Chapter 9

SHELL ELEMENTS

9.1 INTRODUCTION

Finite elements for the analysis of shells with general geometry take a variety of forms,
depending upon the theory used. Some elements are based upon the thin shell theories of
classical mechanics, consisting of the analysis of deep or shallow shells. A commonly used
theory of deep shells is based upon the strain-displacement relationships of Novozhilov (1,2).
On the other hand, a specialized theory of shallow shells follows the simplified strain-
displacement relationships of Vlasov (3). The latter method is more approximate than the
former, but accurate results have been obtained, even when shallow-shell concepts were
applied to deep shells (4).

Instead of using the classical theories, we can analyze general shells with finite elements
based on previous formulations. We use two approaches in this chapter:

(i) Flat-facet elements
(ii) Specialization of solid elements

9.2 FLAT-FACET ELEMENTS

The simplest approach consist of using flat facets (5,6), such as the triangle shown in Fig. 9.1.
Figure 9.1(c) depicts the membrane components of generic and nodal displacements, and
Figure 9.1(d) indicates the flexural components. These two sets of components are uncoupled
within a particular element, but interactions of membrane and flexural components occur
between adjacent elements that do not lie in the same plane.

Figure 9.1(a) and (b) show a general shell that has been discretized by using a network of
triangular finite elements. Appearing in Fig 9.1(e) is a combination of generic and nodal
displacements for the membrane (plane-stress) and flexural (plate-bending) components. One
possible mixture of formulations consists of using the CST element for plane stress (see Sec.
5.3) and the CKZ triangle for plate bending (see Sec. 8.3). In such a combination there would
be five nodal displacements in the direction of local axes [see the primed displacements in
Fig. 9.1(e)].

Before assembling the triangular elements shown in Fig. 9.1(b), it is necessary to convert
actions and displacements from local directions to global directions, as indicated in Fig. 9.1(f).
For this purpose we can use the following rotation-of-axes transformation of nodal
displacements


168



x
y
z
i

(b)

(a)

(d)
(d)
(c)
w
w w
u

3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
3
3
2
q
i6

q
i4

3
q
i3

q
i5

q
i2


q
i1
i

q
i3

q
i5
q
i4
q
i3

q
i2
q
i1
u
v
u

v

v
z
x
y

y
y
y

x
x
x
z z

z

z
x
y

q
i5
q
i2
q
i4
q
i1
i


+






























(e)


Figure 9.1 (a) Middle surface of a thin shell, (b) Finite element model with the flat-facet shell
elements, (c) Plane-stress element (CST), (d) Plate bending element (CZK), (e) Superposition
in local coordinates, (d) Flat-facet shell element.

169
{ } [ ]{ } ( 1,2,3
i i
i = = q q )

(9.1)


In this expression the vector of local displacements {q}
i
has five terms, which are

{ }
1 2 5
...
T
i i i
i
q q q =

q (9.2)

However, the vector of global displacements {q}
i
has the six terms

{ }
1 2 6
...
T
i i i
i
q q q =

q (9.3)

Thus we see that the transformation matrix []
i
is of size 5 x 6, as follows

[ ]
1 2 3
1 2 3
1 2 3
1 2 3
1 2 3
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
i
l l l
m m m
n n n
l l l
m m m



=




(9.4)

This matrix contains rows of direction cosines of the local (primed) axes with respect to the
global (unprimed) axes

Knowing the coordinates of nodes 1 and 2 in Fig. 9.2(f), we can find the direction cosines (or
components) of a unit vector e
x
in the direction of x axis. Thus,

12 12 12
1 2 3
12 12 12
x y z
l l l
L L L
= = = (9.5)

Similarly, the coordinates of points 1 and 3 yield the components of a unit vector e
13
in the
direction of side 1-3 of the triangle

13 13 13
13 13 13
13 13 13
x y x
x y z
c c cz
L L L
= = = (9.6)


Then the components of a unit vector e
z
in the direction of axis z may be found as the result
of the normalized vector product.

13
sin
x
z

=
e e
e (9.7)

which gives n
1
, n
2
, and n
3
. Finally, the components of a unit vector e
y
in the direction of axis
y are obtained from

y z x
= e e e

(9.8)

170

which yields m
1
, m
2
, and m
3
.

The transpose of the transformation matrix in Eq. (9.4) serves to convert nodal actions from
local to global directions. Thus,

{ } [ ]{ } ( 1,2,3
i i
i = = f f )
) =
(9.9)

In addition, submatrix [k
ij
] of the element stiffness matrix may be transformed as follows

[ ] [ ] ( 1,2,3; 1,2,3
T
ij ij
i j
i j
= =

k R k R (9.10)

which generates a 6 x 6 array from a 5 x 5 matrix.

While flat-facet elements are easy to formulate and use, their accuracy is not very good
because of modeling defects. Slope discontinuities normal to adjacent edges result in poor
values for internal stresses. Therefore, the curved type of element described in the next section
is preferred.

9.3 SPECIALIZATION OF HEXAHEDRON

In this section we specialize the isoparametric hexahedron H20 to become a thin, curved
quadrilateral element for the analysis of general shells, Fig. 9.2. Development of the shell
element SHQ8 is similar to the technique used in obtaining element PBQ8 (see section 8.4)
for plate bending. However, the constraint conditions are modified because two additional
translations, u
i
and v
i
, occur at each node of the shell element. Thus, the constraint matrix
[G
ai
] for a corner node of the rectangular parent element has two more columns than before,
as follows:

1
1
1
1
2
2
1
2 2
2
1
3
2
1
3
2
3
1 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0 0
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0 0
i
i
i
i
i
xi
yi
i
i
u
v
u w
t
v u
t
w v
w
u t
v
t
w

(9.11)

When we compare this 9 x 5 matrix with Eq. (8.53) in Sec 8.4, we see that columns 1 and 2
have been added. Similarly, the constraint matrix [G
bi
] for a midedge node of the rectangular
parent becomes:




171

















Figure 9.2 Isoparametric hexahedron, H20.


1
1
1
2
1 1
2
2
2
1
2
2
1
2
3
3
3
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0 0
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0 0
i
i
i
i
i
i
xi
i
yi
u
v
t
u w
t
v u
w v
t
w
t
u
v
w

=
(9.12)

which is a 6 x 5 array that can be compared with Eq. (8.53) in Sec. 8.4. With five
displacements at each of eight nodes, element SHQ8 has 8x5=40 nodal displacements.

As with the plate element PBQ8, the general shell element SHQ8 will be formulated directly
(7,8). Generic displacements at any point in the shell element are taken to be in the directions
of global axes. Thus,

{ }
T
u v w =

(9.13)

On the other hand, nodal displacements consist of these same translations (in global
directions) as well as two small rotations
i
and
i
about two local tangential axes x and y,
as indicated in Fig. 9.3(a). Hence,

{ } ( 1,2,...,8)
T
i i i i i i
u v w i =

q (9.14)



172
Nodal Vectors

Let us define a thickness vector V
3i
that is normal to the middle surface and spans the
thickness ti of the shell at node i. Figure 9.3(b) shows this vector, which is obtained as

{ }
3
3
3
j k
i
j k i
i
i
j k
x x
l
y y m t
n
z z




= =





3
V
i

3i
1i
(9.15)

Points j and k in the figure are at the surfaces of the shell. In a computer program either the
coordinates of points j and k or the direction cosines for V
3i
must be given as data

We can define two other vectors, V
1i
and V
2i
, which are orthogonal to the vector V
3i
. In order
to settle the directions of the last two vectors, we let

1i y
= V e V (9.16)

Then

2 3 i i
= V V V (9.17)

If V
3i
is parallel to e
y
in Eq. (9.16), the latter is replaced by e
z
. Figure 9.3(b) shows local
generic translations u and v ( in the directions of V
1i
and V
2i
) due to the nodal rotations
i

and
i
, respectively. Their values are:

2 2
i
i
t
u v
i
i
t
= = (9.18)

Contributions of u and v to the generic displacements at any point can be determined using
the direction cosines of V
2i
and V
1i
, vectors, respectively.

