Numerical analysis of large elasto-plastic deflection of constant curvature beam under follower load

•An explicit approach presented to solve highly non linear problem.•Moment-curvature based incremental constitutive law presented.•Elastic results validated with literature.•New results presented in non-dimensional form.

This paper describes a method to analyze the elasto-plastic large deflection of a curved beam subjected to a tip concentrated follower load. The load is made to act at an arbitrary inclination with the tip tangent. A moment-curvature based constitutive law is obtained from linearly hardening model. The deflection governing equation obtained is highly non-linear owing to both kinematics and material non-linearity. It is linearized to obtain the incremental differential equation. This in turn is solved using the classical Runge–Kutta 4th order explicit solver, thereby avoiding iterations. Elastic results are validated with published literature and the new results pertaining to elasto-plastic cases are presented in suitable non-dimensional form. The load to end angle response of the structure is studied by varying normalized material and kinematic parameters. It is found that the response curves overlap at small deflection corresponding to elastic deformation and diverge for difference in plastic property. The divergent response curves intersect with each other at higher deflection. The results presented also show that the approach may be used to obtain desired non-uniformly curved beam by suitably loading a uniform curvature beam.