Torsion analysis of thin-walled beams including shear deformation effects

The first part of the paper develops a theory for the torsional analysis for open thin-walled beams of general cross-sections which accounts for shear deformation effects. Statically admissible stress fields are postulated in agreement with those resulting from the Vlasov thin-walled beam theory. The principle of stationary complementary energy is then adopted to formulate the governing field compatibility condition under the stress fields postulated. The naturally arising boundary terms are found to relate the warping deformations to the internal force fields. A torsion beam example is solved using the new theory in order to illustrate its applicability to practical problems. The second part of the paper implements the solution numerically in a force-based finite element context. Two finite elements are developed by assuming linear and hyperbolic bimoment fields. The FEA solutions are shown to provide lower bound representations of the stiffness when compared to those based on conventional beam theories founded on postulated kinematic assumptions. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved