SHB8PS––a new adaptative, assumed-strain continuum mechanics shell element for impact analysis

This paper presents the formulation of a new adaptative shell element. This is an eight-node brick element in which one chooses a special direction denoted “thickness”. The element is an assumed-strain element based on the formulation first proposed by Belytchko and Bindeman. It is integrated with a set of Gauss points through the thickness and with only one point in the other directions. A new assumed-strain formulation for the element is proposed and its development is carried out in elastoplasticity. The element adjusts to the physical situation automatically in the sense that the stabilizing forces are chosen to be proportional to the mean tangent modulus of the material across the thickness. This is a most important assumption because if the stabilizing forces were calculated without regard to the physical state of the element they would turn out to be too large. The element is then tested on simple academic cases and applied in a more complex situation.