INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING,

VOL. 36, 1885-1 908 (1993)

A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF-MINDLIN ELEMENT

BASED ON MINDLIN-REISSNER PLATE THEORY AND
ASSUMED SHEAR STRAIN FIELDS-PART 11: AN
EXTENDED DKQ ELEMENT FOR THICK-PLATE
BENDING ANALYSIS

IRWAN KATILI

Department of Ciuil Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, Kampus U.1.-Depok I6 424, Indonesia

SUMMARY
This is the second part of a two-part paper on plate bending elements with shear effects included.
This paper presents a new four-node, 12-d.0.f.quadrilateral plate bending element valid for the analysis of
thick to thin plates. The element called DKMQ, has a proper rank (contains no spurious zero-energy
modes), passes the patch test for thin and thick plates in an arbitrary mesh and is free of shear locking. Very
good results have been obtained for thin and thick plates by the element. An extended DKT element for
thick-plate bending analysis is evaluated in Part I . I 9

INTRODUCTION
There seems to be a great interest in the development of trouble-free, low-order plate elements,
e.g. four-noded quadrilaterals and three-noded triangles. The rationale behind this is that the cost
of evaluating the stiffness matrices of the elements is much less for low-order than for higher-order
ones. The trade-off between computing cost and numerical accuracy is even more justified for
large-scale non-linear analysis. Therefore, simple and numerically efficient elements with a reas-
onably good predictive capability are highly desirable for plate or shell analysis.
Elements based on Reissner-Mindlin’s theory’s2 require Co continuity. A phenomenon known
as shear locking induces overstiffness as the plate becomes progressively thinner. The perform-
ance of Reissner-Mindlin elements has been improved dramatically using ‘selectived/reduced
integrati~n’.~ -6 The simplest such element is the linear four-noded q~adrilateral,~ which,
unfortunately, gives erratic results due to the presence of spurious zero-energy r n ~ d e s . ~ - ~ .
An alternative approach has been advocated by Hughes and T e ~ d u y a r ,who, ~ influenced by
MacNeal? make special modifications to the shear straindisplacement matrix. A considerable
improvement over the SRI element is the MITC4 element introduced by Bathe and Dvorkin.’
An ingenious approach to tackle the Kirchhoff plate problem in a finite element formulation is
the discrete Kirchhoff plate theory (DKT). In DKT elements,’-I2 the rotations of fictitious
mid-side nodes are defined by incorporating the Kirchhoff hypothesis. Curvatures are derived by
differentiating the interpolated rotations of the corner and fictitious mid-side nodes instead of the
deflection itself. The DKT elements employ only three degrees of freedom per node. It was
concluded that the DKT’ and DKQ l o (discrete Kirchhoff quadrilateral) elements are the most
efficient,cost-effective, and reliable elements of their class. The elements are capable of represent-
ing only thin-plate behaviour.
0029-5981/93/111885-24$17.00 Received 13 Januury 1992
0 1993 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Revised 17 August 1992
1886 I. KATILI

A discrete shear quadrilateral (DSQ-BL) element using discrete Kirchhoff constraints and
equilibrium equation, introduced by Batoz and L a r d e ~ r , ' l4
~ , includes transverse shear effects
and coincides with the DKQ element if the transverse shear effects are not significant. However,
an incompatibility of the rotation of the normal appears due to shear effects. The compatibility is
verified for very thin plates (DKQ). A detailed investigation shows that the patch-tests are exactly
satisfied for thin plates only. In thick-plate situations a small error is observed when evaluating
M x , M , and MX,.
In this paper, a new quadrilateral element having four nodes and 3 d.0.f. per node (Figure 1) is
formulated based on a generalization of the discrete Kirchhoff technique to include the transverse
shear effects. It coincides with the DKQ'O in thin-plate situations. A special shear interpolation
has been used with constant tangential shear along the sides to include the transverse shear effect.
The element is called DKMQ (discrete Kirchhoff-Mindlin quadrilateral). It has a proper rank,
passes the patch test and does not lock. The compatiblity element is always satisfied in thin as well
as in thick plates.

