On the Equilibrium Equations of Linear 6-Parameter Elastic Shells

Abstract

We consider the linearized theory of 6-parameter elastic shells with general anisotropy. We derive the equilibrium equations from the virtual power statement and formulate the corresponding variational problem in the suitable functional framework. Then, using a Korn-type inequality for the linearized strain measures we prove the existence and uniqueness of weak solutions. Finally, we show that our general theo­rem can be applied to obtain existence results in the case of isotropic elastic shells. We illustrate this procedure by investigating three differ­ent linear shell models established previously in the literature, namely the simplified isotropic 6-parameter shell, the Cosserat isotropic model, and the higher-order 6-parameter Cosserat model.