Quadrilateral finite elements for analysis of thick and thin plates

Abstract

We discuss two quadrilateral plate elements applicable in the analysis of both thick and thin plates. The elements are based on Reissner-Mindlin plate theory and an enhanced displacement interpolation, which enables the consistent loading vector to be constructed. The constraint on the constant shear strain is enforced explicitly thus eliminating the shear locking phenomena in the analysis of thin plates. As a by-product of this work, we take a new look at a well-known discrete Kirchhoff plate element.