Finite element analysis of thin-walled composite laminated beams with geometrically nonlinear behavior including warping deformation

A finite element model for structural analysis of composite laminated thin-walled beam structures, with geometrically nonlinear behavior, including torsion warping deformation, is presented. A general continuum formulation considering the updated Lagrangean procedure and a generalized displacement control method, are used to describe the deformation of the structure. The beam cross-section geometry is discretized by quadratic isoparametric finite elements to determine its bending-torsion properties. The structural discretization is performed throughout three-dimensional two-node Hermitean finite beam elements, with seven degrees-of-freedom per node. Several applications are presented, addressing the influence of lamina orientation on the structural behavior.