Warping elements

Warping elements:

  • are used to model an arbitrarily shaped beam cross-section profile for use with Timoshenko beams;

  • are used in conjunction with the beam section generation procedure described in Meshed beam cross-sections; and

  • model linear elastic behavior only.

The following topics are discussed:

Related Topics
In Other Guides
Meshed beam cross-sections
*SOLID SECTION

ProductsAbaqus/Standard

Typical Applications

Warping elements are special-purpose elements that are used to discretize a two-dimensional model of a beam cross-section. This two-dimensional cross-section model is used in Abaqus/Standard to calculate the out-of-plane component of the warping function, as well as relevant sectional stiffness and mass properties that are required in a subsequent beam analysis in either Abaqus/Standard or Abaqus/Explicit. Applications include any structure whose overall behavior is beam-like, yet the cross-section is non-standard or includes multiple materials. Examples include the cross-section of a ship for performing whipping analysis, a beam model of an airfoil-shaped rotor blade or wing, a laminated I-beam, etc.

Choosing an appropriate element

To mesh an arbitrarily shaped solid beam cross-section Abaqus/Standard offers two elements: a 3-node linear triangle, WARP2D3, and a 4-node bilinear quadrilateral, WARP2D4. Adjacent elements in the cross-sectional mesh must share common nodes; mesh refinement using multi-point constraints is not allowed.

Naming convention

Warping elements are named as follows:



For example, WARP2D4 is 4-node warping element in two dimensions.

Defining the elements section properties

You use a solid section definition to define the section properties. You must associate these properties with a region of your model. No additional data are necessary.

Input File Usage

SOLID SECTION, ELSET=name

where the ELSET parameter refers to a set of warping elements.

Assigning a material definition to a set of warping elements

You must associate a linear elastic material definition with each warping element section definition. Optionally, you can associate a material orientation definition with the section (see Orientations).

Only isotropic linear elasticity (Defining isotropic elasticity) or orthotropic linear elasticity for warping elements (Defining orthotropic elasticity for warping elements) are valid material models for warping elements.

Input File Usage

SOLID SECTION, ELSET=name, MATERIAL=name,
ORIENTATION=name