Dynamic response of thick plates under excitation of a moving mass utilizing BCOPs

In this study, dynamic behavior of thick rectangular plates under a moving mass with constant velocity traversing the plate on a rectilinear path is investigated. A semi-analytical method with the aim of BCOPs (Boundary Characteristic Orthogonal Polynomials) is utilized to tackle with the solution of motion equations for different boundary conditions of the plate while accounting for shear deformations. The effects of thickness and boundary conditions of plate and weight and velocity of the moving mass on the dynamic response of plate are scrutinized. The obtained results revealed the accuracy of the proposed method in comparison with the other researchers’ results. The results also demonstrated the importance of the moving load inertia as well as the shear deformations of the host structures on its dynamic behavior. The importance of this study lies on the vibration of bridge-type structures with plate decks, where, the shear deformation of the base structure could be no more ignored, especially for heavy vehicles moving with high speeds.