Stiffness Analysis of Thin‐Walled Girders
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 112, Issue 6
Abstract
For complex arrangements of thin‐walled girders a generalized method of analysis is required that is suitable for rapid solution by computer. A method of elastic analysis based on a stiffness approach, is proposed which is equally applicable to straight and curved girders of thin‐walled cross section. For straight girders, the member stiffness matrix is derived explicitly by inverting the appropriate member flexibility matrix and considering equilibrium of the member ends. The member stiffness matrix for curved girders is obtained by the same method but in numerical form due to the extreme complexity of the various terms. By transforming individual member stiffness matrices into system co‐ordinates, a system stiffness matrix is established, whose inversion leads directly to a global solution for the structure. In this type of analysis uniformly distributed flexural and torsional loads must be applied as fixed‐ends loads at the nodes. These are derived for both straight and curved girders. In addition, the distribution of bimoment is presented graphically for a variety of typical beam cross sections.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 112 • Issue 6 • June 1986
Pages: 1366 - 1384
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 ASCE.
History
Published online: Jun 1, 1986
Published in print: Jun 1986
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