A numerical method for cavity identification in beams on an elastic foundation

An analytical solution for the natural frequencies of a beam containing a cavity on an elastic foundation is presented. Based on the analytical solution, a numerical method for identifying cavities in the foundation is developed. The position and size of the cavities are identified by minimizing an objective function, which is formulated according to the difference between the computed and measured natural frequencies of the system. The conjugate gradient algorithm is adopted for minimizing the objective function. Some numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the presented cavity determination method. The results show that the presented method can be used to identify the cavity position and size conveniently and efficiently.