VABS Manual for Users

VABS (Variational Asymptotic Beam Sectional Analysis) is a code implementing the various beam theories1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 based on the concept of simplifying the original nonlinear three-dimensional (3D) analysis of slender structures into a two-dimensional (2D) cross-sectional analysis and a onedimensional (1D) nonlinear beam analysis using a powerful mathematical method, the variational asymptotic method.9 VABS takes a finite element mesh of the cross section including all the details of geometry and material as inputs to calculate the sectional properties including structural properties and inertial properties. These properties are needed for the 1D beam analysis to predict the global behavior of the slender structure. The 3D pointwise displacement/strain/stress distribution within the structure can also be recovered based on the global behavior of the 1D beam analysis.