Higher-order horizontally-curved beam finite element including warping for steel bridges

✍ Scribed by Fathalla M. El-Amin; Mohamed A. Kasem

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1978
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 338 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0029-5981
• DOI: 10.1002/nme.1620120115

✦ Synopsis

The flexural stiffness for a horizontally curved beam element is developed for nodal parameters wi, (a wlds),, pi, (@/as),, (a'p/ds'),, (d3p/as3), by assuming a cubic displacement function for vertical deflection w, and a seventh order polynomial function for the angle of twist /3, along the length of the curved beam. The element gives good accuracy with even coarse mesh for the analysis of horizontally-curved steel beam with open thin-walled bisymmetrical cross-section.

Warping restraint is considered in the derivation of the stiffness matrix, which has considerable influence on the behavior and design of steel bridges curved in-plan. The results obtained from such a new element are compared with those given by a lower order finite element, developed previously by the first author, and with theoretical solutions for the particular problem.