Random vibration of arbitrarily supported single-span beams subject to random moving loads

This paper presents a framework to assess the random vibration response of single-span beams. The beams are arbitrarily supported and subject to a single random moving load of constant velocity. A General Modal Precise Integration Method (GMPIM) is proposed to carry out numerical integration of the problem. This method is extremely efficient and accurate. It is coupled with the Pseduo-Excitation Method (PEM) to arrive at the statistical description of the random vibration response. The approach uses the power spectral density (PSD) of the moving load to arrive at the PSD and root mean square of the response. The approach is far more computationally efficient than the alternative Monte Carlo simulation using Newmark-β integration (for example). As such, this work should find value for those estimating the random vibration of beams subject to random moving loads.