FORMULATION OF A NEW ELEMENT

Starting with the Mindlin plate theory, where the transverse displacement w and the normal
rotations px and p, are independently defined, the strain energy due to bending and due to shear
deformation are considered.
The plate theory with the Reissner-Mindlin hypothesis introduces the assumption that the
normals to the mid-surface of the plate before deformation remain straight after deformation but
do not necessarily remain normal to it. In this approach the rotations of normals to the middle
surface of the plate, which occur as the plate is loaded and deforms, are considered to be
independent of the deflection of the middle surface. The approximations that are chosen to
describe the rotations and the transverse displacement are not required to satisfy the conditions
of normal slope continuity across element interfaces (C' continuity). They need only be C o
continuous. The displacement variables are assumed to be independent in the following manner:
u = zPx(x, Y), u = Z P J X , Y ) , w = w ( x , Y ) (1)
where x,y co-ordinates in the reference middle surface, z is the co-ordinate through the thickness
+
h, - h/2 < z < h/2, w is the transverse displacement. pxand p, represent the rotations of the
normal in the x-z and y-z planes, respectively, (Figure 2).

1 2.w w4

I Px4
Py4

Figure 1. 12-d.0.f. quadrilateral plate bending element

 A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF-MINDLIN ELEMENT: PART I1 1887

Equilibrium equations for a static distributed load f,

TX,, + Ty,, +.L = 0 (24
M,,, + M,,,, - T, = 0 on A (2b)
Mxy,x + M,,y - T, = 0 (24
where T,, T,, M,, M y and M,, are the shear forces and the bending moments per unit length
(Figure 3). These resultants are related to the Cartesian stresses ( T ~ ,(T, ox,, T(, and oyzby

T, = s'
--f
a,,dz, Ty = s'--t
Q,,dz, t =-
h
2
(3)
M, = j-t+f
a,zdz M, = a,zdz, M, = J-*a,zdz
+t

Kinematic relations
The bending strain (&b) and the curvature (x) are given by
(&b) = z<x>
(1) = ( B x , . By,, (BX,, + P,.x)>
where as the transverse shear strains are
(Y) = (Yxz YYZ) = (w,x + B x w,,+ B y >

0 0
Y-2 plane Z-X plane

Figure 2. Positive directions of PXand 8,

nxds

X)- X
ny ds
Figure 3. Bending moments and shear farces
1888 1. KATILI

Constitutive relations
The constitutive equations for the bending moments (Figure 3) are given by

And for the case of linearly elastic, isotropic, homogeneous plate, Hb is given by

where & is the plate rigidity, E is Young’s modulus and u is Poisson’s ratio.
The constitutive equations for the shear forces (Figure 3) are given by

(7) are the independent (or assumed) shear strains.

For the case of linearly elastic, isotropic, homogeneous plate, H , is given by

[Hs] = D, [ 1, D, = kGk (9)

k is the shear correction factor (a value of 5/6 is usually considered) and the shear modulus
G = E/2(1 + 0).

The compatible shape functions for the rotations

It is essential that the element is capable of reproducing all rigid-body and constant-curvature
characteristics in an exact manner. For these reasons the normal rotations are interpolated by
a complete rigid-body and constant-curvature field expansion (rc-modes) and a set of higher-
order function (h-modes):
4 8

N i expresses a complete polynomial to a degree which corresponds to an rc-mode and Pk

expresses a set of higher-order functions (h-modes).N i and Pk are presented in Table I. pxi and

Table I. Shape functions for the rotations

 A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF-MINDLIN ELEMENT: PART 11 1889

are nodal values at the corner 1,2, 3,4 and APsk are the nodal values at the mid-nodes $ 6 , 7,
8 (Figure 4)and is identified with the increment of tangential rotation at mid-sides. Ck and Sk are
the direction cosines of side k.

The curvature vector

The computation of curvature from (4)is straightforward:
(x) = [ B b p I ( u n ) f [BbA,983CApn)

where

The assumed shear strain jields

Consider a local s, n-co-ordinate system at element boundary; s denotes the tangential direction
and n the outward normal direction (see Figure 4).
The constitutive equations for the tangential shear strain along side k:

-X
a ) demenr nodes b) side k (node iJ)

Figure 4. Geometry and local tangential-normal co-ordinate system at element boundary of the quadrilateral element
1890 I. KATILI

The equilibrium equations of the each side need to be added to the above relations:
Ts = M,S + M f l s , f l (17)
The constitutive equation for the bending moment on each side are
Ms = Db(ps,s f Opn,n) (1W

s, n are the co-ordinates along a side.

