Abstract
The bending stress formula that taking into account the transverse deformation is developed for plane-curved, untwisted isotropic beams subjected to loadings that result in deformations in the plane of curvature. In order to account the transverse Poisson contraction effect, a new constitutive relation between force resultants, moment resultants, mid-plane strains and deformed curvatures for a curved plate is derived in a $6{\times}6$ matrix form. This constitutive relation will provide the fundamental basis to the analyses of curved structures composing of isotropic or anisotropic materials. Then, the bending stress formula of a curved isotropic beam can be deduced from this newly developed curved plate theory. The stress predictions by the present analysis are compared to those by the analysis that neglected the Poisson contraction effect. The results show that the Poisson effect becomes more significant as the Poisson ratio and the curvature are getting larger.