A consistent co-rotational finite element formulation for geometrically nonlinear dynamic analysis of 3-D beams (Q1971331)

This paper is concerned with the construction of finite element approximations to the problem of beams undergoing large displacements in three dimensions, in dynamic situations. The authors adopt a co-rotational approach, with consistent linearization of geometrically nonlinear terms, to obtain the inertial and force terms. The formulation is restricted to prismatic Euler-Bernoulli beams having doubly-symmetric cross-sections, strains are assumed to be small. The point of departure is the element proposed by the first author in [AIAA J. 30, 797-804 (1992)]; this element has two nodes with six degrees of freedom per node: three components of displacement, and three of rotation. The components of lateral displacement of the centroidal axis are approximated by Hermitian polynomials, and the rotation is approximated by a linear polynomial. The authors give an explicit and detailed derivation of various element matrices and vectors in the local element coordinate system, which is updated at each iteration. The iterative procedure is based on Newmark method, and nonlinearities are approximated through the use of Newton-Raphson method. An extensive range of examples is presented. These include a flexible flying beam, a right-angled cantilever, and a right-angled beam in free flight. In all the cases the agreement with analytical results, where available, or with numerical results of others, is very good.