Generalized conforming element for bending and buckling analysis of plates

Abstract A generalized conforming element is presented in this paper—the inter-element compatibility in the sense of average displacement is guaranteed. A rectangular generalized conforming element of a thin plate with 12 degrees of freedom (RGC-12) is developed and applied to bending as well as buckling problems. Also, two types of triangular generalized conforming elements of a thin plate are developed: TGC-9 (9 d.o.f.) and TGC-9.1 (nine external d.o.f. and one internal d.o.f.). The advantages of the generalized conforming element are: fewer degrees of freedom, a solution of higher precision, and it is easy to program. The generalized conforming element passed the patch test on an arbitrary grid subdivision and the convergence to the exact solution is ensured.