DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR OF A SINGLE-SPAN BEAM SUBJECTED TO LOADS MOVING WITH VARIABLE SPEEDS

This paper deals with the linear dynamic response of a simply supported elastic single-span beam subjected to a moving load of constant magnitude and variable velocity. This analysis focuses attention on the effect of the acceleration or deceleration on the behaviour of the beam under a single (one-axle) load, or a real vehicle model (two-axle load), while the influence of the damping of the beam is taken into account for this last model. A variety of numerical results allows us to draw important conclusions for structural design purposes.