CHAPTER 5

FLEXURE ELEMENTS

5.1 INTRODUCTION
The one-dimensional, axial load-only elements, discussed in previous chapters are quite
useful in analyzing the response to load of many simple structures. However, the restriction
that these elements are not capable of transmitting bending effects precludes their use in
modeling more commonly encountered structures that have welded or riveted joints. In this
chapter, a flexure (beam) element is developed which is capable of properly exhibiting
transverse bending effects. The element is first presented as a line (one-dimensional) element
capable of bending in a plane. The development is then extended to two-plane bending and
the effects of axial loading and torsion are added.

5.2 BEAM STIFFNESS

A beam is a long, slender structural member generally subjected to transverse loading that
produces significant bending effects as opposed to twisting or axial effects. This bending
deformation is measured as a transverse displacement and a rotation.

Consider the beam element shown in Figure 5.1. The local nodal forces are given by ’s
and the bending moments by ’s. The local transverse nodal displacements are given as ’s
and the rotations by ’s.

Mi Mj j
i
i j vj
vi
L
f iy f jy
Figure 5.1: Beam Element

The local displacement vector and local force vector are defined as

{u’} = and {f} =

Then the force displacement relationship for the element is given by

= ………. (5.1)

FEM 57 CHAPTER 5
To determine the first column of the stiffness matrix, let us apply unit displacement at node i
(vi = 1), while keeping other the same. The resulting force/moment required at each degree of
freedom of system is then given by

= = ………. (5.2)

The deflection and slope of a cantilever beam subjected to load P and moment M0 at its free
end, as shown in Figure 5.2 (ith node) are given as

and

M0 Mi
Mj
vi = 1 vi = 1
j j
i i
P f iy
f jy
Figure 5.2: Deformed configuration of Beam subjected to unit displacement vi = 1

Now, solving above equations for P and M0, with = vi= 1, and , we get

and

Then considering equilibrium conditions, we get

and

Hence, the first column of the stiffness matrix is given by

Similarly applying unit displacements at the remaining degrees of freedom, we can derive

FEM 58 CHAPTER 5
Hence the stiffness matrix of a beam element with reference to nodal coordinate system is
given by

EXAMPLE 5.1
For the beam shown in Figure E5.1, determine the displacements and the slopes at the
nodes, the forces in each element, and the reactions. Take E = 210 GPa and I= 4  10-4
m4.

Figure E5.1

Solution
The stiffness for each element of the beam is given by

For element 1 (Nodes 1 and 2):

FEM 59 CHAPTER 5
For element 2 (Nodes 2 and 3):

Then the global stiffness matrix is given by

Then the global stiffness matrix, the global forces and global displacements are related as
follows:

= (E 5.1a)

Applying the boundary conditions v1 = 0; =0; v3 = 0; =0; F2y = ; and M2z

= , in third and fourth equations, we get

Solving for u3 and v3, we get

v2 = – 0.1339 mm and = – 8.93 rad

Substituting v1 = 0; =0; v2 = – 0.1339 mm and = – 8.93 rad; v3 = 0; and 3z =

0, into Equation (E5.1a), we get reactions
F1y = 10 kN; = 12.5 kN.m; F3y = 0; = – 2.5 kN.m

FEM 60 CHAPTER 5
EXAMPLE 5.2
For the beam shown in Figure E5.2, determine the nodal displacements and the slopes.
Take E = 210 GPa and I= 4  10-4 m4.

