Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900

www.elsevier.com/locate/finel

A layered shear-flexural plate/shell element using Timoshenko beam

functions for nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete plates
Y.X. Zhang, M.A. Bradford ∗ , R.I. Gilbert
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

Received 20 September 2006; received in revised form 25 May 2007; accepted 30 May 2007
Available online 5 July 2007

Abstract
Based on Mindlin–Reissner thick plate theory and Timoshenko’s composite beam functions, a unified displacement-based finite element
formulation of a 4-node, 24-DOF rectangular layered plate element is developed in this paper for the nonlinear finite element analysis of
thin to moderately thick isotropic plates and reinforced concrete slabs. Timoshenko’s composite beam functions that have been successfully
used in other applications are extended for the analysis of reinforced concrete slabs, being used herein to represent the bending behaviour
of the proposed layered plate element. Shear deformation effects are included in the model and the notorious problem of shear-locking is
avoided naturally since the deflection and rotation functions for the element boundary obtained from Timoshenko’s composite beam functions
converge theoretically to the thin plate solution when the plate thickness becomes very small. The convenient in-plane displacement functions
for a quadrilateral plane element with drilling degrees of freedom are used for the in-plane displacements of the element. Both geometric
nonlinearity and material nonlinearity, which incorporates tension, compression, concrete cracking and tension stiffening, are included in the
model. A Total Lagrangian approach is employed to formulate the element for incorporation into a nonlinear finite element solution algorithm.
Numerical examples of linear and geometric nonlinear analysis of thin to moderately thick isotropic plates and of reinforced concrete slabs
are shown to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed element.
䉷 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Geometric nonlinearity; Material nonlinearity; Mindlin–Reissner plate theory; Rectangular layered plate element; Shear-locking free; Timoshenko’s
composite beam functions

1. Introduction challenging because of the complicated nonlinear behaviour

Reinforced concrete (RC) slabs and shells find widespread
use in many engineering structures, and accurate prediction of
their structural behaviour is important in achieving a safe and
economic structural design. The finite element (FE) method has
been used successfully for the numerical analysis of reinforced
concrete structures, and intensive investigations of the nonlin-
ear structural behaviour of reinforced concrete slabs/shells us-
ing the FE method have been reported for over thirty years.
Despite significant progress having been made in the devel-
opment of computational methods, accurate prediction of the
overall load–deflection response of RC slabs and shells is still
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 2 9385 5014; fax: +61 2 9386 6139.
E-mail addresses: sarahyxzhang@unsw.edu.au (Y.X. Zhang),
m.bradford@unsw.edu.au (M.A. Bradford), i.gilbert@unsw.edu.au
(R.I. Gilbert).
of these structures, and simple and efficient FE models and
formulations are of major significance for accurate numerical
modelling of the structural behaviour.
Many FE models have been developed for the nonlinear
analysis of reinforced concrete slabs and shells, and generally
there are three types of models: the layered FE model, the ef-
fective stiffness model and the discrete model. In the effective
stiffness method [1–3], the cracking of concrete and degrada-
tion of its material properties are considered by using the use
of averaged orthotropic flexural rigidities, whereas progressive
cracking through the cross-section cannot be accounted for [4].
In the discrete FE approach [4,5], the concrete and steel re-
inforcement are modelled separately by two different types of
finite elements. For instance, in the model proposed by Jiang
et al. [4], the concrete slab was modelled using an element
which combined a linear plane stress rectangular element and a

