Large deformation analysis of laminated shells by ftnife element method

A finite element formulation is presented for conducting large deformation analysis of laminated anisotropic shells. The element adopted herein is a "degenerated" three-dimensional isoparametric element. Derivations of the nonlinear geometric element stiffness matrices were made on the basis of updated Lagrangian description. The numerical formulations of the shell element were implemented into a nonlinear finite program. Numerical characteristics of the element with respect to the mesh size and the use of integration orders were studied for a plate with simply supports and clamped supports. In addition, several examples are included to demonstrate the utility of the element.