Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

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Results in Engineering
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Buckling and free vibrations behaviour through differential quadrature

method for foamed composites
Dasari Duryodhana a, Sunil Waddar b, Dileep Bonthu a, Jeyaraj Pitchaimani a,
Satvasheel Powar c, d, *, Mrityunjay Doddamani c
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, MVJ College of Engineering, Bangalore, India
c
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, 175075, Himachal Pradesh, India
d
School of Technology and Business Studies, Energy Technology, Dalarna University, Falun 791 31, Sweden

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The current work focuses on predicting the buckling and free vibration frequencies (fn ) of cenosphere reinforced
Syntactic foam epoxy based syntactic foam beam under varying loads. Critical buckling loads (Ncr ) and fn are predicted using the
Differential quadrature method (DQM) differential quadrature method (DQM). Ncr and fn have been calculated for beams of varying cenosphere volume
Axial varying loads
fractions subjected to axial load under clamped-clamped (CC), clamped-simply (CS), simply-simply (SS), and
clamped-free (CF) boundary conditions (BC s). Upon increasing the cenosphere volume fraction, Ncr and fn of
′

syntactic foam composites increases. These numerical outcomes are compared with the theoretical values
evaluated through the Euler-Bernoulli hypothesis and further compared with experimental outcomes. Results are
observed to be in precise agreement. The results of the DQM numerical analysis are given out for the different
BC s, aspect ratios, cenosphere volume fractions, and varying loads. It is perceived that depending on the BC s,
′ ′

the type of axial varying loads and aspect ratios has a substantial effect on the Ncr and fn behaviour of the
syntactic foam beams. A comparative study of the obtained results showed that the beam subjected to parabolic
load under CC boundary conditions exhibited a higher buckling load.

1. Introduction it is necessary to study the component’s response to them.

The different loads or their combinations may not always be uniform.
Composite materials are naturally available and artificially manu­ For example, loads placed on the wings of aircraft, the stiffening beams
factured by combining two or more chemically dissimilar phases sepa­ of ship structures, or the slabs passing through multi-storey buildings are
rated by a distinct interface. These possess significant properties of both often non-uniform [8]. The stiffness, strength, ultimate displacement
constituent materials [1]. Typically, these composites consist of rein­ capacity, and all hysteresis properties of reinforced concrete columns
forcing materials like flakes, fibers, and particles embedded in a matrix can be considerably altered by fluctuating axial load during earthquakes
(ceramic, metal, and polymer). The reinforcement material improves the [9]. The inelastic response of the beam is substantially impacted by
mechanical properties, while the matrix holds the reinforcement mate­ changes in the intensity of the axial load [10–12]. Among the most
rial in the desired shape. These composites developed by reinforcing probable structural failure, buckling is caused due to application of axial
hollow fillers in a matrix are syntactic foam [2,3]. The significant load [13–16]. Therefore, a comprehensive determination of the
advantage of these foams is their low density [4,5]. These composites maximum sustainable buckling load is necessary to avoid this failure.
find their application in various industries [6]. For example, in aero­ This can be done using experimental, analytical, and numerical tech­
space applications, syntactic foam produces rocket engine castings, an­ niques. M.A. Hamed et al. [17] presented the optimization of sandwich
tenna baffles, landing gear doors, nacelles, stabilizers, wing boxes, functional graded beams static stability under the axial load. M.A.
aircraft wings, etc. [7]. As the components developed by these com­ Eltaher et al. [18] studied Ncr and fn the behaviour of composite
posite materials are subjected to various loads or combinations of loads, orthotropic symmetric and un-symmetric laminated beams under six

* Corresponding author. School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, 175075, Himachal Pradesh, India.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Powar), [email protected] (M. Doddamani).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2023.100894
Received 28 November 2022; Received in revised form 12 January 2023; Accepted 12 January 2023
Available online 14 January 2023
2590-1230/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Fig. 1. Axially varying load profiles.

