EQUATIONS O F CURVED BEAMS

By Sundaramoorthy Rajasekaran1 and S. Padmanabhan2

ABSTRACT: The thin-walled curved beam equations are formulated using the prin-
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ciple of virtual work. The Euler Lagrange equilibrium equations and the associated
static and kinematic boundary conditions thus obtained are compared with Vlasov,
Chai Hang Yoo, and Papengelis and Trahair. In and out of plane buckling of
curved beam problems are solved and compared to published results.

INTRODUCTION

The formulation and solution of equations of thin-walled curved beams of

open section are fundamental to structural engineering. Most engineers are
familiar with the displacement assumptions that allow the displacements at
any point in a beam to be expressed in terms of the displacements along the
centroidal and shear center axes. These assumptions allow a variety of dif-
ferent sets of elastic beam equations to be developed. The degree of com-
plexity of these equations depends on the shape of the cross section, type
of loading and the specific phenomenon which the analyst is attempting to
represent. The governing equations for the thin-walled beams may be de-
veloped by formulating the equations: (1) By considering the equilibrium of
the deformed beam; and (2) by considering the nonlinear strain-displacement
relationship using the principle of virtual work. Vlasov (1961) formulated
these equations by substituting the curvature terms of the curved beam in
the straight beam equilibrium equations whereas Chai Hang Yoo (1982) for-
mulated these equations by substituting curvature terms of the curved beam
in the potential of the straight beam equations. It has been proved by Ra-
jasekaran and Ramm (1984, 1985) by using NISA (1980), the results for the
buckling of curved beam obtained by them agree with Vlasov rather than
with Chai Hang Yoo (1982). Recently Papengelis and Trahair (1987) con-
firmed the conclusions already arrived at by Rajasekaran and Ramm. They
also concluded that the derivation presented in their paper is based on the
first principles making no reference to straight beam equations. But while
deriving the value of ex (equation 16 in their paper) they looked into the
deformed shape of the curved beam to derive the transformation matrices.
Since the problem under consideration is a curved beam, there is always a
possibility of omission of certain terms and their derivation is also not con-
sistent.
The purpose of this paper is to derive the consistent governing equations
based on the large displacement theory for solving curved beam problems.
This theory is well-established from a set of simple and realistic assumptions
which are normally used in thin-walled straight beam analysis and based on
the variational principles. The advantages of this approach are (1) That the
virtual work functional from such a derivation may easily be adapted to
'Prof, of Civ. Engrg., P.S.G. Coll. of Tech., Coimbatore, India.
2
Struct. Engr., Bharath Assoc, Madras, India.
Note. Discussion open until October 1, 1989. To extend the closing date one month,
a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of Journals. The manuscript
for this paper was submitted for review and possible publication on September 15,
1987. This paper is part of the Journal of Engineering Mechanics, Vol. 115, No.
5, May, 1989. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-9399/89/0005-1094/$!.00 + $.15 per page.
Paper No. 23487.
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J. Eng. Mech., 1989, 115(5): 1094-1111

 numerical techniques peculiar to the finite element solution of inelastic beam-
column problems; and (2) the geometry of the deformed member need not
be considered in the formulation.
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ASSUMPTIONS

1. The length of the member is much larger than the depth and the lateral
dimensions are larger than the thickness:
t d
-=£0.1; -<0.1
d I
2. The displacements are large and the strains are small.
3. The projection of the cross section on a plane normal to the longitudinal
axis does not distort during deformation.
4. The shear strains due to shear stress in equilibrium with the changes of
normal stress is small and can be neglected (Euler Bernoulli's hypothesis).
5. The shear strains in the planes normal to the middle surface of the thin
wall are small and can be neglected.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRAIN DISPLACEMENT AT ANY POINT

Consider a circular curved member with the center of curvature o' as shown
in Fig. 1. The well-known three-dimensional small strain and large displace-
ment relations in cylindrical coordinate system may be written in terms of
cartesian system X(Z), Y(-r), Z(0) by taking the origin at arbitrary point O
and selecting D as sectorial centroid (see Fig. 2) as
2-,
du du
6.v =
(la)
dx dx

