ABAQUS IMPLEMENTATION OF A COROTATIONAL PIEZOELECTRIC 3-NODE SHELL ELEMENT WITH DRILLING DEGREE OF FREEDOM

Integration of classical, passive structures and active elements based on multi-functional materials resulted in a novel structural concept denoted as active structures. The new structural systems are characterized by self-sensing and actuation. Coupling the two distinctive features by means of a controller enables a number of exquisite functionalities such as vibration suppression, noise attenuation, shape control, structural health monitoring, etc. Reliable, accurate and highly efficient modeling tools are an important ingredient of the active structure design. This paper addresses the Abaqus implementation of a recently developed piezoelectric 3-node shell element. The element uses co-rotational formulation to cover geometric nonlinearities. Special techniques are used to address the issues originating from low-order interpolation functions. The discrete shear gap is used to resolve the shear locking, while the assumed natural deviatoric strain technique improves the membrane behavior. Examples are computed in Abaqus upon implementation of the developed element.

Application of an Improved Shell Element in Springback Analysis

In this paper, the shell element with drilling degree of freedom (DOF) is applied to springback analysis, which possesses most satisfactory robustness and accuracy by describing complicated bending deformation precisely. At each node, six DOF make the element easy to connect to space beams or intersecting shells. The locking phenomena are controlled. We conducted implicit finite element method (FEM) analysis for springback simulation with this element in which the results show as good quality as BT shell, and in a few cases even better performance. As a result, this element is integrated in our stamping analysis software platform King Mesh Analysis System.

Finite Element Vibration Analysis of Laminated Composite Folded Plate Structures

A nine-noded Lagrangian plate bending finite element that incorporates first-order transverse shear deformation and rotary inertia is used to predict the free and forced vibration response of laminated composite folded plate structures. A 6 × 6 transformation matrix is derived to transform the system element matrices before assembly. The usual five degrees-of-freedom per node is appended with an additional drilling degree of freedom in order to fit the transformation. The present finite element results show good agreement with the available semi-analytical solutions and finite element results. Parametric studies are conducted for free and forced vibration analysis for laminated folded plates, with reference to crank angle, fibre angle and stacking sequence. The natural frequencies and mode shapes, and forced vibration responses furnished here may serve as a benchmark for future investigations.