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Abstract

Based on principles of virtual work, a general method of deriving stiffiness matrix of non-prismatic curved EluerBernoulli beam element is presented. Exact
. satisfaction of equilibrium equations in any interior point of the element is the main characteristic of this method. Presented relations could be transformed based on the super-parametric formulation via piecewise mapping of element axis. This coordinate transformation helps to generate elements of complicated geometry and common to use. Various numerical examples proves that the results obtained by this method are compatible/comparable in both efficiency and economy with those obtained by other proposed formulations, if any.