0168-874X/$ - see front matter 䉷 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.finel.2007.05.002
 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900
non-conforming plate bending element, whilst the reinforcing
steel was represented by beam-column type elements. The con-
struction of the discrete model is difficult and time-consuming.
Since a large number of degrees of freedom exist in the discrete
model, it is significantly more expensive in terms of analysis
time, which is of particular concern in the nonlinear analysis of
these structures [5]. The layered approach has been widely used
for the FE analysis of RC structures, and it has been demon-
strated to be effective, particularly in predicting the cracking
and ultimate behaviour of RC slabs in bending and shear [6].
In this model, the element is formulated by assembling a fi-
nite number of concrete layers and equivalent smeared steel
layers. Each layer may have different material properties cor-
responding to its particular material states, and for simplicity
the material properties of each layer are assumed to be constant
throughout the thickness of the layer. Cracking and crushing
of concrete and yielding of reinforcement through the thick-
ness of the cross-section can be monitored progressively using
the layered model, thereby providing an accurate and realistic
representation of the structural behaviour.
In many practical applications of RC slabs in engineering
structures, the shear response as well as that due to flexure
is of great importance. Design incorporating the flexure-shear
or punching shear response of RC slabs according to com-
mon national standards has attracted considerable research ef-
fort [6–11]. To model this behaviour effectively, it is essential
to employ simple and efficient element models which account
for both flexural and shear effects. However, most previously
developed layered rectangular plate elements for nonlinear FE
analysis that include the 4-node, 16-DOF rectangular plate el-
ement proposed by Scanlon and Murray [12], the 4-node, 16-
DOF rectangular plate bending element developed by Gilbert
[13] and the 4-node, 24-DOF quadrilateral layered thin flat shell
element based on the discrete Kirchhoff technique by Kim et
al. [14] are based on Kirchhoff’s assumptions of thin plate the-
ory with the transverse shear deformation being neglected, and
so they are valid only for modelling the flexural behaviour of
thin RC plate and shell structures.
Accurate models and formulations that include both flex-
ure and transverse shear effects are quite rare. Some layered
plate/shell elements including flexure and shear effects in RC
slabs do exist, such as the elements developed by Owen and
Figueiras [15], Harmon and Ni [16], Polak and Vecchio [17],
Guan and Loo [6], and several others. Based on Mindlin plate
theory, transverse shear strain energy was included in these for-
mulations, but most of these were based on degenerated shell el-
ements and remedy schemes such as reduced [18] and selective
reduced integration methods [19] had to be deployed to avoid
shear locking which may occur in thin plate/shell analysis. Al-
though these remedy techniques can eliminate shear-locking,
the resulting element is usually less accurate, extra zero energy
modes may exist, and the element often cannot pass the patch
test for thin plates. The effects of these remedy schemes onn
the structural response with transverse shear stresses have been
questioned [20].
The so-called “Timoshenko’s beam function method” has
been employed to eliminate shear-locking efficiently [21–26]
889
and has been used successfully by the first author to develop
shear-locking free laminated plate elements for the geometri-
cally nonlinear analysis of thin to moderately thick laminated
composite plates [24–26]. In the composite plate element based
on this technique, the deflection and rotation functions for the
element sides were derived from Timoshenko’s composite beam
functions. This provides a unified formulation for thin and thick
plates, since the solution reduces mathematically to that based
on thin plate theories as the thickness becomes very small, and
the elements are free from shear-locking without the need for
any stabilisation schemes.
The aim of the investigation herein is to extend the ap-
plication of Timoshenko’s beam function technique to RC
structures, and to present a unique and unified simple shear-
locking free rectangular layered finite element model based
on Mindlin–Reissner plate theory and Timonshenko’s beam
functions, which has the potential to provide an accurate
modelling of both the flexural and shear behaviour of thin to
thick slab-type structures. Both geometric nonlinearity and
material nonlinearity for concrete, which incorporates tension,
compression, concrete cracking and tension stiffening, are in-
cluded in the model. The extent of the geometric nonlinearity
(with moderate rotations) is consistent with the behaviour of
RC plates and slabs and the formulation for the mid-plane
deformations precludes membrane locking.
In the FE model developed herein, the concrete prior to
cracking is treated as an isotropic, homogeneous linear elastic
material, with this assumption being consistent with accepted
practice. For most reinforced concrete structures, the nonlinear
behaviour in the short term arises mainly from concrete crack-
ing, and in this paper the maximum principal stress criterion is
used as a convenient method to detect cracking, so that crack-
ing occurs when the maximum principal tensile stress reaches
the concrete tensile strength. A fixed smeared crack approach
is used to model the cracking once it has been identified, and
cracks are assumed to form in planes perpendicular to the
principal stress direction, the axes of orthogonality are fixed
as being parallel and perpendicular to the crack at the onset of
cracking and they are not allowed to change. The modulus of
elasticity in this principal direction is then taken as being zero.
A shear modulus similar to that of Cedolin and Deipoli [27],
in which the cracked shear modulus is assumed to be a function
of the current tensile strains, is adopted to account for aggregate
interlock and dowel action, and the model proposed by Izumo
et al. [28] is used to represent the significant tension stiffening
effect.
A Total Lagrangian approach is used to formulate the ele-
ment for incorporation into a nonlinear finite element solution
algorithm. Following the development of the model, numeri-
cal examples are used to demonstrate the accuracy of the FE
technique proposed in this paper.
2. Basic formulations
Fig. 1 shows a typical layered rectangular plate element, in
which the reinforced “composite” concrete section is divided
into a series of concrete layers that are numbered sequentially,
890 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900

Y
Z

Reference Surface
ts
As X

Z t1
ZC+1
c
ZC Z1
C-1
ZC-1
C-2
Reference Surface
t2
3
2 Z3 Z2
Z2
1
Z1
Concrete layers Steel layers
No. of Concrete layers =C

Fig. 1. A typical layered rectangular plate element.