FIG. 1. Thin-Walled Beam Curved in Plan

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 0
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_ J AV L—

FIG. 2. Definition

dv 1 du\2 (dvx ^
(lb)
dy 2l\dy dy/ J
1 3vv v 1 dv 'du
«e _ h W (Ic)
z
r ae + —; ae vae,
r 2r 2 1 dv dv W dv 1 du du
= 7x9 = — + - — + + (Id)
dx r1 30
3v r dx 59 r dx r dx 30
1 3v w dw 1 dv dv w dv 1 3K du
lyz = 7^6 = - — - +— + (le)
r ae r 3y r dy 30 r 3;y r ay 30
a« av du du dv dv
— +— + _l_ (1/)
dy dx dx dy dx dy
where u, v, and w denote the displacements in X, Y, and Z directions, re-
spectively. It is seen from Eq. 1 that the nonlinear terms associated with
dw/dx, dw/dy, and dw/dz are neglected since w is much smaller compared
to u and v. As per the assumptions of open section, shear strain in the plane
normal to the middle surface of the wall is small and can be neglected. yes

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J. Eng. Mech., 1989, 115(5): 1094-1111

 = 0 along the middle line of the contour.
Using the approach of Usami (1980), the displacement at any point may
be written in terms of reference point O as
u = «o ~~ y sin O — x(l — cos <J>) (2a)
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v = v0 + x sin <I> — y{\ — cos <f>). (26)

vv0
w = w0 Vn H cos <l> - uk sin <£> «o cos <t>
R

w0 (2c)
+ { vk H J sin $

The total angle of twist M* of the cross section is

"o
\p = $ (3)
i?
Substituting Eq. 2 into Eq. 1 and $ for sin $ and 1 - $ 2 / 2 for cos $ and
(R — y) for r we get the nonzero strain components at the point on the cross
section as axial ez and shear ysB given by Padhmanabhan (1984)
'vo + W(A

1 i? «o 2 Vo
w 0 - - + + — + —l- I - y Vo + u'i<t>
(i - y) I 2R R
R
Vo + w 0
R / w0\ <E> v0$
2R 2R 2/f3 2i?J

vK + - 1$
*'2
"o
- co $ " - — + (x2 + y2) + $V)
/?

xy\v'Q + — W
y(x2 + y 2 ) $ ' 2 yX2®2 xyv 0 $ y2«o<I)'
_) 1 .— 1_ (4a)
2R 2R6 R R" R
and

7„ = 2ti * ' - ^ + (vj + ^ J * (4fc)

where r\ is shown in Fig. 2.

STRESSES IN THIN-WALLED BEAMS

The usual assumptions with respect to stresses in the thin-walled beams

are: (1) Normal stress on planes parallel to the longitudinal axis is zero or

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J. Eng. Mech., 1989, 115(5): 1094-1111

 negligible and (2) the shear stress component T,,{ is zero. Nonzero compo-
nents therefore may be displayed as
0 0 <*xz
(T,j = 0 0 (5)
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0>z
J*n <*zy &zz

If it is assumed that the stresses may be represented by the average values

through the plate thickness at any point N, the conditions for zero shear
stress on the faces of the plate requires thatCT„^vanishes and then
°Vy = Czi cos a (6a)
Vzx = -&zs sin a (6b)
and
cr„ = <z + oS • (6c)
v"s, <*Z denote the warping shear and St. Venaht shear.

VARIATIONAL AND DIFFERENTIAL FORM OF CURVED BEAM EQUATIONS

The principle of virtual displacement may be used to write the equilibrium

rquirements for any stress field. Using Cartesian tensor notation, neglecting
body forces and expressing the internal virtual work as the product of the
associative component of Kirchhoff stress tensor <j{j and Green's strain tensor
€j, the principle of virtual displacement may be written as

I uybtydv = I t,bujds (7)

