Mat-1.600 Laskennallisen tieteen ja tekniikan seminaari

29.3.2004  14.15  U322

Carlo Lovadina, Pavia
Finite element approximation of Reissner-Mindlin plates:
Problems and a (possible) cure
In this talk we will consider the finite element approximation of Reissner-Mindlin plate bending problems. Most part of the seminar  will be devoted to explain why the finite element discretization is not at all straightforward; in particular, we will focus on the so-called "shear locking" phenomenon and on the occurrence of "spurious" modes.

Afterwards, we will present a possible cure (among others already proposed in the literature) to the above-mentioned difficulties, by introducing a new finite element scheme based on the use of non-conforming approximation spaces.

Lourenco Beirao da Veiga, Pavia
 Asymptotic energy behavior of two classical benchmark shells

We are interested in the behavior of the energy of linearly elastic "intermediate" shells as the thickness of the structure tends to zero. By "intermediate" we intend essentially those problems in which neither the bending neither the membrane energy dominate the problem asymptotically. In the firt part of the talk a brief survey both of the classical mathematical asymptotic theory of shells and of some more recent results will be given. The latter results will be then applied to two classical "intermediate" engineering benchmark shell problems, deriving in particular the asymptotic stiffness of the structure and the proportion of bending energy at the limit. Finally, we compare the results with those obtained with some finite element tests.