THE GENERALIZED CONFORMING TRIANGULAR MEMBRANE ELEMENTS WITH ROTATIONAL DEGREE OF FREEDOM

Based on the theory of generalized conforming element, two triangular membrane elements with rotational degree of freedom are developed by introducing internal parameters into its displacement field. The elements are proved to be convergent by passing the patch test for any geometry, without the hypothesis of the rigid rotation of corner node. The rotational definition of the elements is the same as that of continuum mechanics. It is shown that numerical results based on the elements have good accuracy.