1 s2.0 S0168874X0400099X Main

Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 41 (2004) 267283
www.elsevier.com/locate/nel
An assumed strain quadrilateral element with drilling degrees of
freedom
G. Pimpinelli
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale, Politecnico di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Received 10 June 2003; received in revised form 24 April 2004; accepted 18 May 2004
Available online 23 August 2004
Abstract
In the framework of the assumed strain method, we specialize the procedure proposed by Simo and Rifai (Int. J.
Numer. Methods Eng. 29 (1990) 1595) to the study of a four nodes quadrilateral membrane with drilling degrees
of freedom. The proposed numerical model is based on the minimization of the modied HuWashizu functional
where the enhanced strain and the enhanced rotation elds are included. By means of a convenient choice of the
enhanced displacement gradient in the isoparametric space, the patch test condition is satised a priori.
The stability and the convergence of the numerical method are discussed and the numerical examples show that
the proposed nite element exhibits good behavior for distorted coarse mesh under bending stress states. Then, the
proposed nite element is coupled to the DKQ element to provide an effective shell element.
2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Quadrilateral nite element; Drilling degrees of freedom
1. Introduction
Numerical techniques based on nite elements with drilling degrees of freedomhave received attention
in recent years. In particular, the studied membrane elements have the advantage to be coupled with
bending elements to model a shell nite element endowed of six degrees of freedom: three displacements
and three rotations for each node.
In a pioneering work, Allman [1] proposed a triangular nite element equipped of drilling degrees of
freedom at the nodes by using conforming interpolating functions. As recognized by several authors, the
Tel.: +39-080-5963697; fax: +39-080-5963719.

E-mail address: g.pimpinelli@poliba.it (G. Pimpinelli).
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doi:10.1016/j.nel.2004.05.004
268 G. Pimpinelli / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 41 (2004) 267283
proposed nite element possesses one zero energy mode (hourglass mode) and the researchers tempted
to overcome such a problem by using, sometime ad hoc, procedures of stabilization.
Successively, Hughes and Brezzi [2] exploited a proper functional to describe, in weak form, the
equilibrium problem associated to the boundary values in presence of the independent rotation elds. By
using equal order of interpolation for the displacement/rotation elds, it was possible to built convenient
nite elements with drilling degrees of freedom for which the problem associated to the hourglass modes
was overcome.
The necessity to improve the in plane behavior of quadrilateral elements with drilling degrees of free-
dom, led Ibrahimbegovic et al. [3] to formulate a quadrilateral nite element by adopting the interpolating
functions of Allman and the functional proposed in [2]. The penalty part of the functional was selectively
integrated and a hierarchical bubble function interpolation was added to the nite element in order to
improve its performance.
Moreover, in the framework of the nite elasticity with independents rotations elds, Ibrahimbegovic
and Frey [4] extended the incompatible modes method to the study of a nite element with drilling degrees
of freedom. A functional depending on a conforming displacement eld, on the rotation eld and on the
gradient of an incompatible displacement eld was used. Furthermore, the satisfaction of the patch test
by means of an integral media of the incompatible strain eld was enforced.
In the present work, following a suggestion of Simo and Rifai [5] and in the case of linear elasticity
with independent rotation elds, we propose an alternative quadrilateral nite element that, in some way,
improves the analysis in terms of results and of computational efciency. The numerical method is based
on the modied HuWashizu functional and the main idea is to interpolate the gradient of the enhanced
displacement eld in the isoparametric space in order to obtain, a priori, the satisfaction of the patch test.
The stability of the numerical method based on the use of the proposed nite element is discussed and
the convergence of the method is shown, at least numerically, in several examples. The proposed nite
element does not posses spurious energy modes and its performance is satisfactory also in the case of the
almost incompressible materials.
Furthermore, the proposed nite element is coupled to the DKQ plate-bending element proposed by
Batoz and Tahar [6] to provide an effective shell element. The numerical analyses performed on three-
dimensional structures suggest the optimal value of the penalty factor to adopt.
2. Strong and weak form of the boundary value problem
In this section, we describe the equilibrium problem of a linearly elastic body subjected to prescribed
data on the boundary. Let us rst present some notation. Let

be a three-dimensional vector space and
Lin be the space of all linear applications of

