VIBRATION EIGENFREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF A SINGLE-LINK FLEXIBLE MANIPULATOR

We analyse the vibration eigenfrequencies of a flexible slewing beam w ith a payload attached at one end. A wave propagation method (WPM) is used. There are four types of waves which propagate along a beam-two d ispersive waves travelling in opposite directions, and two evanescent waves near the endpoints. We add a fifth time-harmonic function corres ponding to oscillation of the beam at the payload end. We show that th e large frequencies are asymptotically identical to those for the clam ped-free beam? independent of the payload. For small eigenfrequencies, we incorporate WPM with a perturbation iteration procedure, the resul ts of which agree well with ''exact'' values which result from solving a transcendental equation cited elsewhere in the literature. (C) 1998 Academic Press Limited.