A set of curved thin-walled beam equations (Padhmanabhan 1984) may now

be derived by substituting for the displacement from Eq. 2 into Eq. 7 and
integrating with respect to the volume of cross section (dV = dA [dZ(\ -
y/R)], where dZ is measured along O-O axis).
Integrating Eq. 7 by parts yields Euler Lagrange equilibrium equations of
the functional as
w'L , r„ , f _ _, (Mxu'0)' , (Ty&'Y
-M'; + -f + -~ + j -<p«J)' + (MM - ^ ^ - + ^ — ^ \ = qx . ... (8a)

p
**> ;_ I ,„ „< (f^o)' (M*v°y (M*w°y ^ w ^ ' v^y
-Mx hi -(PVQ) : 1 • ;
2
R [ R R R R R

-,«,*,--<^;+^+5+^+«}=„ m
—P H M 1- —T- H r Vo H H
R [R R2 R2 \ Rj R
WJ& Txy<P' rsv4>]

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J. Eng. Mech., 1989, 115(5): 1094-1111

 TABLE 1. Natural and Kinematic Boundary Conditions for Thin-Walled Curved
Beam of Open Cross Section
Kinematic boundary conditions Natural boundary conditions
(1) (2)
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8w0 P - MJR - MJR - WJb/R1

8i -M/£ - Mx - Wm®/R
8v0 Pv'0 + Pw0/R + Mx + (Mx/R)(v'0 + W0/R)
+ (My$)' + (W'J>)/R + T^'/R + TJb/R
but, M,* + WJR - My
8«0 Pu'0 - (M,<D)' + (My)' - WJR
- (T„<t>')/R + (Mxu'0)/R - TJR
8$' -wa
8* W'a - WJR (y'Q + w0/R) + M,,*'
+ MJb'/R + TJRM + w„/R)
- T„u'0/R + Tsv

Mv MA> W,„
- WL — T' + ' + MX - Myv'i
R
*u+5
1
.TV '

Wj vg + —°
R
(.MJb'y - wjvr . T^
2 3
R R R

Tvv0 (Tyyu'Q)' | T^ ^ Myv0

w + %)
| | |
M, (Sd)
RJ R Rl R' R

The associated natural and kinematic boundary conditions are given in

Table 1. The stress resultants P, Mx, My etc., given in Eq. 8 and Table 1
are defined as (see Fig. 3).
P = JcrzdA Mx = J(rzydA My - fvzxdA Wk = JazwdA
2 2 2
Mp = f<jz(.x + y )dA Txx = J(jzx dA Tyy = J<rzy2dA

Txy = JcrzxydA Txxy = f<rzx2ydA Tsv = GKTt

R
2 2
M9y = Jvzy(x + y )dA. (9)

EQUILIBRIUM EQUATIONS IN TERMS OF DISPLACEMENTS

Eqs. 8a-d represent precisely the same requirement for total equilibrium.
They are approximate to the extent imposed by the assumptions of thin-
walled beam theory; however, they are consistent with classical beam equa-
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J. Eng. Mech., 1989, 115(5): 1094-1111

 Mx+AMx - z PLANE
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FIG. 3. Thin-Walled Curved Beam of Open Section—General System of Loads

in Typical Beam Segment

tions. In classical beam theory it is assumed that the stress resultants con-
tained within the braces of the Eq. 8 may be determined by statics in the
initial undeformed configuration of the member. The remaining primary stress
resultants are expressed in terms of the displacements of the reference axes
by assuming a linear relationship between strain and the displacement of the
reference axes. Here ez, yS2 are given by

1 «0
w0 y[ v° + j XUg co d>" - .. (10a) •
i-y

"o
•y„ = 2T| $' - (106)

Substituting Eq. 10 into Eq. 9 and carrying out integration yields

A' A'y A'x S'u) (Wo - v0/R)
Mx A'y I'x -(vS + w0/R)
My =E (12)
A'x 4 V -(KJ + */J!)
r/ ci J

buy
CU}>
-(<*>" - ul/R))

and

(13)

