Composite beam analysis with arbitrary cross section

A theoretical modelling for calculating stiffness and stresses of a composi te beam with arbitrary cross section is presented, assuming that strains ar e functions of the cross sectional coordinates but independent of the longi tudinal coordinate. After discretization of the section, by using the princ iple of virtual work, the problem is reduced to a set of linear algebraic e quations. The unknowns are longitudinal nodal warping and six constants whi ch characterise the rigid displacement of the section. The numerical result s correlate well with three dimensional finite element analysis. (C) 1999 E lsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.