Modal analysis of cracked, unidirectional composite beam

In this paper, a model and an algorithm for creation of the characteristic matrices of a composite beam with a single transverse fatigue crack are presented. The element developed has been applied in analysing the influence of the crack parameters (position and relative depth) and the material parameters (relative volume and fibre angle) on changes in the first four transverse natural frequencies of the composite beam made from unidirectional composite material.