SUMMARYA new approach to modelling solids that are anisotropic and heterogeneous is presented with applications to structures of composite material. A parametric cubic modelling system is presented for lines, surfaces, volumes, and physical data that uses construction-in-context to generate numerical data. This system automates the construction of discrete element models and can reduce input data requirements by more than an order of magnitude. A tricubic isoparametric discrete element is presented that does not require displacement derivatives to define connectivity. This element is capable of exact displacement and strain continuity over a surface while permitting strain discontinuities at heterogeneous material interfaces. The shape of an element can be any hexahedron, pentahedron, or tetrahedron and the material properties are allowed to vary over the volume. Evaluation of modelling error with respect to closed-form solutions for curved geometries indicate a single element can model up to 90-degree segments with stresses accurate to 1 per cent. Applications of the system to composite structures are presented for interlaminar edge effects and attachment stresses in a sandwich panel.

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