The electronic synthesis of flexible beam behaviour

The paper relates to the use of electronic analogue computers to evaluate and display the vibrations of flexible beams and related structures. The method is characterized by the speed and continuity with which the desired information is presented and by the fact that it provides a continous mental picture or model of the physical system being studied. The techniques described are applicable to ¿thin¿ beams in general and are capable of yielding static as well as dynamic information. They have, however, been evolved primarily to deal with problems in dynamics whose complexity makes them unsuitable for treatment by ¿classical¿ methods. A simple hypothesis concerning structural energy dissipation is discussed. It is shown to possess valuable practical advantages except where the detailed mechanism of structural energy loss is itself the subject of investigation. The essential correctness of the basic premises, and the practicability of realizing a useful synthetic ¿beam¿ have been demonstrated experimentally. Much further development remains to be completed however. The paper concludes with a review of certain directions in which progress is hoped for in the immediate future.