Further development of a three‐node triangular shell element

Early elements of this type were inaccurate because the membrane response was poor. Researchers improved the membrane response by adding drilling d.o.f. and by underintegrating the membrane stiffness matrix. More recent research has dealt with the addition of membrane-bending coupling within individual elements and the suppression of mechanisms. The present work intends to continue the improvement by modifying the membrane stiffness, simplifying the membrane-bending coupling device and suppressing mechanisms without degrading performance or causing the mesh to lock