Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847

www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruc

Nine node and seven node thick shell elements

with large displacements and rotations
P. Massin a, M. Al Mikdad b,*

a
D

epartement Acoustique et M

ecanique Vibratoire, Electricit

e de France/Division Recherhe et D

eveloppement, 1 Avenue du G

en

eral de
Gaulle, 92141 Clamart, France
b
Samtech France S.A., 14 Avenue du Qu
ebec, SILIC 618, 91945 Courtaboeuf, France
Accepted 1 February 2002

Abstract
In the present paper we discuss the total Lagrangian formulation for shell elements under large displacements and
rotations to perform nonlinear geometrical analyses. This formulation is applied to nine node and seven node quadratic
shell elements initially developed for small strain elasto-plastic analyses. The formulation we use is based on a three
dimensional continuum approach in which we introduce a linear dependence of displacements with respect to thickness
and a plane stress hypothesis. The measure of deformation we take is that of Green–Lagrange related to the second
Piola–Kirchhoff tensor for the stresses by a linear material law. Linear buckling is treated as a limit case of the nonlinear
geometrical analysis. Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Shell; Quadratic; Large rotation; Lagrangian formulation

1. Introduction locking. The efficiency of this scheme can be validated

A method based on matrix combination of rotations
of SO(3) was proposed a few years ago by Al Mikdad
and Ibrahimbegovic [1] to deal with large rotations of
beams. We have successfully applied that method to the
cases of nine node quadrangular and seven node trian-
gular quadratic shell elements. Those quadratic elements
were already available for elasto-plastic analyses in the
scope of small transformations: their formulation draws
from the heterosis plate element of Hughes and Cohen
[6]. They are based on a three dimensional (3D) con-
tinuum description of the kinematics. Displacements
vary linearly with respect to the thickness of the shell
and a plane stress hypothesis is assumed. A new selective
integration scheme is used for the tangent stiffness ma-
trix in order to avoid membrane and transverse shear
*
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: patrick.massin@edf.fr (P. Massin),
mazen.al-mikdad@samtech.fr (M. Al Mikdad).
on the difficult Raasch–Hook test [10]. The total La-
grangian extension of that formulation is proposed in
the case of large rotations. Numerical developments are
carried out within the computation Code-Aster devel-
oped by EDF company.
Large transformations for shells are characterized by
large displacements and rotations of fibers initially
normal to the middle surface. This may be taken into
account exactly in the kinematics of shell elements. The
rotational degrees of freedom we have chosen are the
components of the iterative spatial rotation vector. Be-
tween two iterates it identifies with the infinitesimal ro-
tation vector acting on the deformed configuration. Due
to this choice we obtain a non-symmetric tangent stiff-
ness matrix. A new selective integration scheme is pro-
posed for this tangent stiffness matrix in order to avoid
membrane and transverse shear locking.
The expression for the kinematics is first given and
introduced in the weak formulation of the equilibrium to
get the tangent stiffness matrix. We also show how
the linear buckling can be treated as a limit case of the

0045-7949/02/$ - see front matter Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 4 5 - 7 9 4 9 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 5 0 - 0
836 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847

nonlinear geometrical analysis presented so far. Quite where nðn1 ; n2 Þ is given by:
a few classical examples from the literature are then
treated to validate our method. xP ;n1 ðn1 ; n2 Þ ^ xP ;n2 ðn1 ; n2 Þ
nðn1 ; n2 Þ ¼


xP ;n ðn1 ; n2 Þ ^ xP ;n ðn1 ; n2 Þ
:

