The mathematical shell model underlying general shell elements

We show that although no actual mathematical shell model is explicitly used in `general shell elementʹ formulations, we can identify an implicit shell model underlying these nite element procedures. This `underlying modelʹ compares well with classical shell models since it displays the same asymptotic behaviours|when the thickness of the shell becomes very small|as, for example, the Naghdi model. Moreover, we substantiate the connection between general shell element procedures and this underlying model by mathematically proving a convergence result from the nite element solution to the solution of the model