Plane hydroelastic beam vibrations due to uniformly moving one axle vehicle

The hydroelastic vibrations of a beam with rectangular cross-section is analyzed under the effect of an uniformly moving single axle vehicle using modal analysis and two-dimensional potential flow theory of the fluid neglecting the effect of surface waves aside the beam. For the special case of homogeneous beam resting on the surface of a water filled prismatic basin, the normal modes are determined considering surface waves in beam direction under the condition of compensating the volume of the enclosed fluid. The way to determine the vertical acceleration of the single axle vehicle is shown, which governs the response of the system. As analysis results the course of wheel load, the surface waves along the beam and the flow velocity distribution of the fluid is demonstrated for a continuous floating bridge under the passage of a rolling mass moving with uniform speed.