Figure E5.2

Solution
The stiffness for each element of the beam is given by

For element 1 (Nodes 1 and 2):

For element 2 (Nodes 2 and 3):

The stiffness for spring element is given by

For element 3 (Nodes 2 and 4)

FEM 61 CHAPTER 5
Then the global stiffness matrix is given by

[K] =

Then the global stiffness matrix, the global forces and global displacements are related as
follows:

= (E 5.2a)

The equivalent nodal forces for the given distribute force on each element are given as

For element 1 (Nodes 1 and 2):

For element 2 (Nodes 2 and 3):

Applying the boundary conditions v1 = 0; v3 = 0; v4 = 0; M1z = ; F2y =

M2z = ; and M3z = in Equation (E5.2a), we get

Solving, we get
= – 0.0032 rad; v2 = – 0.0115 m; = 0 and = 0.0032 rad

FEM 62 CHAPTER 5
5.3 FLEXURE ELEMENT WITH AXIAL LOADING
The major shortcoming of the flexure element developed so far is that force loading must be
transverse to the axis of the element. Effectively, this means that the element can be used
only in end-to-end modeling of linear beam structures. If the element is formulated to also
support axial loading, the applicability is greatly extended. Such an element is depicted in
Figure 5.3, which shows, in addition to the nodal transverse deflections and rotations, axial
displacements at the nodes. Thus, the element allows axial as well as transverse loading. It
must be pointed out that there are many ramifications to this seemingly simple extension. If
the axial load is compressive, the element could buckle. If the axial load is tensile and
significantly large, a phenomenon known as stress stiffening can occur. The phenomenon of
stress stiffening can be likened to tightening of a guitar string. As the tension is increased, the
string becomes more resistant to motion perpendicular to the axis of the string.

Figure 5.3: Nodal displacements of a beam element with axial stiffness

This being the case, we can simply add the spar element stiffness matrix to the flexure
element stiffness matrix to obtain the 6 × 6 element stiffness matrix for a flexure element
with axial loading. Hence the stiffness matrix corresponding to nodal force vector
is given as

5.4 FLEXURE ELEMENT WITH AN ARBITRARY ORIENTATION

Figure 5.4 depicts an element oriented at an arbitrary angle  from the X axis of a global
reference frame and shows the element nodal displacements.

Figure 5.4: Arbitrarily oriented beam element

FEM 63 CHAPTER 5
Referring to Equation (4.9), we can write directly

where [ ] is the transformation matrix that relates element displacements to global

displacements. In a manner exactly analogous to that of Section 4.2.2, it is readily shown that
the 6 × 6 element stiffness matrix in the global system is given by

EXAMPLE 5.3
For the rigid frame shown in Figure E5.3, determine the displacements and rotations of
the nodes, the element forces, and the reactions. Take E = 210 GPa, A = 1  10-2 m2 and I
= 2  10-4 m4.

Figure E5.3

Solution
The stiffness matrices for the each frame element are given as

where

and

FEM 64 CHAPTER 5
For element 1 (Nodes 1 and 2):
E1 = 210 GPa, A1 = 1  10-2 m2 and I1 = 2  10-4 m4, L1 = 3 m, 1 = 0

For element 2 (Nodes 2 and 3):

E2 = 210 GPa, A2 = 1  10-2 m2 and I2 = 2  10-4 m4, L1 = 4.24264 m, 2 = -1350

For element 3 (Nodes 3 and 4):

E3 = 210 GPa, A3 = 1  10-2 m2 and I3 = 2  10-4 m4, L3 = 3 m, 3 = 0

Using the concept of superposition, we obtain the global stiffness matrix as

FEM 65 CHAPTER 5
Then the global stiffness matrix, the global forces and global displacements are related as
follows:
………. (E5.2)

Applying the boundary conditions ; ; ; ; ; ;

; ; and ;
, we get

Solving, we get
; ; ;
; ; .

Substituting ; ; ; ; ;
; ; ; and
; ; into Equation (E5.2), we get reaction forces
; ; and ;

5.5 A GENERAL THREE DIMENSIONAL BEAM ELEMENT

A general three-dimensional beam element is capable of both axial and torsional deflections
as well as two-plane bending. To examine the stiffness characteristics of such an element and
obtain the element stiffness matrix, we first consider each case separately and the assemble
them.

Axial Deflection
The stiffness of the element subjected to axial deflection in x' is given by

FEM 66 CHAPTER 5
and the corresponding nodal displacement vector is .

Bending in x'z' Plane

The stiffness of the element subjected to bending in x'z' plane is given by

and the corresponding nodal displacement vector is .

