Finite element model of circularly curved Timoshenko beam for in-plane vibration analysis

Curved beams are used so much in the arches and railway bridges and equipments for amusement parks. There are few reports about the curved beam with the effects of both the shear deformation and rotary inertias. In this paper, a new finite element model investigates to analyze In-Plane vibration of a curved Timoshenko beam. The Stiffness and mass matrices of the curved beam element was obtained from the force-displacement relations and the kinetic energy equations, respectively. Assembly of the elemental property matrices is simple and without need to transformation matrix because of using the local polar coordinate system. The natural frequencies of curved Euler-Bernoulli beam with large thickness are not sufficiently accurate. In this case, using the curved Timoshenko beam element is necessary. Moreover, the influence of vibration absorber is discussed on the natural frequencies of the curved beam.