Exact dynamic/static stiffness matrices of non-symmetric thin-walled beams considering coupled shear deformation effects

A general theory is proposed for the shear deformable thin-walled beam with non-symmetric open/closed cross-sections and its exact dynamic and static element stiffness matrices are evaluated. For this purpose, an improved shear deformable beam theory is developed by introducing Vlasov's assumption and applying Hellinger-Reissner principle. This includes the shear deformations due to the shear forces and the restrained warping torsion and due to the coupled effects between them, rotary inertia effects and the flexural-torsional coupling effects due to the non-symmetric cross-sections. Governing equations and force-deformation relations are derived from the energy principle and a system of linear eigenproblem with non-symmetric matrices is constructed based on 14 displacement parameters. And then explicit expressions for displacement parameters are derived and the exact dynamic and the static stiffness matrices are determined using force-deformation relationships. In order to verify the validity and the accuracy of this study, the numerical solutions are presented and compared with other numerical solutions available in the literature and results using the thin-walled beam element and the shell element. Particularly the influences of the coupled shear deformation on the vibrational and the elastic behavior of non-symmetric beams with various boundary conditions are investigated. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.