Interaction of a One-Dimensional Continuum with an Inertial Object Moving over the Continuum

Free transverse oscillations in a system consisting of an infinite moment continuum, such as the Euler-Bernoulli beam lying on the Winkler foundation, and a rigid body moving along the beam with a constant velocity and having a point contact with the guide are studied. The range of the considered velocities of the concentrated inertial object along the continuum is limited by the requirement of a finite energy of elastic deformation of the infinite continuum, corresponding to cojoint free osillations of an unbounded system. An analytical solution of the corresponding spectral problem in a system with a mixed spectrum is constructed. Limiting situations are analyzed, where the inertial rigid object moving along the beam is devoid of one “oscillatory” degree of freedom for some reasons. In particular, an inertial object devoid of mass but having a nonzero tensor of inertia is considered. Dependences of all characteristics of the discrete spectrum of oscillations and their shapes on the magnitude of object velocity along the moment elastoinertial guide are given.__________Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 46, No. 4, pp. 88–97, July– August, 2005.