It is possible to obtain a kinematic relationship between the tangential shear strains and the
normal rotations on each side by using (16)-(18a, b):

The rotation pn is imposed in a linear variation along the sides (see Figure 5a):

The rotation ps is imposed in a quadratic variation along the sides [see Figure 5(b)]:

and gives
Ps,nn = Bn,ns = 0

We obtain

where

k = 5/6 is the shear correction factor,

1) is Poisson's ratio,
h is the thickness of the plate,
Lk is the length of the side k ,
& is the shear influence factor.

Figure 5. Variation of pn and ,8, along the sides

 A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF MINDLIN ELEMENT: PART I1 1891

As in the MITC4' element, the transverse shear strain { y} are interpolated independently, with

and

where

I X
Figure 6. Kinematic data and tangential shear strains at points 5, 6, 7 and 8
1892 I. KATILI

Modified Hu- Washizu functional for thick plates

In this study, the modified Hu-Washizu functional is used to develop a four-node plate
bending element. The details of the variational functional using the modified Hu-Washizu
principle has been discussed in Reference 18, and only a brief outline is given herein for
completeness.
The variational functional of the modified Hu-Washizu principle is given as

n = n,(Bx,By) + rIs(w, B x 7 By, {7},{ T } )- (28)

with

n b is the bending strain energy,

lls is the shear strain energy and,
next describes the effect of boundary and other load,
f z is a uniform loading in z-direction.
Taking the variation of I'I with respect to T and setting it equal to zero, we get

@ T > ( { Y }- m d A =0

which must be viewed as a constraint equation and is equivalent in this case to

s:* 6T,(ys, - Ydds = 0, k

with T, constant per side in this case.

= 4, 5, + ps
6 and ysz = w , ~

The discrete constraint on element boundaries

Using equations (5) and (22) the constraint in equation (32) is represented in the discrete
manner on three sides and leads to the following relation:

and

(34)

We have

or
 A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF-MINDLIN ELEMENT: PART 11 1893

Table 11. Values of i and j for side k

2 5
3 6
4 7
1 8

The values of i, j and k are presented in Table 11. When (35)is applied for the fourth side, the
independent parameters { APn] can be related to the final d.0.f. { U n ) by

[ A A a ] is a non-singular, diagonal 4 x 4 matrix. The compatibility of PS is not lost on DKMQ

element. In DSQ-BLl33l 4 element [,&a] is a diagonal 4 x 4 matrix in thin-plate situations (in this
case DSQ-BL = DKQ") and in thick plates [ & p ] is a complete 4 x 4 matrix. The compatibility
of 0, is lost in DSQ-RL and, for this reason, the DSQ-BL element does not pass the constant-
curvature patch test.

- x32 - y32
1 - - 0 0 0
2 2
CAW1 =
-x43 - Y43 - 1 - x43 ___
- -Y43
0 0 0 0 0 0 l - -
2 2 2 2

(39)
[ A w ] is a 4 x 12 matrix depending on the corner co-ordinates only.

The stiflness matrix

Substituting equation (36) into the expression for curvature [equation (9)], we obtain
{XI = [ B b l { u n } (40)
1894 I. KATILI

Substituting equation (36) into the expression for the shear strain [equation ( 2 6 ) ] ,we obtain
{Y> = CBSI { u n > (42)
where
[&I = CBsaL?I[An1 (43)
Using equations (7),(40) and (41), the bending strain energy (29) for an element of area A" is
given by
= 3 ( U,) [&I { U, 1 (44)
where

With pointwise satisfaction of equation (31) and by using equations (9), (42) and (43) for an
element of area A", the shear strain energy is given by
n,e = t < ~ n > c w r U n ) (46)
with

This shear strain energy depends on the factor cpk and tends to zero if cpk < 1.
Finally, the stiffness matrix [ K ] is the sum of the bending and the shear stiffness matrices;
CK1= CKbI + CKJ (48)
A standard 2 x 2 Gauss integration scheme is found to be sufficient for the integration of the
stiffness matrix in equations (45) and (47) even though a 3 x 3 integration is theoretically
necessary. No spurious mode is present in the element. The 2 x 2 scheme should not be confused
with the standard reduced-integration scheme, deliberately introduced in some Mindlin thick- or
thin-plate formulations.

