A Stabilized MITC finite element for
accurate wave response in Reissner-Mindlin plates
Lonny L. Thompson and Sri Ramkumar Thangavelu
Advanced Computational Mechanics Research Laboratory
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0921
Proceedings, Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. Paper MIT41.
First MIT Conference on Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics,
12-15, June 2001, Cambridge, MA.
Abstract
Residual based finite element methods are developed
for accurate time-harmonic wave response of the
Reissner-Mindlin plate model. The methods are
obtained by appending a generalized least-squares term to the
mixed variational form for the finite element approximation.
Through judicious selection of the design parameters inherent in
the least-squares modification, this formulation provides a
consistent and general framework for enhancing the wave accuracy of
mixed plate elements.
In this paper, the mixed interpolation technique of the well-established
MITC4 element is used to develop a new mixed least-squares (MLS4) 4-node
quadrilateral plate element with improved wave accuracy.
Complex wave number dispersion
analysis is used to design optimal mesh parameters,
which for a given wave
angle, match both propagating and evanescent analytical wave numbers
for Reissner-Mindlin plates.
Numerical results
demonstrates the significantly improved accuracy of the
new MLS4 plate element compared to the underlying MITC4 element.