Effective modeling of beams with shear deformations on elastic foundation

Being a significant mode of deformation, shear effect in addition to the other modes of stretching and bending have been considered to develop two finite element models for the analysis of beams on elastic foundation. The first beam model is developed utilizing the differential-equation approach; in which the complex variables obtained from the solution of the differential equations are used as interpolation functions for the displacement field in this beam element. A single element is sufficient to exactly represent a continuous part of a beam on Winkler foundation for cases involving end-loadings, thus providing a benchmark solution to validate the other model developed. The second beam model is developed utilizing the hybrid-mixed formulation, i.e., Hellinger-Reissner variational principle; in which both displacement and stress fields for the beam as well as the foundation are approxmated separately in order to eliminate the well-known phenomenon of shear locking, as well as the newly-identified problem of \"foundation-locking\" that can arise in cases involving foundations with extreme rigidities. This latter model is versatile and indented for utilization in general applications; i.e., for thin-thick beams, general loadings, and a wide variation of the underlying foundation rigidity with respect to beam stiffness. A set of numerical examples are given to demonstrate and assess the performance of the developed beam models in practical applications involving shear deformation effect.