Improved formulation for the stabilized enhanced strain solid-shell element (SHB8PS): geometric linear and nonlinear applications

Abstract

In this study, the formulation of the SHB8PS solid-shell element is reviewed in order to eliminate some persistent membrane and shear locking phenomena. The resulting physically stabilized and locking-free finite element consists in a continuum mechanics shell element based on a purely three-dimensional formulation. In fact, this is a hexahedral element with eight nodes as well as five integration points, all distributed along the “thickness” direction. Consequently, it can be used for the modelling of thin structures, while providing an accurate description of the various through-thickness phenomena. The reduced integration has been used in order to prevent some locking phenomena and to increase computational efficiency. The spurious zero-energy deformation modes due to the reduced integration are efficiently stabilized, whereas the strain components corresponding to locking modes are eliminated with a projection technique following the Enhanced Assumed Strain (EAS) method.