Transient response of a beam on viscoelastic foundation under an impact load during nondestructive testing

Abstract

Beam responses under an impact NDT load are studied using the Fourier and Laplace transforms. Numerical computation is performed for a parametric study of beam and load parameters. It is shown that under an impact load, the time duration for displacement to vanish is ten times longer than that for velocity and acceleration. The maximum response is achieved first in acceleration, followed by velocity, and finally displacement, all of which occur before the impact load is removed. At the moment that the impact load is removed from the beam, there is a discontinuity in the velocity and acceleration responses, but not in displacement response. The effect of K and ph on beam response is much less significant than that of EI and C, which have similar effect on beam response. As EI increases, peak values of displacement, velocity and acceleration response decrease. The effect of K on beam response only becomes appreciable after the impact load is removed. While the peak of displacement remain almost unchanged as K increases, the displacement response decays to zero faster for large K values than for small K values.