the BC s in the governing differential equation using DQM. In this one

′

Table 1
Eigen value will give the buckling result and other gives the natural
Axially varying load coefficients.
frequency. Mohamed Nassar et al. [27] have been used DQM to validate
Sl. No. Load type Load symbol α2 α1 α0
the fn the behaviour of a functionally graded cracked cantilever beam
1 Constant load N1 0 0 1 supported on a Winkler-Pasternak elastic foundation. Laxmi Behera
2 Linear load-zero from left side N2 0 2 0 et al. [28] used DQM to predict the fn of nanobeams, combined with
3 Linear load-zero from right side N3 0 − 2 2
nonlocal elasticity theory, using various beam theories such as Timo­
4 Parabolic load-zero from left side N4 3 0 0
5 Parabolic load-zero from right side N5 3 − 6 3 shenko, Euler-Bernoulli, Reddy and Levinson. Apart from these, there
6 Symmetric parabolic load N6 − 6 6 0 few research works done on predicting the Ncr and fn using FEM [29,30].
From the above literature, many researchers have worked on static
and dynamic analysis of plates, shells, and non-uniform cross-section
Table 2 beams using DQM. Adopting the DQM method among the available
Material properties of syntactic foams. finite element methods helps predict accurate results by considering the
minimum number of grid points. This method helps solve boundary
Sample Young’s Modulus (MPa) Density (kg/ m3 )
condition-based problems with less computational time and complexity.
Theoretical Experimental Theoretical Experimental It is also observed that better convergence is found in DQM compared to
E00 3917.81 3917.81 ± 105.79 1189.54 1189.54 ± 1.05 the other numerical approaches. Several analytical, numerical, and
E20 4898.40 5088.47 ± 160.89 1151.63 1122.05 ± 3.69 experimental investigations have been conducted to analyze the Ncr and
E40 6137.50 6397.46 ± 128.92 1113.72 1062.10 ± 3.70
fn the behaviour of the beams, but the influence of variable axial load on
E60 7712.00 7422.55 ± 75.73 1075.82 1015.75 ± 3.71
the free vibration behaviour of syntactic foam composites are not
explored much. In the present study, DQM is applied to solve governing
sets of axially varying loads. differential equations of the beam under different BC s (CC, CS, SS, and
′

Different theories like Levinson, Reddy, Timoshenko, and Euler- CF) under six sets of axially varying loads. The differential equation
Bernoulli, combined with the nonlocal elasticity theory, can predict governing the motion of beams is derived from the Euler-Bernoulli beam
this buckling load and free vibrations [19]. The complexity to predict Ncr theory. Influence of volume percentage of cenosphere on the Ncr and fn
and fn , exhibited increasing trend with respect to different number of characteristics are analyzed.
variations in load, hence numerical approaches are mostly preferred to
make prediction easier [20]. In 1971, Bellman et al. [21] developed a 2. Problem definition
numerical technique named DQM, which can be applied to solving
initial and boundary value problems. They also mentioned that this Currently, equipment for experimentation on beams under axial
method could give accurate results even considering the low number of varying loads (Fig. 1) and different boundary conditions like (CS, SS, and
grid points. Armagan Karamanli et al. [22] found the Ncr for laminated CF) have not been sufficiently available. Sunil et al. [31] have experi­
composites and sandwich beams under six sets of axially varying loads mentally and analytically evaluated Ncr values and fn of syntactic foam
using the Ritz method, shear-based displacement fields, and normally beams under end compressive axial load under clamped-clamped BC s.
′

deformable beam theory. The study reveals a conclusion that the axial These beams are developed by reinforcing different volume fractions of
varying loads remarkably affect the Ncr of the beams depending on the cenosphere in epoxy resins (E00, E20, E40, and E60), here, E represents
BC s. Gurkan Sakar [23] studied fn analysis of beam subjected axial load epoxy, and numbers represent filler volume fraction. In the present work
′

