Extension of the Touratier Kinematic Model to Large Strains, Displacements, and Rotations

Abstract

A concept for the modeling of a laminated and curvilinear shell that is deformed in a geometrically nonlinear elastic manner is reported in this technical note. The shell is assumed to be sufficiently thin and all the laminate materials sufficiently stiff to facilitate a degenerated approximation. The model equations are derived to be valid for problems involving large strains and rotations and to take into account transverse shear deformations. This is accomplished by combining an unrestricted displacement form of the strain tensor with the Touratier kinematic model and then expressing the resulting equations in terms absolute nodal coordinates instead of displacement vector components. It is anticipated that the theory documented here can be used to develop a specialized degenerate finite-element type.