A STUDY OF MINDLIN PLATE FINITE ELEMENTS

Abstract

Between finite element applications, bending plate elements are the most frequently used in structural analysis. However the advanced topics which are at the basis of the most part of these elements cannot be fully covered by the engineering educational process. This paper contains a study of Mindlin plate finite elements in order to find or even reformulate elements, such that their presentation becomes as simple as possible. Issues like, parametric functions, reduced and selective integration, bubble functions or linked interpolation are avoided, but increased computational efforts are accepted if they simplify the formulation. A displacement formulation triangle in metric coordinates was found, whith correct rank, reduced level of locking, and a relative simple formulation. The presented numerical examples show an accuracy of the results, which is comparable with known elements from available commercial structural analysis software.