" properties of the cross

J. Eng. Mech., 1989, 115(5): 1094-1111

 dA ydA
" I'
A' =
R2 1 -y\ R
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R R

xdA (tidA y2dA

I*
A'x = SL = II =
1 -y\ R \ - y 1 -y
R

n,=
{ xydA
V =
(jyydA
1 wxdA

i -y
R R

\ xx22dA
dA I u2dA
JA JA
Iy = /' = —
1-y
R
nl
T
dA 2+ (14)
}A(R-y + nl) {R - yf (R - y)J
If the values of the stress resultants obtained in Eq. 12 are substituted into
Eq. 8 one gets the Euler Lagrange equations in terms of the displacements
referred to any arbitrary point O and references axes OX, OY passing through
O. When the beam becomes inelastic the centroid and shear center lose their
meaning and hence these equations are more general. Upon specializing O
to be the centroid and shear center (for doubly symmetric section) and ori-
enting X, Y along the principal axes the equilibrium equations become

«o
GK'T\ $ '
Ell R
Ei;[ u'i + ^
R
R(W

K K
+ \ -{Pu'ay + {MM - -^- + -^- = Qx (15a)

EA' (pw0y {MAY i.Mxw0y

EI'A v'i + -{Pv'0y •
w0 - v0 R R R2

- (MyQ)" -
R R R

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J. Eng. Mech., 1989, 115(5): 1094-1111

 Pv
+ ( Zk* i ° i M*V° , M ^ (15ft)
^
R> fl'
Vo EIX / ' w0V l>v0 Pw0
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/?,

Wo
+ +
^^ 7T,+ rt R2 R2 R2
(15c)

£/;( «g + -
«0 .
£/:!<*>"--I + + Mxu'i - Myv'i
R

Wo
v0 +
M^ _K / ; _v t ^ /w _ (Mp,<D'y 7V»
+
* T ^ + ZJ - ^ * ' > ' " (r„)-
T?

7>0 , (7> 0 )' 7^$ Af„v0

J l + f =M„ (15d)
R R R Rl VQ + Vfo'
R

Eqs. 15(a-rf) are the generalized form of Vlasov's equations restricted to

linear elastic response. These equations can be specialized to straight thin-
walled beam equations of open cross section by substituting R to <*. These
are the same equations as obtained by Rajasekaran (1971) and Murray and
Rajasekaran (1975). Papangelis and Trahair's equations 30 and 31 (1987)
are only a particular form of Eq. 15 obtained in this paper and cannot be
viewed as generalized consistent equations.

SOLUTIONS

Inplane Buckling of Arches and Rings (Fig. 4)

For a radially loaded arch the equilibrium equations for inplane buckling
are

(16a)
R R2 R3
or
v'i + wo'
EL
R Pw0
-P\Vo + ^)+EIx[vi + ^) + = 0, (16ft)

Papangelis and Trahair (1987) have assumed for inextensional buckling w'
— v/R = 0 and simplified the equations to calculate the buckling load. Since
P - -qR = EA(w' - v/R) (see equation 28 of Papangelis and Trahair 1987)
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FIG, 4. Curved Beam Subjected to Radial Load

w' can not be assumed to be equal to v/R. Neglecting the effects of axial
displacements w0 on in-plane buckling, one gets

-PvS' + Eiy0 + ~ (iff) = 0 (17)

2
R
Assuming
/«1Tz\
v0 = A sin I — I (18)
/nV 1\
-pcr = 4* = EL(-y- --2) (19)

For a closed ring / = 2TTR and n = 4 (see Fig. 5):

3£Y, 3£7r
P cr = ^ - or qcr = — (20)

This result agrees with Vlasov (1961), Timoshenko (1961), and Chai Hang
Yoo (1984), but disagrees with Papangelis and Trahair (1987).
But for linear formulation, equation for inplane buckling may be written
as
M'
-P' + — = 0 (21)
R

where

P = EA'iw'o - - j - EA'flv'i + —) '. (22a)

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FIG. 5. Buckling of Closed Circular Ring Subjected to Radial Load

Mx = EA'y[ <-Vj\~ Elivl + ^ (22b)

Substituting for A', A'y from Eq. 14,

EL
P = EA\ w'0 - - (23a)

*K + J
Vo
Mx = -EIA v0' + (23b)
R2

Hence
M'x
-P' + — = 0 (24a)
R
Vo
w0 (24b)
R

Substituting for w'0 in E q . 16b, t h e characteristic equation is written a s ,

WIT II \\ (I /I'lr"
nV \ {2n3TT3\/EIx
-P 3 + IR2
I R^n-n + l\EIx) I3 R*
nit\ EL.
+ = 0 (25a)
I W
2 I2
R2 + nWR'
qR = -P„ = EIX (25b)
1 - +
n2jr2R2 nVR'
For the circular ring of thin-walled open cross section used by Chai Hang
Yoo (1982) Pcr = 806.5 kips, which is 8% less than that obtained by Vlasov
or Eq. 20.

