Dynamic stress response and fatigue life of cantilever beam under non-Gaussian base excitation

The stress response of cantilever beam to non-Gaussian random base excitation is investigated based on Monte-Carlo simulation. First, the statistical properties and spectral characteristics of non-Gaussian random vibrations are analyzed qualitatively; and the conclusion is that spectral method based on power spectrum density (PSD) is not applicable for non-Gaussian random vibrations. Second, the stress response formula of cantilever beam under non-Gaussian random base excitations is established in the time-domain, and the factors influencing the output kurtosis are subsequently determined. Two numerical examples representing different practical situations are analyzed in detail. The discrepancies of the stress responses to Gaussian, steady non-Gaussian and burst non-Gaussian base excitations are analyzed in terms of root mean square (RMS), kurtosis and fatigue damage. The transmissibility of RMS and high-kurtosis of steady non-Gaussian random base excitation is different from that of burst non-Gaussian case. Finally, the fatigue life corresponding to every base excitation is calculated using the rainflow method in conjunction with the Palmgren-Miner rule. Finite element analysis is also carried out for validation. The predicted fatigue lives corresponding to Gaussian, steady non-Gaussian and burst non-Gaussian base excitations are compared quantitatively. Finally, in the fatigue damage point of view, the discrepancies among the three kinds of random base excitations are summarized