using an Euler beam assumption and the FEM. Zhangxian Yuan et al. using the numerical based DQ method, Ncr and fn values are determined
[24] have done the pre and post-buckling behaviour of the extensible for syntactic foam beam exposed to axial compressive load under CC,
beam-column. They used the DQ method to evaluate Ncr and BC s. These numerical results are validated with experimental as well as
′

post-convergent buckling solutions at different loads. Moreover, they

observed that the DQ numerical integration method outperformed
Table 3
Runge-Kutta method of fourth-order in terms of efficiency for higher Comparison of experimental and theoretical results with DQM for buckling load.
application loads. H. Haftchenari et al. [25] presented fn analysis of
Sample DQM Experimental Ncr (N) Theoretical
composite cylindrical shells with various BC’s using DQM. Results show
Ncr (N) Ncr (N) (Sunil et al.
that DQM is a sound technique that can converge results accurately. DTM (Sunil et al. MBC (Sunil et al.
[17])
[17]) [17])
Mohamed Taha et al. [26] used DQM to analyze the stability and fn
behaviour of tapered columns loaded axially with end restriction of E00 247.41 237.67 231.83 237.56
rotation and translation. They converted entire problem in to two E20 286.77 287.58 281.83 275.35
E40 332.05 343.45 339.33 318.83
parameter-based Eigen value problem by discretizing and substituting
E60 385.23 387.33 379.17 369.90

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D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Table 4
Ncr comparisons between different volume fractions of cenoshpere samples subjecting axially varying loads under CC, CS, SS and CF BC’s.
Boundary condition Sample Critical buckling loads Ncr (N)

N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6

CC E00 247.409 1210.9 138.233 7820.9 103.075 445.772

E20 286.770 1403.6 160.228 9065.3 119.476 516.702
E40 332.054 1625.2 185.530 10497.0 138.343 598.294
E60 385.232 1885.5 215.242 12178.0 160.498 694.109
CS E00 121.275 437.567 70.2662 2011.1 54.2391 170.187
E20 140.573 507.192 81.4468 2331.1 62.8694 197.267
E40 162.770 587.282 94.3080 2699.2 72.7971 228.417
E60 188.837 681.334 109.411 3131.5 84.4553 264.997
SS E00 59.2570 271.188 33.0828 1405.9 24.5536 103.370
E20 68.6858 314.338 38.3468 1629.6 28.4605 119.818
E40 79.5319 363.975 44.4022 1887.0 32.9546 138.739
E60 92.2687 422.265 51.5130 2189.2 38.2322 160.957
CF E00 14.6450 109.496 7.8155 708.109 5.5463 40.5670
E20 16.9753 126.919 9.0591 820.782 6.4289 47.0219
E40 19.6559 146.960 10.4896 950.391 7.4440 54.4471
E60 23.8037 170.495 12.1695 1102.600 8.6362 63.1666

Fig. 2. Critical buckling loads under CC boundary condition for (a) 100 (b) 50 and (c) 20 aspect ratios.

theoretical results. MATLAB code has been developed for finding results ( ) ( )
using DQM. In addition, this code is used for the prediction of Ncr and f n ∂4 w ∂ ∂w
EI + N =0 (1)
by changing loading coefficients (Table 1) and respective boundary ∂x4 ∂x ∂x
condition (BC’s) weighted coefficients. Material properties considered Here E is the modulus of elasticity, I is the area moment of inertia,
in the present work are listed in Table 2. and N is the axially varying load defined as
[ ( )2 ( ) ]
3. Buckling L L
Naxial (x) = N0 α2 x + + α1 x + + α0 (2)
2 2
Fourth order Euler-Bernoulli beam governing differential equation
[32] of motion has been considered to determine the Ncr values of Here α2 , α1 and α0 are the coefficients which vary with respect to the
various syntactic beam configurations loading type. The values of these coefficients are mentioned in Table 1.
Substituting Equation-2 in the Euler-Bernoulli beam Equation-1

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D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Fig. 3. Critical buckling loads under CS boundary condition for (a) 100 (b) 50 and (c) 20 aspect ratios.

