0045-7949(95)00302-9

Compulers & SIrucrures Vol. 59, No. 4, pp. 64-655, 1996 Copyright 0 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed m Great Britain. All rights reserved 0045.7949196 $I 5.00 + 0.00

AUTOMATIC

ANALYSIS

OF MULTICELL SECTIONS

THIN-WALLED

G. Alfanot,
TDipartimento SIstituto di Scienza

F. Marotti de Sciarra$ and L. Rosatit

di Ingegneria

delle Costruzioni, Facolta di Ingegneria, Universita di Napoli Federico II, 80125 Piazzale Tecchio, Napoli, Italia Civile ed Energetica, Facolta di Ingegneria, Universita di Reggio Calabria, Via Cuzzocrea 48, Reggio Calabria, Italia (Received 6 October 1994)

procedure is outlined for the determination of the shear centre and the evaluation of the overall state of stress in multicell thin-walled sections subject to axial force, bending moment, shearing force and torque. Graph theory is shown to be the rationale to establish a topological model of the section which is preliminary to a computer implementation of the shear stress analysis. Specifically, we exploit the main features of the Depth-First-Search graph algorithm in order to automatically determine a number of independent circuits equal to the degree of connection m of the section. The algorithm also localize the m slits which make the section open, a preliminary step for the analysis of multicell sections subject to a shearing force. Further, the evaluation of the first elastic area moment at any point of the open section is addressed by means of the Open-Section-Cut algorithm elaborated in this

Abstract-An automatic

paper. The outlined procedure entails a considerable simplification of the analysis, since the geometrical data which need to be assigned are only the strictly necessary ones, namely the coordinates of the vertices,
the branches connecting them and their thickness. A numerical example, carried out for a ships hull by means of a computer program written in MATHEMATICA, shows the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

1. INTRODUCTION

The linear elastic analysis of thin-walled multicell sections subject to shearing force and torque is of considerable interest in structural engineering. Actually such an issue is common to the analysis of many significant structural schemes such as box girders, airplane fuselages or wings and ship hulls. Although elastic analysis of thin-walled sections is based upon well established methods [l-7], it is undoubted that its computer implementation turns out to be rather involved for multicell sections. Actually it is necessary to exploit an algorithm that allows us to operate on the section in a way which is independent of its particular form, the numeration of its vertices and upon its degree of connection. For instance, to accomplish the analysis of a multicell thin-walled section subject to a shearing force, the designer has first to define the cells of the section and to introduce the unknown redundant shear flows at the slits which make the section open. Such operations, besides being tedious and time consuming, can be performed in a completely subjective way and hence they seem to be inadequate for implementation in a computer code. Moreover, particularly in the early stages of design, even the topology of the section can be subject to successive phases of optimization in such a way that the input data need to be updated continuously. For these reasons an automatic procedure has been
641

implemented for the calculus of the stress field and of the shear centre for multicell sections. It is shown that the geometrical input data of the section can be reduced to the strictly necessary ones: nodes and their co-ordinates in a given reference frame, and equations of the branches and their thickness. All information concerning the topology of the section such as the assignment of the cells can be avoided, thus enhancing the features of the procedure contributed by Maceri [8] for the automatic analysis of thin-walled multicell sections subject to torque. The approach proposed in Ref. [8] is further generalized in our paper so as to determine, within the same computational framework, the shear stresses due to a shearing force and the shear centre of the section. To this end some basic concepts of graph theory [9] are introduced, since a multicell section, eventually supplied with open branches, can be conceived as a non-oriented graph defined by vertices and edges which are coincident, respectively, with the nodes and the branches of the section. All geometric information necessary to evaluate the shear field can be automatically obtained by exploiting the main features of two graph algorithms: the Depth-First-Search algorithm (DFS) due to Tarjan [lo] and the Open-Section-Cut algorithm (OSC) specifically developed in this paper for the analysis of multicell sections subject to a shearing force.

642

G. Alfano

et al.

Essentially the DFS allows one to successfully address the two main issues relevant to the automatic shear stress analysis of multicell thin-walled sections: first to determine a number of independent circuits equal to the degree of connection m of the section; second to find out an automatic procedure able to introduce exactly m fictitious slits in the section so as to make it open. The first result is achieved since the DFS partitions the edges of the graph in two disjoint sets, termed palms and fronds, and a one-to-one correspondence is established between the set of fronds and the set of independent circuits. Second, the DFS defines at the end points of each frond the fictitious slits which make the section open. In addition the DFS allows us to automatically assemble the topological matrix of the section [S] entering the linear system whose solution provides the shear flows in the circuits. With reference to the shear stress analysis due to a shearing force, an additional problem has to be solved for the open section obtained by the DFS. Actually, it is necessary to evaluate the first elastic area moment, with respect to the elastic centroid, of one of the two complementary portions of the section resulting from a cut at an arbitrary point. Such a problem is solved by means of the OSC which determines the edges belonging to one of the two complementary portions of the section. Finally, to evaluate the equivalent stress at any point of the section, formulas for the normal stress distribution due to an axial force and a bending moment are also provided. The outlined procedure has been implemented in a computer program written in MATHEMATICA. For a given section subject to an axial force, a bending moment, a torque and a shearing force the program automatically determines the stress distributions, the value of the maximum equivalent stress and where it is attained. A numerical example is finally carried out for the hull of the transatlantic ship France [7].