Stresses
Once the nodal variables { U , } are known, the bending moment { M } can be evaluated at any
point by
{ M } = [Hbl CBb(t? r ? ) ] { U n > (49)
The shear forces T, and q. are given by
{ TI = LR(t2 1)liU " ) (50)

Load vector
The equivalent nodal forces due to a constant pressure f i are presented here by

n; = j A e L w d a= < F , ) { U , )
(F,) = (Fzl 0 0 Fz2 00 Fz3 0 0 Fz4 0 0)
 A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF-MINDLIN ELEMENT: PART 11 1895

NUMERICAL RESULTS
Several problems (see Fig. 7) have been solved to assess the performance characteristics of the
D K M Q element. The results obtained for some of these problems are presented in this section.

Eigenvalues and rank

Only three eigenvalues are always zero (corresponding to the rigid-body modes of the element)
for various element shapes and for very thin as well as very thick plates. The element has always
a proper rank.

The patch test

The element stiffness matrix must satisfy the patch test in order to give reliable results. The
ability of the element to reproduce constant states of strains is an essential requirement for
achieving convergence to the correct solution as the finite element mesh is refined.
To check the performance of the element, we start with the patch test of four elements (Figure 7)
to reproduce a theoretically constant state of strain and stress for thin and thick plates.

Constant-curvature patch tests. For the elements based on the Reissner-Mindlin theory,
constant-curvature condition and zero shear deformation can be investigated by considering the
kinematical form of the patch tests by imposing on the boundary nodal values in accordance with
the following theoretical displacement fields, which lead to constant curvatures and zero trans-
verse shear:
w= - - (1x 2 + y 2 + x y ) , j x = x + - V, p y = -X+ y
2 2 2
The kinematical boundary condition at nodes 1, 2, 3 and 4 are shown in Table 111.
The correct results at nodes 5, 6, 7, 8, constant curvatures (xx = xy = xxy = 1) and zero
transverse shear ( y x z = yyz = 0),are obtained for any aspect ratio with D K M Q element. Thus, the
element passes the constant-curvature patch test.

5 : (2,Z)
6 : (8,3)
7 : (8,7)
8 : (4,7)

+X

Figure 7. Patch test problems

1896 I. KATILI

Very often the constant-curvature patch test has been presented using distributed moments*-"
on the boundary, which are theoretically equivalent to constant internal bending moments on the
plate. The consistent load vector for constant state M , = M y = 1 can be obtained by considering
linear approximation of /jn on each side. The consistent load vector for constant state M,, = 1 can
be obtained by considering the quadratic variation of /js = - w , +~ ys on each side, which will
lead to concentrated loads at the corners of the patch in thin-plate situations (see Figure 8). We
obtained the exact constant values of bending moments M , = M y = M,, = 1 and shear forces
T, = Ty = 0 at any point in the four elements for any aspect ratio with DKMQ element. Thus, the
element passes the constant-bending-moments patch test.

Constant-shear-deformationpatch test. To verify the constant-shear-deformation condition and

the zero curvature, we impose nodal values on the boundary of a patch according to the following

Table 111. Kinematical boundary condition for

constant-curvature patch tests

Node w, Bxi Byi

1 0 0 0
2 - 50 10 5
3 - 150 15 15
4 - 50 5 10

-:'m:
4

I .1.759
-2 1.759
5 - 4.397 5.603
5 4.397 5.603

::
-5 I 1 2
2
5
-5
- 1.759

2 I
1.759
4.397
.4.397

b ) consistent nodal forces c ) consistent nodal forces

for Llh=f000 for Lth=5

Figure 8. Constant-bending patch test

 A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF-MINDLIN ELEMENT PART I1 1897

fields:
w =f ( x + yj, fix = f, p, = 4
The kinematical boundary condition at nodes 1, 2, 3 and 4 are as shown in Table IV.
For large values of h ( h / L > 10) or for very small values of k ( k = low6),the correct results at
nodes 5,6,7,8, zero curvatures (x, = xy = xxr = 0) and constant transverse shear ( y x z = yYz = 1)
are obtained with DKMQ element at any point in the four elements. Thus, the element passes the
constant-shear-deformation patch test.
Mechanical-shear patch tests' can also be performed using distributed shear forces (see
Figure 9j, which are theoretically equivalent to constant internal shear forces on the plate. For
large values of h or for very small values of k, we obtained the exact constant values of shear forces
T, = 1, T, = 0 and bending moment M , = M,, = M,, = 0 in any point in the four elements. Thus,
the element passes the constant shear forces patch test.

