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Finite Element Analysis Numerical Analysis Analysis Comparisons Physics Related Questions

What is the difference between a thin shell, a thick shell and a According to finite element method, what is the
solid in finite element analysis? difference between thin shell and thick shell?

What is a shell element according to finite

elements?
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What is the difference between Multibody System
4 Answers Dynamics (MSD) and Finite Element Analysis
(FEA)?

Simon Fourier, Associate Product Marketing Manager at SimScale (2018-present) What is the difference between Lagrangian and
Updated Mar 15 · Author has 134 answers and 38k answer views Eulerian elements and analysis in finite element
analysis?
Let me answer this in three parts.

Solid vs Shell elements

Shell elements are used as a simplification of 3D structures. It can lead to huge computational time
savings since they allow modeling of thin features with fewer mesh elements. Shell elements are also
easier to mesh and less prone to negative Jacobian errors which might occur when using extremely
thin solid features. If you are interested to know more about the negative Jacobian error, check out
these two discussions from SimScale on a similar topic: Scaled Jacobian issues , Mesh quality
check .

Thin vs Thick shell elements

Thin shells (like thin beams) do not consider the stress in the direction perpendicular to the shell
surface. Thick shells (like thick beams) can consider stresses through the thickness on the shell, in the
direction normal to the middle surface, and account for shear deformation. Essentially what this means
is that thick shell elements take into account the transverse shear deformation while thin shell elements
do not. To be more technical, thin-shell formulation follows a Kirchhoff application, which neglects
transverse shear deformation, whereas thick-shell formulation follows Mindlin/Reissner, which does
account for shear behavior.

How do I decide when to use thin shell or thick shell or solid element?

Let’s consider a structure with length L and cross-sectional dimensions h and t as shown below:

Shear stresses become more predominant as the h/L ratio increases i.e. the height/length. Depending
upon this ratio, you can select whether to use thin shell or thick shell or solid. Here’s a simple rule of
thumb guide to an approximate range over which a particular element can be chosen.
1k views · View 1 Upvoter

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Related Questions More Answers Below

According to finite element method, what is the difference between thin shell and thick shell?

What is a shell element according to finite elements?

How does finite element analysis work?

What are the interview questions on finite element analysis?

What is the difference between Multibody System Dynamics (MSD) and Finite Element
Analysis (FEA)?

Rahul Vishark, Master's Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University

Answered Aug 2, 2018 · Author has 108 answers and 212.2k answer views

A plate (solid) can bend.Plates sustain out of plane loading (transverse loads) by bending stresses.

Bending causes bottom surface to be in tension and top to be in compression.

A membrane cannot bend. It can resist forces by in plane tension (transferring load to the supports via.
tension). Membranes sustain out of plane loading by in plane stresses. The cable between the two
bridge column supports in the following diagram is what a membrane is.
A shell is a combination of a plate and a membrane (that is it will have bending as well as in plane
stiffness).

Now, consider transverse loads. Transverse loads are loads applied out of plane to a body. Transverse
loading causes shear in addition to bending. Because of transverse shear deformation, what should
have been like a). is actually like b).

The inclusion or non- inclusion of this transverse shear deformation effect is the main difference
between thin and thick shells. Thin shells do not consider transverse shear deformation and follow a
Kirchoff formulation. Thick shells account for shear deformation and hence are formulated according
to Mindlin / Reisner theory. Ideally, if thickness to length is less than 1/15, it is considered as thin
shell and if more than that, it is considered as thick shell.
1.9k views · View 4 Upvoters

Arjun M Betageri, Still Learning

Answered Mar 25, 2016 · Author has 179 answers and 1.5m answer views

In finite element analysis, I would defferentiate with elements. Lets keep it simple shell elements can
be a huge time save since they allow the modelling of thin features with relatively much fewer
elements than solid elements. They are also easier to mesh and less prone negative Jacobian errors
which might occur when using extremely thin solid features. Here is a comparison of Solid and Shell
elements for a fairly simple model. The figure below show the Solid (on the left), Thin Shell (in the
centre) and Thick Shell (on the right) elements. All the three are subjected to same loadings and
fixtures.

A simple static study reveals that we get the same

results for all the three cases.
 However, the shell elementsare limited to features which
are really thin. A good approximate is if the thickness of the body is at least 20 times less than the
span. Another sample case shows bodies which are not good candidates for shell elements.

Image source : solidworks

8.5k views · View 6 Upvoters · Answer requested by Fareed Kumar

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