Nonlinear flexural–torsional dynamic analysis of beams of variable doubly symmetric cross section—application to wind turbine towers

Abstract

In this paper, a boundary element solution is developed for the nonlinear flexural–torsional dynamic analysis of beams of arbitrary doubly symmetric variable cross section, undergoing moderate large displacements, and twisting rotations under general boundary conditions, taking into account the effect of rotary and warping inertia. The beam is subjected to the combined action of arbitrarily distributed or concentrated transverse loading in both directions and to twisting and/or axial loading. Four boundary-value problems are formulated with respect to the transverse displacements, to the axial displacement, and to the angle of twist and solved using the Analog Equation Method, a Boundary Element Method (BEM) based technique. Application of the boundary element technique yields a system of nonlinear coupled Differential–Algebraic Equations (DAE) of motion, which is solved iteratively using the Petzold–Gear Backward Differentiation Formula (BDF), a linear multistep method for differential equations coupled with algebraic equations. Numerical examples of great practical interest including wind turbine towers are worked out, while the influence of the nonlinear effects to the response of beams of variable cross section is investigated.