Strong Convergence Results for the Asymptotic Behavior of the 3D-Shell Model

We revisit the asymptotic convergence properties-with respect to the thickness parameter-of the earlier-proposed 3D-shell model. This shell model is very attractive for engineering applications, in particular due to the possibility of directly using a general 3D constitutive law in the corresponding finite element formulations. We establish strong convergence results for the 3D-shell model in the two main types of asymptotic regimes, namely, bending- and membrane-dominated behavior. This is an important achievement, as it completely substantiates the asymptotic consistency of the 3D-shell model with 3D linearized isotropic elasticity.