PHYSICAL STABILIZATION OF THE 4-NODE SHELL ELEMENT WITH ONE-POINT QUADRATURE

A new four-node shell element for nonlinear analysis which is useful for explicit time integration with single point quadrature is presented. An assumed strain method is used to stabilize the zero-energy modes of the element. The stabilization procedure is based on the Hu-Washizu variational principle and does not require the input of any stabilization parameters. Example problems show good accuracy and rate of convergence compared with fully integrated 4-node elements, however the physically stabilized element is substantially faster than the fully integrated element.