starting from the bottom of the slab and in which the reinforcing strain vector ⑀ = x y xy T at any point in a plate element
steel is treated as being equivalent smeared steel layers (whose can be written as
equivalent thickness is ts = As /b, where As is the area of one
reinforcing bar and b is the spacing of the bars). It is assumed ⑀ = ⑀m + z⑀b , (2)
that each layer is in a state of plane stress, that compatibility
where the bending strain ⑀b is expressed as
between the steel layers and the concrete layers is maintained
through the analysis, including perfect bond between the steel   
jx jy jx jy T
and the concrete. Assuming that the material properties of each ⑀b = , , + = Bb qbe , (3)
jx jy jy jx
layer are constant throughout the thickness, the material prop-
erty matrices for the element are obtained by summing alge- and the membrane strain ⑀m is
braically the contributions of each layer. In each layer of the
element, the stress points are taken as the Gauss points at its ⑀m = ⑀0m + ⑀L
m, (4)
mid-height, and the stress components at these Gauss points are
assumed to be constant over the thickness of each layer. The in which the linear and nonlinear membrane strains are
actual stress distribution of the plate cross-section is therefore  0  0 T
ju jv 0 ju jv 0
represented by the piecewise constant approximation shown in ⑀m =
0
, , + = Bm qme
,
jx jy jy jx
Fig. 1.      T
Mindlin–Reissner plate theory is used to include the trans- 1 jw 2 1 jw 2 jw jw
⑀m =
L
, , . (5)
verse shear deformation in the element formulation, and the 2 jx 2 jy jx jy
displacement components u, v and w in the x, y, z directions at
a point (x, y, z) in a plate element can be expressed by the cor- In addition, the transverse shear strain vector is defined as
responding mid-plane translational displacement components    
u0 , v 0 and w 0 and rotations of the mid-plane normal around jw jw T
 = xz , yz  = x −
T
, y − = Bs qbe , (6)
the x and y axes, x , y , respectively, as jx jy
 e and qe are the element nodal in-plane displacement
u(x, y, z) = u0 (x, y) + zx (x, y), where qm b
v(x, y, z) = v 0 (x, y) + zy (x, y), (1) vector and nodal bending displacement vectors, respectively.
w(x, y) = w 0 (x, y). The constitutive relationship for the reinforced concrete plate
can be expressed as
Geometric nonlinearity is included to model the structural be-
haviour of RC slabs and shells accurately. The in-plane Green ∗ = D∗ ⑀∗ , (7)
 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900 891

where have been used extensively in structural engineering due to sim-

plicity in their formulation, their effectiveness in computation,
∗ = N, M, TT and ⑀∗ = ⑀m , ⑀b , T , (8) exact representation of rigid body movements, and their flex-
ibility in application to both folded plate and shell structures.
and
A flat plate/shell element is usually a combination of a mem-
Dmm Dmb 0 brane element and a plate bending element, and the coupling
D∗ = Dbb 0 . (9) of the stretching and bending behaviour needs to be included.
(sym) Dss This is appropriate for modelling RC slabs and shells, since
the coupling of membrane and bending actions and deforma-
In these equations, N=Nx , Ny , Nxy T is the membrane force
tions is often very significant in these structures. Even in RC
vector defined at the mid-plane, M = Mx , My , Mxy T is the
slabs, where the bending dominates initially, the curved geom-
bending moment vector and T = Qx , Qy T is the transverse
etry causes bending and membrane actions to interact with the
shear force vector, in which the actions Nx , Ny , Nxy , Mx , My ,
increase of load application. This is particularly profound in
Mxy , Qx and Qy are derived subsequently. In the property ma-
restrained RC slabs subjected to thermal effects [30].
trix in Eq. (9), Dmm is the extensional stiffness, Dbb is the bend-
For the layered flat plate/shell element developed in this pa-
ing stiffness, Dmb is the bending-extensional coupling stiffness
per, the deflection and rotation functions for the element sides
and Dss is the transverse shear stiffness that are given by
are obtained from Timoshenko’s composite beam functions,
c s and the plane displacement interpolation functions for a quadri-
Dmm = t D dz = Dci (zi+1 − zi ) + Dsj tsj , (10) lateral isoparametric element with drilling degrees of freedom
h i=1 j =1 [31] based on the well-known work of Allman [32] are em-
c s
ployed to describe the in-plane displacements. Hence there are
1 six engineering degrees of freedom per node of the proposed
Dbb = z2 t D dz = Dci (zi+1
3
− zi3 ) + Dsj zj2 tsj ,
h 3 element, which are the translational displacement components
i=1 j =1
u, v and w, the rotational components around the x and y axes,
(11)
x , y and the rotational (drilling) degree of freedom z . The
c s benefits of introducing the drilling degree of freedom [32] in-
1
Dmb = zt D dz = Dci (zi+1
2
− zi2 ) + Dsj zj tsj , clude the proven improvement of the membrane performance
h 2
i=1 j =1 for shell analysis, elimination of the singularity of the stiff-
(12) ness matrix in analyzing facet shell structures or folded plate
c structures, easy connection of the element to space beams and
Dss = =k Dcoi (zi+1 − zi ), intersecting shells, and the relative ease of incorporating the
t D dz (13)
h i=1
element into other commercial software packages.