( ) ( [ ( )2 ( ) ]( ))
∂4 w ∂ L L ∂w where Aij are the weighted coefficients of the 1st derivative, and replaced
EI + N0 α2 x + + α1 x + + α0 =0 (3)
∂x4 ∂x 2 2 ∂x index j represents the summation of all values of that index (i.e., 1 to N).
The derivative of the higher order can be found in the consonantly, using
Consider
weighting coefficients of the 2nd , 3rd and 4th derivatives, denoted by Bij ,
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤
Cx (1) 0 … … 0 Rx (1) 0 … … 0 Cij and Dij as shown below
⎢ 0 Cx (2) … … 0 ⎥ ⎥ ⎢ 0 Rx (2) … … 0 ⎥ ( 2 )
⎢ ⎢ ⎥
CC= ⎢ … … ⎥ ⎢ … … ⎥ dw
⎢ … … … ⎥ and RR⎢ … … … ⎥ w′′i = = Bij wj (7)
⎣ … … … … … ⎦ ⎣ … … … … … ⎦ dx2 i
0 0 0 0 Cx (N) 0 0 0 0 Rx (N)
( )
(4) ′′′
wi =
d3 w
= Cij wj (8)
dx3 i
where.
[ ]2 [ ] ( )
Cx (i) = α2 x(i) + L2 + α1 x(i) + L2 + α0 d4 w
(9)
′′′′
[ ( ) ] wi = = Dij wj
Rx (i) = 2 ∗ α2 x + L2 + α1 dx4 i
[ ] [ ] [ (
1)
)]
x(i) = − L2 + L2 ∗ 1 − COS π∗(i− i = 1, 2 … N
N− 1 5. Evaluation of weighted coefficients
After substituting Equation-4 in Equation-3, the governing differen­
tial is transformed as The calculation of the weighting coefficient plays an important role
( 4 ) [ ( 2 ) ( )] in DQM. In this investigation, Quan and Chang’s approach [34] Che­
∂w ∂w ∂w
EI + N 0 [CC] + [RR] =0 (5) byshev Guass Lobotto non-uniform grid points approach have been
∂x4 ∂x2 ∂x
considered, which is expressed as
( ) ( )( ( ))
4. DQM formulation L L π (i − 1)
x(i) = − + 1 − COS i = 1, 2, 3 . . . . . .N (10)
2 2 N− 1
DQM is a FE method for solving differential equations. The main
Using Quan and Chang’s method, the 1st order derivative weighting
fundamental concept behind the DQ approach is performing a function
coefficients A = Aij can be computed by following the below mentioned
derivative with respect to a given specific discrete point in space,
method.
approximating a weighted linear sum of all discrete points in the vari­
For i ∕
=j
able domain [33]. Let w(x) is the deflection of the beam per unit length
with N discrete grid points,
( )
dw
(6)
′
wi = = Aij wj ; i = 1, 2 ...N
dx i

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D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Fig. 4. Critical buckling loads under SS boundary condition for (a) 100 (b) 50 and (c) 20 aspect ratios.

