On the Dynamic Characteristics of Orthotropic Rectangular Plates under the Influence of Moving Distributed Masses and Resting on a Variable Elastic Pasternak Foundation

This work studies the dynamic characteristics of orthotropic rectangular plates under the influence of moving distributed masses and resting on a variable elastic Pasternak foundation. The governing equation is a fourth order partial differential equation with variable and singular coefficients. The solutions to the problem are obtained by transforming the fourth order partial differential equation for the problem to a set of coupled second order ordinary differential equations using the technique of Shadnam et al, then simplified using asymptotic method of Struble [11]. The closed form solution is analyzed, resonance conditions are obtained and the results are depicted graphically for both cases of moving distributed mass and moving distributed force