where t (·) denotes the value of (·) that varies through the thick-
3.2. Timoshenko’s beam functions for RC slabs
ness 0 z h, c is the number of concrete layers and s is the
number of the smeared steel layers. In Eqs. (10)–(13), the ma-
Timoshenko’s beam functions for laminated composite
trices Dci and Dsj are the in-plane material property matrices
beams [22,23], which satisfy the boundary conditions for the
of the ith concrete layer and the j th reinforcement layer (they
displacement w and rotation  at two ends of a beam of length
may differ between layers according to their different material
L, width b and thickness t, are
states), Dcoi is the out-of-plane material property matrix of the
ith concrete layer, zi+1 and zi are the coordinates of the upper w = [L1 + e L1 L2 (L1 − L2 )]w1
and lower surfaces of the ith concrete layer in the z direction,
+ [L1 L2 + e L1 L2 (L1 − L2 )]L/21
zj is the coordinate of the mid-height of j th reinforcement
layer in the z direction, and tsj is the thickness of the j th re- + [L2 + e L1 L2 (L2 − L1 )]w2
inforcement layer (Fig. 1). The material property matrices for + [−L1 L2 + e L1 L2 (L1 − L2 )]L/22 , (14a)
the concrete and steel layers with different material states are
described in Section 3, whilst k is a constant representing the  = − [(6L1 L2 /L)e ]w1 + [L1 (1 − 3e L2 )]1
non-uniformity of the shearing stress, which is generally set to + [(6L1 L2 /L)e ]w2 + [L2 (1 − 3e L1 )]2 , (14b)
be 56 [29].
where
3. Formulation of the layered flat plate/shell element
x x 1 Q̄b
L1 = 1 − , L2 = , e = , e =
3.1. General L L 1 + 12e Q̄s L2
(15)
Amongst the family of frequently used shell elements that in-
cludes flat shell elements, degenerated three-dimensional solid and Q̄b and Q̄s are the bending and shear elastic constants,
elements and curved shell elements, flat plate/shell elements respectively.
892 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900

These functions for laminated composite plates are extended
in this paper to represent the bending behaviour of the proposed
element for the nonlinear analysis of RC slabs. For an element
side ij with end nodes i and j, the interpolation of the normal
˜ n and tangential ˜ s slopes along this side can be expressed as
˜ n = Li ni + Lj nj ,
˜ s = − [(6Li Lj /Sij )ij ]wi + [Li (1 − 3ij Lj )]si
+ [(6Li Lj /Sij )ij ]wj + [Lj (1 − 3ij Li )]si ,
For a very thin plate (t → 0) with a finite side length Sij ,
(t/Sij )2 → 0 and so ij → 0 since Q̄bij /Q̄sij is a function of
t 2 , and hence ij → 1. Because of this, the displacement ˜ s on
the side is the familiar rotational displacement of a thin plate.
It is thus clear that the displacement functions derived from
Timonshenko’s beam functions produce a unified representation
(16a)
of the displacement functions for both thick and thin plates.
(16b) 3.3. Bending strain matrices

where ni , si and nj , sj are the normal and tangential slopes The displacement and rotation of the sides of a rectangular
at nodes i and j, respectively, and where layered plate element can be deduced from Timoshenko’s beam
functions. With a similar derivation to that presented by Zhang
s s 1 and Kim [22,23], the rotational displacement functions of the
Li = 1 − , Lj = , ij = ,
Sij Sij 1 + 12ij proposed elements are
Q̄bij
ij = , (17) x y T = N̄qbe , (20)
Qsij Sij2

where s is the coordinate along the boundary of the element, where

Sij is the length of the side ij , Q̄bij and Q̄sij are the bending
N̄ = [N̄1 , N̄2 , N̄3 , N̄4 ]
and shear stiffness constants of the side ij of the element,
respectively. In the proposed formulation herein, considering
with
the contribution of each concrete and steel layer, the constants
Q̄bij and Q̄sij are 
Pi Pxi Pyi
N̄i = (i = 1, .., 4), (21)
c s Qi Qxi Qyi
1 (i) (j )
Q̄bij = (Q̄11 )cij (zi+1
3
− zi3 ) + (Q̄11 )sij zj2 tsj , (18a)
3 P1 = 23 (N5 m12 12 /S12 − N8 m41 41 /S41 ), (22a)
i=1 j =1

