DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A TRIANGULAR THIN SHELL ELEMENT BASED UPON THE HYBRID ASSUMED STRESS MODEL.

A finite-element formulation for a general triangular thin doubly-curved Kirchhoff shell element has been carried out, based upon the hybrid assumed stress variational model. This formulation is then applied specifically to conical and cylindrical shells, and the associated finite-element properties are evaluated. Several example static problems involving isotropic cylindrical shells and an isotropic conical shell subjected to mechanical loading are solved by employing the present triangular element to evaluate this formulation good agreement with independent reliable solutions for these problems has been found. The formulation presented, however, also includes skew orthotropic plane stress shells, variable thickness shells, and thermal loads, all for linear elastic behavior. Author