A Simple Technique for Maximizing the Fundamental Frequency of Vibrating Structures

Abstract

A general approach for finding the optimal support locations to maximize the fundamental natural frequency of vibrating structures is described in this paper. The key to the procedure is to place the necessary supports in such a way, so as to eliminate the lower modes from the original configuration. This is accomplished by placing supports along the nodal lines of the highest possible mode from the original configuration, so that all the other lower modes are eliminated by the introduction of new or extra supports to the structure. For two-dimensional analysis, the average driving point residues calculated along a nodal line is used as an indicator for finding the vicinity of the ideal support locations. [S1043-7398(00)00504-1]