A quadratic assumed natural strain curved triangular shell element

Abstract

In this paper, a six-node triangular C 0 curved shell element is developed by the assumed natural or covariant strain (ANS) method. All the sampled natural strains are optimal with respect to the derivative of a prescribed cubic field in a subparametric element. Numerical examinations reveal that the element shows no sign of locking, passes all the patch tests and yields satisfactory accuracy.