Abstract
This paper presents the vibration analysis of cracked ceramic-reinforced aluminum composite beams by using a method based on changes in modal strain energy. The crack is considered to be straight. The effective properties of composite materials of the beams are estimated through Mori-Tanaka micromechanical model. Comparison study and numerical simulations with various parameters; ceramic volume fraction, reinforcement aspect ratio, ratio of the reinforcement Young's modulus to the matrix Young's modulus and ratio of the reinforcement density to the matrix density are taken into investigation. Results demonstrate the pronounced effects of these parameters on intact and cracked ceramic aluminum beams.