Shifted Legendre polynomials algorithm used for the dynamic analysis of PMMA viscoelastic beam with an improved fractional model.

• An improved fractional viscoelastic constitutive model is proposed. • The parameters in the proposed viscoelastic model are identified by DMA tests. • An algorithm based on shifted Legendre polynomials is proposed with high accuracy. • The fractional governing equation of the viscoelastic beam is solved directly in time domain. • Dynamic analysis of PMMA beam under different load conditions and temperatures. In this paper, a fractional viscoelastic model is proposed to describe the physical behaviour of polymeric material. The material parameters in the model are characterized by the experimental data obtained in the dynamical mechanical analysis. The proposed model is integrated into the fractional governing equation of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) above its glass transition temperature. The numerical algorithm based on the shifted Legendre polynomials is retained to solve the fractional governing equations in the time-domain. The accuracy and effectiveness of the algorithm are verified according to the mathematical examples. The advantage of this method is that Laplace transform and the inverse Laplace transform commonly used in fractional calculus are avoided. The dynamical response of the viscoelastic PMMA beam is determined with several loading conditions (uniformly distributed load and harmonic load). The effects of the loading condition and the temperature on the dynamic response of the beam are investigated in the results. The proposed approach shows great potentials for the high-precision calculation in solving the fractional equations in the science and engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]