Analysis of flexural vibration band gaps in periodic beams using differential quadrature method

To determine the flexural vibration band gaps in periodic beams, the theoretical equations are derived by employing the Bloch-Floquet theorem and then solved by the use of the differential quadrature method. Moreover, a comprehensive parametric study is also conducted to highlight the influences of shear deformation, geometrical parameters and material parameters on the gaps. The results show that the method is efficient and accurate and that the bandwidth can be enlarged by changing the geometrical or material parameters. The existence of vibration gaps lends a new insight into vibration isolation applications in areas such as mechanical and civil engineering. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.