Three-Dimensional Solutions for Rotor Blades Using High-Order Geometrical Nonlinear Beam Finite Elements

This paper proposes a geometrically nonlinear three-dimensional formalism for the static and dynamic study of rotor blades. The structures are modeled using high-order beam finite elements whose kinematics are input parameters of the analysis. The displacement fields are written using two-dimensional Taylor- and Lagrange-like expansions of the cross-sectional coordinates. As far as the Taylor-like polynomials are concerned, the linear case is similar to the first-order shear deformation theory, whereas the higher-order expansions include additional contributions that describe the warping of the cross section. The Lagrange-type kinematics instead utilizes the displacements of certain physical points as degrees of freedom. The inherent three-dimensional nature of the Carrera unified formulation enables one to include all Green–Lagrange strain components as well as all coupling effects due to the geometrical features and the three-dimensional constitutive law. A number of test cases are considered to compare the current solutions with experimental and theoretical results reported in terms of large deflections/rotations and frequencies related to small amplitude vibrations.