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 BUCKLING SHAPE OF
FIRST MODE
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FIG. 6. Curved Beam Subjected to End Moments

Out-of-Plane Buckling of Arches in Uniform Bending

Fig. 6 shows a doubly symmetric cross section. Substituting P = 0; Mx
= M; Wa = 0; My =• 0; T^ = 0 and neglecting the contribution of Tay being
small (R sufficiently large) u0 = Bi sin (nirz//); $ = B2 sin (mrz/l) we get
equilibrium equations as
Kn Kn
{0} • (26)
K.21 K22

where
M P^r2
(27a)

EL P^r'
Ky. K7 (21b)
R R
Ml2 Pf
K-n — + P$,r2 (27c)

GKT +
P* = {21 d)

nWEL
Py = (lie)
I2

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 In these equations the values Kl2, K22 obtained by Papangelis and Trahair
(1987) agree with the values obtained here whereas equation 45a of Papan-
gelis and Trahair does not agree with Kn of Eq. 27a. The least value of Mcr
is obtained when n = 1. The characteristic equation is written as
I2 (EL + P^r2)M
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I2
1 1
IT2/?2 1V 2 /? 2 R

+ EIyP^r2 — - 1 = 0 (28)
ir2R2
Note that when the subtended angle 0 = 180; / = TTR the coefficients of
each term in the characteristic equation vanishes which proves that the semi-
circular beam will rotate about the diameter forming the ends. Hence the
values obtained by Vlasov and Thimoshenko in table 2(a) can not be viewed
correct. For other angles of 0
AT + bM + c = 0 • (29)
where
(Ely + Ptf2)
b = (30a)
R
I
c - EIyP«r2 y- - - (30&)

The two roots are

1/2
(EIy + Ps,r2) (Ely + Pj.rf , , l -*'
M„ = • (31)
2R 4R2 -EIyP^\~ —

which is same as the obtained by Vlasov (1961) whereas the values obtained
by Papangelis and Trahair (1987) are close to Vlasov but not the same as
Vlasov.
For a quarter circular beam / = TT/?/2
(EIy + P^r2) (Ely + P^r2)2 3£W 2 l l / 2

M, 2 + 2 (32)
2R AR I
The positive moment and negative moment are shown in Fig. 7(a) and 1(b),
respectively. The beam considered by Chai Hang Yoo (1984) was analyzed
for out-of-plane buckling. The critical moments obtained by various re-
searchers are given in Table 2. Rajasekaran and Ramm (1984, 1985) ideal-
ized the curve beam into nine 9-node degenerated plate/shell elements for
the top and bottom flanges and twelve 16-node degenerated plate elements
for the web portion and solved using NISA 80 (1980). Note that the critical
moments (+/—) gives out of plane buckling mode whereas (—/+) gives the
local flange buckling mode which cannot be considered in the classical anal-
ysis. The results from NISA for the ( + / - ) agree with Vlasov with an error
of 5.64%, whereas the values obtained in this analysis are in close agreement
with Vlasov as shown in Table 2. From the finite element analysis Raja-
sekaran and Ramm (1984) have already proved that Vlasov's formulation

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FIG. 7. Sign Convention for End Moments

for the member buckling of curved beams subjected to end moments is cor-
rect whereas the formulation of Chai Hang Yoo (1984) is in error. This is
confirmed by Papengelis and Trahair (1987).

