Dynamic response of a rigid plastic clamped beam struck by a mass at any point on the span

Theoretical analyses are presented which examine the transverse shear and bending response and the influence of finite deflections on the behaviour of rigid, perfectly plastic clamped beams struck transversely by a mass at any point on the span. It transpires that the transverse shear force may dominate the entire response when the impact point is close to the support. However, the membrane force also plays an important role when the transverse deformation is larger than the beam thickness, approximately.