into

, equipped with the inner product A B = tr(A
T
B),
A, B Lin, with A
T
the transpose of A.
Let us indicate as Sym and Skew the subsets of Lin constituted by symmetric and skew tensors, respec-
tively. Every tensor A admits the unique decomposition into a symmetric part A
s
and into a skew part
A
w
A =A
s
+A
w
,
A
s
=
1
2
(A +A
T
),
A
w
=
1
2
(A A
T
). (1)
G. Pimpinelli / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 41 (2004) 267283 269
Now we consider a body identied with the region B that it occupies in a xed reference conguration.
We consider assigned on B an elasticity eld C, here supposed symmetric and positive-denite, body
forces b on B, surface displacements u on *B
u
, and surface forces s on *B
s
. Formally, a solution of this
problem is constituted by an elastic state [u, W, S] where u is the displacement eld, W is the rotation
eld belonging to Skew, and S is the stress eld that we assume not symmetric, such that
Div S + b = 0, S
w
= 0 on B,
W =
w
u; on B,
S
s
= C
s
u on B,
S
s
n = s on *B
s
,
u = u on *B
u
. (2)
In the weak form, the problem described by Eqs. (2) with boundary data, is equivalent to dene the
following modied HuWashizu functional:
1(u, H, S, W)=
1
2
_
B
CH
s
H
s
dv
_
B
S (H u) dv
+
1
2

_
B
|H
w
W|
2
dv
_
B
b u dv
_
*B
s
s u ds (3)
where W is a regular skew tensor eld, H is a regular tensor eld where the symmetric part is the
innitesimal strain tensor and is a penalty factor. In (3) the displacement eld u satises the boundary
condition.
Minimizing the functional with respect toW, S, H and u, we obtain the following variational identities:
_
B
(H
w
W) oWdv = 0 oW Skew,
_
B
(H u) oS dv = 0 oS Lin,
_
B
CH
s
oH
s
dv
_
B
S oHdv +
_
B
(H
w
W) oH
w
dv = 0 oH Lin,
_
B
S (H ou) dv +
_
B
b ou dv +
_
*B
s
s ou ds = 0 ou kinematically admissible (4)
by which results, respectively
H
w
=W on B,
H = u on B,
S = S
s
and S = CH
s
on B,
Div S + b = 0 on B and Sn = s on *B
s
. (5)
In the assumed strain method, we stipulate that the tensor H is the sum of a conforming part u and
an enhanced part H
e
H = u + H
e
(6)
such that the functional (3) results so modied:
1(u, H
e
, S, W)=
1
2
_
B
C(
s
u + H
s
e
) (u
s
+ H
s
e
) dv
_
B
S H
e
dv
+
1
2
_
B
|
w
u + H
w
e
W|
2
dv
_
B
b u dv
_
*B
s
s u ds. (7)
Finally, minimizing with respect to S, one nds H
e
= 0 and the functional (7) reduces to (3).
3. The nite element approximation
In the nite element approximation of the problemdescribed by Eqs. (2) we are free in the choice of the
interpolating elds. Specically, we will assume the stress eld S orthogonal to the enhanced gradients
H
e
in order to eliminate the stress S from the functional (7), i.e.
1(u, H
e
, W)=
1
2
_
B
C(
s
u + H
s
e
) (u
s
+ H
s
e
) dv
+
1
2
_
B
|
w
u + H
w
e
W|
2
dv
_
B
b u dv
_
*B
s
s u ds. (8)
Since we are interested to the study the plane stress case, we shall denote by x =f() the isoparametric
map from the two-unitary domain onto the space of the nite element. Let J() = *f/* be the gradient
of the map and J() = det [J()] the Jacobian determinant. Next we denote by J
0
= J(0) and J
0
= J(0)
the map gradient and the Jacobian of the map evaluated at = 0, respectively.
Following an idea of Simo and Rifai [5] we dene the enhanced gradient H
e
in the physical space in
terms of the eld h
e
dened in the isoparametric space, as follows:
H
e
= J
T
0
h
e
J
1
0
,
H
s
e
= J
T
0
1
2
(h
e
+ h
T
e
)J
1
0
,
H
w
e
= J
T
0
1
2
(h
e
h
T
e
)J
1
0
(9)
in order to compute the enhanced strain eld
e
and the enhanced rotation eld
e
e
=
J
0
J()
H
s
e
,
e
= H
w
e
. (10)
Note that the evaluation of the gradient map J at = 0 in (9) and the introduction in Eq. (10)
1
of the
term J
0
/J() are necessary to enforce the satisfaction of the patch test.
In order to dene the explicit form of h
e
, we use the incompatible displacement eld proposed by
Wilson et al. [7]. In the isoparametric space, the components of the enhanced gradient are dened by
(h
e
)
p
=
*f()
*
*u()
*p
(11)
and, following Wilson et al. [7], we dene the incompatible displacement eld as:
u =
1
2
(1
2
)
1
+
1
2
(1 p
2
)
2
. (12)
According to the common usage in the nite element method, in the following we use a matrix and
vector notation. For the two-dimensional case we set:
h
e
= [h
h
pp
h
p
h
p
]
T
,
h
s
e
= [h
h
pp
h
p
+ h
p
]
T
,
h
w
e
=
1
2
(h
p
h
p
),
s
u = [u
1,1
u
2,2
u
1,2
+ u
2,1
]
T
,
w
u =
1
2
(u
2,1
u
1,2
),
= [S
11
S
22
S
12
]
T
. (13)
Next, the bilinear isoparametric interpolation are dened by
x = x
T
N(),
y = y
T
N(),
N() = a
0
+ a
1
+ a
2
p + a
3
p,
= (, p) (14)
where x and y are the vectors where the coordinates of the nodal points in the local reference system of
the nite element are contained.
For denition, the covariant basis vectors associated to the isoparametric map are
g
=
_
x,
y,
_
=
_
x
T
a
1
y
T
a
1
_
+ p
_
x
T
a
3
y
T
a
3
_
= g
0
1
+ pg
0
3
,
g
p
=
_
x,
p
y,
p
_
=
_
x
T
a
2
y
T
a
2
_
+
_
x
T
a
3
y
T
a
3
_
= g
0
2
+ g
0
3
. (15)
By using Eqs. (11)(13) and (15) we can compute the components of the enhanced gradient eld.
Setting
= {g
0
1

