Contribution to the Geometrically Nonlinear Theory of a Slightly Curved Timoshenko Beam.

The purpose of this paper is, firstly, to develop a consistent large deflection theory for plane curved frames including transverse shear strain effects, and, secondly, to formulate an incremental Hellinger/Reissner variational principle suitable for numerical calculations by means of the finite element method. The advantages of this discrete model in comparison with the well-known assumed displacement method are pointed out and discussed.