Recent developments in the modeling of thin-walled structures combining GBT and shell finite elements

Abstract

This paper presents a state-of-the art report on recent developments concerning the modeling of thin-walled members and frames, by combining the advantages of Generalized Beam Theory (GBT) and conventional shell finite elements. Two approaches are reported. The first one combines, in the same model, GBT-based (beam) and shell finite elements, through appropriate constraint equations. The beam elements are employed only in the elastic and prismatic zones, since the remaining zones are handled more efficiently with shell elements. The second approach recovers the insightful GBT mode participations from shell finite element results, through post-processing operations. This approach is useful when GBT elements are not available, cannot be employed (e.g., in tapered members) or are not computationally advantageous, and has a significant potential of application in standard finite element programs, since its implementation is quite straightforward. Throughout the paper, several numerical examples are presented and discussed, to illustrate the application and show the capabilities of the two approaches.