1
g
0
2

2
g
0
2

1
g
0
1

2
g
0
3

1
g
0
3

2
}
T
(16)
we obtain
h
e
=
_
_
g,
u,
g,
p
u,
p
g,
u,
p
g,
p
u,
_
=
_
_
_
0 0 0 p 0
0 p 0 0 0 p
0 0 0 p 0 p
2
0 0 0
2
0
_
_
_
_
[
1
[
2
[
3
[
4
[
5
[
6
_
_
. (17)
The enhanced strain matrix and the enhanced rotation components are
h
s
e
=
_
g,
u,
g,
p
u,
p
g,
p
u,
+ g,
u,
p
_
=
_
0 0 0 p 0
0 p 0 0 0 p
0 0 p
2
p
2
_
_
_
[
1
[
2
[
3
[
4
[
5
[
6
_
_
(18)
0 =
1
2
(g,
p
u,
g,
u,
p
) =
1
2
([
3
p[
4
+
2
[
5
p
2
[
6
). (19)
We observe that the expression of h
s
e
in (18) differs by that supplied by Pantuso and Bathe [8] for the
presence of the terms
2
and p
2
that were not considered in order to assure a priori the satisfaction of the
patch test. Indeed, as shown by Simo and Rifai [5], the satisfaction of the patch test requires by Eq. (10)
1
that
_
A

e
da =
_
A
J
0
2
(H
e
+ H
T
e
) d = 0, or, equivalently
_
1
1
dp
_
1
1
h
s
e
d = 0. (20)
We enforce condition (20) by setting [
6
= [
5
in Eq. (18), so that Eqs. (18) and (19) reduce to
h
s
e
=
_
0 0 0 p
0 p 0 0 p
0 0 p
2
p
2
_
_
_
[
1
[
2
[
3
[
4
[
5
_
_
, (21)
0 =
1
2
[[
3
p[
4
+ (
2
+ p
2
)[
5
]. (22)
Finally, in order to obtain the desired enhanced strain eld H
s
e
and the rotation angle O in the physical
space, by using Eqs. (9) and (10) we introduce the matrix F
0
F
0
=
_
J
2
11
J
2
21
J
11
J
21
J
2
12
J
2
22
J
12
J
22
2J
11
J
12
2J
21
J
22
J
11
J
22
+ J
12
J
21
_
=0
. (23)
In more compact form, we can write the component of the enhanced strain H
s
e
and the enhanced rotation
eld O
e
as
H
s
e
= E
e
=
J
0
J()
F
1
0
h
s
e
= G,
O
e
=
1
2
1
J
0
([
3
p[
4
+ (
2
+ p
2
)[
5
) =
[
. (24)
Note the novelty in the particular form of the rotation O
e
expressed directly in the physical space of
the nite element.
Furthermore, for the interpolation of the displacement eld u, the rotation O
u
and the independent
rotation O, we use the standard bilinear functions in order to obtain the straindisplacement matrix B,
the rotationdisplacement vector
d
and the rotation vector
0
, respectively
s
u = Bd,
O
u
=
d
d,
O =
0
(25)
where d is the vector of the nodal displacements and is the vector of the nodal rotations, respectively.
In particular, [
0
]
i
=
1
4
(1 +
i
)(1 + pp
i
) for i = 1, 2, 3, 4.
Finally, the expression of the stiffness matrix is obtained rewriting the functional (8) and substituting
the rotation elds with the rotation angles, i.e.
1(u, H
e
, W) =
1
2
_
B
C(
s
u + H
s
e
) (u
s
+ H
s
e
) dv +
1
2

