Dynamic analysis of two-layer composite beams with partial interaction using a higher order beam theory

• Composite beam model based on Kant׳s higher order beam theory is presented.
• Displacement based higher order composite beam element is developed.
• Dynamic analyses are conducted using the higher order composite beam element.
• Impact effects of moving load are studied.

Kant׳s higher order beam kinematics, which takes into account both the longitudinal and transverse higher order deformation of beam, is applied to the dynamic model of two-layer partial interaction composite beams. To establish and solve the mathematical problem, the finite element for the composites is then formulated using the principle of virtual work. Furthermore, the finite element of Timoshenko composite beam model, for the purpose of comparison, is also given in this paper. The numerical performance and reliability of the proposed finite elements are verified through the comparison with the results of ABAQUS using the plane stress model and those based on Reddy׳s higher beam theory and classical beam theories from the literature. Besides, the responses to the seismic and moving load of the proposed composite beam model are also presented, and subsequently the influences of parameters including damping ratio, velocity of moving load, slenderness ratio and interfacial stiffness on the mechanical behavior are studied. Numerical results show that the present higher order composite beam model can achieve higher accuracy on the dynamic analyses than the classical and Reddy׳s models, and the impact effects of moving load together with the partial interaction between sub-layers should be considered.