Eigenvalues of structures with uncertain elastic boundary restraints

The eigenvalue problems of structures with random elastic boundary supports are studied in this paper. Using the perturbation method, the differential equations including stochastic distributed parameters and random boundary conditions that govern the eigenproblems are transformed to a series of deterministic differential equations and boundary conditions. Then the differential equations and boundary conditions are discretized utilizing the finite element method (FEM). This process is easy to be implemented since the resulting perturbation equations with different orders own the same FEM meshes. The first-order and second-order sensitivities of eigenvalues are derived through solving the deterministic algebraic equations. Upon determining these sensitivities of eigenvalues, the approximate statistic expressions of random eigenvalues considering uncertain elastic boundary supports are established. At the end, several numerical examples are given to illustrate the application and effectiveness of the present method. Comparison of the present numerical results with those from the Monte-Carlo simulation method verifies the accuracy of the developed method. © 2006.