Finite Element Analysis of a Continuous Sandwich Beam resting on Elastic Support and Subjected to Two Degree of Freedom Sprung Vehicles

Abstract

This paper has developed a Finite Element Method (FEM) to calculate the dynamic response of a continuous sandwich beam resting on elastic support subjected to moving vehicles. The equation of motion is derived using the classical beam theory and FEM. The vehicle model is a two Degree of Freedom (2DOF) system that moves with a constant velocity. The governing equation of motion is integrated by applying the Wilson-θ time integration method to obtain the dynamic response in each time step. Numerical examples investigate the displacement of the sandwich beam with various values of the structure and vehicle velocity. The effects of the stiffness of elastic support and the vehicle velocity on displacement are studied.