Influence of rotary flexibility of joints on the statics and dynamics of the arch structures

The paper presents arch structures modeled by finite elements in which the nodes can be flexibly connected. Two-node curved elements with three degrees of freedom at each node were used. Exact shape functions were adopted to obtain stiffness and consistent mass matrices but they were modified by introducing rotational flexibility in the boundary nodes. Calculations of statics and dynamics of arches with different positions of flexible joints and different values of rotational stiffness of the joints were carried out.