viewed as a connected graph. Accordingly, nodes and branches of the section can be referred to as vertices and edges when considering the relevant description according to the graph theory. Hence, in order to make the paper reasonably self-contained, we briefly introduce some standard definitions of graph theory [9] which will be referred to in the description of the DFS algorithm employed for the automatic stress analysis. The reader more interested solely in the structural applications of the DFS algorithm can then skip this section. 2.1. Basic dejinitions of graph theory A graph Q = (V, E) consists of a set of elements v = {L?, , v2, } called vertices and a set of objects E = {e, , es, } called edges such that an unordered pair {v, , L>}is associated with each edge ek. These sets can in general be not finite but we will consider only finite ones. The vertices u, and v, associated with the edge ek are called the end vertices of ek When v, is an end vertex of an edge ep, v, and e, are said to be incident with each other. Two vertices incident with the same edge are said to be adjacent. Two edges connecting the same end vertices are said parallel. A graph 9 is said to be a subgraph of a graph Q if all the vertices and all the edges of 9 belong to 9, and each edge of Y has the same end vertices as in 9. The easiest way to represent a graph is to use points for the vertices and lines (not necessarily straight) for the edges. Hence, an edge ekr joining two vertices v, and v,, will be represented by a line that connects the points associated with the vertices (Fig. la). A graph 3 is said to be directed of an ordered pair (u,, v,) is associated with each edge. In this case the edge is said to be oriented from ~1,to v, which are called, respectively, the first and the second end vertex of the edge. An example of the graph and of a related directed one is sketched in Fig. la,b. In the sequel, an edge ek incident with the vertices v, and a, will be denoted by (ek]a,. v,) if it is not oriented, and by (ek]v,+C,) if it is oriented from u, to 2;. A walk is defined as a finite sequence of oriented edges such that the first end vertex of each edge coincides with the second one of the previous edge,

2. APPLICATIONS OF GRAPH THEORY TO MULTICELL THIN-WALLEDSECTIONS The main motivation for this section arises from the fact that a multicell thin-walled section can be

(a)
Fig. 1. (a) Undirected graph, (b) a related directed graph.

Automatic

analysis

of multicell

thin-walled

sections

643

((bll-

2),(e 12-4)&A 4-l)& is an open walk (4

I l-3))

{(c 14-l),(aI

1-3),(d

I3- 4),(f 14-2),(e

12-4))

is a closed walk

@>
Fig. 2. (a) Open walk, (b) closed walk in a graph.

if there is any, and no edge appears more than once (Fig. 2). If the second end vertex of the last edge in the walk coincides with the first end vertex of the first edge, the walk is said to be closed, otherwise it is said to be open. It is assumed as positive direction of the walk the one which is consistent with the orientation of each edge, i.e. the one for which the first end vertex of each edge precedes the second one. A path is an open walk in which no vertex appears more than twice in the array denoting the walk. A circuit is a closed walk which is also a path (Fig. 3). A graph C4 is said to be connected if there is at least a path between every pair of vertices of S. The degree of connection of a graph is the maximum number of edges that can be eliminated without making the graph disconnected. If the degree of

connection

is equal to 1 the graph is said to be simply graph without any circuits.

connected. A tree is a connected

2.2. Depth-First-Search

(DFS) algorithm

In order to perform the automatic analysis of the shear stress distribution in multicell thin-walled sections subject to a shearing force or a torque, two main issues need to be addressed. First, a number of independent circuits equal to the degree of connection m of the section must be determined; secondly, an automatic procedure is needed to introduce exactly m slits in order to make the section open. It will be shown that a solution to both problems is fully provided by the Depth-First-Search algorithm (DFS) contributed by Tarjan [lo]. Essentially the DFS is a powerful technique of systematically traversing the edges of a given graph

a ((a l3-l),(c 11-4),(e is a path (a)

Fig. 3. (a) Path, (b) circuit in a graph.

14-2))

((al3-1),(cI l-4),(d14-3)) is a circuit @I

644

G. Alfano et al. processed so as to determine incident with each vertex. the set of the edges

such that every edge is traversed and each vertex is visited at least once. It is evident that for answering almost any nontrivial question about a given graph ~9 we must examine every edge and every vertex of B at least once. For example, before declaring a graph 9 to be disconnected we must have looked at every edge in 9; for otherwise it might happen that the one edge we had decided to ignore could have made the graph connected. The basic idea of the DFS is to traverse the graph by moving from a vertex 13to an adjacent one as soon as possible through an untraversed edge, even if there are still edges incident with ~1 that remain untraversed for the time being. When we arrive at a vertex which has been visited before, a circuit is determined in the graph. We then have to come back, through the walk just traced, to a vertex with untraversed edges incident with it and to restart the search. The procedure stops when there are no more vertices with untraversed edges incident with them. Notice that. everytime we move from a vertex 2: to another one $1 along an edge e,, we automatically orient ek from o to w. Hence, at the end of the process, we have transformed the given undirected graph into a directed one. It is worth noting that the DFS by itself does not reveal properties of a given graph 9, except whether or not 9 is connected. What it does, however, is to partition the edges in two disjoints sets, palms and fronds, determined as follows: at the beginning of the algorithm palms and fronds are two empty sets; every time we traverse an edge we add it to palms if we arrive at a not already visited vertex, otherwise we add the edge to fronds. Hence, a frond detects a circuit since we have reached an already visited vertex. In this way, after performing the DFS, the set palms defines a tree which contains all vertices of the graph and a one-to-one correspondence is established between the circuits and the fronds, their number being equal to the degree of connection of the graph. Further the section can be made open by introducing a slit at the end point of each frond. A complete answer is thus provided to the two main issues of the automatic shear stress analysis. We now give an accurate description of the algorithm employing the following terminology. The degree of connection of the graph, originally unknown, is denoted by m, while circuits are m arrays determined by the algorithm. We shall refer to an auxiliary array of variable dimension as stack. The elements of both stack and circuits will be oriented edges, that is of the type (ala-+w). Let Q be a given connected and undirected graph assigned by its vertices and its edges. Let t be the number of edges of B and x be the chosen vertex, referred to as root, from which the search is to begin. The input data are further

