The curved member is assumed to be an assemblage of straight members connected to each other at nodal points whose coordinates are introduced in the initial configuration. Although it has been recognized by many researchers that the straight beam element cannot always model the curved member properly, the present work proves that this conclusion is not true provided that the usual geometric stiffness of the thin-walled straight beam element is adjusted by taking into consideration the out-of-balance of the internal forces at the joint of two adjacent elements meeting at an angle