1 ∏N
xi − xk
Aij = where i = 1, 2, …..N j = 1, 2, ……, N (11) {EI[D] + N0 ([CC][B] + [RR][AA])}{w} = 0 (17)
xj − xi k∕=i xj − xk
The system admits a non-trivial solution. Thus, the coefficient matrix
k∕
=j
determinant will be equal to zero.
k=1
|EI[D] + N0 {[CC][B] + [RR][AA]}| = 0 (18)
For i = j By solving the above equation-18, one may obtain the generalized
∏
N
1 Eigen value problem. Here the Eigen value represents the Ncr . In the
Aii = i = 1, 2, ……., N (12) present study, four classical boundary conditions are taken into
xi − xk
k∕
=1 consideration. Those are SS, CS, CC, and CF. Subrat Kumar Jena et al.
k=1 [35] clearly mentioned the weighting coefficients for higher order de­
rivatives to four classical boundary conditions. By substituting respec­
After computing first-order derivative weighting coefficients, one tive BC’s weighted coefficients in buckling characteristic equation-18,
can obtain the weighting coefficients of higher order derivatives using the Ncr values of beam subjected to different axially varying loads for
straightforward matrix multiplication. various syntactic foam beam (E00, E20, E40, and E60) can be calculated.
∑
N The MATLAB code has been used to solve equation (18).
B = Bij = Aik Akj (13)
k=1
6. Free vibrations
∑
N
C = Cij = Aik Bkj (14) It is assumed that syntactic foam will behave like a linearly elastic
k=1 material. The shape of the fly ash cenosphere is spherical. Thereby,
syntactic foam beam can behave as isotropic material. The governing
∑ ∑ differential for motion of the beam [36] (Bokaian A 1988) subjected to
N N
D = Dij = Aik Ckj = Bik Bkj (15)
k=1 k=1 an axially compressive load by ignoring the effects of rotational inertia
and shear deformation is mentioned in equation (8).
Now substitute the respective order weighting coefficients in the
( 4 ) ( ) ( 2 )
equation-5. ∂w ∂ ∂w ∂w
EI + N + ρA =0 (19)
{ ( ) ( ) } ∂x 4 ∂x ∂x ∂t2
∑
N ∑
N ∑
N
EI Dij {w} + N0 [CC] Bij {w} + [RR] Aij {w} = 0 (16)
j=1 j=1 j=1 where w = w(x, t) represents transverse displacement, E represents
elastic modulus, I represent a moment of inertia of the area, ρ stands for
the material density, and A for the cross-sectional area. The procedure

5
D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Fig. 5. Critical buckling loads under CF boundary condition for (a) 100 (b) 50 and (c) 20 aspect ratios.

Table 5
Variation of critical buckling loads under different BC’s.
Sample BC’s Critical buckling loads Ncr (N)

N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6

E00 CC 247.409 1210.90 138.233 7820.9 103.0750 445.772

CS 121.275 437.567 70.2662 2011.1 54.2391 170.187
SS 59.257 271.188 33.0828 1405.9 24.5536 103.370
CF 14.645 109.496 7.81550 708.1 5.5463 40.567
E20 CC 286.770 1403.60 160.228 9065.3 119.476 516.702
CS 140.573 507.192 81.4468 2331.1 62.869 197.267
SS 68.6858 314.338 38.3468 1629.6 28.461 119.818
CF 16.9753 126.919 9.0591 820.8 6.429 47.022
E40 CC 332.054 1625.20 185.530 10,497 138.343 598.294
CS 162.770 587.28 94.308 2699.2 72.797 228.417
SS 79.532 363.97 44.402 1887.0 32.954 138.739
CF 19.656 146.96 10.489 950.4 7.444 54.447
E60 CC 385.232 1885.50 215.242 12178.0 160.498 694.109
CS 16.975 126.92 9.059 820.8 6.429 47.022
SS 19.655 146.96 10.489 950.4 7.444 54.447
CF 23.803 170.50 12.169 1102.6 8.636 63.166

mentioned below represents the substitution of Equation (2) in Equation equation (20)
(19). Equations (20)–(22) are related to free vibration analysis of the ( 2 ) {
beam under different types of variable axial loads based on the Euler- ρAI
∂w
+ EI
Bernoulli beam assumptions. Solving Equation (23) as the Eigen value ∂t2
problem using DQM results in the natural frequencies at different in­ ∑N
{ (
∑
N
) (
∑
N
)}}
tensity of applied variable axial load. Equations (20)–(22) are used to × Dij + N0 [CC] Bij + [RR] Aij {w} = 0 (21)
obtain Equation (23). j=1 j=1 j=1

( 4 ) { { [ ]2 [ ] } } ( 2 )
∂w ∂ L L ∂w ∂w And apply DQM to equation (20) to obtain Equation (21).
EI + N0 α 2 x + + α1 x + + α0 + ρA =0
∂x 4 ∂x 2 2 ∂x ∂t2 ( 2 )
∂w
ρAI + {EI[D] + N0 ([CC][B] + [RR][AA])}{w} = 0 (22)
(20) ∂t2
Substitute loading coefficient matrices from equation (4) in above

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D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Fig. 6. Natural frequency comparison between theoretical, experimental and Differential Quadrature Methods.