Step I-Set palms = 8, fronds = 8, stack = ( ), i.e. an empty array, m = 0, j = 1. All the vertices are initialized as unvisited and all the edges as untraversed. Set r = x and go to next step. Step 2-Label step. v as visited and go to next

Step 3-Look for an untraversed edge incident with v. (a) If there is no such edge, i.e. if every edge incident with t has already been traversed, go to step 6, otherwise: (b) Pick an untraversed edge incident with v, say (alv,w), and traverse it. Orient the edge from t to M getting (alv --+vv) and label it as traversed. Now you are at vertex w. Go to next step. Step 4(a) If w is unvisited, add the edge (alv +w) to the set pulms and at the last position of the array stuck. Set v = w and go to step 2. (b) If u is visited, add edge (a 1 v +w) to the set fronds and go to step 5. Step S-Set circuit j = (a Iv +w), m = j and k = 0. Denote with s the length of stuck, i.e. the number of edges that form the array stack. (a) Add the edge at the position (s -k) of stack to the first position of circuit j and go to (b). (b) If this edge begins at w then set j = j + 1 and go to step 3, otherwise set k = k + 1 and go back to (a). Step 6(a) If stack # 8 remove its last edge, say (blu+u) which has been traversed to arrive at v. Move back to u, set v = u and go to step 3. (b) If stack = 8, stop (you are back at root x, having traversed every vertex connected to x). For future convenience we further assemble an m x t matrix S, referred to as topological matrix, by assigning to the element S, the value 1 if the jth edge belongs to the ith circuit and the value 0 in

Automatic analysis of multicell thin-walled sections

645

(a)
C.-W--.. palms fro&s

(b)

Fig. 4. (a) A graph, (b) the relevant partitioning in palms and fronds.

the opposite case. Hence, the ith row of S defines the edges which belong to the ith circuit, while the jth column defines the circuits which the jth edge belongs to.

and the corresponding

topological abcdefg

matrix

is:

circuit 1 S= circuit 2 circuit 3 circuit 4

1111000 1110100 0110010 1100001

2.3. Application of thin-wailed sections

DFS

algorithm

to multicell

We now illustrate an example of application of DFS to the multicell section of Fig. 4a where, for the sake of clearness, edges have been denoted by letters. The given section, conceived as an undirected graph, is transformed by the DFS in the directed graph of Fig. 4b, where the sets of palms and fronds are also marked. We explicitly remark that the circuits determined by the algorithm do not coincide with the physical cells of the section; further the edges constituting each circuit clearly depend on the numeration of vertices and edges adopted to input the given section. For instance, with reference to the numeration adopted in Fig. 4a, the circuits determined by DFS are (Fig. 4b):

Note that the columns corresponding to the fronds contain only one element different from 0 and that a one-to-one correspondence does exist between the set of the fronds and the set of the circuits. Further the circulation sense along each circuit is given, by definition, by the positive direction of the relevant edges. 2.4. Open-Section-Cut algorithm

(1) {(all-2), (bl2+3), (~13-4) (dl4-*1)} (2) {(ail-+2), @P-+3), (cl3-+4), (el4+l)j (3) ((bl2~3),(~13~4),(fl4~2)} (4) ((al1~2),(bl2-r3),(gl3-tl)}

The shear stress analysis of a multicell thin-walled section subject to a shearing force requires one to deal with an open section obtained from the given one by introducing exactly m slits, m being the degree of connection of the section. Such slits are introduced by the DFS at the points of the fronds immediately before their second end vertex, i.e. the points which connect each frond with the first vertex of the univocally associated circuit. Accordingly the multicell section can be represented as in Fig. 5a where the slits are explicitly illustrated.

(4

(b)

Fig. 5. (a) Open graph corresponding to fronds in Fig. 4b, (b) the determination of the edges preceding (c1344).

646

G. Alfano et al. co-ordinates of its nodes, by the equations of the branches and their thickness; notice that this is the minimal set of geometrical data to be assigned in order to perform the overall analysis. Denoting by t the number of branches, by n the number of nodes, and by m the number of cells of the section, these quantities are related by the well known formula [7]: m+n=t+l. (1)

A further item needs however to be addressed for the analysis of multicell sections subject to a shearing force. Actually, at an arbitrary curvilinear abscissa, it is necessary to determine the first elastic area moment, with respect to the elastic centroid of the whole section, of one of the two portions of the section on one side of the abscissa. In this respect we recall that the graph Q resulting from the DFS is simply connected so that every abscissa determines two complementary parts of the graph, say 9; and 9;. We assume ??; to be the one which contains the first end vertex of the edge to be eliminated. In order to evaluate the first elastic area moment, it is then sufficient to automatically determine the set of edges, denoted by &, for which both end vertices belong to 9;. Such set is provided by the Open-Section-Cut algorithm (OSC) specifically developed in this paper. Let us now illustrate the details of the OSC algorithm. Let (kJv -+z) be the edge that we eliminate. Set d= 8. Initialize each edge as untraversed except the edge k and go to next step. Step l(a) Look for an untraversed edge whose first end vertex is v. If there is such an edge, say (alv -+Pv), go to step 2, otherwise: (b) Look for an edge in palms whose second end vertex is v. If there is such an edge, say (blu +v) go to step 3. In the opposite case stop the search because you have collected all the edges belonging to &. the edge to d and label it as If (a(v -+w) belongs to palms set v = w. Go to step 1.
traversed.

