Finite element formulation for dynamics of planar flexible multi-beam system

In some previous geometric nonlinear finite element formulations, due to the use of axial displacement, the contribution of all the elements lying between the reference node of zero axial displacement and the element to the foreshortening effect should be taken into account. In this paper, a finite element formulation is proposed based on geometric nonlinear elastic theory and finite element technique. The coupling deformation terms of an arbitrary point only relate to the nodal coordinates of the element at which the point is located. Based on Hamilton principle, dynamic equations of elastic beams undergoing large overall motions are derived. To investigate the effect of coupling deformation terms on system dynamic characters and reduce the dynamic equations, a complete dynamic model and three reduced models of hub-beam are prospected. When the Cartesian deformation coordinates are adopted, the results indicate that the terms related to the coupling deformation in the inertia forces of dynamic equations have small effect on system dynamic behavior and may be neglected, whereas the terms related to coupling deformation in the elastic forces are important for system dynamic behavior and should be considered in dynamic equation. Numerical examples of the rotating beam and flexible beam system are carried out to demonstrate the accuracy and validity of this dynamic model. Furthermore, it is shown that a small number of finite elements are needed to obtain a stable solution using the present coupling finite element formulation.