C1-CURVED FINITE-ELEMENTS WITH NUMERICAL-INTEGRATION FOR THIN PLATE AND THIN SHELL PROBLEMS .2. APPROXIMATION OF THIN PLATE AND THIN SHELL PROBLEMS

In this paper, we study the approximation of solutions of linear thin shell problems formulated on plane reference domains with curved boundary, according to the model of W.T. Koiter. Sufficient conditions are given which preserve the order of convergence of the method. These conditions involve both the approximation of the components of the displacement with straight and curved finite element families of class C1, and the degree of accuracy of the numerical quadrature schemes. We conclude by examining various examples. As a particular case, we apply the results to plate bending problems.