Elastodynamics of Thick Viscous Beams

A viscoelastic higher-order thick beam finite element formulation is extended to include elastodynamic deformations. The material constitutive law is a special differential form of the Maxwell solid which employs viscous strains as internal variables to determine the viscous stresses. The total time-dependent stress is the superposition of its elastic and viscous components. In the constitutive model, the elastic strains and the conjugate viscous strains are coupled through a system of first-order ordinary differential equations. The use of the internal strain variables allows for a convenient finite element formulation. The elastodynamic equations of motion are derived from the virtual work principle. Computational examples are carried out for a thick orthotropic cantilevered beam. Relaxation, creep, relaxation followed by free damped vibrations, and damping related modal interactions are discussed.