c s
(i) − (j ) Px1 = − 43 (N5 m212 12 + N8 m241 41 ) + N1 , (22b)
Q̄sij = (Q̄55 )cij (zi+1 zi ) + (Q̄55 )sij tsj , (18b)
i=1 j =1
Py1 = 43 (N5 l12 m12 12 + N8 l41 m41 41 ), (22c)
where
(i) (i) (i) (i) Q1 = 23 (N8 l41 41 /S41 − N5 l12 12 /S12 ), (22d)
(Q̄11 )cij = Q11c (cos4 ij + sin4 ij ) + 2(Q12c + 2Q66c )
cos2 ij sin2 ij , (19a) Qx1 = 43 (N5 l12 m12 12 + N8 l41 m41 41 ), (22e)
(j ) (j ) (j ) (j )
(Q̄11 )sij = Q11s (cos4 ij + sin4 ij ) + 2(Q12s + 2Q66s ) Qy1 = − 43 (N5 l12
2
12 + N8 l41
2
41 ) + N1 (22f)
× cos ij sin ij ,
2 2
(19b)
and where the terms Pi , Pxi , Pyi and Qi , Qxi , Qyi (i = 2, 3, 4)
(i) Ec (i) Es can be obtained by simply permuting N5 → N6 → N7 →
(Q̄55 )cij = , (Q̄55 )sij = . (19c) N8 , 12 → 23 → 34 → 41 and N1 → N2 → N3 → N4 in
2(1 + c ) 2(1 + s )
Eq. (22). In these equations, lij and mij are its direction cosines
In Eqs. (19), Ec , c are Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio for of side ij and Ni (i = 1, . . . , 8) and Ni (i = 1, . . . , 4) are the
the concrete and Es , s are those for the steel, ij is the angle shape functions of an 8-node and 4-node serendipity element.
between the global X-axis and the element side ij of the layer, Thus the vector of bending strains in Eq. (3) for the proposed
(i) (i) (i)
Q11c , Q12c , Q55c are the elastic constants of the ith concrete rectangular layered element is given using Timoshenko’s beam
(j ) (j ) (j ) functions by
layer, Q11s , Q12s , Q55s are the elastic constants of the j th steel
layer, being expressed as
⑀b = jx /jx jy /jy jx /jy + jy /jxT = Bb qbe , (23)
(i) (i) (i)
(i) Ec (i) Es (i) c E c
Q11c = , Q11s = , Q12c = , where
1 − 2c 1 − 2s 1 − 2c
(i)
(i) s Es qbe = qb1 , qb2 , qb3 , qb4 T with qbi = wi , xi , yi ,
Q12s = . (19d)
1 − 2s (24a)
 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900 893

and For very thin plates, ij → 0 and ij → 1 and thus the shear
strain matrix vanishes, and the solution for a Kirchhoff plate is
Bb = [Bb1 , Bb2 , Bb3 , Bb4 ] with obtained so that shear locking is avoided naturally.
⎡ jPi /jx jPxi /jx jPyi /jx ⎤
⎢  jQi /jy   jQxi /jy  
jQyi /jy
⎥
Bbi = ⎣ jPyi jQyi ⎦ . 4. Material model for layers
jPi jQi jPxi jQxi
+ + +
jy jx jy jx jy jx
(24b) 4.1. Reinforcing steel layer

The reinforcing steel is assumed as is conventional to be

3.4. Membrane strain matrices
elastic–perfectly plastic in tension and compression, with axial
stiffness only in the bar direction.
The membrane displacement functions for a quadrilateral
isoparametric element with drilling degrees of freedom [31]
are used to develop the in-plane displacements of the pro- 4.2. Concrete layers
posed rectangular plate element. The membrane strain matrices
Bm = [Bm1 Bm2 Bm3 Bm4 ]T can be obtained from the mem- Before cracking or crushing, the concrete behaviour is as-
brane strain vector in Eq. (5) as sumed to be isotropic and linear elastic. The in-plane and out-
of-plane material stiffness matrices Dci and Dco are given by
⑀m = ju0 /jx jv 0 /jy ju0 /jy + jv 0 /jxT = Bm qm
e
, (25) ⎡1  0 ⎤
c
Ec ⎣  1 0 ⎦,
Dci = c
where 1 − 2c 1 − c
0 0
 2
1 Ec 1 0
e
qm = qm1 , qm2 , qm3 , qm4 T with qmi = ui , vi , zi . Dco = . (32)
2 1 + c 0 1
(26)
The concrete in compression is assumed to be elastic–perfectly
3.5. Transverse shear strain matrices plastic to simplify the model, although the incorporation of
more sophisticated constitutive representations is relatively
The vector of transverse shear strains can be expressed in straightforward. Concrete cracking is modelled by the smeared,
terms of natural coordinates as fixed two-way orthogonal crack representation, and the max-
imum principal stress criterion is used to detect the cracking.
 = xz yz T = Bs qbe , (27) Once the maximum principal stress at the Gauss points reaches
the concrete tensile strength, cracks are assumed to form in
planes perpendicular to the direction of the maximum princi-
where the transverse shear strain matrices
pal tensile stress, and the elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio
are reduced to zero in the maximum principal stress direction.
Bs = JN̂ Bs (28)
After cracking, the out-of-plane material property matrix in
the principal coordinate system becomes
where J is the Jacobian matrix, the matrix N̂ is
Dco = diag [ Gc13 , Gc23 ] , (33)

