Dynamic response of structural elements undergoing moving loads and thermal strains using finite elements

Abstract

Many structures undergo forced vibration due to moving loads: bridges, railway and subway tracks, aircraft carrier decks, etc. Many of these structures are also subjected to various types of thermal loading. Currently, there are limited or no analytical or experimental methods for analyzing the combined effects of the mechanically induced vibrations and thermal loads on complicated structures such as plates and curved beams with moving loads. Instead, it is more preferable to analyze such problems by numerically discretizing the spatial portion of the equations of motion using Finite Elements and the temporal portion with a numerical time stepping algorithm. The preferred time discretization method presented here is the GSSSS framework of algorithms in conjunction with the Finite Element method. This research will focus on: 1.) Developing a procedure for solving the dynamic response of structures undergoing forced vibration due to moving loads, 2.) Applying this procedure to curved beam structures, and 3.) Analyzing effects of the moving loads and thermal loads on the combined dynamic response of curved beams and flat plates. These developments provide a baseline for future research in the areas of combined transient thermo-mechanical problems using the GSSSS family of algorithms.