Analysis of finite element methods for the nonlinear dynamic analysis of shells (Q792144)

This paper gives a mathematical error analysis for different finite element methods for the nonlinear dynamic behaviour of shells. The authors demonstrate the convergence of the Galerkin method in time approach for damped and undamped problems. They extend the mixed finite element formulation - previously applied only to time independent problems - to time dependent problems. The formulation is considerably more efficient than the finite element displacement approach. The paper also presents new fully discrete methods which are unconditionally stable. This contribution is of interest to scientists who wish to solve dynamic problems - including nonlinearities - using a stable time integration technique.