AXISYMMETRICAL ELEMENTS OF THIN SHELL OF REVOLUTION CORRESPONDING TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF VARIATIONAL PRINCIPLES

The purpose of this paper is to investigate,to some extent,the influnce of variationalconstraints on the finite element properties,which are based on different types ofvariational principles.Taking axisymmetrical elements of thin shell of revolution(abbreviated as TSR element)as comparative elements,and with the same geometricaldescription,we derive seven kinds of TSR hybrid elements and two kinds of TSRconforming elements corresponding to three types of hybrid variational principles andpotential energy principle respectively.By analysing the element stiffness formulations andcomparing the numerical calculations,such as corrugated shell,we discuss the differencesin properties of different models.and the adaptability,limitation as well as relationshipbetween two types of models.We also point out a devergence case of TSR hybriddisplacement element,and suggest two kinds of more acceptable TSR elements.