NONLINEAR-ANALYSIS OF ORTHOTROPIC BEAMS OF SOLID CROSS-SECTIONS

The paper presents a nonlinear formulation and a finite-differences based numerical solution for the structural behavior of generic orthotropic beams of solid cross-sections. The analysis includes a detailed description of the three-dimensional out-of-plane warping and the solution is achieved by successive iterations while preserving all geometrical nonlinearities. The axial body forces are introduced consistently through the axial differential equilibrium equation. The formulation yields some basic closed-form analytic solutions for homogeneous beams, and the numerical results provide an insight into the coupling effects mechanisms in generic laminated composite beams, including the resulting interlaminar stresses.