The material is assumed to be linearly elastic. E,, and G, denote, respectively, a reference Young and shear modulus, E and G are the Young and the shear moduli, variable with the point of the section, and nE = E/E,, and n, = G/G, are two dimensionless coefficients. Furthermore, we will denote by c the centre line of the entire section and by ck the centre line of the kth branch. A curvilinear co-ordinate system {O,, s} for each branch is introduced with 0, coincident with one of the nodes incident with the branch. Hence a point of the centre line will be identified by the index of the branch to which it belongs and by its co-ordinate s. Accordingly, we shall denote by 6(k, s) the thickness of the k th branch at the point with co-ordinate s, and by d(k, s) the unit vector tangent to the centre line at the same point, oriented in the direction of increasing s. 3.1. Stresses
due to axial force and bending moment

Step 2-Add

Step 3-If the edge is untraversed add it to d and label it as traversed. Set v = u and go to step 1. In Fig. 5 an application of OSC to the graph of Fig. 4 is shown. The edge to be eliminated is (~13-4) and d is denoted by heavy lines.

Although the results presented in this section are well-known, we briefly report them since they enter the evaluation of the equivalent stress whose maximum value has to be found in the case of combined loadings. Further we introduce the expression of the flexibility tensor of the section Cr which is needed for the evaluation of the shear stress distribution due to a shearing force. Let us denote by G the elastic centroid of the section. Its position is provided by the formula:

G-o=J~

n,(P

- 0) dA

s
A

(2)

nE dA

3. ANALYSIS

OF THIN-WALLED

MULTICELL

SECTIONS

The aim of this section is to evaluate the stress distribution for a multicell thin-walled section subject to axial force, bending moment, shear force and torque. In the sequel we shall deal with a generic multicell thin-walled section in the well known meaning [3,4,6]. Assuming for the section on orthogonal co-ordinate system with an arbitrary point 0 as origin, the geometry of the section is defined by the

where P is the generic point of the section. The position vector P - G with respect to the elastic centroid will be denoted by r. According to the classical kinematic hypothesis of Bernoulli-Navier, we assume that the cross-sections remain plane after deformation. The constant axial deformation eN of the section due to the axial force N, applied in the elastic centroid, is given by

Automatic analysis of multicell thin-walled sections where

647

A,=E, sA

nE(r) dA

(4)

In the first approach the unknowns are the values of the flows in the t branches and the rate of twist 0. According to the relation (1) the unknowns can be determined by writing m -t n equations. They are provided by: (a) the n - 1 equilibrium equations

is the elastic area of the section and A is its geometric area. The flexural curvature xr due to the bending moment M, is expressed in the form [l l] or = Cr(k x Mr), (5) where fk is the flow in the k th branch and YP denotes the set of indices corresponding to the branches incident with the nodep; (b) the equilibrium equation for the entire section about an arbitrary point Q:

where k is the unit normal to the section and the symbol x denotes the axial product. Further Cr denotes the deformability tensor of the section, i.e. the inverse of the second elastic area moment J

hds=M,,

(10)

J = E,,

nE(r) r@r dA

where h is the distance from Q of the tangent to the generic point of the centre line and MT is the applied torque; (c) the m equations of compatibility 6(s) ds, (6) f(s)~=2G,tYA, G i=l,2 ,..., m, (11)

= E,, r G(S) r(s)@+)

where @ denotes the tensor product and, for simplicity, we have dropped the index of the generic branch. The same assumption will be made in the sequel when no confusion can arise. An explicit expression of J for a polygonal thinwalled section is provided in the appendix. Note that J turns out to be positive definite unless the centre line is a unique straight segment and hence the tensor Cr= J- can be easily computed. The axial deformation corresponding to xf turns out to be tz(r) = xr. r = Cf(k x M,) r, (7)

where the dot denotes the scalar product. Finally the normal stress at the point r is given by

;+C,(kxM,).r 3.2. Torsion

1 (8)
.

Let us now address the analysis of a multicell thin-walled section subject to uniform torsion, We first consider a section without appendices, i.e. branches not belonging to any cell. Different solutions to this classical problem have been presented in the literature [l, 2,7, 121. In order to point out the advantages of the procedure proposed in this paper, we briefly recall two solution techniques which can be found in the textbooks of structural mechanics. As usual in closed thin-walled sections the shear stress T is assumed to be constant alonn the thickness of each branch and directed along the-tangent to the centre line. Hence, the flow f = r6 is constant in each branch.

where c, denotes the centre line that defines the ith cell and A, is the area enclosed by ci. Each term on the left-hand side of eqn (10) is positive or negative whether or not the positive direction assumed for the flow fk determines a moment with respect to Q consistent with the one assumed for MT. The linear problem governed by eqns (9)<11) has a non symmetric matrix which can turn out to be ill-conditioned [S]. A more convenient approach amounts to assuming as unknowns m independent flows acting in each cell and the rate of twist [4]. The flow in each branch is then provided by the algebraic sum of all the flows acting in the cells to which the branch belongs. In this way the equilibrium eqn (9) is implicitly satisfied and the t + 1 unknowns can be determined on account of eqns (10) and (11). A computer implementation of this approach has been first contributed by Maceri [8]. Its procedure is futher generalized in this paper and extended to the determination of the stress field due to a shearing force. Let us then introduce the following symbols:

where lk is the length of the kth branch. eqn (10) can be written as

Accordingly,

(13)

