Simulation of Behavior of Plate on Elastic Foundation under Impact Load by the Finite Element Method

Abstract

Transient response and vibrations of an elastic plate resting on sandy soil are presented. Plates are commonly used structural elements and are subjected to wide variety of static and dynamic loads. Such studies are of particular interest in analytical investigations related to structural foundation on soil media. The influence of impact induced high strain-rates within the structure, which causes property changes in all used materials, has to be regarded according to experimental results.The main objective of the present paper, using the finite element approach through ANSYS program is the simulation of the dynamic response of the foundation under impact load. As a case study, previous experimental work included application of a dynamic load generated by dropping a steel ball (38.1 mm in diameter, 2.22 N in weight) from a height of 609.6 mm onto an aluminum target plate (203.2 mm in diameter, 12.7 mm thick) placed on top of a sand medium. The impact load is defined as a product of the loading magnitude and a time varying function which is assumed to be a Hanning's function for a monopeak, smooth-shaped curve. The problem is discretised by using four types of elements; Solid 45 to model the soil, Shell 63 to model the aluminum plate and Target 170 and Contact 174 are used to model the contact between the plate and soil. Shell 63 (elastic shell) has both bending and membrane capabilities.It is noticed that the finite element analysis agrees well with the experimental results throughout the entire range of behavior, and the difference in the ultimate displacement is about 6.2%. It can be concluded that ANSYS program is well suited for impact analyses of soil and structural dynamics problems in the non-linear range.

Keywords

• plate
• elastic foundation
• impact
• finite elements