The SHEBA Family of Shell Elements for the Matrix Displacement Method

Abstract

Considerable effort has been extended over the past years in adapting the matrix displacement method to the specific problems of thin shells under membrane and bending action and developing suitable elements of varying sophistication. Some of the difficulties arising in the process of idealisation were reviewed in ref. 1. For example, simple considerations show that a representation of a shell by polyhedron surfaces may lead to serious errors, especially in the presence of pronounced bending and so-called boundary-layer effects. For this and other reasons it appears imperative to allow for the curvature of the shell. Much ingenuity has been shown in evolving elements for shells of specific geometry.