Bending in x'y' Plane

The stiffness of the element subjected to bending in x'y' plane is given by

and the corresponding nodal displacement vector is .

Torsional Deflection
The addition of torsion to the general beam element is accomplished with reference to Figure
5.5, which depicts a circular cylinder subjected to torsion via twisting moments applied at its
ends. A corresponding torsional finite element is shown in Figure 5.5b, where the nodes are
1 and 2, the axis of the cylinder is the x axis, and twisting moments are positive according to
the right-hand rule. From elementary strength of materials, it is well known that the angle of
twist per unit length of a uniform, elastic circular cylinder subjected to torque T is given by

Figure 5.5: (a) Circular cylinder subjected to torsion. (b) Torsional finite element
notation.

FEM 67 CHAPTER 5
where J is polar moment of inertia of the cross-sectional area and G is the shear modulus of
the material. As the angle of twist per unit length is constant, the total angle of twist of the
element can be expressed in terms of the nodal rotations and twisting moments as

Application of the equilibrium condition M'xi + M'xj = 0 lead directly to the element
equilibrium equations:

so the torsional stiffness is

and the corresponding nodal displacement vector is .

Direct superposition of Equations (5.10), (5.11), (5.12) and (5.17) yield the element stiffness
matrix for the beam or frame element in three dimensional space as

The transformation from local to global coordinate system is accomplished as follows:

where is given by

FEM 68 CHAPTER 5
where

Here Cij''s are the direction cosines and Cij' and Cji' are not necessarily equal. The direction
cosines are shown in Figure 5.6.

Figure 5.6: Direction cosines associated with the x axis

The direction cosines of the x' axis member are calculated as

where

The y' axis is selected to be perpendicular to the x' and z axes in such a way that the cross
product of global z with x' results in the y' axis, as shown in Figure 5.7. Therefore

FEM 69 CHAPTER 5
where

The z' axis is then determine by the orthogonality condition as follows

Figure 5.7: Illustration showing how local y' axis is determined

Combining Equations ( ), ( ) and ( ), we get

EXERCISE
1. For the beam shown in Figure P5.1, determine the rotation at pin support and the
rotation and displacement under the load . Determine the reactions. Let be constant
be a constant throughout the beam.
2. For the beam shown in Figure P5.2, determine the beam deformation and end reactions.
3. Determine the nodal displacements and rotations and the global and element forces for
the beam shown in Figure P5.3. Take and .

FEM 70 CHAPTER 5
4. For the fixed-fixed beam subjected to the uniform load shown in Figure P5.4,
determine the midspan deflection and the reactions. The middle section of the beam has a
bending stiffness of ; the other sections have bending stiffness of .

Figure P5.1 Figure P5.2

Figure P5.3 Figure P5.4

5. For the beam shown in Figure P5.5, determine the nodal displacements and slopes, the
forces in each element, and the reactions. Take and .
6. For the beam shown in Figure P5.6, determine the displacement and slope at the center
and the reactions. Let be constant be a constant throughout the beam.

Figure P5.5 Figure P5.6

7. The bar element is used to stiffen the cantilever beam element , as shown in Figure
P5.7. Determine the displacements at node and the element forces. For the bar, let
. For the beam, let , and .
For both the bar and the beam elements, let .
8. For the rigid frames shown in Figure P5.8(a) and 5.8(b), determine the displacements
and rotations of the nodes, the element forces, and the reactions. For Figure P5.8(a), take
, and and for Figure P5.8(b), take
, and .
9. Analyze the grid shown in Figure P5.9. The grid consists of two elements, is fixed at
nodes and , and is subjected to a downward vertical load of 22 kN. The global
coordinates axes and element length are shown in the figure. Let ,
, and .
10. Solve the grid structure shown in Figure P5.10. Let Let , ,
, , and .

FEM 71 CHAPTER 5
 (a)

(b)
Figure P5.7 Figure P5.8

Figure P5.9 Figure P5.10

FEM 72 CHAPTER 5