Effective Finite Elements for Shell Analysis.

Abstract

One of the major difficulties in the formulation of effective shell elements has been identified to be the phenomenon of membrane locking. Membrane locking occurs in curved shell elements when the in-plane displacement approximation is not of higher order than the transverse displacement approximation and inextensional bending of the shell cannot take place. Inextensional bending is an important mode of deformation, and when an element is not capable of representing inextensional bending, parasitic membrane energy is generated in many modes of deformation. In the same manner that parasitic shear causes shear locking, this spurious membrane energy causes membrane locking. Membrane locking severely reduces the rate of convergence of shell elements, particularly in deep shells and in situations where the bending of the shell is the dominant mode of deformation. In this report, two methods for eliminating membrane locking in curved shell elements are presented.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 20, 1984
Accession Number
ADA173215

Entities

People

  • H. Stolarski
  • N. Carpenter
  • T. Belytschko
  • W. K. Liu

Organizations

  • Northwestern University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Civil Engineering
  • Consistency
  • Convergence
  • Differential Equations
  • Diffusion
  • Displacement
  • Energy
  • Engineering
  • Equations
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Modulus Of Elasticity
  • Shape
  • Stiffness
  • Transverse
  • United States
  • Urban Areas

Fields of Study

  • Engineering
  • Physics

Readers

  • Structural Dynamics.