Carrera, Erasmo

Chinosi, C.

Cinefra, Maria

Della Croce, L.

English

PORTO Publications Open Repository TOrino

Refined multilayered shell elements based on MITC type technique and Unified
Formulation
M. Cinefra1,2, E. Carrera1, C. Chinosi3 and L. Della Croce4
(1)Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
(2)CRP H. Tudor, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
(3)Universita` del Piemonte Orientale, Alessandria, Italy
(4)Universita` di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
maria.cinefra@polito.it
Multilayered structures, such as sandwich panels, composite laminated structures are extensively
used to build large part of next generation aircraft, spacecraft and advanced components of ship
and automotive vehicles.
Analysis of failure mechanisms in layered structures demands an accurate evaluation of strain
and stress fields in each lamina. Advanced shell models with variable kinematic as well as zig-
zag theories have been proposed in last three decades literature. However, the solutions of real
structures with complex geometries and boundary conditions requires the use of computational
methods. Among these numerical methods, a relevant role is played by finite element method,
FEM [1]. On the other hand, such models could demand specific efforts to overcome the limita-
tions due to numerical mechanisms, such as shear and membrane locking.
The formulation of an efficient and robust shell finite element for the analysis of multilayered
composite structures is the topic of this paper. The variable kinematic modeling in the framework
of Carrera’s Unified Formulation (CUF) [2] is referred to. Linear, parabolic, cubic and forth order
displacement fields in the shell thickness direction are used. Both cases of equivalent single layer
(the multilayered plate is seen as an equivalent one layered plate) and layer-wise (each layer is con-
sidered as an independent plate) variable descriptions are accounted for. Nine-nodes elements are
considered and a number of applications are developed to isotropic and multilayered anisotropic
shells. In order to avoid the locking phenomenon the MITC type technique proposed in [3] is em-
ployed. The performance of the element is tested by solving benchmark problems involving very
thin shells.
References
[1] K.J. Bathe, Finite Element Procedures, Prentice Hall, 1996.
[2] E. Carrera, Theories and finite elements for multilayered plates and shells: a unified compact
formulation with numerical assessment and benchmarking, Archives of Computational Methods
in Engineering, 10, 215-297, 2003.
[3] D. Chapelle and K.J. Bathe, The Finite Element Analysis of Shells - Fundamentals, Springer,2003.


Refined multilayered shell elements based on MITC type technique and Unified Formulation

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