Engineering topics

Bauchau, O. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Bauchau, O. A..

2 records

NASA NTRS1987

Composite box beam analysis - Theory and experiments

Beam theory is widely used as a first approximation in numerous structural applications. When applied to composite beams, the accuracy of beam theory becomes questionable because (1) the shearing and warping deformations become significant, as the shearing stiffness of composite laminates is often very low, and (2) several elastic couplings can occur that strongly influence the behavior of composite beams. The torsional behavior of thin-walled composite beams has important implications for aeronautical structures and is deeply modified by the above nonclassical effects. This paper presents two comprehensive analysis methodologies for composite beams and describes experimental results obtained from a thin-walled, rectangular cross-sectional beam. The theoretical predictions are found in good agreement with the observed twist and strain distributions. Out-of-plane torsional warping of the cross-section is found to be the key factor for an accurate modeling of the torsional behavior of such structures.

Bauchau, O. A.↗

NASA NTRS1985

A beam theory for anisotropic materials

Beam theory plays an important role in structural analysis. The basic assumption is that initially plane sections remain plane after deformation, neglecting out-of-plane warpings. Predictions based on these assumptions are accurate for slender, solid, cross-sectional beams made out of isotropic materials. The beam theory derived in this paper from variational principles is based on the sole kinematic assumption that each section is infinitely rigid in its own plane, but free to warp out of plane. After a short review of the Bernoulli and Saint-Venant approaches to beam theory, a set of orthonormal eigenwarpings is derived. Improved solutions can be obtained by expanding the axial displacements or axial stress distribution in series of eigenwarpings and using energy principles to derive the governing equations. The improved Saint-Venant approach leads to fast converging solutions and accurate results are obtained considering only a few eigenwarping terms.

Bauchau, O. A.↗