_
B
|O
u
+ O
e
O|
2
dv G
ext
(26)
where G
ext
is the virtual work of the external loads.
Substituting Eqs. (24) and (25) into Eqs. (26) and minimizing the functional

1, the stiffness matrix is
obtained. Thus, the discretized problem described by Eqs. (2) takes the form
_
_
k
dd
+
dd

d0
k
d[
+
d[
T
d0

00

0[
k
T
d[
+
T
d[

T
0[
k
[[
+
[[
_
_
_
d
_
=
_
f
m
0
_
(27)
where
k
dd
+
dd
=
_
B
B
T
DBdv +
_
B
T
d
d
dv,
d0
=
_
B
T
d
0
dv,
k
d[
+
d[
=
_
B
B
T
DGdv +
_
B
T
d
[
dv,
00
=
_
B
T
0
0
dv,
0[
=
_
B
T
0
[
dv,
k
[[
+
[[
=
_
B
G
T
DGdv +
_
B
T
[
[
dv. (28)
In Eqs. (28), D is the elasticity matrix that is assumed positive denite and, according to Hughes and
Brezzi [2], the penalty factor can be related to the material shear modulus G.
By Eq. (27), we recover the value of the vector in order to perform static condensation
= (k
[[
+
[[
)
1
[(k
T
d[
+
T
d[
)d
T
0[
]. (29)
Note that the proposed numerical procedure is somewhat computationally more efcient respect to
the method discussed by Ibrahimbegovic and Frey [4]. Indeed, the expression of the enhanced strain
H
s
e
and the rotation O
e
, respectively, are provided directly by Eqs. (24) and hence it is not necessary
to compute by Eq. (12) rstly the mean-enhanced strain matrix G
m
= 1/V
_
B
Gdv in order to obtain
the modied enhanced strain matrix G = G G
m
to be used in the formation of the element stiffness
matrix. Secondarily, by Eqs. (24), the expression of the enhanced strains H
s
e
and rotation O
e
are directly
expressed in the physical space of the nite element, thus it is not necessary to compute the cartesian
derivatives of (12) to obtain the desired results.
4. Remarks on the stability of the proposed numerical method
In this section, we examine the stability conditions of the discretized problemdescribed in the preceding
section. We will show that the usual conditions on the positiveness of the elasticity matrix D and on the
penalty factor , respectively, lead to a unique value of [ in Eq. (29) and to the satisfaction of the patch-test.
We begin to observe that by Eq. (21), the columns of Gin Eq. (24)
1
are linearly independents and since
D and are positive denite then the matrix
L = k
[[
+
[[
=
_
B
G
T
DGdv +
_
B
T
[
[
dv (30)
is positive denite and invertible. The condition
T
L >0 for any {0} (31)
implies the invertibility of L, thus the expression of [ in Eq. (29) has sense.
Now we want prove the rst part of the patch test. Specically, we want to show that under an arbitrary
rigid displacement eld, the element is stress free, i.e. f =0 and m=0, where f and m are the nodal forces
and couples, respectively.
Let d and be, respectively, the nodal displacements and the rotation vectors consequent to a given
rigid displacement eld. Since Bd = 0 and
d
d =
0
then
(k
dd
+
dd
)d
d0
=
_
B
B
T
DBd dv +
_
B
T
d
d
d dv
_
B
T
d
0
dv = 0,

