By Ing. Fabricio Romero, Estudiante de la Maestría en Optimización Matemática EPN
Seminar Date: 2026-05-21
This article is concerned with the efficient and accurate simulation and optimization of linear Timoshenko beam networks subjected to external loads. A solution scheme based on analytic ansatz-functions known to provide analytic solutions for the deformation and rotation of a single beam with given boundary data is extended to the full network. It is demonstrated that the analytic approach is equivalent to a finite element (FE) method where only one element with a suitably chosen shape function per beam is required. The solution of the FE-type system provides analytic solutions at the nodes, from which the solutions along the beams can be reconstructed. Consequently analytic solutions for the network can be computed by a numerical scheme without applying a spacial discretization. This is particularly interesting for topology and material optimization problems formulated on the network.