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A simple flat triangular shell element revisited
Author(s) -
Olson Mervyn D.,
Bearden Terrence W.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.421
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1097-0207
pISSN - 0029-5981
DOI - 10.1002/nme.1620140105
Subject(s) - shell (structure) , plane (geometry) , geometry , simple (philosophy) , displacement (psychology) , element (criminal law) , interpolation (computer graphics) , mathematics , bending , convergence (economics) , finite element method , vertex (graph theory) , mathematical analysis , structural engineering , engineering , frame (networking) , combinatorics , mechanical engineering , psychology , philosophy , epistemology , political science , law , economics , psychotherapist , economic growth , graph
The 18 degree‐of‐freedom flat triangular shell element is reformulated by combining the well‐known bending triangle with a plane stress triangle incorporating in‐plane rotations at each vertex. Both elements are displacement formulated. The plane stress element's displacement interpolation is incomplete and hence convergence to exact solutions is precluded. Comprehensive test results are presented for several types of problem including plane stress, thin shells and folded plates. The results indicate that the element does produce rapidly convergent answers. However these answers are not the correct ones, although they may be acceptable engineering approximations in many applications. Further, the element seems to provide reasonably good results even for relatively coarse element grids.