Degenerate Elements for Combined Flexural and Torsional Analysis of Thin‐Walled Structures

Abstract

Finite element idealization of thin‐walled structural members under combined flexural and torsional deformation, using the degeneration concept, is presented. The warping displacement field is discretized by an assembly of finite elements which together forms a specific thin‐walled cross section. Based on the assumption that the distortion in the plane of the thin‐walled cross section is negligible, only three “sectional” degrees of freedom are employed in common for all elements of the same cross section. This greatly reduced the overall size of the degrees of freedom. Several thin‐walled structural problems with torsional restraints are solved to illustrate the versatility and the efficiency of the proposed elements.