T
d0
d +
00
=
_
B
T
0
d
d dv +
_
B
T
0
0
dv = 0,
(k
d[
+
d[
)
T
d
T
0[
=
_
B
G
T
DBd dv +
_
B
T
[
d
d dv
_
B
T
[
0
dv = 0. (32)
Finally, by Eqs. (27), (30) and (31), L = 0 implies = 0 and contextually in Eq. (27) f = 0, m = 0.
We are now in position to prove the second part of the patch test. Namely, we want prove that under a
homogeneous displacement eld, the stress in the element is constant, i.e., = 0, m = 0 and f = k
dd
d in
Eq. (27).
We recall that a homogeneous displacement eld is a displacement eld of the form
u(x) = u
0
+A(x x
0
) (33)
where the point x
0
is given and the vector u
0
, and the tensor A are independent by x. Moreover, any
homogeneous displacement eld admits the representation
u = u
p
+ u
r
(34)
where u
p
=
1
2
(A +A
T
)(x x
0
) is called a pure strain from x
0
and u
r
=u
0
+
1
2
(A A
T
)(x x
0
) is a rigid
displacement eld. Clearly, on a homogeneous displacement eld, the stress in the element is constant
and m = 0, f = k
dd
d in Eq. (27).
Thus, given a homogeneous displacement eld, the nodal displacement vector d admits the decompo-
sition d =d
p
+d
r
and =
r
, where d
p
is the nodal displacement vector correspondent to the pure strain,
and d
r
and
r
are the nodal displacement vector and rotation correspondent to the rigid displacement eld,
respectively.
Above, we have shown that under a rigid displacement eld, = 0, m = 0 and f = 0 in Eq. (27) and,
hence, by the linearity of the equation system in Eq. (27) we have only to consider the case d = d
p
and
= 0.
With this in mind, we consider the third equation in Eq. (27)
(k
d[
+
d[
)
T
d + (k
[[
+
[[
)
=
_
B
G
T
DBd dv +
_
B
T
[
d
d dv +
__
B
G
T
DGdv +
_
B
T
[
[
dv
_
= 0. (35)
Since the displacement eld is a pure strain, then
d
d = 0 and DBd = is a constant stress eld in
the interior of the element. By using Eqs. (21) and (24)
1
we observe that (
_
B
G
T
dv) = 0 and by the
positiveness of (k
[[
+
[[
) we conclude that in (32) = 0. By the second equation in Eq. (27) we nd
m =
T
d0
d =
_
B
T
0
d
d dv = 0 (36)
and by the rst equation in Eq. (27) we obtain f = k
dd
d.
Finally, it is to show that the element does not posses spurious energy modes (hourglass modes), when
it is constrained by a minimum number of conditions such that to eliminate every rigid motion. This
property will be shown numerically by performing the patch test on a single distorted element.
5. Numerical simulations
The present nite element has been coupled to the DKQ element proposed by Batoz and Tahar [6]
to provide an effective shell element. When the nite element is warped, then the projection method
illustrated by Zhu and Zacharia [9] can be adopted.
While in the plane behavior, the element is not too much sensitive to the value of the penalty factor
that can be assumed as the material shear modulus G, in coupling to the DKQ plate bending element, i.e.
when one wants study the three-dimensional structures, then it is necessary to choose an optimal value
of . By means of the numerical investigations, we have found convenient to assume = 0.05 G and the
following numerical simulations will be performed using such a type of value.
The element is fully integrated by using a four Gauss points scheme and it was implemented on FEM
code, named Solver, which runs on a personal computer. In order to check the behavior of the proposed
element, in this section we illustrate its performances in a number of numerical simulations. We begin
showing that the patch test, presented by Taylor et al. [10], is numerically satised and we continue by
showing the convergence property of the proposed nite element in a typical problem concerning the
dynamic analysis. Finally, the behavior of the element is tested in some benchmark problems and the
results are compared with those obtained by other authors.
Fig. 1. The patch test.
Fig. 2. The convergence test.
5.1. The patch test
As well known, the patch tests proposed by Taylor et al. [10] are fundamental in verifying the theoretical
validity of the formulation. If the patch test is passed then the necessary condition on the convergence of
the numerical method is assured.
In Fig. 1(a) it is shown that the test performed on one skewed element that is xed with a minimum
of constraint such that all drilling degrees of freedom are left unconstrained. This test is used to check if
an hourglass mode exists in the element. The element is loaded by a couple of forces in order to obtain
a homogeneous stress state. The proposed nite element passes the test giving the exact solution with
different values of the Poisson ratio including the case of v = 0.499 that describes the behavior of an
isotropic material in the case of the nearly incompressibility.
In Fig. 1(b) it is illustrated the test performed on an arbitrarily distorted elements subjected to a uniform
stress state. Also in this case, the patch test is satised.
5.2. The convergence test
In this test, we consider a square plate, illustrated in Fig. 2, that is xed on an edge. By assuming
a unitary thickness and a unitary mass distribution, the analysis objective is to nd the fundamental
frequency of the structure. The aforementioned problem is analyzed in the cases of v = 0 and 0.25 and,
furthermore, we consider the case v = 0.499 in order to check the behavior of the nite element in the
case of the almost incompressible elasticity.
In order to show the convergence of the proposed numerical method, the mesh is rened regularly in
such a way that the new mesh contains in old mesh. Therefore, each side of the plate is subdivided in
N = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 parts.
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
5.00
5.50
6.00
6.50
7.00
7.50
0 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
N
= 0
= 0.25
= 0.499
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Fig. 3. Eigenvalue vs. mesh subdivision.

