Safety and collapse of elastic–plastic beams against dynamic loads

The dynamic load-bearing capacity of elastic–plastic beam structures is analysed by the apparatus of shakedown theory. The reduced kinematic formulation for bending beams, which is equivalently deduced from Koiter’s kinematic theorem, combined with the plastic collapse’s method of hinge mechanisms appears effective in solving practical problems. The safety limits on the quasiperiodic dynamic loads as well as respective collapse mechanisms for a number of practical beams are determined.