Simply supported ( S S ) and clamped circular plate under uniform loading

Figure I0 shows that one quarter of the circular plate of radius R = 5 is modelled with four
different meshes of 3, 12,27 and 48 elements (see Figure 11).Three thickness cases are considered,
with h = 0.1, h = 1 and h = 2-5. Both the soft simply supported (SSI) and clamped boundaries
were considered. The soft simple support of the boundary here means that only the transverse
displacement is set to zero. The result for the two different boundary conditions is presented in
Tables Va-Vc, and VIa-VIc. Results from MITC48 are shown for comparison, For R / h = 5, the
convergence of central displacement, central moment M , and energy of plate are shown in
Figures 12 and 13, respectively, for clamped and SS1 circular plate under uniform loading. In
Figures 14-17 we show the results of bending forces M , , bending forces M 8 , shear forces and

Table IV. Kinematical boundary condition for

constant-shear-deformationpatch test

Node Wi Pxi Pyi

1 0 0.5 0.5
2 5 0.5 0.5
3 10 0.5 0.5
4 5 0.5 0.5

1 2 1 2 I "

a ) Shear: Tx=I , 1;=0 b) Nodal forces

Figure 9. Constant-shear patch test

1898 I. KATILl

ytQ
Data :

E =10.92, u =0.3,
R =5, h ~0.1,h =1 and h =2.5
Lniform loading : f, = 1
Boundav condition on AL(:
For SS : w =O
For Clamped: w =px=$=o

Symmetry condition ;
x onCB:By=O
on^^: p , = ~

Reference solution for circular plate : [I41

ical displaccrncnt :

I
I

Tr --.fir
2

Exact energy : 1 Exact energy :

Where ;
cp defines the size of the sector analyzed
cp = x / 2 for our analyses
k = 5/15.v is Poisson ratio.
{=; (OSrlR)

Figure 10. 12-element mesh of symmetric quadrant of circular plate

Table Va. Centre displacements w, for the SS circular plate under uniform loading

R/h = 50 Rjh = 5 R/ll i 2

NELT DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4

3 38332 36429 39.663 38.131 3,083 2.994

12 39 433 39039 41.101 40.772 3.217 3.198
27 39 651 39471 41.366 41.227 3.242 3.233
48 39734 39635 41.470 41,395 3.251 3.247

Exact 39 831 41.599 3.262

 A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF-MINDLIN ELEMENT: PART I1 1899

Table Vb. Central moment M, for the SS circular plate under uniform loading

Rlh = 50 R/h =5 Rlh = 2

NELT DKMQ MTTC4 DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4

3 5.39 4.73 5.40 478 5.44 4.82

12 5.20 5.10 5.23 5.09 5.24 5.09
27 5.18 5.12 5-19 5.13 5.19 5.13
48 5-17 5.14 5.18 5.14 5.18 5.15

Exact 5.16 5.16 5.16

Table Vc. Energy for SS circular plate under uniform loading

R/h = 50 R/h = 5 R/h = 2

NELT DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4

3 287 060 272 690 299.49 285.47 23.462 22.586

12 339 910 335 290 355.66 351.38 28.209 27.943
27 350 290 348 220 366.88 365.00 29.171 29.053
48 354 210 352 980 371.11 370.0 1 29-529 29.459

Exact 359 088 376.44 29.983

NELT = 3 NELT- 12

NELT = 27 NELT = 40

Figure 11. Different meshes of symmetric quadrant of circular plate

 d? -6
--eC MiTC4
-10 ' I I I
'id
-8 1
0
10 20 30 40 50 NFLT
0 10 20 30 40 50 NELT

a) convergence of centre displacement a ) convergence of centre displacement

10 I

m c 4
I -10
-10
0 10 20
-
30 40 50 NELT 0 10 20 30 40 50 NELT

bJ convergence of central moment M, b) convergence of central moment M r

wC -10

* m c 4
I

NELT
-30
0 10 20
-
30 40 50 NELT

CJ convergence of Energy cj convergence of Energy

Figure 12. Simply supported circular plates under uniform loading ( R / h = 2) Figure 13. Clamped circular plates under uniform loading ( R / h = 2)
 4 NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF MIN D LIN ELEMEN T PART I1 1901

ID

a
Y)

m w - 0
0
m N - 0

' ' ' 'I '

Y
0

II
5
s: -N
1

- 7

Y
0

I1
1
-
9:
U
1902 1. KATILI

Table VIa. Centre displacements w, for the clamped circular plate under uniform
loading
R / h = 50 R/h = 5 R/h = 2

