The constant-moment plate-bending element

Abstract

A non-conforming displacement triangular finite element is derived with quadratically varying displacements for use in plate-bending problems. It is shown that the element corresponds with a known constant-bending-moment element and provides, in consequence, an over-estimate of the influence coefficients. Convergence is also assured in advancing to successively finer mesh sizes. A few simple test problems are computed so as to illustrate the kind of accuracy which can be expected.