CHAPTER 5 Elastic Foundations Elastically supported beams and contact stress problems are discussed. Analysis of symmetric bending of cylindrical shells is introduced. (INTRODUCTION. FOUNDATION MODELS In this chapter we consider three topics that can be loosely grouped under the heading ‘elastic foundations.”* They are (1) straight beams supported by several springs or by an elastic medium; (2) a cylindrical shell, where each imaginary longitudinal strip is elastically supported by the remainder of the shell; and (3) cylindrical and/or spherical bearings pressed together so that each deforms and provides elastic support for the other. Beams on an elastic foundation are considered first. The original analysis— by Winkler, in 1867——was prompted by a need to analyze railroad track. {The roadbed resists deformation, and the resisting force is transmitted through ies to the rail. In effect, ties are springs that support the rail. The deflected shape of a loaded rail is a damped sine wave. If there are roughly four or more springs per half wave, there is negligible error if the problem is simplified by ‘*smear- ing” the springs to produce a continuous elastic foundation. ‘As shown in the following, many problems of practical interest are casy to solve if the foundation is continuous rather than discrete. In beam problems we discuss, the intent is to model the effect of the foundation on the beam; it is not 145ELASTIC FOUNDATIONS to study stresses in the foundation itself. That is why simple models can be used for complicated foundation media The simplest analytical model of a continuous elastic foundation is the Wink- ler model. It presumes a linear force-deflection relationship, so that if a deflec- tion w is imposed on the foundation, it resists with a pressure k,w, where k, is the foundation modulus. When analyzing beams, we will use k = k,b instead of k,, where b is the width of the beam in contact with the foundation. Thus deflection w of a beam causes the foundation to resist by applying a distributed load kw to the beam, where kw is measured in N/m. The units of k, and k are N/m?/m and N/m/m, respectively. Values of k, for soil are often in the range 20(10)° N/m?/m to 200(10)° N/m?/m. High values are best; clearly, if k, were infinite there would be no deflection and hence no flexural stress in the beam. A Winkler foundation model deflects only where there is load. Adjacent material is utterly unaffected (Fig. 5.1.1). One might expect that an elastic solid would be a more accurate foundation model for soil. This does not seem to be so because soil tends to exhibit a nonlinear response. Of the two models, the Winkler model is far easier to analyze. Experience has shown the Winkler model to be adequate for various problems: the railroad rail, piers supported by piling and loaded by horizontal force, networks of beams in floor systems, highway slabs, and structures that float. ' In problems of elastic foundations and contact stress, deformations die out quickly with increasing distance from the load. For example, a static load on a railroad track creates a local valley that is symmetric about the point of load “A moving load creates an asymmetric valley such that the load must be contin- ‘ually driven uphill by an energy input, even when there is no damping present. [5.1}. (This effect was noticed on an English railroad in 1830. The line ran across a bog. A passing train was seen to be accompanied by a wave.) When_ damping is small, there is a critical velocity at which deflections and bending moments are amplified. This suggests that very high or very low speeds may be best for skating on thin ice! When creep is considered, the better choice would appear to be very high speed. This chapter is restricted to static conditions. We emphasize the Winkler model and simple problems. More complicated problems—short beams, beams with varying stiffness, two or more foundation moduli, and so on—can be solved with tabulated information (5.2, 5.3] or with numerical procedures such as the finite-element method. Numerical methods are attractive for beam problems because of the simplicity of data preparation. Discrete springs can be treated numerically as easily as the Winkler model. Other foundation models, more sophisticated than the Winkler model yet relatively simple, have been proposed (5.4). Winkler foundation Elastic solid foundation FIGURE 5.1.1. Deflections of foundation models under uniform pressure. No beam is present.5.2 EQUATIONS FOR BEAMS ON ELASTIC FOUNDATIONS: 147 An important restriction of subsequent analysis of beams on Winkler foun- dations should be noted: We assume that contact is never broken between beam and foundation. Thus, where a beam deflects upward, a negative (downward) pressure is assumed to exist. If negative pressure cannot in fact be sustained, the beam’s response becomes a nonlinear function of the applied load because the extent of the contact zone depends on the beam deflection. Nonlinear prob- lems of this type are not considered in our treatment 5.2 EQUATIONS FOR UNIFORM STRAIGHT BEAMS ON ELASTIC FOUNDATIONS Figure 5.2.1 shows forces that act on a beam supported’by a Winkler foundation. Loads P,, M,, and q are shown in their positive sense. In subsequent sections we consider particular cases of loading and boundary conditions. The positive direction for external loads and deflection w is downward. The coordinate system is left-handed, but this will cause no consternation because we have no trans- formations or vector operations to contend with As is usual in beam theory, we begin by summing forces and moments on a differential element, Fig. 5.2.1c. The two equilibrium equations obtained, and the result of combining them, are anh 9 aM Me bw — 5.2.1 my de q G20 dr ‘The moment-curvature relation, from elementary small-deflection beam theory, is aw M = -EIT (5.2.2) where the negative sign is needed because positive M is associated with negative curvature. Combination of Eq. 5.2.2 and dM/dx = V yields, for constant Ef, P, ° ° (q— kw) dx Mofl re Mo Pep — i “ | 7 +aM w= wor) ! ie re a (a) (b) {ey FIGURE 5.2.4. (a) Arbitrary loading on an elastically supported beam. (b) Reaction kw of a Winkler foundation. The curve w = w(x) is the deflected shape of the beam. (c) Forces that act on a differential element of the beam.