Abstract
In this paper, a new finite element for 2D non-prismatic (curved and tapered) elastic beams with narrow rectangular cross-section is proposed. The element is geometrically exact, hence capable of handling large displacements and finite rotations, and allows for cross-section arbitrary warping through the inclusion of additional degrees of freedom (DOFs). These additional DOFs make it possible to capture the non-standard shear stress distributions that are developed in tapered members. All expressions required to implement the proposed finite element are derived and written in a simple vector/matrix form. To assess the accuracy and demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed element, several numerical examples are presented. For comparison purposes, results obtained with refined meshes of standard 2D finite elements are also shown. It is concluded that the proposed element leads to very accurate results with a small computational cost.
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