Comparison of FEA for Different Type Element Models of Open Thin-Walled Member

Open thin-walled beam is widely used in civil engineering. The open-walled section model is significantly different from closed section model because the torsional stiffness is small. In order to select an appropriate analytical model for the open-walled section member, three different type element models (beam element model, shell element model and solid element model) for open-walled section members are adopted in ABAQUS/Standard and the low-frequency cyclic loading is used in the analysis process in this paper. The hysteretic curves and skeleton curves of the different element model are obtained using above method, and the bearing capacity, stiffness and the computation time are compared. The analysis results show that the results of three type element models are in good agreement, and the computational efficiency of the three type element models varies significant differences. Hence, it can be concluded that the accuracy of computation results can be guaranteed using those three type element models, and the beam element model has the highest computational efficiency. (paper)