Out-of-Plane Buckling of Arches in Uniform Compression

For an arch under uniform loading, there is no moment in the arch and
P = —qR. The buckling displacements will again take the same form as u

TABLE 2. Critical Moment ( - / + ) in kip • n.; 1 kip •in. = 1 1 3 N m

Subtended Angle
Researchers 10 30 50 90 180
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
(a) Critical moment (—/+) in kip'in.
Vlasov (1961) 5,221 11,121 17,661 31,135 61,820
Timoshenko (1961) 4,961 10,973 17,564 31,079 61,791
Chai Hang Yoo (1984) 3,058 2,999 2,862 2,352 0
Rajasekaran and Ramm 12,298 Local flange buckling
(1984) 15,854 Local web buckling
34,626 Member buckling
Papangelis and Trahair
(1987) 5,225 11,126 17,668 31,145 61,838
This paper 5,225 11,125 17,475 31,155 0
(b) Critical moment (+/—)
Vlasov 1,878 818 489 225 0
Timoshenko 1,529 674 400 184 0
Chai Hang Yoo 3,041 2,949 2,784 2,238 0
Rajasekaran and Ramm 313
Papangelis and Trahair 1,781 795 451 169 0
This paper 1,878 818 489 226 0

1107

J. Eng. Mech., 1989, 115(5): 1094-1111

 B, sin (nirz/l); <J>0 = B2 sin (mrz/l). The equilibrium equation is written

^ u K12
= {0} • (33)
K2\ K22
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in which

/V2
Ku = P + P, + (34a)

P<s,rl
^12 — (34b)

K22 = (P + P*>2 + -^7- (34c)

^ n and ^T12 are the same as those obtained in Eq. 50 of Papengelis and
Trahair (1987) but differ in the K22 term of Eq. 34c. The characteristic equa-
tion is written as
P2 + bP + c 0 • (35)
where
I + r'
b = Px I + - TT4R2r: + P^ (36a)
~pT

c = PvP,i,[ I - (36fc)

-b ± (b2 - Aac) 1/2

P = (36c)

When R -> 00 the critical load for the straight beam will be
* rr •* V) * cr -* <I . (37)

For low values of a = //IT R — 0; qR approaches the least of Py and P®

and for a = 1 (for semicircular beam) c = 0
P(P + b) = 0 or P =0 or P = -b , (38)
which confirms that zero buckling load corresponding to a rigid body ro-
tation about the diameter of the semicircle.

Out-of-Plane Buckling of Rings in Uniform Compression

When complete ring buckles in four half waves (n = 4 and / = 2TT/?); P
for the closed ring (for the thin-walled cross section given by Chai Hang
Yoo 1985) the buckling load Pcr is obtained as
P„ = 38.0 kips :. 0 9 )
This agrees with the value of equation 52 of Papengelis and Trahair (1987).
For 90° arch assuming n = I Pcr = 1.2 which is very close to the value of
0.95 obtained by Timoshenko (1961).

1108

J. Eng. Mech., 1989, 115(5): 1094-1111

 CONCLUDING REMARKS

A systematic technique for the derivation of thin-walled curved beam

equations using the principle of virtual work is presented based on the as-
sumptions normally associated with thin-walled beam theory. Vlasov has
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substituted the curvature terms of the thin walled curved beam in the thin-
walled straight beam equilibrium equations whereas Chai Hang Yoo substi-
tuted the curvature terms of the thin-walled curved beam in the potential
expression of the thin-walled straight beam to get the equations for the curved
beam. Even Papengelis and Trahair's (1987) derivation are also not based
on first principles since nonlinear terms are obtained by considering the de-
formed shape to be in equilibrium. There is always a possibility of omission
of certain terms in such approach as indicated in this paper. In this paper it
has been demonstrated that the expression for equilibrium equations arise in
a completely natural way from the nonlinear terms of the strain-displacement
equations for virtual strains. This approach to the derivation and the asso-
ciated physical interpretation is precisely associated with the "geometric
stiffness" (or stability) matrices which arise in finite element continuum for-
mulations. Inclusion of these nonlinear terms eliminates the necessity of going
through rather complex and seemingly adhoc visualizations required to ac-
count for changes in geometry, when attempting to formulate beam equilib-
rium equations from free body diagrams.
In summary the formulation technique presented in this paper leads di-
rectly to the open thin-walled curved beam equations which are independent
of constitutive relation and for which the nature of approximation is clearly
evident. Based on the equations derived in this paper a new curved beam
finite element could be developed. Since there are always imperfections present,
a realistic analysis would be to carry out the nonlinear load-deflection re-
sponse.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writers thank the Management of P.S.G. Institutions and Dr. A. Shan-
mugasundaram, principal, P.S.G. College of Technology for giving facilities
to the writers to carry out the research work. This research work is a part
of the continued research work in the field of thin walled curved beams of
open cross section at P.S.G. College of Technology funded by the Aero-
nautical Research and Development Board.

