This paper discusses different types of implicit time integration algo
rithms for the dynamics of spatial beams. The algorithms are based on
a form of co-rotational technique which is external to the element. Bo
th end-point and mid-point formulations are presented. The latter can
be considered as an 'approximately energy conserving algorithm'. A new
method is described for introducing numerical damping. Finally some n
umerical examples are presented in order to illustrate the differences
in performance of the different integration schemes.