APPLICATION OF RITZ'S MTHOD TO THIN ELASTIC SHELLS ANALYSIS.

Abstract

The paper is concerned with finite element analysis of thin elastic shells described by the Koiter-Sanders mathematical model. The middle surface of the shell is decomposed into curved finite triangular elements, which are mapped onto straight triangles in the plane of parameters of the surface. We show that with an appropriate approximation of the given surface, rigid-body motions may be represented exactly. Nine degrees of freedom are associated with each nodal point (the vertices of the elements) and the displacement functions fulfill the conditions of regularity required by Ritz's method and assure convergence in energy. The derivation is quite general with respect to the geometry of the shell. A cylindrical shell analysis is presented as an illustrative numerical example. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1970
Accession Number
AD0711962

Entities

People

  • G. A. Dupuis

Organizations

  • Brown University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Convergence
  • Displacement
  • Elastic Shells
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Geometry
  • Mathematical Models
  • Mathematics
  • Models
  • Polygons
  • Topology
  • Triangles

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Structural Dynamics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design