ð2Þ
1 2

2. Formulation
2.1. Geometric description
The 3D shell is represented by the volume X of Fig. 1
occupied by the points Qðn3 6¼ 0). These points are lo-
cated on the middle surface x formed by the points
P ðn3 ¼ 0). At each point Q a local orthonormal frame
½t1 ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ : t2 ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ : nðn1 ; n2 Þ can be built. The
vector nðn1 ; n2 Þ is normal to the middle surface x  n3 is
the normalized coordinate with respect to the shell
thickness h in the normal direction to the middle surface,
and n1 , n2 are two curvilinear coordinates which describe
the middle surface.
On the initial configuration, the position of a point Q
nðn1 ; n2 ÞÞ;
located on a normal to the middle surface is given with
the help of the position of its projection P on the middle
surface as follows:
h
xQ ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ ¼ xP ðn1 ; n2 Þ þ n3 nðn1 ; n2 Þ; ð1Þ
2 the deformed middle surface due to transverse shear. It
2.2. Kinematics equations
The position xuQ and displacement uQ (we denote u, v
and w the components of the displacement in a cartesian
frame) of point Q in the deformed configuration of Fig.
2 can also be given as a function of the position and
displacement of its projection P on the initial middle
surface:
h
xuQ ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ ¼ xuP ðn1 ; n2 Þ þ n3 nu ðn1 ; n2 Þ; ð3Þ
2
h
uQ ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ ¼ uP ðn1 ; n2 Þ þ n3 ðnu ðn1 ; n2 Þ
2
ð4Þ
where nu is the unit vector resulting from the large ro-
tation of the normal vector n. nu is usually not normal to
is related to the initial normal vector by the relation:

nu ¼ Kðn1 ; n2 Þn: ð5Þ

K is the orthogonal operator of the large rotation angle

h about the vector H with h ¼ kHk. Its expression is
given by:

Fig. 1. Geometry of 3D shells. Local frames on the reference Fig. 2. Geometry of 3D shells. Large transformation of a fiber
configuration. initially normal to the middle surface.
 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847 837

K ¼ exp½H and
sin h 1
cos h
¼ cos h½I þ ½H þ ½H H ð6Þ
h h2 l1 ¼ t1  e1 m1 ¼ t1  e2 n1 ¼ t1  e3 ;
l2 ¼ t2  e1 m2 ¼ t2  e2 n2 ¼ t2  e3 ; ð12Þ
where ½H is the anti-symmetric operator correspond- l3 ¼ t3  e1 m3 ¼ t3  e2 n3 ¼ t3  e3 ;
ing to the rotation vector H:
2 3
0
Hz Hy where ½e1 : e2 : e3  is the global Cartesian frame.
½H ¼ 4 Hz 0
Hx 5 ð7Þ The expression for E is:

Hy Hx 0
0 1
Exx
and ½H H the symmetric operator given by ½H H ¼ B Eyy C
B C
HHT . Details concerning the treatment of large rota- B Ezz C
E¼B C
B cxy C
tions and its numerical implementation may be found in B C
Al Mikdad [2]. @ cxz A
cyz
0 1 0 1 2  1
2.3. Constitutive law u;x u þ v 2
þ w 2

B v;y C B
2
 ;x ;x ;x
 C
B C B B 1
u 2
þ v 2
þ w 2 C
C
We consider a hyper-elastic behavior along with a B w;z C B 2 ;y
B C B 
;y ;y
 C C
plane-stress hypothesis. The constitutive law relates the B C
¼ B u;y þ v;x C þ B 1 u2;z þ v2;z þ w2;z C; ð13Þ
second Piola–Kirchhoff local stresses to the local Green– B u;z þ w;x C B 2 C
B C B B u u
;x ;y þ v v
;x ;y þ w w C
;x ;y C
Lagrange strains: @ v;z þ w;y A @
u;x u;z þ v;x v;z þ w;x w;z A
u;y u;z þ v;y v;z þ w;y w;z
e ¼ DE
S e ð8Þ

where the symbol  indicates that quantities are ex- which can be reduced to [5]:
pressed in the local orthonormal frame ½t1 ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ :
  
