Refined Finite Elements for the Analysis of Metallic Plates Using Carrera Unified Formulation.

Purpose: In order to solve the problem that the existing models can't accurately reproduce the mechanical properties of metallic plates under complex working conditions, and the accuracy and efficiency can't be satisfied at the same time. The analysis of metallic plates by different refined finite elements is presented in this paper. The working efficiency and accuracy of the higher-order model in engineering applications are studied. Methods: The refined plate elements are based on several series expansion, and applied to the modeling and analysis of plate structures. The Carrera unified formulation is introduced to express the plate displacement field, the theoretical model of plate thickness expansion is established by using Taylor series expansion and Lagrange series expansion. The governing differential equations of metallic plate are established by using the principle of virtual displacements, the mass matrix and stiffness matrix of plate elements are deduced simultaneously. Finally, the shear locking phenomenon of the plate models is considered, tensor component mixed interpolation (MITC4) is used to revise the model. The accuracy and the reliability of the refined plate models are verified by comparing several order models and solid models generated in the commercial software ANSYS. Results and Conclusion: In this paper, the higher-order model has very low degree of freedoms (DOFs) on the premise of ensuring accuracy. And this modeling method can be used not only for thin plate analysis, but also for medium-thick plate analysis. Meanwhile, the refined plate model has high working efficiency and wide application range, which provides a new modeling method for the research of metallic plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]