Natural frequencies of a beam--mass system in transverse vibration: Rayleigh estimation versus eigenanalysis solutions (Q1434638)

An Euler-Bernoulli type beam carrying multiple masses at various locations is considered. Firstly, the solution methods for frequencies of three mass-loaded beams are presented with the respective frequency expression. Secondly, parametric results by solving the eigenfrequency equation and Rayleigh's expression are presented and compared. Moreover, the effectiveness and validity of the Rayleigh's estimation is investigated and discussed.