 1 S12 (1−) 0 −S34 (1+) 0
N̂ = , where Gc13 and Gc23 are the cracked shear moduli that account
4 0 S23 (1+ ) 0 −S41 (1− )
for aggregate interlock and dowel action in the smeared crack-
(29)
ing model. In the present analysis, the cracked shear moduli are
chosen to be similar to those used by Cedolin and Deipoli [27].
Bs = [Bs1 Bs2 Bs3 Bs4 ]T , (30)

and
1− m12 (1 − 12 ) l12 (1 − 12 ) −(1 − 12 ) m12 (1 − 12 ) l12 (1 − 12 ) 
Bs1 = 12
− − 0 0 0 0 0 0 , (31a)
S12 2 2 S12 2 2
 (1 − 23 ) m23 (1 − 23 ) l23 (1 − 23 ) −(1 − 23 ) m23 (1 − 23 ) l23 (1 − 23 ) 
Bs2 = 0 0 0 − − 0 0 0 , (31b)
S23 2 2 S23 2 2
 (1 − 34 ) −m34 (1 − 34 ) l34 (1 − 34 ) −(1 − 34 ) −m34 (1 − 34 ) l34 (1 − 34 ) 
Bs3 = 0 0 0 0 0 0 , (31c)
S34 2 2 S34 2 2
 −(1 −  ) −m41 (1 − 41 ) l41 (1 − 41 ) (1 − 41 ) −m41 (1 − 41 ) l41 (1 − 41 ) 
Bs4 = 41
0 0 0 0 0 0 . (31d)
S41 2 2 S41 2 2
894 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900

σ with

Bmi 0
σcr B0i = 0 Bbi (i = 1, .., 4). (38)
0 Bsi

The nonlinear strain matrix BL in Eq. (37) is expressed as

εcr 2εcr BL = [BL1 , BL2 , BL3 , BL4 ]

ε

Fig. 2. Tension stiffening model of Izumo et al. [28]. with

0 BbLi
After cracking, tension-stiffening effects become significant BLi = 0 0 (i = 1, .., 4) (39)
and must be included in the analysis if an accurate representa- 0 0
tion of the behaviour is to be achieved. The tension-stiffening
model proposed by Izumo et al. [28] illustrated in Fig. 2 is and with the matrix BbLi being obtained from
adopted herein to describe the tension stiffening effects of the
concrete. It should be stated that the in-plane and out-of-plane BbLi = AGi , (40)
material property matrices in the principal coordinate systems
after cracking must be transformed into those in element local where
coordinate system.
jw/jx 0
5. Finite element formulation A= 0 jw/jy (41a)
jw/jy jw/jx
5.1. General
and
The Total Lagrangian approach, in which the original con-  T
figuration is taken as the reference, is mostly used for the geo- jdw jdw
= Gdqbe . (41b)
metric nonlinear analysis of plates. For this, the finite element jx jy
formulation can be written as
The linear displacement interpolation function for a 4-node
(K + K )q = t+t P − t R, (34) quadrilateral isoparametric plane element is proposed in this
where paper for the calculation of matrix G in Eq. (41b) is,

K= Ke , K = Ke , t
R= t
Re , (35) 4
e e e w= Ni wi . (42)
t+t P i=1
and is the external load vector at time t + t in the anal-
ysis. The element stiffness matrix Ke , the element geometric
stiffness matrix Ke and the element internal force vector t Re 5.3. Element geometric stiffness matrix
are defined in the following.
The element geometric stiffness matrix K in Eq. (34) can
5.2. Element stiffness matrix be obtained from the expression

Routinely, element stiffness matrix Ke is Ke dqe = dBTL ∗ dAe . (43)

Ae
Ke = BT D∗ BdAe , (36)
Ae In component form, the element geometric stiffness matrix can
be written as
where Ae is the original area of the element. For geometrically
nonlinear analysis, the strain matrix B can be expressed as the 
0 0
sum of its linear and nonlinear components as Kij =
e
where Kbij = GiT L Gj dAe , (44)
0 Kbij Ae
B = B 0 + BL , (37)
where
where B0 is the linear strain matrix for the present 4-node rect-

angular plate element, expressed as Nx Nxy
L = . (45)
B0 = [B01 , B02 , B03 , B04 ] Nyx Ny
 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900 895

