A piecewise beam element based on absolute nodal coordinate formulation

The element created in this investigation is based on the it absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) which has been successfully used in flexible multibody system dynamic and integration of computer aid design and analysis (ICADA). When modeling a B-spline curve with ANCF beam element, it is the common manner to convert this curve into a series of Bézier curves because the systematical conversion between ANCF beam element and a Bézier curve has already been built. In order to avoid the constrain equation produced in this method and to express a B-spline curve using only one element, an alternative approach is developed, leading to the piecewise ANCF (PANCF) beam element. It is demonstrated that when two ANCF beam elements are connected according to a particular continuity, they can constitute a PANCF element. Besides, a new PANCF element will be produced when an ANCF element is connected to an existing PANCF element. The continuity condition can be automatically ensured by the selection of nodal coordinates and the calculation of the piecewise continuous shape functions. The algorithm for converting a B-spline curve to a PANCF beam element is then given. There also are discussions on the features of PANCF element. When two neighboring segments of PANCF element have the same assumed length, the position vector at the interface cannot be expressed by the other coordinates so the position vector is preserved in the \(C^{2}\) continuous situation. Two examples are given to conclude the interpolation and continuity properties of the shape function and to demonstrate the feasibility of this PANCF in the ICADA.     

A large displacement formulation for anisotropic beam analysis

Summary The displacement of a beam can be conveniently resolved into a roto-translational section displacement and a section warping. The correct second order approximation of the strain is deduced accounting for large displacements and thus for large rotations. On the basis of displacement method, both linear and nonlinear formulations are given: the first one leads to the elastic section properties and to the correct characterization of section warping; the second one leads to the so-called geometric section stiffness, accounting for prestress. Both formulations are general with respect to elastic material properties, thus allowing to deal with aniso-tropic and unhomogeneous cross-sections. Elastic and geometric section rigidities here proposed can then be easily used in second order problems on beam frames: either initial buckling eigenvalue analyses, either large displacement incremental analyses.

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Sommario E' conveniente scomporre lo spostamento di un punto di una trave in una rototraslazione della sezione cui appartiene e in uno spostamento che deforma la sezione (in-gobbamento). Si deduce la corretta approssimazione al second'ordine della deformazione per grandi spostamenti e quindi grandi rotazioni. Vengono presentate sia la formulazione lineare che quella non lineare, basate sul metodo degli spostamenti: dalla prima si ottengono le caratteristiche elastiche della sezione e la corretta caratterizzazione dell'ingob-bamento; dalla seconda la cosiddetta rigidezza geometrica della sezione che tiene conto dello stato di presforzo. Entrambe le formulazioni sono generali per quanto riguarda le proprietà del materiale elastico, potendosi così considerare anche sezioni anisotrope e non omogenee. Le caratteristiche di rigidezza elastica e geometrica della sezione possono quindi facilmente essere usate in problemi del second'ordine su strutture a travi: sia analisi agli autovalori della stabilità, sia analisi incrementali con grandi spostamenti.

     

Higher-order beam elements based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation for three-dimensional elasticity

This study thoroughly examines various higher-order three and four-node beam elements for use in the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF). The paper carefully investigates which potential benefits and drawbacks the utilization of higher-order ANCF beam elements without in-slope vectors has in the case of the usage of full three-dimensional elasticity. When the elastic forces for shear-deformable ANCF beam elements are calculated using full three-dimensional elasticity—especially in the form of the St. Venant–Kirchhoff material law—Poisson locking severely deteriorates the accuracy of the numeric results. As shown in this paper, an existing approach to preventing this locking phenomenon for three-node beam elements can still produce unsatisfying results in load cases involving bidirectional bending. The results of this study show that enriching the polynomial basis used to approximate the beam kinematics provides a natural solution to this issue. As will be seen, these findings for three-node elements can also be extended to four-node elements. When using a sufficient approximation order in transverse directions, satisfying accuracy can be achieved both in conventional one-dimensional bending and in the above-mentioned bidirectional load case.     

Stability analysis of a substructured model of the rotating beam

One of the most well-known situations in which nonlinear effects must be taken into account to obtain realistic results is the rotating beam problem. This problem has been extensively studied in the literature and has even become a benchmark problem for the validation of nonlinear formulations. Among other approaches, the substructuring technique was proven to be a valid strategy to account for this problem. Later, the similarities between the absolute nodal coordinate formulation and the substructuring technique were demonstrated. At the same time, it was found the existence of a critical angular velocity, beyond which the system becomes unstable that was dependent on the number of substructures. Since the dependence of the critical velocity was not so far clear, this paper tries to shed some light on it. Moreover, previous studies were focused on a constant angular velocity analysis where the effects of Coriolis forces were neglected. In this paper, the influence of the Coriolis force term is not neglected. The influence of the reference conditions of the element frame are also investigated in this paper.     

Modeling and analysis of an axially acceleration beam based on a higher order beam theory

In this paper, a higher order model equation is presented for an axially accelerating beam. Based on a new kinematic frame of the beam and continuum mechanics theory, the coupled governing equations of nonlinear vibration for axially accelerating beam are obtained with the aid of the generalized Hamilton principle. The governing equations take into account the characteristic of the material, the shear strain, the rotation strain and the effect of longitudinally varying tension due to the axial acceleration. The equations are decoupled into a nonlinear partial-integro-differential equations when the transverse nonlinear vibration is small. For the principal parametric resonances, the steady-state frequency responses are obtained by the multiple scales method. The stable and unstable interval are analyzed for the trivial and nontrivial steady-state response. Effects of the system parameters on the amplitude have been investigated. The results show that the material parameter (i.e, in-plane Poisson ratio) has a significant effect on the amplitude and the nonlinear vibration behavior type. The amplitude decrease with the growth of the in-plane Poisson ratio. The total potential energy has play a very important role in determining the amplitude of frequency response according to model analysis. Lastly, comparisons among the analytical solutions and numerical solutions are made and good agreements for the amplitude are found.     

Stability analysis of internally damped rotating composite shafts using a finite element formulation

This paper deals with the stability analysis of internally damped rotating composite shafts. An Euler–Bernoulli shaft finite element formulation based on Equivalent Single Layer Theory (ESLT), including the hysteretic internal damping of composite material and transverse shear effects, is introduced and then used to evaluate the influence of various parameters: stacking sequences, fiber orientations and bearing properties on natural frequencies, critical speeds, and instability thresholds. The obtained results are compared with those available in the literature using different theories. The agreement in the obtained results show that the developed Euler–Bernoulli finite element based on ESLT including hysteretic internal damping and shear transverse effects can be effectively used for the stability analysis of internally damped rotating composite shafts. Furthermore, the results revealed that rotor stability is sensitive to the laminate parameters and to the properties of the bearings.     

Variational formulation of the static Levinson beam theory

In this communication, we provide a consistent variational formulation for the static Levinson beam theory. First, the beam equations according to the vectorial formulation by Levinson are reviewed briefly. By applying the Clapeyron's theorem, it is found that the stresses on the lateral end surfaces of the beam are an integral part of the theory. The variational formulation is carried out by employing the principle of virtual displacements. As a novel contribution, the formulation includes the external virtual work done by the stresses on the end surfaces of the beam. This external virtual work contributes to the boundary conditions in such a way that artificial end effects do not appear in the theory. The obtained beam equations are the same as the vectorially derived Levinson equations. Finally, the exact Levinson beam finite element is developed.