648 and eqn (11) becomes

G. Alfano et al. does not contain negative entries since the generic S,, simply records if the jth edge belongs to the ith circuit. Further the topological matrix needs no more to be assigned by the designer, but it is automatically built up by the algorithm. Once the flows qi have been determined, the flow in each branch is obtained by summing up the flows of the circuits which contain the given branch, without taking care of any sign. The flows qt can be determined following the same procedure outlined in Ref. [8]. To this end we introduce an m x m symmetric matrix P whose entries are

,L

fJ,

= 2G00Ai

i = 1,2,. . , m,

(14)

where J%~ collects the indices of the branches belonging to the ith cell. We then have to solve a system of m + 1 equations which, for the section with a high degree of connection, is by far less then t + 1. The procedure developed in Ref. [8] requires in addition to input a topological matrix S, whose generic entry S, is defined as follows: if the jth edge does not belong to the ith cell S, is set 0; otherwise S, is set + 1 or - 1 whether or not the positive direction of the jth flow coincides with the positive direction of the cell (clockwise or counterclockwise). For instance, assuming as positive direction for the flows the one defined by the arrows of Fig. 6 and a counterclockwise orientation for the cells, the relevant topological matrix S, would be a cell 1 S,= cell 2 cell 3 cell 4 0 -1 0 1 bcde 1100 0 001 -10 0 0 0 -1 100 0 0 1 fg 10 -1 0

,gA 1, i=j

If=

C
(kd,,

lk i #j L

(15)

where 4, and N, collect, respectively, the indices of the branches belonging to the ith circuit and the indices of the branches belonging both to the ith and to the jth circuit. Accordingly, eqn (14) can be rewritten as follows:

,=I

Yy,q, = 2GoBA,

i=l,2

,...,

m.

(16)

It is then apparent that a considerable amount of data needs to be provided in addition to ones which are strictly required to univocally define the topology of the section. It is needless to say that the burden can be substantial for sections with a high degree of connection, typical of aeronautical or naval applications, and when the topology of the section is subject to successive optimizations as in the early stages of design. A different approach is thus followed in our paper, while retaining the conceptual significance of the topological matrix and its use in the determination of the shear stress field. Actually, we assume as unknowns the flows q, pertinent to the circuits determined by the DFS. Recall that the circuits do not necessarily coincide with the cells of the section and that their circulation sense is defined by the positive direction of the relevant edges. Such a direction is automatically determined by the DFS so that the topological matrix

The consistency of the flow qi with the applied torque is recorded through the area A, which is assumed positive or negative whether or not the circulation sense of the ith circuit (clockwise or counterclockwise) is the same as the positive direction assumed for the torque. A useful formula for the automatic determination of A, and of the relevant sign is reported in the appendix. In order to express the equilibrium eqn (10) in terms of qi we write

(17)

where Yk denotes the set of the indices of the circuits containing the kth branch. Accordingly the left-hand side of eqn (10) can be rewritten as follows:

Grouping the terms pertaining to the same circuit, we immediately verify that the expression above can also be written as

h ds = 2 qi 1 i=l ke.X, Fig. 6. Positive direction of flows in cells.

s ck

h ds = $ q,
i=l

h ds,

(18)

Automatic analysis of multicell thin-walled sections where ci denotes Noting that the centre line of the ith circuit. we finally get the linear system of equations

649

h ds = 2A,,

(19)

The matrix

P is invertible

by virtue of:

the equilibrium

eqn (10) can be written

in the form

2 f q,A,= MT,
r=,

(20)

Proposition. The matrix P = SAST is symmetric and positive definite. Proof. The proof of the symmetry is trivial. In order to prove the positive definiteness of !P we observe that

which represents a generaIized$rst Bredt formuIa. The evaluation of 0 and of the flows qi can be accomplished independently by defining the flows 4,

(21)
so that eqn (16) becomes

(22)
The coefficient matrix !P of the linear system above can be given by a more compact expression by introducing a t x t diagonal matrix A whose generic entry Akk is equal to 1,. To this end we note that

A being positive definite, the relation above does hold if and only if ij does not belong to the kernel of S[13]. Recall that a one-to-one correspondence does exist between the set of the fronds and the set of circuits. Notice also that the vector STij collects the flows in the branches of the section so that, if iZj # 0, ST4 is different from 0 since we get at least a non zero flow in one of the fronds. After solving eqn (28) the rate of twist 8 is provided, by means of eqns (20) and (21), by the following formula:

,,=MT.
The torsional given by stiffness

4Goij - A K, of the section

(30)

(SA syo =

k=l

is thus

1, s, S,)

(23)

where S is the topological matrix defined in the DFS and the superscript T denotes transposition. Actually the generic element S,S, of the sum above is given by 1 0 ifkE.&Y, ifk$Ai (24)

(31)

s, s, =

and 1 0 ifkEJIrU ifk$Mii

s, s, =

for i #j.