Considering w(x, t) = W(x)cos(ωt) the above Equation (22) becomes and validated their experimental results with theoretical results. The
Equation (23). current numerical based DQM results are validated with these experi­
Here ω represents the natural frequency for beams normal mode mental and theoretical data taken from previous works [31]. The code
oscillation. developed using MATLAB, for numerical based DQM has validated the
{ } results obtained at CC boundary conditions for end compressive load.
[EI[D] + N0 ([CC][B] + [RR][AA])] − ω2 ρAI {w} = 0 (23)
Thus, this code was applied to predict variation in the buckling behav­
The system admits a non-trivial solution. Thus, for non-trivial solu­ iour for remaining axially varying loads. For all the samples, it is
tions, the determinant of the coefficient matrix is null. observed that the Ncr shows an increasing trend with respect to filler
⃒ ⃒ content (Table 3). A higher cenosphere loading in the matrix (increasing
⃒[EI[D] + N0 ([CC][B] + [RR][AA])] − ω2 ρAI⃒ = 0 (24) the volume fraction of the cenosphere) increases the modulus, and
From the above, one may obtain a generalized Eigen value problem. therefore the global stiffness of the syntactic foam increases. Ncr also
fn values of various cenosphere volume fraction samples (E00, E20, E40, depends on the relative difference between the modulus of constituents.
and E60) under various boundary conditions and subjected to axially The modulus of the cenosphere is nearly 19 times greater than that of the
varying loads can be calculated by substituting different boundary epoxy matrix. For pure epoxy, the Ncr value is 237.56 N. The increase in
conditions and respective load parameters. MATLAB code has been used the Ncr value is in the range of 15.9–55.71% using DQM. A comparison
for solving natural frequency characteristic Equation (23). study showed a fair agreement between all specimens’ experimental,
theoretical, and DQM buckling load results (Table 3). Numerical
methods are approximate methods. If the deviation is less than 5%, then
7. Results and discussions
the results are very good for validation. In the current work, the DQM
results are very near to the theoretical and experimental results, and for
In this section, the results of studies on variations in Ncr and fn the
all cases, the deviation is less than 5%, as shown in Table 3. In this work,
behaviour of syntactic foam beams under different boundary conditions
the Ncr values are also evaluated for the different volume fractions of
and loads is briefly discussed.
cenosphere samples subjected to six other axially varying loads for
different BC s (CC, CS, SS, and CF). All these results are numerically
′

7.1. Buckling obtained by solving the characteristic equation-17 using MATLAB code,
and the outcomes are mentioned in Table 4. The maximum Ncr is ac­
The Ncr values are determined numerically by solving Euler-Ber­ quired under parabolic varying load (N4) conditions. As the load varies
noulli’s beam governing differential equation using DQM. The charac­ along the length of the beam, the beam’s effective length varies with
teristic equation-17 is solved by using MATLAB code to obtain the Ncr loading type. The effective length is the least for parabolic load, which
values. Sunil Waddar et al. [31] have determined Ncr graphically from varies from zero at one end to a maximum at the other end. The effective
the experimentally acquired load-deflection data of syntactic beams for length becomes less if the loading direction changes from lower to
different configurations under CC boundary conditions subjected to higher. Therefore, the slenderness ratio is highest and lowest for N5 and
axially compressive load. They have also determined theoretical results

7
D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Fig. 7. Influence of axial varying loads (a) N1 (b) N2 (c) N3 (d) N4 (e) N5 and (f) N6 on natural frequency for clamped-clamped boundary condition.