t2 ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ : t3 ðn1 ; n2 Þ ¼ nðn1 ; n2 Þ. D is the material 1 ou ou
tensor for shells under plane stress conditions in elas- E¼ Qþ A ð14Þ
2 ox ox
ticity in the case of Reissner’s theory:
2 E mE
3
1
m2 1
m2
0 0 0 with
6 E
0 0 0 7
6 1
m2 7
6 E
0 0 7  T
D¼6 2ð1þmÞ 7; ð9Þ ou ou ou ou ov ov ov ow ow ow
6 sym Ek
0 7 ¼ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ð15Þ
4 2ð1þmÞ 5 ox ox oy oz ox oy oz ox oy oz
Ek
2ð1þmÞ

and
where E is Young’s modulus, m is Poisson’s coefficient
and k is the shear correction coefficient 5/6. 2 3
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
We use a vectorial expression of the Green–Lagrange 60
6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 077
strain for which a transformation from the local frame 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17
to the global one is proposed by [3]: Q¼6
60
7 ð16Þ
6 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 077
40 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 05
51 5661
e ¼ H E
E ð10Þ 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0

with and

2 3
l21 m21 n21 l1 m1 m1 n1 n1 l1
6 2
m22 n22 7
56 6 l2 l2 m2 m2 n2 n2 l2 7
H ¼6 2l
6 l21 2m1 m2 2n1 n2 l1 m2 þ l2 m1 m1 n2 þ m2 n1 n1 l2 þ n2 l1 7
7 ð11Þ
4 2l2 l3 2m2 m3 2n2 n3 l2 m3 þ l3 m2 m2 n3 þ m3 n2 n2 l3 þ n3 l2 5
2l3 l1 2m3 m1 2n3 n1 l3 m1 þ l1 m3 m3 n1 þ m1 n3 n3 l1 þ n1 l3
838 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847

2 3
ou=ox 0 0 ov=ox 0 0 ow=ox 0 0
6 0 ou=oy 0 0 ov=oy 0 0 ow=oy 0 7
  6 7
ou 6 0 0 ou=oz 0 0 ov=oz 0 0 ow=oz 7
A ¼6
6 ou=oy
7: ð17Þ
ox 6 ou=ox 0 ov=oy ov=ox 0 ow=oy ow=ox 0 7 7
4 ou=oz 0 ou=ox ov=oz 0 ov=ox ow=oz 0 ow=ox 5
0 ou=oz ou=oy 0 ov=oz ov=oy 0 ow=oz ow=oy

3. Virtual work 2ð1

cos hÞ
det TðHÞ ¼ : ð26Þ
h2
The virtual work of internal forces can be written on
the reference geometry as: Our rotations will be limited to 2p being enough for our
Z  range of applications.

dpint ¼ e g  fe
fd E S g dX: ð18Þ Then we get the several differential variations of the
X displacement requested in (19). The virtual displacement
is expressed as:
Its iterative variation is such that:
Z   h
Ddpint ¼ e g  fD e
fd E e g  fe
S g þ fDd E S g dX; ð19Þ duQ ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ ¼ duP ðn1 ; n2 Þ þ n3 dwðn1 ; n2 Þ  nu ðn1 ; n2 Þ;
2
X
dn ¼ 0; ð27Þ
where we need the virtual variation of the global Green–
Lagrange strain tensor: which expression is very similar that obtained for the
   iterative displacement:
ou odu
dE ¼ Q þ A ð20Þ
ox ox h
DuQ ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ ¼ DuP ðn1 ; n2 Þ þ n3 Dwðn1 ; n2 Þ  nu ðn1 ; n2 Þ;
2
and its virtual iterative variation: Dn ¼ 0:
    