(25)

which stands as a generalized second Bredt formula. w Section with appendices-the analysis of a multicell section supplied with appendices, that is branches not belonging to any cell, does not present particular difficulties. Let us denote by S, the portion of the section collecting all the appendices and by S, the closed section resulting from the elimination of S,. Moreover let K, be the torsional stiffness of S, given by eqn (31) and KZ the one of S, provided by the well-known formula

Hence,

recalling

definition

(15), we can write

Y = SAS. Introducing the vectors 4 and A defined by

(26)

n,6ds,

(32)

4=

I9
(27)

where d collects the indices of the branches belonging to S,. If MT is the torque acting on the given section, the shares acting on S, and on S, are

K, MT, = -MT

K, + KZ

MT2= -MT. K, + K2

K2

(33)

650

G. Alfano et al. which both end vertices belong to 9;. Collecting branches in the set & we thus have: such

Thus, by means of eqns (3lH33) it is possible to find the flows in S, and then the shear stresses. The maximum shear stress in a branch of S, at the co-ordinate s is given by

Go(k)

=Eo

1
bed

z(s) = 3.3. Shearing force

g$p(s).
I

s
Ch

dh,

s) r(h, s) W, s) ds,

The prominence of the approach exploited in the previous section is further substantiated by the possibility of casting, within the same computational framework, the shear stress analysis due to a shearing force. In this respect we briefly recall the formulas providing the shear stress due to a shearing force in the case of an open section.

where c,, denotes the centre line of the h th branch. The automatic determination of d is performed by means of the OSC (see Subsection 2.4) with reference to the kth branch of the section.

3.3.1. Shearing stresses for open sections. We shall employ the usual assumption according to which the shear stress is uniform over the thickness of each branch and directed along d(s)

z(s) = cd(s),

(35)

where q,, denotes the shear flow. The relation between the shearing force t and the shear flow qO(s) is provided by the equilibrium equation [ 141

40(s) =
where Cr is the Subsection 3.1;

-v

so(s),
tensor defined

(36) in

deformability

3.3.2. Shearing stresses for multicell sections. In the case of multicell sections, the equilibrium eqn (36) is no longer sufficient to determine univocally the shear stress in the section since the problem is statically indeterminate. The analysis is thus accomplished by defining m circuits in the section and by making it open through the introduction of longitudinal slits. The continuity of the circuits is restored by writing m compatibility conditions involving m unknown flows qi, one for each circuit. It is evident that the position at which the slits are introduced can be completely arbitrary, provided that the connectivity of the section is retained. Such an arbitrariness, which is the typical drawback of any computer implementation of the force method, can be very difficult to cope with for automatic calculations. Once again the DFS provides a solution to this problem since the algorithm determines not only the circuits of the section, but also it automatically locates m slits at the terminal points of the fronds of the circuits. The flow in the k th branch is given by

so(s) =

E(r)rdA s SI

= si

E(s) r(s) 6(s) ds

(37)

q(k s) = qo(k

s) +fkr

(39)

is the first elastic area moment, with respect to the elastic centroid, of the portion 9; of the open section on one side of the point at the co-ordinate s in the direction of decreasing s, and c denotes the relevant centre line. In other terms, a fictitious cut introduced at the point (k, s) of the centre line disconnects the section in two portions; S; is the one which contains the point (k, 0). We thus get the following expression for so(s):

where fk is the flow in the k th branch due to the circuit flows q, and qO(k, s) is the flow evaluated, by means of eqn (36), on the section made open. Hence the compatibility conditions, by virtue of the relation above, can be rewritten as follows:

,&=o
s G

sob) = %(k s)
=

i=l,2

,,..,

m,

(40)

E,

s
(kd
(k.0)

n&k 5) r(k, 5) 6% 5) d5 f%,(k),

(38)

where AZ collects the indices belonging to the ith circuit, and

of

the

branches

where B,,(k) is the first elastic area moment, with respect to the elastic centroid, of the branches for

40% s) s cp n,(k,
sP(k, ~1

ds.

(41)

Automatic

analysis of multicell thin-walled sections

651

Equation

(40) can be re-written as follows:

or equivalently, n = d x k being the unit vector normal to the centre line, we have (42)

k~JJi, = 4

i=l,2

,...,

m,

where Lk is defined by eqn (12) and b, is given by

s
f

n*r, q*ds = sc

n*rq*ds.

(48)

bi=

(43)

The left-hand side of eqn (42) coincides with the left-hand side of eqn (14). Hence, introducing the vectors Q and b defined by

As shown in the previous paragraph the flow q* at a generic point of the section is given by the sum of the flow qo+evaluated on the section made open by introducing m slits plus the flow q: resulting from the m circuital flows qy which restore compatibility. Accordingly, eqn (48) becomes

n*r,q,*ds

n-r,
sc

qr ds
n * r qr ds.

c =

(4)

n*rq$ds

+ sc

(49)

By virtue of eqn (36) the first term on the left-hand side of eqn (49) can be written as we finally get the linear system
Yq=b, (45)

n-r,

qtds=

sc = -c,t*

(n - rc)(Crt* . so)ds

where the coefficient matrix !P can be expressed in the form of the eqn (26). Once the vector q has been determined, the shear flow at a given point (6) of a branch will be given by the algebraic sum of the flows acting in the circuits which the branch belongs to plus the quantity qo(S) which is the value of the flow at S resulting from the open section analysis. Clearly the shear flow in the appendices of the section is given solely by qo(s). The shear centre may be defined as the point of the cross-section through which the shearing force should be applied in order not to produce twist. The position of the shear centre can thus be determined by looking for the point with respect to which the moment of the shear stress distribution due to an arbitrary shearing force vanishes. The equation which determines the position vector rc of the shear centre C with respect to the elastic centroid is thus given by
3.3.3. Shear centre.