NELT DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MTTC4

3 10771 9067.9 12.303 10.755 1.332 1,243

12 10093 9699.3 11.762 11.432 1.339 1.320
27 9917.6 9738.2 11.633 11.494 1.339 1-331
48 9865 9766-6 11.601 11.526 1.339 1.335

Exact 9783-51 11.551 1.339

Table VIb. Central moment M , for the clamped circular plate under uniform loading
R / h = 50 R/h = 5 Rlh = 2

NELT DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4

3 2.54 1.88 2.56 1.93 2.60 1.97

12 2.15 2.05 2.18 2.04 2.19 2.04
27 2.09 2.02 2.10 2.04 2.10 2.04
48 2.06 2.04 2.07 2.04 2.01 2.04

Exact 2.03 2-03 2.03

Table VIc. Energy for clamped circular plate under uniform loading
R/h = 50 R/h = 5 R/h = 2

NELT DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4

3 66856 52483 79.29 65.26 9.369 8-493

12 65837 61217 8 1.59 77.30 10.668 10.401
27 64734 62662 8 1.33 79.44 10.896 10.777
48 64596 63369 8 1.50 8040 10993 10.924

Exact 64091 81.45 11.103

displacements w, on a radius for the thin and thick clamped plates. For this example the shear
forces resulting from equation (50) are not reliable in thin-plate ( 2 R / h > 20 or IT, -,0) analysis.
However, when the thickness increases, the accuracy of the shear forces improves, significantly.
A similar observation has been made in18 for DST-BL and DST-BK and DKMT.”

Simply supported square plate with uniform loading

Figure 18 shows that the quarter of a square plate is subjected to a uniform load and is
modelled with 8 x 8 meshes. The hard simply supported (SS2) boundaries were considered. The
 A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF-MINDLIN ELEMENT: PART I1 1903

40000

30000

3"
20000

10000

a ) Rlh = 50

0 1 2 3 4 5 R 6

h ) Rlh = 5

3&2

C) Rlh = 2

Figure 17. Simply supported circular plates under uniform loading. Displacement w, on a radius (C-B) using DKMQ
and DKQ (NELT = 48)

Data :

E=lO.92 ; u = 0.3 ; L=lOOO ;

h=50, 100, 150,200 and 250
uniform loading : f, = 1

Simple Supported plate :

w = p,= 0 on boundary

- L
Symmetry conditions:
p, = O m ECand4, = 0 on CD

Figure 18. Square plate under uniform loading

1904 I. KATILI

hard simple support of the boundary here means that the transverse displacement w and flsare set
to zero. For different aspect ratios h/L, the dimensionless results of w, are compared with the
solution by MITC48 in Table VII and with the reference solution given by Salerno and Gold-
berg. '
Razzaque's skew plate
This is a 60" skew plate originally used by Razzaque.I6 This plate has 'bridge-type' boundary
conditions, being simply supported on two opposite sides, subjected to a uniformly distributed
load and free on the other two (Figure 19). The plates simply supported on two opposite sides are
treated as 'hard'. The results in Table VIII are compared with results from MITC4' element. The
value reference from Razzaque16 was obtained with 16 x 16 finite difference mesh. The conver-
gence of central displacement w , and central bending moment M y , are shown in Figure 20.

Table VII. Comparison of central displacements for the SS Square plate under uniform loading
with different h / L ( N = 8)

y , = W, x lo3 x D,/f,L4 h / L = 0.05 h / L = 0.1 h / L = 0.15 h / L = 0.2 h/L = 0.25

DKMQ 4,110 4.267 4.531 4.900 5.375

MIX4 4.1 10 4.268 4.532 4.902 5.377
Reference 15 4.108 4.242 4.465 4.908 5.179

Table VIII Comparing of central displacements w, and central moment M y

for the Razzaque skew plate

w, = w, x lo3 x Db/fiL4

Mesh DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MJTC4

2x2 0.6666 0.3976 92.20 37.90

4x4 0.7695 06737 96.00 77.60
6x6 0.7829 0.7371 96.10 87.10
8x8 0.7876 0.7610 9610 90.90
12 x 12 0.7908 0.7785 96.00 93.70

Reference 16 0.7945 95.89

E = 1085 ; u = 0.31
h = 0 . 1 ; L = 100
L'h = lo00
uniform loading : f, = 1

Boundary conditions
A B on AB & CD : w = p, = 0
H L Y

Figure 19. Razzaque skew plate: geometry and 4 x 4 meshes

 A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF-MINDLIN ELEMENT: PART I1 1905

