The
aim of this paper is to present a simple but comprehensive model for
the dynamical response of cracked rotor. The mechanical system is made
of two rigid bars connected with a nonlinear spring. The two bars
represent the uncracked parts of the rotor, and, the nonlinear spring
represents the cracked section. The breathing mechanism of the crack is
taken into account by considering special periodic variation of the
global stiffness of the system. The differential equations system is
soled using the harmonic balance method. Some possibilities for early
crack detection are established.

Manuscript is available upon request.