Abstract
The presence of a crack in a structure affects its dynamic behaviour under working conditions. Cracks introduce nonlinearities into the system; the use of such nonlinearities for damage detection should be investigated. A model of a one-dimensional cracked cantilever bar subjected to longitudinal harmonic excitation is used to analyse a vibro-impact response as a way to monitor structural health. The effect of contact nonlinearity due to crack's faces interaction is considered. This nonlinear information is obtained based on a combination of the analytical technique and the Matlab-Simulink computation. The procedure uses a numerical approximation for dynamic compliance operators and a nonlinear model of contact faces interaction implemented numerically as a nonlinear feedback. Nonlinear resonant phenomena due to vibro-impact interaction in the cracked bar are obtained and analysed. A distribution of the higher harmonics along the bar length, generated due to the nonlinear response of the crack, is revealed as a function of the distance from the crack. Recommendations on structural health monitoring of cracked bars due to contact nonlinearity are presented