The role of convergence in the theory of shells (Q1843340)

Similarly to what happens in the finite element method, the concept of convergence can be used for justifying the use of the virtual work principle and variational theorems in the derivation of the equations of the theory of shells. Using a theory of variational methods recently developed by the author, the proof is given that the two-dimensional solution becomes more and more near the three-dimensional one as the thickness tends to zero, provided the relative values of the bending and membrane stiffness coefficients are not changed when the shell becomes thinner and thinner. Such condition can of course be satisfied only if the shell is a generalized one, i.e., if the couple-stresses are not supposed to vanish. The analysis gives more than a simple proof of convergence, as the order of magnitude of the error, i,e. of the distance between the two- and three-dimensional solutions can be estimated, for a given theory, in terms of the thickness. On the other hand, as the error can be decomposed into different terms, and consistency requires that such terms be all of the same order, the paper really provides a method for testing the efficiency and consistency of any particular theory of shells.