Total Lagrangian beam element with C1-continuous slide-spring

In this paper, we shall present one idea of the modelling of a beam element with a flexible sliding joint. The proposed element is composed of a 12-dof beam element and a 12-dof spring element. The spring element is coupled to the beam neutral line with the aid of a master–slave technique. This technique yields system equations without algebraic constraints. In our model the sliding path is image-continuous between the adjacent beam elements. The modelling is based on total Lagrangian finite element method. Two examples are presented in order to demonstrate the use of the element.