N4 loading profiles. The Ncr exhibited inverse relation with respect to pronounced. The maximum and minimum Ncr is observed for beams
the square of the slenderness ratio. The slenderness ratio is the ratio of under CC and CF, BC’s, respectively. It can see from Fig. 2 that for all
the effective length to the least radius of gyration of the cross-section aspect ratios, the maximum and minimum Ncr obtained for N5 and N6
area. Therefore, minimum and maximum Ncr obtained under N5 and types, respectively. Ncr obtained under uniformly distributed load (N1)
N4 loading profiles, respectively, as shown in Table 4. The same trend is higher than the parabolic load type (N6). It may be important to notice
was observed for the other BC s, as shown in Table 4. Moreover, it is
′
that a reduction in the beam’s stiffness may result from the increased
observed that the uniformly distributed axial compressive load (N1) is density of the axial load in the center of the beam. It is also noted that
higher than parabolic axial variable load (N6) as shown in Table 4. In the with a decrease in aspect ratio, the Ncr value started increasing. The
current section, the Ncr values of beams for different types of axially slenderness ratio decreases with the decrease in the aspect ratio. This is
varying loads, aspect ratios, and the different volume fractions of one of the major parameters that significantly influence the beam’s
cenosphere samples and BCs were investigated. It can be seen from Fig. 2 buckling tendency. From the numerical results at the CC boundary
- Fig. 5 that Ncr exhibited a directly proportional relation with respect to condition, it is perceived that upon decreasing the aspect ratio from 100
aspect ratio. In CC beams, the influence of aspect ratio on Ncr is more to 50, 20 the Ncr increases in the range of 1400–1600%, as shown in

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D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Fig. 8. Influence of axial varying loads (a) N1 (b) N2 (c) N3 (d) N4 (e) N5 and (f) N6 on natural frequency for clamped-simply boundary condition.

Fig. 2. A similar trend is observed in the remaining all other BCs (CS, SS, maximum Ncr is observed under CF and CC support, respectively, as
and CF), as shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 4, and Fig. 5. The type of boundary shown in Table 5. The reason behind the sample exhibiting higher Ncr
support is a crucial factor in predicting the Ncr value of a beam, along load at CC support is due to its rigidity.
with other factors such as aspect ratio. Four sets of BCs, namely CC, SS,
CS, and CF, are considered in this study. It is perceived that for all the
boundary cases the Ncr increases with the decrease in the aspect ratio, 7.2. Free vibration under axial varying loads
but the rate of increase in Ncr depends on whether the beam is CC, CS, SS,
or CF supported. For all six sets of axial varying loads, the minimum and In this work, the natural frequency of different configurations of
syntactic foam beam (E00, E20, E40, and E60) under axially varying

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D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Fig. 9. Influence of axial varying loads (a) N1 (b) N2 (c) N3 (d) N4 (e) N5 and (f) N6 on natural frequency for simply-simply boundary condition.

loads for four sets of BC’s is determined using DQM. Sunil et al. [31] buckling, the Ncr trend reverses (Fig. 6). This might be due to the gain in
used Frequency Response Function (FRF) to predict the experimental fn stiffness in the post-buckling geometric deformation. The present nu­
corresponding to initial three modes shapes using software named merical analysis is based on linear structural behaviour. The
DEWE soft. The numerical DQM results obtained for CC boundary con­ post-buckling geometric deformation is not considered, leading to de­
ditions are validated with experimental and theoretical natural fre­ viation between the numerical and experimental results. From the
quencies, as shown in Fig. 6. The comparative studies show that all result, it is also observed that for all six sets of varying loads under CC
results are in fair agreement. The natural frequency of the syntactic foam boundary conditions natural frequency of the syntactic foam beam
based beam decreased initially with an increase in load, and post exhibited an increasing trend corresponding to an increase in filler

