This paper on "Evaluation of Element Distortion Effects in Curved Membrane Elements" was presented at the International Conference on Quality Assurance and Standards in Finite Element Analysis - 13-15 May 1987, The Grand Hotel, Brighton.

Summary

This paper presents a series of finite element test problems for evaluating shell and membrane finite element formulations. The focus is on evaluating formulations for use in geometrically nonlinear problems with arbitrary mesh configurations. The test problems evaluate constant, linear, and higher order strain states both for curved and flat patches of elements, and utilize a standard, reproducible system for generating different levels of mesh distortion within each patch. Each test problem is described through its application to linear and quadratic order membrane finite elements. In addition, tests which relate inherent errors in membrane stress in large-change- of-curvature analysis to material properties through the use of a "stress factor" are described.