5.4. Element internal force vector The updated out-of-plane shear stress vector in the next
(n + 1)th iteration due to the shear stress increment  is
The element internal force vector is given by
(i )n+1 = (i )n + i , (51)
t
Re = BT ∗ dAe , (46) with
Ae
i =  xz  yz 
T
= Dcoi Bs qbe . (52)
where ∗ is given in Eq. (8) with the membrane, bending and
shear actions being
6. Numerical examples
h/2 c s
i j
Nx = x dz = x (zi+1 − zi ) + x tj , (47a) In the present study, an incremental-iterative full Newton–
−h/2 i=1 j =1 Raphson method was used to solve the nonlinear finite element
equations. A displacement convergence criterion, in which dis-
h/2 c s
i j placements and rotations are checked separately, was used to
Ny = y dz = y (zi+1 − zi ) + y tj , (47b)
−h/2 check the convergence of the iteration. The following numer-
i=1 j =1
ical examples were performed in order to verify the proposed
h/2 c s element model and formulation in this paper. These examples
i j
Nxy = xy dz = xy (zi+1 − zi ) + xy tj , (47c) were chosen specifically because they are considered widely to
−h/2 i=1 j =1 be useful benchmark solutions; albeit of some maturity these
examples are cited frequently in the literature.
h/2 c s
i j
Mx = z x dz = zi x (zi+1 − zi ) + zj x tj ,
−h/2 6.1. Simply supported isotropic thin to thick square plate
i=1 j =1
(47d)
In order to investigate the phenomenon of shear locking and
h/2 c s the performance of the element for the linear analysis of thin
i j
My = z y dz = zi y (zi+1 − zi ) + zj y tj , (47e) to moderately thick isotropic plates, a simply supported square
−h/2 i=1 j =1
Table 1
c s Central deflection w (10−5 qL4 /D) of a simply supported square plate under
h/2
i j uniformly distributed load q[D = Et 3 /12(1 − 2 )]
Mxy = z xy dz = zi xy (zi+1 − zi ) + zj xy tj ,
−h/2 i=1 j =1 Element t/L = 0.01 t/L = 0.2
(47f) DKQ 406.0 406.0
c MITC4 404.4 489.4
h/2
i Present 406.2 488.9
Qx = xz dz = xz (zi+1 − zi ) (47g) Analytical 406.2 490.0
−h/2 i=1

and
h/2 c
i 2.00
Qy = yz dz = yz (zi+1 − zi ). (47h)
−h/2 i=1 1.75

The updated in-plane stress vectors for the ith concrete layer 1.50
and j th steel layer in the next (n + 1)th iteration due to the
stress increment  are 1.25

(i )n+1 = (i )n + i and (j )n+1 = (j )n + j ,

w/t

(48) 1.00

where 0.75

i
 =  ix ,  iy ,  ixy  0.50
Linear solution
= Dci (Bm qme
+ zBb qbe + BbL qbe ) (49) 0.25
Present element
Analytical solution
is the stress increment in the ith concrete layer and 0.00
j j j 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
j =  x ,  y ,  xy  qL4/Et4
= Dsj (Bm qm
e
+ zBb qbe + BbL qbe ) (50)
Fig. 3. Load–central deflection curve of a clamped square plate subjected to
is that in the j th steel layer. a uniformly distributed load.
896 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900

76.2 152.4 228.6 Support

228.6
Reinforcement
457.2

152.4
x = y = 282mm2 /m

76.2
Node 2 x

Point Load
457.2

457.2 457.2
Support
Unit: mm

2×4.0
33.27
44.45

4×7.1
11.18

2×4.0

Cross-section Layer System

Fig. 4. Plan and cross-section of McNeice’s slab.

plate with span to thickness ratios L/t of 100 and 5 and sub-
jected to a uniformly distributed load q was analysed by the
element developed in this paper. Because of symmetry, only
one quarter of the square plate was modelled, and a 4×4 mesh
was used to discretise the quadrant. The central deflections of
the square plate obtained from the present element are com-
pared in Table 1 with the analytical solution [33], the results
obtained from the discrete Kirchhoff quadrilateral plate element
DKQ [34] and the quadrilateral element MITC4 [35]. The pro-
posed element clearly produces very accurate predictions of the
central deflection for both moderately thick and very thin plates
without shear locking in the thin plate.
6.2. Geometrically nonlinear analysis of clamped isotropic
square plate
To verify the ability of the proposed element to model ge-
ometric nonlinear effects, an isotropic clamped square plate
subjected to a uniformly distributed load q (in N/mm), with
an edge length L = 100 mm and thickness t = 1.0 mm, elastic
 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900 897

14 concrete with two-node Euler beam elements for the steel rein-
forcement bars. It can be seen in Fig. 5 that the results produced
12 by the current element are satisfactory.

10
6.4. Duddeck’s corner-supported RC slab with a point load
Load (KN)

8
A corner supported RC square slab loaded by a point load
6
at its centre that was tested by Duddeck et al. [36] and which
Present model
Experiment [1] has been a benchmark test for numerical analyses including
4 Scanlon and Murray [2] those of Hinton et al. [37] and Crisfield [38] was investigated
Polak and Vecchio [17] using the proposed element. The plate geometry and FE dis-
Phuvoravan and Sotelino [5]
2 cretisation for a quarter of the plate are shown in Fig. 6. For
Owen et al. [15]
the concrete: Ec = 1.64 × 104 N/mm2 , c = 0.0 [15], compres-
0 sive strength = 43 N/mm2 , tensile strength = 2 N/mm2 , while
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 for the reinforcement: Es = 2.01 × 105 N/mm2 , s = 0.2 and
Deflection of node 2 (mm) yield stress=670 N/mm2 . Two equivalent smeared layers were
used, located 9.0 mm from both the top and bottom of the slab,
Fig. 5. Load–deflection curves at node 2 of McNeice’s slab under a central
point load.
and in each layer the reinforcing steel was laid in both the x
and y directions, with the ratio of the steel area to the total area
of the slab in both directions being = 0.0296 at the top and
modulus E = 2.1 × 105 N/mm2 and Poisson’s ratio  = 0.316
= 0.061 at the bottom. In the present analysis, the concrete
was analysed using the proposed element. Again, only one quar-
was divided into eight layers and the layer configuration of the
ter of the square plate was used with a 4 × 4 mesh for the quad-
cross-section is also shown in Fig. 7. The results obtained from
rant. The dimensionless central deflection w/t of the square
the present element are compared in Fig. 7 with those obtained
plate obtained from the present element is compared in Fig. 3
by Hinton et al. [37] and Crisfield [38] and with the experimen-
with the analytical solution of Chia [33], and the linear solution
tal results of Duddek et al. [36]. It can be seen in this figure that
obtained from the present element is also shown for compari-
the results obtained from the present element agree well with
son. The results show that the present element produces an ac-
the experimental results, and are in accord with the numerical
curate prediction of the geometric nonlinear behaviour of thin
predictions.
isotropic plates.

