Composite beam analysis with arbitrary cross section

A theoretical modelling for calculating stiffness and stresses of a composite beam with arbitrary cross section is presented, assuming that strains are functions of the cross sectional coordinates but independent of the longitudinal coordinate. After discretization of the section, by using the principle of virtual work. the problem is reduced to a set of linear algebraic equations. The unknowns are longitudinal nodal warping and six constants which characterise the rigid displacement of the section. The numerical results correlate well with three dimensional finite element analysis. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.