Vibration analysis of the flexible connecting rod with the breathing crack in a slider-crank mechanism

This paper investigates the dynamic response of the cracked and flexible connecting rod in a slider-crank mechanism. Using Euler-Bernoulli beam theory to model the connecting rod without a crack, the governing equation and boundary conditions of the rod's transverse vibration are derived through Hamilton's principle. The moving boundary constraint of the joint between the connecting rod and the slider is considered. After transforming variables and applying the Galerkin method, the governing equation without a crack is reduced to a time-dependent differential equation. After this, the stiffness without a crack is replaced by the stiffness with a crack in the equation. Then, the Runge-Kutta numerical method is applied to solve the transient amplitude of the cracked connecting rod. In addition, the breathing crack model is applied to discuss the behavior of vibration. The influence of cracks with different crack depths on natural frequencies and amplitudes is also discussed. The results of the proposed method agree with the experimental and numerical results available in the literature.