Abstract
The beam theory which takes into consideration varying thickness due to deformation was developed to accurately analyze bending behavior of a thick beam. The displacement model in the theory can express not only transverse shear deformation but also normal one by using a shape function of conventional transverse shear deformation theories, such as third-order shear deformation theory. Bending problem of simply-supported thick beams was analyzed to confirm the validity of the new beam theory. The deflection and stress components given by the theory agreed with the solutions evaluated by the two-dimensional elasticity even for a very thick beam. Therefore, it was clarified that the theory can express deformation behaviors of thick beams with varying thickness.