6.5. Ghoneim and MacGregor’s simply supported RC slab

6.3. McNeice’s corner-supported RC slab with a point load
under uniformly distributed loading
The results of a corner-supported two-way square RC slab,
A series of simply supported RC slabs under in-plane and
tested experimentally under a central point load by Jofriet and
lateral load was tested by Ghoneim and MacGregor [39]. One
McNeice [1], have been used as a benchmark for verifica-
of these slabs (C1, which was square, simply supported along
tion of numerical schemes by several researchers, and this slab
the edges, and subjected to a uniformly distributed loading that
was analysed using the present element to assess the accu-
was simulated by nine point loads in the test), was analyzed
racy and performance of the proposed layered plate element
using the present element. The slab had two layers of steel re-
for RC slabs. The geometry, reinforcement and cross-section
inforcement in the tension and compression zones; each layer
of the slab are shown in Fig. 4. The concrete material proper-
comprised of steel running in both the x and y directions, and
ties used were elastic modulus Ec = 28.6 kN/mm2 , Poisson’s
the reinforcement was 6.35 mm diameter hot-rolled steel bars
ratio c = 0.15, compressive strength = 38 N/mm2 and ten-
with a nominal area of 31.6 mm2 . The dimensions and rein-
sile strength = 3.8 N/mm2 , while for the steel: elastic modulus
forcement ratio of the slab are described in Table 2, and the
Es = 200 kN/mm2 , Poisson’s ratio = 0.2 and yield stress =
material properties are given in Table 3. Fig. 8 shows the rela-
350 N/mm2 . The cross-section of the slab was divided into
tionship between the load and central deflection obtained from
eight concrete layers and one equivalent smeared steel layer
the present element, where it is compared with that obtained
with reinforcement in two directions, with one quarter of the
from the test and from the layered finite element model of Po-
slab being analysed owing to symmetry with a 3 × 3 meshing
lak and Vecchio [17]. Good agreement between the proposed
of the quadrant (Fig. 5). The deflections at node 2 were cal-
model, and the experimental and independent numerical results
culated from the present element, and are compared in Fig. 5
is evident in this figure.
with those obtained from the experiments [1], with the calcu-
lated results obtained from the layered degenerated thick shell
element of Owen et al. [15], the effective stiffness model of 7. Concluding remarks
Scanlon and Murray [2], the layered model developed by Po-
lak and Vecchio [17], and Phuvoravan and Sotelino’s element Based on Mindlin–Reissner plate theory and Timoshenko’s
[5] which combined a four-node Kirchhoff shell element for beam functions for composite plates, the formulation of a
898 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900

100 200 220 65

65
220
Support
Support

200
100
1170
1040

Point Load

Support Support

1040
1170
Unit: mm
5.2
9.0

6×9.165
65
9.0

Cross-section Layer System

0.5.2

Fig. 6. Plan and cross-section of the slab tested by Duddeck et al. [36].

layered 4-node 24-DOF rectangular flat plate/shell element
has been developed in this paper for the nonlinear FE analysis
of thin to moderately thick isotropic plates and RC slabs. The
proposed element has the following advantages:
(1) Simplicity of its formulation; the developed flat plate/shell
element is displacement-based and combines a membrane
element and a bending element.
(2) A unified formulation for FE analysis of both thin and
moderately thick plates.
(3) Shear locking is avoided naturally for thin plate analysis.
(4) Six engineering degrees of freedom at each node.
(5) Efficient prediction of the nonlinear flexural behaviour of
both isotropic and RC slabs.
In addition, other significant features of the proposed element
are its ability to accurately model the transverse shear response
 Y.X. Zhang et al. / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 888 – 900 899

50 250

40 200

30
Load (kN)

150

Load (kN)
20 100
Present element
Hinton et al. [35]
10 Experiment [37]
Crisfield [36] 50
Experiment [34] Polak & Vecchio [17]
Present model
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Central deflection (mm)
Central deflection (mm)
Fig. 7. Load–deflection curves for the corner supported square slab.
Fig. 8. Load–deflection curves for slab C1.

Table 2
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