A fiber-section model based Timoshenko beam element using shear-bending interdependent shape function

A fiber-section model based Timoshenko beam element is proposed in this study that is founded on the nonlinear analysis of frame elements considering axial, flexural, and shear deformations. This model is achieved using a shear-bending interdependent formulation (SBIF). The shape function of the element is derived from the exact solution of the homogeneous form of the equilibrium equation for the Timoshenko deformation hypothesis.The proposed element is free from shear-locking. The sectional fiber model is constituted with a multi-axial plasticity material model, which is used to simulate the coupled shear-axial nonlinear behavior of each fiber. By imposing deformation compatibility conditions among the fibers, the sectional and elemental resisting forces are calculated. Since the SBIF shape functions are interactive with the shear-corrector factor for different shapes of sections, an iterative procedure is introduced in the nonlinear state determination of the proposed Timoshenko element. In addition, the proposed model tackles the geometric nonlinear problem by adopting a corotational coordinate transformation approach. The derivation procedure of the corotational algorithm of the SBIF Timoshenko element for nonlinear geometrical analysis is presented. Numerical examples confirm that the SBIF Timoshenko element with a fiber-section model has the same accuracy and robustness as the flexibility-based formulation. Finally, the SBIF Timoshenko element is extended and demonstratedin a three-dimensional numerical example.