the fundamental linear frequency of a
clampedhinged beam and a clampedclamped beam with different elastic foundations and axial loads are shown in Figs. 5 and 6,
respectively. In the plots wi represents the amplitudes of vibration
displacements at x = 0.5L. Since the ratio of the second linear frequency to the fundamental is decreased with an increase of elastic
foundation parameters, the characteristic loop on the backbone
curve is closer to the fundamental linear frequency if the parame-

0.8

1.2

L/rg =100

L/rg =100
k =2/3
=0.25
0 =0.6 4

1.0
0.8

0.6

/l1=1.0000

0.2

/l1=1.2060
/l1=1.3020

0.2

0.4

0.4

Pr =0.6

FRF curve, Q0=866 N/m

FRF curve, Q0=2887 N/m

FRF curve, Q0=14434 N/m

Backbone curve

0.2

/l1=1.1003

0.0
0.0

FRF curve, Q0=289 N/m

Pr =0.6 2

0.4

0 =0.6
G0 =

G0 = 2

0.6

=0.25
2

w1 / rg

w1 / w1max

'

k =2/3

'

0.0
0.95

0.6

0.8

1.00

x/L

w3 / rg

w3 / w3max

FRF curve, Q0=2887 N/m

FRF curve, Q0=14434 N/m

Pr =0.6 2

Backbone curve

0.002

L/rg =100
'

/l1=1.0002

-0.8

/l1=1.2060

0.001

/l1=1.1003

Pr =0.6 2

0.000
0.975

-1.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

k =2/3
=0.25
0 =0.6 4
G0 = 2

/l1=1.3020

0.2

0.003

-0.4

0.0

1.050

FRF curve, Q0=866 N/m

'

k =2/3
=0.25
0 =0.6 4
G0 = 2

0.0

1.025

FRF curve, Q0=289 N/m

L/rg =100

0.4

1.10

0.004

1.2
0.8

1.05

/ l1

1.0

1.0

1.000

/ l1

x/L
Fig. 9. Mode shapes of a non-uniform hingedhinged beam.

Fig. 10. Frequency response function curves of a non-uniform hingedhinged

beam.

749

B. Zhu, A.Y.T. Leung / Computers and Geotechnics 36 (2009) 743750

1

Nt

EA

X
X
qTwi N0 x NT0 x
qwi dn
i

15

Please note that there is a characteristic loop on the curve for

the case with the smallest foundation parameters kL2 0:6p4 ,

w1 / rg

Clamped-Hinged Beam
Clamped-Clamped Beam

1
l1

l1

0
30

35

40

45

50

Natural Frequency (rad/s)

0.20
0.15

Clamped-Hinged Beam
Clamped-Clamped Beam

0.10

w3 / rg

ters of the elastic foundations are increased. The ratio of the second
linear frequency to the fundamental is less than 3.0 for the case
with k 0:180p4 , kG 0:30p2 and the characteristic loop on the
backbone curve vanishes. On the other hand, the ratio xl2/xl1 is increased and the characteristic loops move toward the right with
increasing axial loads applied at both ends of the clamped
clamped beam.
A uniform and two non-uniform beams with linearly varying
width and depth are shown in Fig. 7. Their slenderness ratio L/
rg = 100. The ends of the beams are hingedhinged. The backbone
curves of the rst mode in the middle of beams are presented in
Fig. 8. In Fig. 9a and b the mode shapes of the rst harmonic and
the third harmonic associated with different maximum amplitudes
of vibration displacements are shown, respectively. The effect of
the third harmonic is larger than that of the rst, and the mode
shapes deviate a little to the end of the beam with smaller crosssectional area. For the non-uniform beam 1 subjected to different
uniform transverse loads, the frequency response function (FRF)
curves around the rst mode are shown in Fig. 10. It can be seen
that the response of the third harmonic is very small for this
hingedhinged beam resting on the elastic foundations.
As shown in Fig. 11, a pile with an axial load P applied at its top
and tip is embedded in three layers of soil. The pile properties are:
Youngs modulus E = 3  1010 N/m2, the shear correction factor
k0 = 0.85, Possions ratio m = 0.20, the mass density q = 2500 kg/
m3, the diameter of cross-section D = 0.6 m. The axial load parameter Pr = 0.6p2. The foundation parameters of the three layers of
soil kL1 6:0p4 ; kGL1 0:1p2 ; kL2 1:2p4 ; kGL2 0:02p2 ; kL3 300
p4 ; kGL3 50p2 . With a bearing platform on the pile top and the
hard soil surrounding the pile tip, the pile top and tip can be assumed as xed and immovable, respectively.
The backbone curves around the rst modes of the pile with
clampedclamped and clampedhinged ends are plotted in
Fig. 12. There is little difference between the backbone curves of
the pile with different boundary conditions. The reason is that
the hard soil surrounding the pile tip constrains its rotation. With
varying parameters of the second layer of soil and other parame
ters xed, the values of the axial stress Nt
 P=A around the rst

mode of the clampedhinged pile are shown in Fig. 13, where Nt

0.05
0.00

-0.05

is the average axial force arising from the geometric nonlinear

vibration and is dened in [18] as

-0.10
30

35

40
45
Natural Frequency (rad/s)

50

Fig. 12. Comparison of backbone curves of the pile with different boundary
conditions.

P
x

10

3m

k L1, k GL1

k L2, k GL2

Axial stress (MPa)

14 5m

0
L2=0.6 4; GL2=0.01 2
L2=1.2 4; GL2=0.02 2

2.5m

-5

L2=2.5 4; GL2=0.05 2

k L3, k GL3

L2=6.0 4; GL2=0.12 2

-10
30

P
Fig. 11. A pile embedded in three layers of soil.

35

40
45
50
Natural Frequency (rad/s)

55

Fig. 13. Axial stress of the clampedhinged pile.

60

750

B. Zhu, A.Y.T. Leung / Computers and Geotechnics 36 (2009) 743750

Acknowledgement

2.0
FRF curve, Q0=100 N/m2

The research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50608062, 50809060 and 50708095).

FRF curve, Q0=1000 N/m2

1.6

FRF curve, Q0=10000 N/m2

Backbone curve

References

w1 / rg

1.2

0.8

0.4

0.0
0.90

0.95

1.00

1.05

1.10

/ l1
Fig. 14. FRF curves of the clampedhinged pile.

kGL2 0:01p2 . The increasing stress is dangerous if the pile was not
designed for resisting the axial tensile stress. For the clamped
hinged pile subjected to different uniform transverse loads, the
FRF curves of the rst harmonic around the rst mode shown in
Fig. 14 is indicated by different line types and the backbone curve
by a dash line. The response of all free and forced vibration is calculated at x = 0.5L.
4. Conclusions
In this paper, a hierarchical nite element is presented for geometrically nonlinear free and forced vibration of the non-uniform
beam resting on two-parameter foundations. For linear vibration
analyses, only one present p-element can predict very accurate
solutions of both uniform and non-uniform beams. Compared with
the traditional h-version elements, its convergence is much faster
with respect to the number of Legendre orthogonal polynomials
used. Nonlinear vibration of non-uniform beams resting on twoparameter foundations can be analyzed by just one proposed p-element with different harmonics without difculty, and excellent
convergence and accuracy are also observed in the analyses.
The elastic foundation parameters can heavily inuence both of
linear frequencies and nonlinear vibration characteristics of the
beam. Due to the nonlinear vibration, large axial tensile stress is induced in the beam resting on the two-parameter foundation and
subjected to transverse loadings, which should be paid attention
to in the engineering.

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