Localized Helix Configurations of Discrete Cosserat Rods

Cosserat rods are the prefered choice for modeling large spatial deformations of slender flexible structures at small local strains. Discrete Cosserat rod models based on geometric finite differences preserve essential properties of the continuum theory. In previous work kinetic aspects of discrete quaternionic Cosserat rods defined on a staggered grid were investigated. In particular it was shown that equilibrium configurations obtained by energy minimization correspond to solutions of finite difference type discrete balance equations for the sectional forces and moments in conservation form. The present contribution complements the numerical studies shown in by considering localized helix configurations of discrete Cosserat rods as more complex benchmark examples.