The twist that arises from bending stresses in straight cantilevers of thin-walled section asymmetrical about any vertical plane, is well known and eventually leads to the concept of a shear centre. If an analysis is made along the same lines as that used for investigating straight beams, of cantilevers curved in plan, it is found that the bending moments transmitted are again responsible for shear stresses in the flanges of the beam and cause twisting.

The following analyses refer, principally, to cases in which the cantilever carries a concentrated load at its end and are confined to the relatively simple forms of the channel and I-section. Each cantilever is perfectly built-in at one end and, for simplicity, it is considered that the web of a section offers no resistance to bending and that the beams are of constant curvature in plan.