oDu odu ou oDdu ð28Þ
DdE ¼ A þ QþA : ð21Þ
ox ox ox ox
Classical term Non-classical term The variation for that iterative displacement is also:
While the first term of the above expression is classical in h
3D continuum, the second one, which usually does not DduQ ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ ¼ n3 dwðn1 ; n2 Þ  ðDwðn1 ; n2 Þ
2
exist, takes into account the influence of large rotations.  nu ðn1 ; n2 ÞÞ; ð29Þ
To calculate the virtual variations of the displace-
ment gradient vector and its iterative we need the virtual
which disappears for 3D continuum since this term is
variation dK of the large rotation matrix K:
linked with the virtual or iterative variations of the
dK ¼ ½dwK; ð22Þ normal nu ðn1 ; n2 Þ.
The unknowns are DuP ðn1 ; n2 Þ and Dwðn1 ; n2 Þ. The
where ½dw is the anti-symmetric operator related to update for the rotations between iteration i and i þ 1 is
the virtual spatial rotation dw such that: the following:
½dw  b ¼ dw ^ b 8 b 2 R3 : ð23Þ
Kiþ1 ¼ exp½DwKi  Ki þ DK: ð30Þ
This vector can be related to the increment dH of the
rotation vector H thanks to the following relation: Use of the quaternions algebra is made in the process of
updating rotations as developed in [7].
dw ¼ TðHÞdH ðalso Dw ¼ TðHÞDHÞ; ð24Þ

where TðHÞ is the differential rotation matrix the ex-

4. Implementation
pression of which is [7]:
sin h 1
cos h h
sin h The kinematics described so far shall be now imple-
TðHÞ ¼ ½I
½H þ ½H H:
h h2 h3 mented on seven node and nine node heterosis shell
ð25Þ elements. In order to avoid an explicit calculus of cur-
vatures, we choose to interpolate the normal to the ini-
This expression becomes singular for h ¼ 2kp, k P 1 tial middle surface, rather than interpolating rotations.
since [7]: Displacements or positions are interpolated on six and
 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847 839

eight nodes (NB1), while the normal is interpolated on frame of main axes (ox, oy, oz). The height of the hook
seven and nine nodes (NB2). Hence the interpolation of is 0.508 m ð0 6 z 6 0:508Þ and its thickness is 0.0508 m.
any point Q on the reference or current configuration Side AB is clamped. The value of Young’s modulus
may be written as: is 22 752 510 Pa and Poisson’s coefficient is 0.35. The
0 u1 linear loading F ¼ F ez, where F ¼ 8:7594 N/m is ap-
x
X
NB1
ð1Þ B C plied on the C-side of the hook. We look at the deflec-
xu ðn1 ; n2 ; n3 Þ ¼ NI ðn1 ; n2 Þ@ y u A tion for point C for which z ¼ 0. We give in Table 1
I¼1
zu I the results we obtained for different elements and dif-
0 u1 ferent meshes. The reference result is obtained with
nx
h XNB2
ð2Þ B uC linear 3D cubic elements in [10]. The value of the de-
þ n3 N ðn1 ; n2 Þ@ ny A: ð31Þ
2 I¼1 I flection is then 0.1252 m. The two elements described
nuz stand this test fairly well. As the thickness was decreased
from 1=10 to 1=1000 of the hook’s height no locking
The interpolation for the positions, being alike on the
effects were observed and the results were similar to
reference or current configurations, remains valid for
those of [10].
the displacement. The nodal normal is obtained with the
help of Eq. (2).
4.2. Rotation around the normal

