A COMPARISON OF 3-DIMENSIONAL CONTINUUM AND SHELL ELEMENTS FOR FINITEPLASTICITY

For three-dimensional continuum elements in solid mechanics crucial de velopments were achieved by Simo and Armero [Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engn g 33, 1413-1449 (1992)] and Simo ei nl. [Comput. Meth. Appl. Mech. Eng ng 110, 359-386 (1993)] recently. These elements are locking free and show superior bending behaviour even for large strains. Naturally, sol id elements are easier to develop and to implement than shell elements . This fact motivates a comparison of continuum and shell elements for thin shell problems. Thus, in this paper. continuum and shell formula tions are compared for finite elasto-plastic deformations. Copyright ( C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.