Finite element analysis of two-dimensional shear flexible frame structures: Nonlinear analysis (Q1090146)

Two curved beam/column elements are developed for the nonlinear pre- and postbuckling analysis of free-form frames and arches undergoing arbitrarily large deflections (diplacements and rotations). For both elements, the formulation of the pertinent matrices is pursued on the basis of modified versions of the variational theorem due to Hellinger and Reissner with the effects of transverse shear deformation and bending-stretching coupling included. Numerical results are presented for a number of well-selected test problems which demonstrate that both elements represent reliable and highly accurate tools for the numerical solution of geometrically nonlinear structural mechanics problems.