BEAMS ON ELASTIC

FOUNDATION
BY SOHAM TRIVEDI
• The beam resting onelastic foundation is met with in
(1) Foundation slab in pavement of highways
(2) Runway
(3) Design of floating dry docks
• Two assumption
(1) Reaction force offered by the continuous support is a function of the
displacement that of the member, the support is called as elastic.
(2) Foundation modulus or spring constant is same for tension as well as
compression
• If the stiffness of the foundation is relatively small compared to the stiffness
of beam , the deflection , curvature and bending moment of beam become
excessively large
• Damage to the beam on elastic foundation subjected to repeated load may be
due to contact stresses rather than bending stresses or from deflection .
Classification of beam on Elastic Foundation
(1) Long beam(Bl>=5) :
if length is very large compare to depth and width .In this beam it is
assumed that ends are far enough from the load so that the
deflection ,shear and moment at ends are zero .
(2) Medium beam : 0.6<Bl<5
(3) Short beam : Bl<0.6
Bending of beam is not important.Foundation pressure are obtained by
assuming the beam to act as a rigid body .