A method is presented for the determination of the stresses and deflections of unswept and swept, thin-walled beams of uniform closed cross section. The cross section, loading distribution and boundary conditions are assumed to be arbitrary. The method is based on the differential equation governing the behavior of orthogonal elastic shells. The differential equation is transformed into a difference equation and the solution obtained by the relaxation technique. A comparison of the theoretical solution and experimental data for a swept back wing with a carry through bay under symmetrical bending showed good agreement.
A tapered wing may be treated by approximating the variation by a series of spanwise steps.
As the difference equations are a system of simultaneous algebraic equations, they may be solved by automatic calculating equipment or by electric analogue computers as well as by the relaxation technique.
