A rectangular finite element formulation

Abstract

A finite element formulation for the static and dynamic analysis of linear-elastic space structures composed of plate- and beam-type members is presented in this study. In general, finite elements can be used efficiently for the analysis of linear-elastic structures with shear walls built by the use of tunnel forms. The element considered in the present study has six degrees of freedom at each node and an in-plane rotational degree of freedom, which makes it compatible with three-dimensional (3D) beam-type finite element models. The rigidity coefficients of the element are determined analytically. The element can be used with facility for the modeling of a shear wall with the connections of slab components. The finite element considered here yields highly accurate results with a very small number of elements. Convergence studies have been conducted on actual structures by using several models to check the performance of the rectangular finite elements. Acceptable results are obtained with coarse meshes and reasonable convergence is observed on the models tested. A special purpose computer program “TUNAL” developed for 3D analysis of linear-elastic structures and the finite element formulation is embedded within the program library. The validity of the assumptions and simplifications commonly made in the analysis of shear-wall-frame structures are investigated.