On passing, this problem is equivalent to nd the minimum of the Rayleigh quotient as h 0, i.e.
z = lim
h0
_
min
u
T
h
K
h
u
h
u
T
h
M
h
u
h
_
where h is the element size, K
h
is the stiffness matrix, M
h
is the mass matrix and u
h
is the generalized
displacement vector, respectively.
In Fig. 3 we show the analysis results. Note that 8 subdivisions are sufcient to capture the desired
results and that the behavior of the element is good also in the case of v =0.499. The illustrated numerical
example shows that the rst eigenvalue is upper bounded by a positive constant that is the solution of this
problem.
5.3. A simple beam: the higher-order patch test
This example is shown by Ibrahimbegovic et al. [3] and it is relative to a beam xed by a minimum
number of constraints. The beamis subjected to a pure bending state. The rst load condition is constituted
by a unit couple of forces applied at the free end of the beam whereas the second load case is still a
moment but it is applied as a concentrated couple at the drilling degrees of freedom. The following data
was assumed:
E = 100, v = 0, P = 1, M = 0.5, L = 10, H = 1, T h = 1.
The beam is rst discretized by a regular mesh and then by a distorted mesh as shown in Fig. 4. The
theoretical results are 1.5 for the vertical displacements and 0.6 for the end rotations of the section and
of the drilling degrees of freedom.
The results of the analysis are shown in Table 1 where, for the proposed element, we report also the
end section rotation. Moreover, our results are compared with those furnished by Ibrahimbegovic et al.
[3].
Note that the results are in agreement with the theoretical values and that they differ only for the drilling
rotations in the case of the applied couples that is not a consistent load. Moreover, by assuming = G
the results in terms of the drilling rotations, show a signicant improvement.
Fig. 4. A simple beam.
Table 1
A simple beam
ITW Ref. [3] Present
Load case Mesh Vert. Displ. End rot. Vert. Displ. End rot. Sec. rot.
1 Reg. 1.50 0.60 1.50 0.6 0.60
1 Dist. 1.14 0.57 1.39 0.54 0.56
2 Reg. 1.50 0.62 1.51 1.44 0.60
2 Dist. 1.39 0.49 1.39 1.28 0.56
Fig. 5. A thick cantilever beam.
5.4. A thick cantilever beam subjected to a tip shear load
This is a standard problem to test the shear locking phenomena that may arise for this element. A shear
force at the end section loads the beam and the geometry is shown in Fig. 5. The example is illustrated in
Table 2
A thick cantilever beam
Mesh ITW [3] IF [5] ZZ [6] Present ITW v = 0.499 Present v = 0.499
Reg. (4 1) 0.3445 0.3493 0.3284 0.3493 0.3351 0.3520
Reg. (8 2) 0.3504 0.3523 0.3504 0.3523 0.3489 0.3539
Reg. (16 4) 0.3543 0.3543 0.3552 0.3548 0.3548 0.3561
Dist (4 1) 0.3065 0.3311 0.3583 0.3440 0.4748 0.3492
Table 3
The Cooks membrane
Mesh ITW [3] Present ITW v = 0.499 Present v = 0.499
1 1 14.86 15.95 15.44 16.48
2 2 20.90 21.02 21.34 21.21
4 4 22.85 23.01 22.99 23.15
8 8 23.62 23.68 23.82 23.87
the Refs. [3,4,9] where the basic parameters were selected as
P = 40, E = 30000, v = 0.25, P = 40, L = 48, H = 12, T h = 1.
The solution is obtained rst by rening a regular mesh of four-square elements and then for a single
distorted mesh. The vertical theoretical displacement of the tip is obtained by the elastic solution that
takes in account the shear strain:
u =
PL
3
3EJ
+
(4 + 5v)PL
2EH
= 0.3553.
In Table 2 our solution is compared with the results obtained by other authors.
In order to check the behavior of the proposed nite element in the case of almost incompressibility
elasticity, we assume the value v=0.499 for the Poissons ratio by which the tip displacement is u=0.3583.
Since in the literature there is not a similar studied case, we have implemented in the code the model
of Ibrahimbegovic et al. [3] obtaining the results shown in Table 2.
By the comparison of the results in the Table 2, we note that the behavior of the present element is
similar to that shown by Ibrahimbegovic and Frey [4]. It is slightly better in the case of the distorted mesh.
In the case of v = 0.499 and for the distorted mesh, we see that the behavior of the proposed nite
element is still good whereas outperforms the element proposed by Ibrahimbegovic et al. [3].
5.5. The Cooks problem
This test problem was proposed by Cook [11] and it is related to trapezoidal membrane clamped at one
end and subjected to a unitary shearing load at the other. The typical values assumed are E = 1, T h = 1
and v = 0.333 whereas the geometry is shown in Fig. 6.
The objective of this test is to check the behavior of the nite element in a dominant shear stress
state taking in account the distortion of the mesh. In Table 3 it is shown the displacement of the panel
middle right side and we compare our result with those obtained using the formulation illustrated by
Fig. 6. The Cooks membrane.
Fig. 7. The hemispherical shell with a hole.
Ibrahimbegovic et al. [3]. The reference value of the displacement is 23.91 that was obtained by Cook
[11] by a numerical analysis on a rened model.
In order to show the convergence of the analysis in the case of the almost incompressibility elasticity,
we perform also the analysis by assuming v = 0.499. Note that by rening the mesh, the convergence is
achieved but the performance of our element is better in the case of the single element.
5.6. Hemispherical shell with 18
hole
This is a popular test proposed by MacNeal and Harder [12] and studied by Ibrahimbegovic and Frey
[13]. It concerns a hemispherical shell (see Fig. 7) with an 18
open hole at the top, under the action of