( ) ( ) (
1 1 2 2 8 8
1 21 1 31 1 2 22 2 32 2 8 28 8 38 8
...
...
u N u N u N u
N l u l v N l u l v N l u l v
= + + +
+ + + + + + + )

(9.19)

v and w similar.

These equations can be written in matrix format,

( )
( )
( )
2 3
8 8
2 3
1 1
2 3
2
2
2
i
i i i i i
i i
i
i i i i i i i
i i
i i
i
i i i i
t
N l l
u N u
t
v N v N m m
w N w
t
N n n

i


= =

+



= + +




+



(9.20)




173
z,w

y,v
x,u


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
i
w
i

i





w

z,
i
u
v
y


v
i


u
i

x

(a)



i
u

i
t
i
V
2i
x
y

t
i
/2

i

z,


j




v





V
1i
V
3i


k


(b)


Figure 9.3 Element SHQ8.

Or concisely,

8 8
1 1
2
i
i
i
i i i
i
i i
i
u u
t
v N v N
w w

= =



= +




i
(9.21)

In this formula the symbol [
i
] denotes the following matrix
174

[ ]
2 3
2 3
2 3
i i
i i
i i
l l
m m
n n

(9.22)

Column 1 in this array contains negative values of the direction cosines of the second
tangential vector V
2i
, and column 2 has the direction cosines of the first tangential vector V
1i
.

For element SHQ8 we consider six types of nonzero strains, as follows

{ }
0 0
0 0
0 0
0
0
0
x
y
xy
xz
yz
u x
v y
w z
u y v x
v z w y
u z w x

= =

(9.23)

The coordinates of any point in the SHQ8 element are

3
8 8
3
1 1
3
2
i i
i
i i i i
i i
i i
x x l
t
y N y N m
z z

= =


= +




n
(9.24)

The terms l
3i
, m
3i
, and n
3i
are the direction cosines of the vector V
3i
.

We need certain derivatives with respect to local coordinates, which are collected into the
following 3 x 3 matrix:

11 12 13
21 22 23
31 32 33
u x u
u y u
u z u

(9.25)

where [] is the inverse of the J acobian matrix given by

[ ]
x y z
x y z
J
x y z








=

(9.26)

where


175
8 8
3
1 1
8 8
3
1 1
8
3
1
2
2
and so on
2
i i
i i
i i
i i
i
i i
i
i i
i
N N x
i
i
i
t
x l
N N x t
x l
t x
N l

= =
= =
=

= +


= +

(9.27)

We need certain derivatives of the generic displacements with respect to local coordinates.
These derivatives are listed in a column vector of nine terms, as follows

2 1
2 1
2 1
2 1
2 1
2 1
0 0
0 0
0 0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0 0
0
i i i i
i i i i
i i i i
i i i i i
i i i i i
i i i i
N l N l N u
N l N l N u
N l N l u
N m N m N v
N m N m N v
N m N m v
w
w
w

=











i
i

8
1
2 1
2 1
2 1
2
0
2 0 0
0 0
i
i
i
i
i
i
i i i i i i
i
i i i i i
i i i i
u
v
w
t
N n N n N t
N n N n N
N n N n

(9.28)

Transformation of these derivatives to global coordinates requires that the inverse of the
J acobian matrix be applied. Therefore,

[ ] [ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ] [ ]
... ...
u x u
u y u
w z w

=








0 0
0 0
0 0

(9.29)

