Consistent coupling of beam and shell models for thermo-elastic analysis

In this paper, the finite element formulation of a transition element for consistent coupling between shell and beam finite element models of thin-walled beam-like structures in thermo-elastic problems is presented. Thin-walled beam-like structures modelled only with beam elements cannot be used to study local stress concentrations or to provide local mechanical or thermal boundary conditions. For this purpose, the structure has to be modelled using shell elements. However, computations using shell elements are a lot more expensive as compared to beam elements. The finite element model can be more efficient when the shell elements are used only in regions where the local effects are to be studied or local boundary conditions have to be provided. The remaining part of the structure can be modelled with beam elements. To couple these two models (i.e. shell and beam models) at transitional cross-sections, transition elements are derived here for thermo-elastic problems. The formulation encloses large displacement and rotational behaviour, which is important in case of thin-walled beam-like structures