Impulsive Loading of Elastic-Plastic Beams

Abstract

Abstract A simply supported uniform beam of ductile material, subjected to impulsive loading such that the initial velocity is a half-sine wave, is considered in this paper. The elastic and elastic-plastic motions are discussed under the assumption that plastic flow is confined to one cross section, and the final deformations are compared with those computed from an analysis which neglects all elastic deformations. The purpose of the work is to provide further information which may help in estimating the range of validity of the latter (“rigid-plastic”) type of analysis.