Abstract: The analytical solution of a viscoelastic continuous beam whose damping characteristics are described in terms of a fractional derivative of arbitrary order was derived by means of the Adomian decomposition method. The solution contains arbitrary initial conditions and zero input. For specific analysis, the initial conditions were assumed homogeneous, and the input force was treated as a special process with a particular beam. Two simple cases, step and impulse function responses, were considered respectively. Subsequently, some figures were plotted to how the displacement of the beam under different sets of parameters ncluding different orders of the fractional derivatives.

Key words: viscoelastic beam, fractional derivative, Adomian decomposition method, vibration