4.1. Integration scheme We define hnu ¼ H  nu as the rotation around the

transformed normal. That rotation verifies the property:
A selective integration scheme is chosen to avoid
membrane and transverse shear locking. For the nine hnu ¼ ðKHÞ  ðKnÞ ¼ H  n ¼ hn ; ð32Þ
node quadrangle, the bending part of the rigidity matrix
is integrated with nine Gauss points while its membrane which means that the projection of the rotation vector
and shear parts are under-integrated with four Gauss on the transformed normal is identical to its projection
points. For the seven node triangle, the bending part of on the initial normal vector.
the rigidity matrix is integrated with seven Hammer Since the tangent stiffness matrix is singular with re-
points while its membrane and shear parts are under- spect to the rotational component around the trans-
integrated with three Hammer points. In our reduced formed normal nu we define a potential energy
integrations for membrane and shear, quantities are
evaluated at the reduced integration points and then
extrapolated at the classical integration points. It is
then assumed that membrane and shear deforma- Table 1
Deflection at point C of the hook in Fig. 3
tions are bilinear for the quadrangle and linear for the
triangle. DSQ Result DZ Reference DZ Difference
The interesting Rassch–Hook test [10] of Fig. 3, at C (m) at C (m) [10] (%)
which exhibits transverse shear locking on DST ele- 5  34 0.1483 0.1252 18.42
ments, is used in our validation program for these in- 10  68 0.2388 0.1252 90.75
tegration schemes. The projection of the geometry of the 20  136 0.4457 0.1252 256
hook on the X–Y plane is given on Fig. 3. We denote ex, DKQ
ey, ez the normalized vectors associated to a Cartesian 5  34 0.1196 0.1252
4.81
10  68 0.1167 0.1252
6.76
20  136 0.1067 0.1252
14.75
3D quadratic
5  34  1 0.132 0.1252 5.5
10  68  1 0.1335 0.1252 6.64
20  136  2 0.1343 0.1252 7.28
Triangle
5  34 0.1322 0.1252 5.62
10  68 0.1318 0.1252 5.3
20  136 0.1315 0.1252 5.06
Quadrangle
5  34 0.132 0.1252 5.4
10  68 0.1357 0.1252 5.1
Fig. 3. Geometry for the Raasch–Hook test. Projection in the
20  136 0.1312 0.1252 4.79
XY plane.
840 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847
X
associated with this rotation with a constant torsion Ddpnu ffi k ðdH  ½n nDHÞI : ð38Þ
stiffness related to the rotation. The discrete form of this k¼1;NB2
potential energy is given by the following expression:
1 X  2  4.3. Linear buckling
pnu ¼ k hu : ð33Þ
2 I¼1;NB2 n I
Linear buckling is treated as a limit case of the non-
With the help of (32) this expression may be written as: linear geometric analysis. It is based on the hypothesis of
a linear variation of the displacement and stress fields
1 X with respect to the load level. Its consequence is the
pnu ¼ k ðH  ½n nHÞI : ð34Þ
2 k¼1;NB2 linear development of the tangent stiffness matrix with
respect to the load level. The stiffness matrix of the linear
Internal forces due to that potential energy are taken buckling analysis is then obtained as limit of the geo-
into account and are given by the first variation of the metric part of the tangent stiffness matrix––second part
above potential energy which leads to: of Eq. (19)––when the deformed normal nu is identified
X with n.
dpnu ¼ k ðdH  ½n nHÞI : ð35Þ
k¼1;NB2
5. Validation
The tangent operator associated with these internal
forces is obtained from: Tests were performed both on triangle and quad-
X     rangle elements.
Ddpnu ¼ k dw  T
T ðHÞ½n nT
1 ðHÞ Dw I
k¼1;NB2
X    5.1. Linear buckling analyses
þk dw  DT
T ðHÞ½n nH I ; ð36Þ
k¼1;NB2
5.1.1. Linear buckling of an H-shaped beam under
which can be approximated by: transverse loading.
X  The geometry of the beam is given on Fig. 4. The
  
Ddpnu ffi k dw  T
T ðHÞ½nu nu T
1 ðHÞ Dw I : value of Young’s modulus is 2.1Eþ11 Pa and Poisson’s
k¼1;NB2 coefficient is 0.3. The loading P is applied on the tip B of
ð37Þ the beam. The analytical critical load obtained using [12]
is P ¼
104797:82 N. Numerical critical loads given in
Since no deformation can be associated with that Table 2 are within a few percents of relative error with
energy, it must remain negligible; this can be controlled respect to the analytical solution. The corresponding
by the user who may set the value of the stiffness from critical mode identical to that of [12] is shown in Fig. 5.
10
6 to 10
3 times the stiffness associated with the other
rotational components. Once again, due to the presence 5.1.2. Linear buckling of a cylinder under external
of T
1 ðHÞ in the tangent stiffness matrix, rotations are pressure
restricted to 2p. In the case of linear geometric analysis The geometry of the cylinder is given on Fig. 6. The
the second variation of the potential energy classically loading consists of a pressure P on the cylindrical part
reduces to: and of a force R=2 times P per unit length on top and

Fig. 4. Geometry and loading of a H-shaped beam under transverse loading.

