A PENALTY MODEL FOR THE ANALYSIS OF CURVED COMPOSITE BEAMS

A simple one-dimensional mechanical model for curved laminated beams is presented. The laminae composing the beam are modelled as Timoshenko beams, perfectly bonded at the interfaces. Because the laminae can rotate differently from one to the other, the cross-sections of the composite beam can warp. The elasto-static problem of the beam is formulated through the principle of stationary potential energy, imposing constraint conditions between the displacements of adjacent laminae by a penalty technique. This approach produces an approximation of radial and tangential interactions between adjacent laminae. By using four-node isoparametric finite elements, numerical values of interlaminar stresses in straight and curved laminated beams are given. They are compared with the results obtained by other authors under different conditions.