[~c%C3nds]rc, (SO)

where t* deontes the shearing force in equilibrium with q*. Analogously the first term on the right-hand side becomes

s
E

-Cft*. f

(so 0 n) r ds. c

(51)

The second term on the left-hand side of eqn (49) can be expressed as

s
c

n*r,qrds=

i f$
k=l

s
c

(r,-r)xdq*ds=O,

(46)

where q* denotes an artibrary shear flow distribution over the cross-section. Denoting by k the unit vector orthogonal to the section, we can also write

where f $' is the flow in the kth branch, relevant to the distribution q*, that is the sum of the flows q3 in the circuits containing the kth branch, and _%kcollects the indices of the circuits containing the kth branch. Grouping the terms pertaining to the same circuit, eqn (52) becomes

s
c

(rc-r)

x q*d*kds

=O,

(47)

s
c

652

G. Alfano et al.

Ai being the set of branches circuit, we can also write

belonging

to the ith

Setting

n * rc qf ds = $ q:

s;=-f@s
,=I

(59)

i= I

Since

we get

P
CC

nds=O

i=l,2

,...,

m,

(55)

q: =

-cg*

.si.

(60)

Hence,

eqn (57) can be written

as

we have finally

J*
c

n * cc qf ds = 0.

(56)

s
where use Appendix)

n*rqrds=

-Cft*.

f si nerds ,=I P c,

By means of an analogous procedure, the second term on right-hand side of eqn (49) turns out to be

= -cC,t* .2 2 A,s,, i=l has been made of the relation

(61)

s
c

(see

n.rqrds=

i
k=l

fij n-rds sQ
(57)

n*rds

=2A,.

=!,q:$,n*rds.

(62)

Recalling eqns (45) and @=Y- we have

(36) and

denoting

by

Comparing (61) we get

eqn (49) with eqns (50) (51) (56) and

-C,t*.[l$@nds]r,=

= Crt*

5 Gii
,=I

(58)

- C,t* sc

(s, 0 n) r ds - Cft* .2 f A+,, i= 1

(63)

16 17 18

I 2 -3

33.20 m

Fig. 7. Main section of the transatlantic ship France.

Automatic analysis of multicell thin-walled sections or equivalently, since t* is arbitrary

Segment

653 Table 2.
Vertices 1 2 3 4 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 5 14 10 6 10 7 11 12 13 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 20 29 25 21 25 22 26 27 9 24 16 17 18 19 29 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 31 14 15 15 10 11 11 12 13 28 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 31 29 30 30 25 26 26 27 28 13 28 6(m) 0.028 0.023 0.011 0.008 0.008 0.035 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.026 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.008 0.010 0.008 0.008 0.012 0.012 0.018 0.018 0.018 0.035 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.026 0.028 0.028 0.028 0.008 0.010 0.008 0.008 0.012 0.012 0.018 0.018 0.018 0.018

(s,,@n)rds

+2f i=,

A+,.

(64)

The solution of the linear system above provides the position rc of the shear centre. Notice that the coefficient matrix in square brackets is singular if and only if the centre line c of the section is a straight line [ 151, an occurrence which is ruled out for multicell sections.

4. A NUMERICAL EXAMPLE

On the basis of the outlined procedure a computer program in MATHEMATICA symbolic language has been developed. In this section we present the results concerning a section with a high degree of connection for which hand calculations would be prohibitive. We consider the main section of the transatlantic ship France, see Fig. 7, whose data can be found in Ref. [7]. The real section has been approximated by a polygonal one since the program works for such
sections The with constant actions on the thickness section shearing and elastic moduli are force the following: M,= for each segment. axial force N = 1.2. 10 (N), bending (3.0, 1.3) . lo9 moment

(N m),

T = (2.0,2.8)

10 (N),

torque

M, = - 1 .l

. lo9 (N m), where a

Table 1.
Vertex 1 2 3 4
5

x(m) 16.00 16.10 16.20 16.35 16.50 16.60 16.00 12.80 6.25 14.50 14.00 12.30 6.20 8.70 8.70 - 16.00 - 16.10 - 16.20 - 16.35 - 16.50 - 16.60 - 16.00 - 12.80 -6.25 - 14.50 - 14.00 - 12.30 -6.20 -8.70 -8.70 0.00

y(m) 0.00 -2.75 - 5.50 -8.75 -11.35 -14.10 - 19.57 - 22.95 - 24.60 - 14.10 - 18.97 -21.60 -22.80 -11.35 -14.10 0.00 -2.75 -5.50 -8.75 -11.35 - 14.10 - 19.57 - 22.95 -24.60 - 14.10 - 18.97 -21.60 -22.80 -11.35 - 14.10 -25.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

counterclockwise positive direction has been assumed for the torque. The elastic moduli, constant for the whole section, are: E,, = 2.1 10 (N mm2), G, = 1.05. 10 (N mm2). The geometry of the section is defined by the vertices (Table 1) and the segments (Table 2). The program automatically detects in the set of the vertices the ones which are nodes, i.e. points where more than two segments are incident. Accordingly each branch is a set of the segments connecting two nodes. The diagrams of the shear and normal stresses are reported in Fig. 8. The shear stresses are reported normally to the branches of the section and the normal stresses are shown by the classical linear diagram. The program also calculates the maximum equivalent stress according to the von Mises yield criterion; it is attained at the point marked with the star, see Fig. 8.

