Abstract: This paper, basing on the fundamental concept of strain energy, studies the multiparameters variational principles set V_R which is applicable for both linear and nonlinear elastic mechanics problems. The applications of Ⅱ_L1 in finite element analyses of Timoshcnko beam and Mindlin plate are discussed in detail. The numerical results show that proper chose of the parameter in functional Ⅱ_L1 can not only improve the convergent properties of the element concerned, but also avoid the troublesome caused by the so-called "shear locking".