 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847 841

Table 2 Table 3
Critical load of a H-shaped beam under transverse loading Critical buckling pressure of a cylinder under external pressure
(analytical Ref. [12]) (analytical Ref. [12])
Critical load Result (N) Ref. [12] (N) Difference Critical load Result Ref. [12] Difference
(%) (MPa) (MPa) (%)
Triangle 107753.49 104797.82 2.820 Triangle 1.6862 1.523 10.715

107878.78
104797.82
2.940 Quadrangle 1.558 1.523 2.272
Quadrangle 97636.39 104797.82
6.834

97636.39
104797.82 6.834

Fig. 5. Buckling mode of a H-Shaped beam under transverse

loading. Fig. 7. Mode-shape of a cylinder under external pressure (tri-
angles).

bottom side parts. Material properties are the same as

for the H shaped beam. The critical pressure obtained
with the help of [12] is P ¼ 1:523 MPa, which is within
10% of relative error with respect to the analytical so-
lution for triangles and within less than 2.5% for
quadrangles [12]. Results are presented in Table 3. The
shape of the critical modes is given in Figs. 7 and 8 and
corresponds to the eight wavelength mode-shape of the
analytical solution.

5.2. Large rotation analyses

In the following we denote ex, ey, ez the normalized

vectors associated to a Cartesian frame of main axes (ox,
oy, oz).

5.2.1. Beam clamped at one end under linear moment

Fig. 6. Geometry and loading of a cylinder under external The beam on Fig. 9 is clamped at one of its end and an
pressure. external moment M is applied on its other end. It is 10 m
842 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847
Fig. 8. Mode-shape of a cylinder under external pressure
P en, where en is the direc-
(quadrangles).
Fig. 9. Beam clamped at one end under linear moment (units
m).
long, 1 m wide and 0.1 m thick. The value of Young’s
modulus is 12 MPa and Poisson’s coefficient is 0.0. With
this classical test from the literature [11] we reach a ro-
F ez
tation of 2p for the free end of the beam presented on
Fig. 9 meshed with quadrangles and of p for the beam
meshed with triangles. A rotation beyond 2p is not ex-
pected with the formulation presented in Section 2 due to
the singularity of the differential rotation matrix TðHÞ of
(25) for h ¼ 2p. However we were not able to go past
h ¼ p for triangles, which is still under investigation and
could be linked to the approximation involved to obtain
(37) from (36). The deformed beam shape with quad-
rangles is shown in Fig. 10. The in-plane and out-
of-plane beam displacements plotted against the angle of
F ex, P7, F ¼ F ey and P2, F ¼
F ey of the
rotation are shown in Fig. 11 and match the analytical
solution to perfection. The linear evolution of the angle
of rotation as a function of the applied moment M is also
shown in Fig. 12.
Fig. 10. Deformed beam clamped at one end under linear
moment for a 6 rad rotation.
5.2.2. Cantilever plate with or without follower pressure
A normal pressure P ¼
tion of the loading, is applied to the plate on Fig. 13. en
can be directed along the z axis for a non-follower
pressure or along the actualized normal to the plate for a
follower pressure. The value of Young’s modulus is 12
MPa and Poisson’s coefficient is 0.3. The reference so-
lution for the x and z displacements against the pressure
P is given by the commercial code Samcef using a co-
rotational formulation [5] with a DSQ type element [9].
In Table 4 a chart compares the results we obtained with
those of Samcef. A good agreement is found between
both formulations.
Then the evolution of displacements with respect to
the pressure p is given in Fig. 14 for a non-follower
pressure and in Fig. 15 for a follower pressure. The effect
of the follower pressure which rounds the plate is clearly
visible.
5.2.3. Skew plate under transverse loading
The value of Young’s modulus is 2.1 MPa and Pois-
son’s coefficient is 0.3. The transverse loading F ¼
is applied on the tip P of the beam on Fig. 16. The
reference solution for the in-plane x and out-of-plane z
displacements against the load level F is given again by
the commercial code Samcef using a corotational for-
mulation [5] with a DSQ type element [9]. Our match on
displacements for a given load level is <5% from the
reference solution as may be seen in Table 5.
5.2.4. Pinched hemispherical cap
Nodal forces are applied at points P1, F ¼ F ex, P6,
F ¼
hemispherical cap on Fig. 17. The value of Young’s
modulus is 68.25 MPa and Poisson’s coefficient is 0.3.
The reference solution for the x and z displacements
against the load level F is given by the commercial code
 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847 843