654

G. Alfano

et al

or=
shear
and shear stresses

1.42-10 Nme2 centre

diagrams; shear centre, maximum equivalent stress.

x
Fig. 8. Normal

Acknowledgements-The financial support of the Italian Ministry for Scientific and Technological Research is gratefully acknowledged.

REFERENCES 1.

2. 3.

4. 5.

6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11.

F. M. Baron, Torsion of multiconnected thin-walled cylinders. J. appl. Mech. 9, (1942). S. P. Timoshenko and J. N. Goodier, Theory of Elasticity, 2nd Edn. McGraw-Hill, New York (1951). V. Z. Vlasov, Thin-Walled Elastic Beams, 2nd Edn. Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem, Israel (1961). J. T. Oden, Mechanics of Elastic Snuctures. McGraw Hill, New York (1967). M. Capurso, Sul calcolo delle travi di parete sottile in presenza di forze e distorsioni, I-V. Ric. Sci. (II-A), (1971). A. Gjelsvik, The Theory of Thin-Walled Bars. Wiley, New York (1981). V. Franciosi, Fondamenti di Scienza delle Costruzioni, Vol. 2. Liguori, Napoli (1985). F. Maceri, Contributo al calcolo a torsione delle sezioni sottili pluriconnesse. Report of Istituto di Scienza delle Faculty of Engineering, University of Costruzioni, Naples, 228 (1967). N. Deo, Graph Theory with Applications to Engineering and Computer Science. Prentice-Hall, London (1974). R. Tarjan, Depth-first search and linear graph algorithms. SIAM. J. Compur. 1, 146-160 (1972). G. Roman0 and M. Romano, Sulla deformabilita a taglio di travi in parete sottile. Report of Istituto di Scienza delle Costruzioni, Faculty of Engineering, University of Naples, 312 (1983).

12. F. Maceri and R. Sparacio, Sul calcolo a torsione delie sezioni sottili pluriconnesse. Report of Act. di Scienze Fisiche e Mathematiche della Sot. Naz. di. SC. Lett. ed Arti Napoli, 4, XXX11 (1965). 13. P. R. Halmos, Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces, 2nd Edn. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (1958). 14. G. Roman0 and L. Rosati, Sul calcolo delle travi in parete sottile deformabili a taglio. Nel cinquanfenario della Facoltd di Architettura di Napoli-Franc0 Jossa e la sua opera, Napoli, Febbraio (1988). 15. G. Romano, L. Rosati, G. Ferro, Shear deformability of thin-walled beams with arbitrary cross-sections. Int. J. numer. Meth. Engng 35, 283-306 (1992).

APPENDIX

Let us consider a polygonal multicell thin-walled section, that is a thin-walled section with a polygonal centre line, having constant thickness and elastic moduli along each line segment. The interest for such sections is apparent since any section with curvilinear branches can be suitably replaced by a polygonal one. The parametric equation of the qth segment of the polygon is

r=r,(A)=(l

-l,)r,c,,+ir,c,,

0Gi.S

1,

(Al)

where a(q) and b(q) are the indices of the end points of the segment q and rocqj and rbcqI denote the corresponding position vectors with respect to the elastic centroid.

Automatic Expression

analysis

of multicell section

thin-walled

sections

655

of the area of a closed plane polygonal

Calculus of the second elastic area tensor J Let us denote by cs, I,, 6, and E,, respectively, the centre line, the length, the thickness and the Young modulus of the qth segment. The second elastic area tensor J, of the qth segment, with respect to the elastic centroid of the section, is given by J, = E, s CI where A, = E$,/, Setting is the elastic

Let A be the area of a closed plane curve c, and n the outward unit normal at a generic point of C. The divergence theorem yields

642)
where use has been made of the relation obtain div r = 2. We thus

r@rads=A, III area

r(li) 63 r(n) dl,

(A8)

of the qth segment.

(A3) If c is polygonal, let us denote by i and i + 1 the end vertices of its ith segment and by r, and r,+, the relevant position vectors; we assume that i precedes i + 1 according to the positive circulation sense assumed for c. Accordingly, introducing the orthogonal tensor R= the unit following 0 1

R!?=r I
the relation J, = A,

e7)

@r

J(4)

(A9)

(A8) can be written

as follows [15]:

[ -1

1
is given by the

[(l-I)R~+1*R$ I0 + A(1 - 1)(R$ + Rg)] dlZ. (AlO)

normal n, to the ith formula:

n, = R

segment

Accordingly, the second section is given by

elastic area tensor

of the whole

r,+I Ilr,,

J= where

, - r, /I

f A[Rz+symR$)+R$)] (=I 3 of segments forming

(All) the section.

and turns out to be outward or inward whether the positive circulation sense is counterclockwise or clockwise. Being the scalar product r en constant along each segment, we can write r * n, = r,

n, is the number

Calculus of the first area moment We now give an explicit formula to calculate the first area moment So, with respect to the elastic centroid, of the portion of the segment on one side of an imaginary cut at s. Assuming for the q th segment a co-ordinate system {0, s} with the origin coincident with an end vertex, we get the formula S r(5 )a, dr = A,

Rr,,, -Rr,
llr,+ I - 5 II

r, Rr,, ,

Ilr, + , - 5 II

WI

The area A is thus provided

by the formula

A,!tl

r;Rr,+,

2,=, llr,+,-r,II

(A7) r&) = Ey

where I, denotes the length of the segment i and n, is the number of segments forming the polygonal centre line. Note that the area A turns out to be positive if a counterclockwise circulation sense is assumed for the centre line.

s0

[rtiqj + I (rMI, -

r+J dl

(Al3