two inward and two outward pairs of pinching forces. This problem is convenient to test the sensitivity
of the elements to the membrane locking and it was the reference for the choice of the penalty parameter
. It will be studied in details and the results will be compared to those presented by Ibrahimbegovic and
Frey [13].
For the aforementioned problem, the following data was assumed:
R = 10, T h = 0.04, E = 6.825 10
7
, v = 0.3, P = 2.
and, for the reasons of symmetry, only a quarter of the shell was examined.
Table 4
The spherical shell with 18
hole
Mesh IF [13] Present Present S.I.
2 2 0.08577 0.03472 0.09569
4 4 0.09399 0.07572 0.09793
8 8 0.09315 0.09269 0.09479
16 16 0.09309 0.09341 0.09355
0.000
0.020
0.040
0.060
0.080
0.100
0.120
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
mesh subdivision
r
a
d
i
a
l

d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t
IF Ref.[13]
= 1
= 0.05
= 0.01
= 0.002
Fig. 8. Radial displacement vs. mesh subdivision.
The reference value for the radial displacement at the force applied point is 0.093 as it is well known
in the literature. Each side of the quarter shell was progressively discretized into 2,4,8 and 16 parts.
In Table 4, the analysis results in terms of the radial displacements are presented and, in order to
compare our results to those obtained by Ibrahimbegovic and Frey [13], a selective reduced integration
scheme was used for the rotational part of the functional (26). Note that the reduced integration does not
produce rank deciency of the element stiffness in global co-ordinates but the choice of the integration
kind becomes problem dependent.
The analysis results obtained by assuming a fully integration scheme are satisfactory and conrm the
appropriate choice of the penalty factor = 0.05 G.
In order to show the dependence of the problem solution by the assumed values for the penalty factor,
in Fig. 8 the curves radial displacement vs. the mesh subdivision are presented in function of the ratio
p =