APPENDIX I. REFERENCES

Chai Hang Yoo. (1982). "Flexural torsional stability of curved beams." J. Engrg.
Mech. Div., ASCE, 108(6), 1351-1369.
Hafner, L., et al. (1980). "Nonlinear structural analysis—NISA 80, program doc-
umentation." Institut fur Baustatik, Univ. of Stuttgart, W. Germany.
Murray, D. W., and Rajasekaran, S. (1975). "Technique for formulating beam equa-
tions." J. Engrg. Mech. Div., ASCE, 101(5), 561-573.
Papangelis, J. P., and Trahair, N. S. (1987). "Flexural torsional buckling of arches."
J. Struct. Engrg., ASCE, 113(4), 889-906.
Padmanabhan, S. (1984). "Analysis of thin-walled curved beams of open cross sec-
tion," thesis submitted to the Bharathiar University in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering.
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 Rajasekaran, S. (1971). "Finite element analysis of thin-walled members of open
section." Structural Engineering Report No. 34, Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of
Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Rajasekaran, S., and Ramm, E. (1984). Discussion of "Flexural-torsional stability
of curved beams." by Chai Hang Yoo. J. Engrg. Mech., ASCE, 110(1), 144-
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by UNB - Universidade de Brasilia on 03/09/23. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

148.
Rajasekaran, S., and Ramm, E. (1985). "Local and member stability of thin-walled
straight and curved beams of open section." Proc. 2d Int. Conf. Computer Aided
Analysis and Design in Civil Engineering, Roorkee, India.
Timoshenko, S. P. (1961). Theory of elastic stability. McGraw-Hill, New York,
N.Y.
Usami, T., and Koh, S. Y. (1980). "Large displacement theory of thin-walled curved
members and its application to lateral torsional buckling analysis of circular arches."
J. Solids and Struct., 16, 71-95.
Vlasov, V. Z. (1961). Thin-walled elastic beams. 2d ed., Israel Program for Sci-
entific Translation, Jerusalem.

APPENDIX II. NOTATION

The following symbols are used in this paper:

A = cross-sectional area;
A' = modified cross-sectional area;
A'Y = modified first moment of area about x axis;
A'X = modified first moment of area about y axis;
d = depth of the cross section;
E = modulus of elasticity;
G = rigidity modulus;
Ii = modified sectorial moment of inertia;
II, I'y = modified moments of inertia about x and y axes, respec-
tively;
KT = St. Venant torsional constant of the section;
/ = arc length of the arch;
Mx, My = bending moments about x and y axes, respectively;
M* = stress resultant defined as in Eq. 9;
Mx, M'y = modified bending moments about x and y axes;
n = number of buckled half sine waves;
n = normal coordinate at any point on the contour;
O = arbitrary reference point;
P = axial force;
P„ = critical load;
P4, = torsional buckling load;
Py = Euler bucklin load;
qx = uniformly distributed load in x direction;
qy = uniformly distributed load in y direction;
q2 = uniformly distributed load in z direction;
q = uniformly distributed radical load;
R = initial radius of arch center line;
r = radial coordinate;
S*x S«,y = sectorial moments about x and y axes;
s — tangential coordinate along the contour;
t = thickness of the thin walled section;
Tx, Ty = stress resultants defined in Eq. 12;

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 u„ Me, H2 = displacements in r, 0 , z directions;
u, v, w = displacements in x, y , z directions;
Wm = bimoment;
x, y , z = coordinate axes of the reference point O;
y = shear strain;
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e = axial strain;
0 = angle subtended by arch;
Qx 0 V 0 2 = rotations of the section about x, y , z axes;
X. = critical load factor;
cr = normal stress;
T = shear stress;
<£> = twist of the cross section; and
ca = normalized warping coordinate.

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