An explicit hybrid stabilized eighteen-node solid element for thin shell analysis

Abstract

In this paper, the explicit hybrid stabilization method is employed to formulate stabilization vectors for the uniformly reduced integrated eighteen-node solid element. An assumed contravariant stress is devised based on the strain associated with the commutable mechanisms of a geometrically regular element. It will be seen that the stabilization vectors can be derived and programmed explicitly without resorting to numerical integration loops. Admissible matrix formulation is employed in evaluating the flexibility matrix which becomes diagonal and thus induces no inversion cost. The element accuracy is comparable with other state-of-the-art nine-node shell and eighteen-node solid elements. FORTRAN subroutines for constructing the stabilization vectors are presented. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.