Steady-state vibrations of an elastic beam on a viscoelastic layer under moving load (Q1579694)

The authors investigate the actual problem of steady-state vibrations of an elastic beam on a viscoelastic layer under a uniformly moving constant load. Such problems arise because the velocities of modern high-speed trains can be of the order of Rayleigh wave velocity in the subsoil of railroad tracks. These waves, being radiated by the train, can strongly affect the dynamic behavior of tracks. The process is modelled by a uniform moving constant load along an Euler-Bernoulli beam on a three-dimensional viscoelastic layer. The governing equations consist of coupled dynamical equations of viscoelasticity for the layer and dynamical Euler-Bernoulli equation for the beam. To analyze the problem, the authors introduce by means of Fourier transforms the concept of ``equivalent stiffness''. This allows to reduce exactly the full three-dimensional model to a one-dimensional model. The equivalent stiffness is a complex function, the real part of which reflects elastic and inertial properties of the equivalent foundation, and the imaginary part is related to the energy dissipation in the foundation. It is shown that there exists a critical velocity of the load which gives a substantial dynamical amplification of beam vibrations. This critical velocity is close to the Rayleigh wave velocity in the layer, and it becomes smaller as the depth of the layer grows. The effect of viscosity on the resonance vibrations of the beam increases as the layer depth decreases.