G
.
By Fig. 8, we see that for = G, the convergence rate is slow and that in the case of eight mesh
subdivision, the optimal choice for the penalty factor can be = 0.05 G.
5.7. Pinched cylindrical shell without diaphragm
This is a cylindrical tube of radius R = 4.953, thickness T h = 0.01548 and length L = 10.35 that is
pinched with a pair of forces P =0.1 placed along its diameter in the middle of the length. The mechanical
properties are E = 10.5 10
6
and v = 0.3125.
Table 5
The pinched cylinder without diaphragm
Mesh IF [13] Present
4 4 0.02194 0.02360
8 8 0.02381 0.02436
16 16 0.02439 0.02456
Table 6
The pinched cylinder with end diaphragm
Mesh IF [13] Present
4 4 0.6760 10
5
1.1429 10
5
8 8 1.3444 10
5
1.7116 10
5
16 16 1.7050 10
5
1.9970 10
5
Only a quadrant of the tube is examined by discretizing it by means of a uniform mesh. The reference
value for the radial displacement is 0.02439.
The analysis results are presented in Table 5 where they are compared with those illustrated by Ibrahim-
begovic and Frey [13]. Note the good performance of the proposed numerical method.
5.8. Pinched cylindrical shell with end diaphragm
This is a cylindrical tube of radius R = 300, thickness T h = 3 and length L = 600 that posses at the
ends two in plane rigid diaphragms. It is pinched with a pair of forces P = 1.0 placed along its diameter
in the middle of the length. The mechanical properties are E = 3.0 10
6
and v = 0.3.
Only a quadrant of the tube is examined by discretizing it by means of a uniformmesh and the reference
value for the radial displacement is 1.82488 10
5
.
This is a very severe test for a shell element performance as quoted by Ibrahimbegovic and Frey
[13] and in Table 6 the analysis results are presented and they are compared with those illustrated by
Ibrahimbegovic and Frey [13]. Also in this case, the performance of our element is good.
6. Conclusions
In the class of the assumed strain methods, we have presented a numerical formulation for a nite
element endowed of drilling degrees of freedom. The numerical model is based on the minimization of
the modied HuWashizu functional in which the enhanced strain and the enhanced rotation elds are
included.
The condition on the satisfaction of the patch test is assured a priori by means of a convenient choice
of the enhanced displacement gradient in the isoparametric space. The present formulation is simple and
computationally efcient. The theoretical discussion joined to the several examples analyzed, show that
the formulation is stable and convergent and that the element does not posses spurious energy modes. The
behavior of the element is generally satisfactory also in the case of the almost incompressibility elasticity.
When the element is coupled to the DKQ plate-bending element, then a simple and effective shell
element is provided as well the numerical simulations show.
Furthermore, as a research line, the present element will be tested to substitute the assumed strain
quadrilateral nite element (without nodal rotations) used by Pimpinelli [14] to solve numerically the
equilibrium problem of solids constituted by materials with bounded tensile strength and subjected to
thermal strains.
References
[1] D.J. Allman, A compatible triangular element including vertex rotations for plane elasticity problems, Comp. Struct. 19
(1984) 18.
[2] T.J.R. Hughes, F. Brezzi, On drilling degrees of freedom, Comp. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 72 (1989) 105121.
[3] A. Ibrahimbegovic, R.L. Taylor, E.L. Wilson, A robust quadrilateral membrane nite element with drilling degrees of
freedom, Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 30 (1990) 445457.
[4] A. Ibrahimbegovic, F. Frey, Geometrically non-linear method of incompatible modes in application to nite elasticity with
independent rotations, Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 36 (1993) 41854200.
[5] J.C. Simo, M.S. Rifai, A class of mixed assumed strain methods and the method of incompatible modes, Int. J. Numer.
Methods Eng. 29 (1990) 15951638.
[6] J.L. Batoz, M.B. Tahar, Evaluation of a new quadrilateral thin plate bending element, Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 18
(1982) 16551677.
[7] E.L. Wilson, R.L. Taylor, W.P. Doherty, J. Ghaboussy, Incompatible displacement models, in: S.J. Fenves, et al. (Ed.),
Numerical and Computer Models in Structural Mechanics, Academic Press, NewYork, 1973.
[8] D. Pantuso, K.J. Bathe, A four-node quadrilateral mixed-interpolated element for solids and uids, Math. Models Methods
Appl. Sci. 5 (8) (1995) 11131128.
[9] Y. Zhu, T. Zacharia, A new one-point quadrature, quadrilateral shell element with drilling degrees of freedom, Comp.
Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 136 (1996) 165203.
[10] R.L. Taylor, J.C. Simo, O.C. Zienkiewicz, A.C.H. Chan, The patch test: a condition for assessing fem convergence Int. J.
Numer. Methods Eng. 22 (1986) 3962.
[11] R.D. Cook, Improved two-dimensional nite element, J. Struct. Div. ASCE 100 (1974) 18511865.
[12] R.H. MacNeal, R.L. Harder, A proposed standard set of problems to test the nite element accuracy, Fin. El. Anal. Des. 1
(1985) 320.
[13] A. Ibrahimbegovic, F. Frey, Stress resultant geometrically non-linear shell theory with drilling rotations, Part III: linearized
kinematics, Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 37 (1994) 36593683.
[14] G. Pimpinelli, On an improved numerical method to solve the equilibriumproblems of solids with bounded tensile strength
that are subjected to thermal strain, Struct. Eng. Mech. 15 (2003) 395414.

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Fig. 3. Eigenvalue vs. mesh subdivision.

open hole at the top, under the action of

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