Simulation of closed thin-walled structures partially filled with fluid

For closed structures, the enclosed gas volume can contribute significantly to the strength and stiffness of a structure. The present paper describes the use of a gas element which is incorporated into finite elements for she lls. In addition, a method to solve the governing set of equations efficien tly is described. The method has been applied to a typical packaging exampl e, namely a closed filled bottle. To validate the proposed method, numerica l studies have been compared with experiments. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Lt d. All rights reserved.