An element-based 9-node resultant shell element for large deformation analysis of laminated composite plates and shells

The Element-Based Lagrangian Formulation of a 9-node resultant-stress shell element is presented for the isotropic and anisotropic composite material. The effect of the coupling term between the bending strain and displacement has been investigated in the warping problem. The strains, stresses and constitutive equations based on the natural co-ordinate have been used throughout the Element-Based Lagrangian Formulation of the present shell element which offers an advantage of easy implementation compared with the traditional Lagrangian Formulation. The element is free of both membrane and shear locking behavior by using the assumed natural strain method such that the element performs very well in thin shell problems. In composite plates and shells, the transverse shear stiffness is defined by an equilibrium approach instead of using the shear correction factor. The arc-length control method is used to trace complex equilibrium paths in thin shell applications. Several numerical analyses are presented and discussed in order to investigate the capabilities of the present shell element. The results showed very good agreement compared with well-established formulations in the literature.