Multiplying the terms in this equation, we obtain,

2 1
2 1
2 1
2 1
2 1
2 1
2 1
2 1
2
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
i i i i i
i i i i i
i i i i i
i i i i i
i i i i i
i i i i i
i i i i i
i i i i i
i i i i
a d l d l u x
b e l e l u y
c g l g l u z
a d m d m v x
b e m e m v y
c g m g m v z
a d n d n w x
b e n e n w y
c g n g n w z









=










8
1
1
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
u
v
w

(9.30)

in which

176

( )
( )
( )
11 12 13
21 22 23
31 32 33
2
2
2
i i i
i i
i i i
i i
i i i
i i
N N t
a d a
N N t
b e b
N N t
c g

= + = +


= + = +


= + = +

i i
i i
i i
N
N
c N
i i
i
i
l

(9.31)

The ith part of matrix [B] can be given as follows

[ ]
2 1
2 2
2 2
2 2 1 1
2 2 1 1
2 2 1 1
0 0
0 0
0 0
0
0
0
i i i
i i i i
i i i i i
i
i i i i i i i i i i
i i i i i i i i i i
i i i i i i i i i
a d l d
b e m e m
c g n g n
B
b a e l d m e l d m
c b g m e n g m e n
c a d n g l d n g l

=

+


+

+


i =1,2,,8 (9.32)

Stress-strain relationships in local directions for either orthotropic or isotropic materials take
the form

0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
1.2
0 0 0 0 0
1.2
xx xy
x x
yx yy
y y
z
xy
z
xy x
yz
yz yz
y
xz x
xz
E E
E E
G
G
G
z

(9.33)

Now we are ready to formulate the element stiffness matrix, as follows

[ ] [ ][ ]
1 1 1
1 1 1
[ ]
T
d d d

=

k B E B J (9.34)

In this expression matrices [B] and [J] are functions of , , and . Integration of Eq. (9.34)
through the thickness* of the element gives

[ ] [ ] ( ) [ ] [ ] [ ] ( )
[ ] [ ][ ] [ ] [ ][ ]
( )
1 1 1
1 1 1
1 1
2
3
1 1
[ ]
2
T
a b a b
T T
a a b b
d d d
d d d




= + +
= +


k B B E B B J
B E B B E B J
(9.35)

177
Here the matrices [B]
a
and [B]
b
are both of size 6 x 40, but the latter array contains only terms
that are to be multiplied by . The integrals in Eq. (9.35) must be evaluated numerically, using
two integration points in each of the and directions (8). In this process the factor 2
multiplies t
i
/2 which is a common term in the third row of J .

Equivalent nodal loads due to body forces on element SHQ8 may be found as:

{ } [ ] { } [ ] { }
1 1
1 1
2
T T
b
V
dV d d

= =

f N b N b J (9.36)

In this expression the load vector {b} is assumed to contain components of force (per unit
volume) that are uniform through the thickness of the shell. Thus,

{ }
T
x y z
b b b =

b

) =
(9.37)

Also, the shape functions in Eq. (9.36) are drawn from the first part of Eq. (9.21), as follows:

[ ] (
1 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 0 0 1,2,...,8
0 0 1 0 0
i
i
N i


=



N (9.38)

Note that such body forces do not cause any equivalent nodal moments. In addition, the
equivalent nodal loads caused by initial strains are

{ } [ ] [ ]{ }
[ ] [ ] ( ) [ ]{ }
[ ] [ ]{ }
0 0
1 1 1
0
1 1 1
1 1
0
1 1
2
T
V
T
a b
T
a
dV
d d d
d d




=
= +
=

f B E
B B E J
B E J
(9.39)

where

{ }
0 0 0 0
...
T
x y zx
=

(9.40)

After the nodal displacements in vector {q} have been obtained, stresses in the element may
be calculated from

{ } [ ] [ ]{ } { } (
0
= E B q
)
(9.41)

Such stresses should be determined at the sampling points for numerical integration (8).

* Terms in matrix [J ] containing z are neglected for the purpose of simplifying integration through the thickness.