An improved enhanced solid shell element for static and buckling analysis of shell structures

Mechanical Modelisation and Manufacturing Laboratory (LA2MP), National Engineering School of Sfax, BP 1178, W3038, Sfax, Tunisia

^a Corresponding author: mondherwali@yahoo.fr

Received: 19 February 2015
Accepted: 7 November 2015

Abstract

This paper presents an improved higher order solid shell element for static and buckling analysis of laminated composite structures based on the enhanced assumed strain (EAS). The transverse shear strain is divided into two parts: the first one is independent of the thickness coordinate and formulated by the assumed natural strain (ANS) method; the second part is an enhancing part, which ensures a quadratic distribution through the thickness. This allows removing the shear correction factors and improves the accuracy of transverse shear stresses. In addition, volumetric locking is completely avoided by using the optimal parameters in the EAS method. The formulated finite element is implemented to study the static and buckling behavior of shell structures and to investigate the influence of some parameters on the buckling load. Comparisons of numerical results with those extracted from literature show the acceptable performance of the developed element.