A new strain-based finite element for plane elasticity problems

Abstract

Purpose

In this paper, a new quadrilateral strain-based element is developed. The element has five nodes, four at the corners as well as an internal node.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the introduction of the internal node, the numerical performance of the element proved to be superior to existing elements in the literature, even though a static condensation is required.

Findings

From several numerical examples, it is shown that convergence can be achieved with the use of only a small number of finite elements. The proposed element can be used to solve general plane linear elasticity problems resulting in excellent results.

Originality/value

The results obtained are comparable with those given by the robust element Q8.

Citation

Hamadi, D., Ayoub, A. and Maalem, T. (2016), "A new strain-based finite element for plane elasticity problems", Engineering Computations, Vol. 33 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/EC-09-2014-0181