Volumetric locking suppression method for nearly incompressible nonlinear elastic multi-layer beams using ANCF elements

The analysis and solution of many modern flexible multibody dynamic problems require
formulations that are able to effectively model bodies with nonlinear materials undergoing
large displacements and deformations. The absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF)
in connection with a continuum-based approach is one way to deal with these systems. The
main objective of this work is to extend an existent approach for the modelling of slender
structures within the ANCF framework with nonlinear, nearly incompressible materials
using the volumetric energy penalty technique. The main part of the study is devoted to the
evaluation of multi-layer beam models and simplifications in the locking suppression method
based on F-bar projection. The results present significantly better agreement with the
reference solution for multi-layer structures built with the standard ANCF beam element as
compared with the earlier implementation.