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D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Fig. 10. Influence of axial varying loads (a) N1 (b) N2 (c) N3 (d) N4 (e) N5 and (f) N6 on natural frequency for clamped-free boundary condition.

percentage, as shown in Fig. 7. The natural frequency decreases for all 7.3. Effect of BC’s on natural frequency
beams upon gradually increasing the axial varying compressive load.
The same trend is observed for all six sets of loads. Theoretically, fn In the present section, the variation of fn corresponding to various
becomes minimum when the beam is under axial compressive load, support conditions (CC, CS, SS, and CF) under each of the six sets of
which is nearly equal to Ncr (Fig. 6). The gradual loss in the stiffness in axially varying loads have been studied using DQM. The results acquired
the beam with an increase in the load results in the phenomenon of a under the case of CC are validated accurately with existing theoretical
decrease in fn . Similar behaviour is observed for remaining BC’s (CS, SS and experimental results. The comparative study of fn under different
and CF) as shown in Fig. 8, Figs. 9 and 10. BCs (CC, CS, SS, and CF) are represented in Table 6. From this, it is

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D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

Table 6
Variation of frequencies under different BC’s at zero load.
Sample BC’s Axially varying load types

N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6

E00 CC 176.816 176.57 177.061 176.505 177.251 176.680

CS 116.980 116.67 117.290 116.581 117.511 116.847
SS 75.176 74.73 75.619 74.633 75.964 74.926
CF 39.227 38.17 40.266 38.025 41.151 38.449
E20 CC 194.783 194.549 195.016 194.487 195.20 194.654
CS 128.835 128.539 129.129 128.455 129.34 128.708
SS 82.750 82.326 83.172 82.234 83.50 82.512
CF 43.040 42.030 44.032 41.896 44.88 42.299
E40 CC 220.271 220.043 220.499 219.982 220.676 220.146
CS 141.986 141.705 142.267 141.625 142.468 141.865
SS 91.156 90.752 91.558 90.664 91.871 90.929
CF 47.280 46.317 48.228 46.189 49.039 46.573
E60 CC 237.212 237.000 237.423 236.943 237.587 237.095
CS 156.834 156.566 157.102 156.489 157.293 156.719
SS 100.648 100.263 101.031 100.179 101.330 100.431
CF 52.074 51.156 52.981 51.034 53.757 51.400

Fig. 11. Effect of aspect ratio on syntactic foam beams under different BC’s: (a) CC (b) CS (c) SS (d) CF.

observed that all configurations of beams exhibited the highest and 7.4. Influence of aspect ratio on natural frequency
lowest natural frequency at CC and CF BCs. Moreover, the natural fre­
quency of E00 sample at (N1) under load at CC BC’s is 33.83%, 57.43% The effect of aspect ratio on the natural frequency of syntactic foam
and 77.81% higher than the natural frequency under CS, SS and CF beams (E00, E20, E40 and E60) subjected to six sets of axially varying
boundary conditions. A similar range of enhancements in fn is observed loads has been studied in the present study. A close look at the beam
for remaining loading conditions as well. subjecting axial compressive load (N1) under CC boundary condition

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D. Duryodhana et al. Results in Engineering 17 (2023) 100894

reveals that natural frequency enhanced with the decreasing aspect Declaration of competing interest
ratio, as shown in Fig. 11(a). As the aspect ratio increases (20–50,
50–100), the natural frequency decreases by 60% and 49% for pure The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
epoxy samples (E00). The major reason for this is that when the aspect interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
ratio increases, the slenderness ratio increases, which decreases the the work reported in this paper.
beam stiffness. Thereby decrease in the frequency is observed. Even for
other syntactic foam samples (E20, E40 and E60), the natural frequency Data availability
decreases in the same proportion as pure epoxy. Additionally, it is
perceived that by increasing the value of the aspect ratio, the fn for other data is part of the ongoing research work
five axialy varying loads is also increased. The natural frequency of the
syntactic foam beam under CS boundary conditions also decreases with References
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