The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

A Double Doubly Curved Quadrilateral Element for Thin Elastic Shells of Revolution

Fonder, Ghislain A.

UCB/SESM-1972/01, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1972-01, 186 pages

A new finite element for the linear analysis of thin elastic shells of revolution by the displacement method is derived, tested and discussed. It offers an alternative to the curved elements of revolution, with displacements represented by polynomials and Fourier series in the meridional and circumferential directions respectively, which are ordinarily used to solve nonsymmetrical deflections of this type of shell. The principal lines of curvature, which coincide with parallel and meridian lines in axisymmetric shells, are used to delimit the new element and as a basis for the curvilinear coordinates used throughout the derivation.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/SEMM/SEMM-72-01.pdf (26 MB)