APPLICATION OF HIERARCHICAL SOLID ELEMENT REGULATING THE DISPLACEMENT FIELD TO THICK PLATE ANALYSIS

Abstract

  In this paper, we propose the hierarchical 3D-shell elements that regulate the same displacement field as several shear deformation theory in the displacement function of a hierarchical solid element. These elements are identical with the hierarchical plane-shell elements having the in-plane and bending stiffnesses, but those have the same three-dimensional shape as the hierarchical solid elements. Therefore, there is no modeling contradiction such that the middle-surface of the elements combines with a solid element in the case of plate/shell elements, and application of these elements to plates with variable thickness is easy. By applying the Mindlin and Reissner elements based on first-order shear deformation theory and the high-order elements based on high-order shear deformation theory to thick plate analysis, the accuracy and applicability of these elements are demonstrated.