The traveling point load revisited

The nonaxisymmetrical boundary value problem of a point load of normal trac tion traveling over an elastic halfspace is revisited. The transient proble m was first solved in the space-time domain in a paper by D.C. Gakenheimer and J. Miklowitz [Transient excitation of an elastic half space by a point load traveling on the surface, J. Appl. Mech. 36 (1969) 505-515] who used a modified Cagniard technique. As compared to this original work, the analys is in the present paper is more straightforward, thus allowing more insight into this important canonical problem. Some procedural matters in the anal ysis are set straight. Theoretical wavefronts are shown for each sonic load speed and, moreover, numerical results are presented for transonic and sup ersonic load motion. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.