A bendable finite element for the analysis of flexible cable structures

Abstract An element formulation is developed for an analysis of cable structures where load reversal (tension→compression) may be significant. Strain energy associated with the deformation of an individual element is defined to include both membrane and bending components. Through the assumption of large strains and prestress, geometric non-linearity is introduced. Isoparametric absolute and relative interpolation schemes are combined to describe a C 0 eight-degrees-of-freedom cable element applicable to three-dimensional space subsequent to transformation. Coupled with the Newton–Raphson scheme, solutions to numerical examples validate and demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed methodology.