ENHANCED 8-NODE 3-DIMENSIONAL SOLID AND 4-NODE SHELL ELEMENTS WITH INCOMPATIBLE GENERALIZED DISPLACEMENTS

Enhanced 8-node three-dimensional solid and 4-node shell elements are proposed in the paper. Improvement of the response of the 3-D solid is achieved through additional strains corresponding to generalized disp lacements incompatible between elements. In the case of the 4-node she ll, the membrane behaviour is improved through addition of incompatibl e membrane strains. Some linear and geometrically non-linear examples demonstrate significant improvements of the elements. Results are comp ared with solutions obtained with the standard, displacement-based ele ments and with results available in the literature.