Vibration-Based Methods for Detecting a Crack in a Fixed Free Beam

The phenomenon of vibration can be applied to identify the crack size and location. In particular, cracks decrease the stiffness and the natural frequency thus, causing specimens to fail under normal working conditions. This paper presents the application of the vibration-based technique for detecting the location and the size of a crack in structures. The crack is modelled by a rotational spring. The predicted crack depth and location are compared with the actual data obtained from finite element models