The present paper analyzes the dynamic behavior of a simply supported beam
subjected to an axial transport of mass. The Galerkin method is used to dis
cretize the problem; a high dimensional system of ordinary differential equ
ations with linear gyroscopic part and cubic nonlinearities is obtained. Th
e system is studied in the sub and super-critical speed ranges with emphasi
s on the stability and the global dynamics that exhibits special features a
fter the first bifurcation. A sample case of a physical beam is developed a
nd numerical results are presented concerning the convergence of the series
expansion, linens subcritical behavior, bifurcation analysis and stability
, and direct simulation of global postcritical dynamics. A homoclinic orbit
is found in a high dimensional phase space and its stability and collapse
are studied.