An improved EAS brick element for finite deformation

Abstract

A new enhanced assumed strain brick element for finite deformations in finite elasticity and plasticity is presented. The element is based on an expansion of shape function derivatives using Taylor series and an extended set of orthogonality conditions that have to be satisfied for an hourglassing free EAS formulation. Such approach has not been applied so far in the context of large deformation three-dimensional problems. It leads to a surprisingly well-behaved locking and hourglassing free element formulation. Major advantage of the new element is its shear locking free performance in the limit of very thin elements, thus it is applicable to shell type problems. Crucial for the derivation of the residual and consistent tangent matrix of the element is the automation of the implementation by automatic code generation.