A DOF expanding method for connecting solid and shell element

Abstract

SUMMARYThe paper presents a degree of freedom expanding method for dealing with the connections of 3D isopararnetric solid elements and the degenerated shell elements. By introducing two degrees of freedom to describe the elongation in the normal direction of the shell node linked with solid elements, a series of multipoint constraint equations which provide proper connections of solid and shell nodes are raised. The method gives a complete solution to the problem of connection between 3D isoparametxic solid elements and degenerated shell elements even for the thermal elasto-plastic problem. It can adapt to complex junctions and simplify programming. Numerical examples are also presented to demonstrate the accuracy and feasibility in thermal elasto-plastic analysis.