Fig. 11. In-plane (ux) and out-of-plane (uz) displacements (m) of a beam clamped at one end under linear moment.

Samcef using a corotational formulation [5] with a DSQ

type element [9].
We give the displacement (m)–load (N) curve for
points P1 and P2 in Fig. 18 and a comparison with the
results obtained with the reference in Table 6. The match
of displacements for a given load level is <1.25% for
both elements.

5.2.5. Buckling of a beam under axial compressive load

[12]
The value of Young’s modulus is 2  Eþ11 Pa and
Poisson’s coefficient is 0.3. The beam is presented on
Fig. 19. Sideline AD is clamped and the in-plane loading
P ¼ Pcr t, where Pcr ¼ ðp2 EIÞ=4L2 ¼ 1124:21 N is Euler’s
buckling load, is applied to the side BC of the beam.
This loading corresponds to the critical load obtained
from [12]. A perturbation technique is used in the
neighborhood of the critical load: an out-of-plane
loading with a magnitude about 1=1000 of the in-plane
loading is applied for 0:95 < t < 1:01. An arc length
Fig. 12. Angle of rotation (rad) as a function of applied mo-
control method [4] is used past the critical load for
ment (Nm) for a beam clamped at one end under linear mo-
ment.
t > 1:01. Load–displacement curves obtained on Fig. 20
for points B or C, where u is the out-of-plane displace-
ment and w the relative displacement along the z axis,
are recovered within a few percents of relative error with
respect to the analytical solution [12] for quadrangles
and with a larger margin for triangles which increases as
the load level increases too.

5.2.6. Large displacements of a simply-supported cylin-

drical panel under concentrated load [8]
The value of Young’s modulus is 3  10275Eþ09 Pa
and Poisson’s coefficient is 0.3. The panel on Fig. 21 is
Fig. 13. Cantilever plate with follower pressure (units m). simply supported on the sides CE and GF. A vertical
844 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847

Table 4
Rotation (DRY in rad) and in-plane (DX in m) and out-of-plane (DZ in m) displacements of a cantilever plate under follower pressure
(in Pa)
Pressure (Pa) Result DX (m) Reference DX (m) Difference (%)
Triangle 11
6.964
7.366 5.45
Triangle 22
14.03
13.51
2.81
Quadrangle 13
8.854
9.037 2.026
Quadrangle 26
14.03
14.15 0.841
Result DZ (m) Reference DZ (m)
Triangle 11
8.45
8.37 0.93
Triangle 22
5.78
6.17 6.69
Quadrangle 13
8.410
8.427 0.203
Quadrangle 26
4.547
4.434
2.554
Result DRY (rad) Reference DRY (rad)
Triangle 11 1.921 1.692 3.09
Triangle 22 2.734 2.821
3.12
Quadrangle 13 1.921 1.943
1.153
Quadrangle 26 3.070 3.098
0.896
Reference is a corotational formulation applied to DSQ elements.

