A Numerical Method to Material and Geometric Nonlinear Analysis of Cable Structures

In this article, a numerical method is presented for computing the stiffness matrix and compatibility relations of cables under uniform distributed loads on any direction. Both the geometrical and material nonlinearities, including softening and yielding of material, are taken into account and the catenary cable element with gauss integration scheme is employed. The proposed formulation includes the effect of uniform distributed loads on any direction and 3D nodal forces to assess the geometric and possible material nonlinearity of cables. The derived equations are then applied to the analysis of cable structures. The accuracy of the responses obtained by the proposed method is evaluated by several benchmark solutions available in the literature. Results of numerical examples indicate the capability of the proposed stiffness matrix in prediction of the elastic and inelastic responses of cables. The proposed formulation is therefore recommended for cable elements to be used in the analysis of cable structures.