Morley’s acute skew plate

Morley” used polar co-ordinates and a least-squares solution procedure to analyse an acute
skew plate (Figure 21) subject to a uniformly distributed load and is modelled with four different
meshes of 4 x 4, 8 x 8, 16 x 16 and 32 x 32. This problem poses severe difficulties for numerical
methods since there is a singularity in the bending moments at the obtuse corner. Despite these
difficulties,Morley’s solution is effectively exact in relation to thin-plate theory. The plates simply
supported on all edges are treated as ‘soft’. In Reference 20 the results for the MITC4 element are
reported for L / h = 100. In the present paper the results are reported for L / h = 100 and
L / h = 1000. The results obtained using DKMQ and MITC4 are reported in Tables IXa, b and in
Figure 22.

P
E

d 2 4 6 8 10 12 1 4 N

a ) Displacement at centre

d
””
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14N

b ) Bending moment My at centre

Figure 20, Razzaque skew plate: convergence

Data :

E = 10.92 ; 1, = 0.3
h = 0 . 1 and h=l
L = 100
Yh = 1000, 100
uniform loading : f, = 1
Boundary condjtions on
ABCD: w = 0

Figure 21. Morley’s acute skew plate: geometry and 4 x 4 meshes

1906 I. KATILI

100

80 - -
I
DKMQ (wh=lOOO, 100)
M I T C ~(wh=io00)
------c MITC4 (Llh=IOO)
3v 6 0 -
B
I- 40-
e -
I3 20
sp
0'
-20
0 10 20 30 N 40

a ) Displacement at centre

-20 I I I
0 10 20 30 N 40

b ) Bending moment M,,, at centre

-20
0 10 20 30 N 40

c) Bending moment Mmin at centre

Figure 22. Morley's acute skew plate: convergence

Table IXa. Morley's acute skew plate. Displacement and principal moments at the centre of
a uniformly loaded and simply supported plate for L/h = 1000

y , = W, x lo3 x D,/f,L4 M,,, = M,,, x 103/f,L2 Mmi, = Mminx 103/f,Lz

Mesh DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4

4x4 0760 0358 23.39 16.69 17.51 9-21

8x8 0 507 0343 20.74 17.33 12.76 9.57
16x 16 0443 0.343 19.84 17.17 11.66 8.74
32 x 32 0425 0-362 19.50 17.77 11.37 9.23

Reference 17 0.408 19.10 10.80

 A NEW DISCRETE KIRCHHOFF-MINDLIN ELEMENT: PART I1 1907

Table IXb. Morley’s acute skew plate. Displacement and principal moments at the centre of
a uniformly loaded and simply supported plate for L / h = 100

E, = w, x lo3x D b / f i L 4 MmaX
= M,,, x 103/fiL2 Mmin= Mminx 1 0 3 / f , L 2

Mesh DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MITC4 DKMQ MTTC4

4x4 0.757 0.359 23.30 16.70 17.40 9.21

8x8 0 504 0357 2073 17.82 12.67 9.99
16x 16 0.441 0.383 19.84 18.44 11.66 10.46
32 x 32 0.423 044 19.45 18.94 11.35 10.76

Reference 17 0.408 19.10 10-80

CONCLUDING REMARKS
The new four-node and 12-d.0.f. quadrilateral element for the analysis of thin to thick plates has
been evaluated and presented. Discrete shear constraint is considered on each side to relate the
kinematical and the independent shear strains.
For thin plates the transverse shear effects are not important; the influence of the terms due to
shear deformation is negligible and the DKMQ element will converge to the DKQ element.
The new element (DKMQ) proposed here has the following characteristics:
-passes the patch test for thin and thick plates,
-no extra zero-energy modes,
-no shear locking for thin plates,
-relatively insensitive to geometric distortions,
-geometrically invariant,
-good mesh convergence characteristics,
-computationally efficient.
It is, therefore, believed that the element can be very useful for practical applications.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The financial support of the French Government in the form of a scholarship to the author is
gratefully acknowledged. Moreover, the author would like to thank Prof. Jean-Louis Batoz.
Dr. Salim Bouabdallah and Dr. Rezak Ayad at the U.T.C, France, for their helpful comments and
fruitful discussions.

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1908 I. KATILI

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