Fig. 15. Displacements (m) of a cantilever plate with follower

pressure (Pa).

The reference solution for the relative vertical dis-

Fig. 14. Displacements (m) of a cantilever plate with non-fol-
lower pressure (Pa).
concentrated force F ¼
P ez is applied at the center A used the arc length control method past a load repre-
of the panel. This test is interesting since the behavior of
the panel changes drastically and shows two limit load
points and two limit displacement points.
placement w as a function of the load level P is given for
the DKT24 element as found in [8]. The load–deflection
curves we obtained for triangles and quadrangles and
the reference solution may be seen on Fig. 22. We have
senting 97% of the maximum limit load. The load has
been normalized by the maximum value of 600 N of the
reference curve. Quadrangles and triangles give similar
 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847 845

Fig. 16. Geometry and loading of a skew-plate (units m).

Table 5
In-plane (DX) and out-of-plane (DZ) displacements (m) of a skew plate under transverse loading (N)
Force F (N) Result DX (m) Reference DX (m) Difference (%)
Triangle 250
37.44
38.07 1.648
Triangle 500
52.27
52.00 3.003
Quadrangle 250
39.02
38.07
0.517
Quadrangle 500
54.32
52.00
4.470
Result DZ (m) Reference DZ (m)
Triangle 250
70.44
72.40 2.705
Triangle 500
81.03
80.73
1.930
Quadrangle 250
72.18
72.40 0.307
Quadrangle 500
79.17
80.73 0.371
Reference is a corotational formulation applied to DSQ elements.

Fig. 17. Geometry (units m) and loading (units N) of a pinched

hemispherical cap.

results. The load obtained for both limit load points is

correct within 3% of relative error while the error for the
vertical displacement nears 6%. The displacement ob- Fig. 18. Load (N)–displacement (m) curve on the points P1 and
tained for both limit displacement points is correct P2 of the hemispherical cap of Fig. 16.
846 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847

Table 6
Displacements at P1 and P2 (units m) for the pinched hemispherical cap for a given load level compared with a reference corotational
formulation applied to DSQ elements
Force F (N) Result DX at P1 (m) Reference DX at P1 (m) Difference (%)
Triangle 20 1.479 1.484
0.345
Triangle 50 2.559 2.579
0.748
Triangle 100 3.348 3.39
1.250
Quadrangle 20 1.486 1.484 0.107
Quadrangle 50 2.571 2.579
0.262
Quadrangle 100 3.362 3.39
0.827

Result DY at P2 (m) Reference DY at P2 (m)

Triangle 20
1.801
1.816 0.09
Triangle 50
3.739
3.759
0.528
Triangle 100
5.731
5.802
1.222
Quadrangle 20
1.799
1.816 0.954
Quadrangle 50
3.779
3.759 0.543
Quadrangle 100
5.780
5.802
0.3

Fig. 19. Beam under axial compressive load (N).

within 5% but the load level obtained for the first point
is clearly under-estimated (around 70%) and the load
level for the second point is clearly over-estimated
(around 20%). After the second limit load point the re-
sults we obtained are identical to the reference.
6. Conclusion
The seven (triangle) and nine (quadrangle) node
quadratic large transformation shell elements described
so far are based on a 3D continuum approach in the
weak formulation of the equilibrium of which we have
Fig. 20. Relative in-plane w and out-of-plane u displacements
in m for a beam under axial compressive load. The load level is
normalized by the critical load.
introduced Hencky–Mindlin plane stress kinematics
and a linear variation of displacements over the thick-
ness of the shell. This weak formulation is purely La-
grangian. The strain tensor of Green–Lagrange is
linearly associated with the second Piola–Kirchhoff
tensor for the stresses. Good results are obtained for
linear buckling analyses and analyses with large rota-
tions with or without limit loads, snap-through and
snap-back.
 P. Massin, M. Al Mikdad / Computers and Structures 80 (2002) 835–847
Fig. 21. Simply supported panel under concentrated load.
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