Dynamic Stiffness Matrix for a Beam Element with Shear Deformation

Abstract

A method for calculating the dynamic transfer and stiffness matrices for a straight Timoshenko shear beam is presented. The method is applicable to beams with arbitrarily shaped cross sections and places no restrictions on the orientation of the element coordinate system axes in the plane of the cross section. These new matrices are needed because, for a Timoshenko beam with an arbitrarily shaped cross section, deflections due to shear in the two perpendicular planes are coupled even when the coordinate axes are chosen to be parallel to the principal axes of inertia.