Ritz Solution for Static Analysis of Thin-Walled Laminated Composite I-beams Based on First-Order Beam Theory

Ritz solution is proposed for static analysis of thin-walled laminated composite I-beams in this paper. Beam model based on the first-order beam theory. The governing equations are obtained from Lagrange's equations. Ritz's approximation functions are developed to find the deflection of thin-walled beams under concentrated and uniform loads. Numerical results are presented and compared with those of available literature. Effects of fiber orientation, boundary conditions, and shear deformation on the displacement of thin-walled laminated composite I-beams are investigated. It can be seen that the Ritz method is efficient and straightforward for static analysis of thin-walled laminated composite I-beams.