Solid-Shell Finite Elements for Tesselated Geometries

Sandwich structures made of sheets of composite materials are in widespread use, particularly in the transportation industry. Finite Element simulation of the thin, tesselated structures with complex, three-dimensional material behaviour is a challenging task for the underlying element technology. In particular, frequently used linear isoparametric approaches exhibit unphysical stiffening phenomena. Recent developments in solid-shell finite element technology aim to overcome these undesirable effects. Here, they are applied to an example of a corrugated sandwich core under transversal compression. A study of convergence is conducted with respect to commercially available shell and solid finite elements, and their ability to reproduce the bending dominated deformation state. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)