Title: Accuracy of shell and solid elements in vibration analyses of thin- and thick-walled isotropic cylinders

Authors: Wenchao Wang; Mohamad S. Qatu; Shantia Yarahmadian

Addresses: Mechanical Engineering Department, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USA. ' School of Engineering and Technology, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, USA. ' Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USA

Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) theory of elasticity solutions for vibration analysis of simply supported cylinders are obtained and used to find the natural frequencies. The results are compared with various finite element models using both shell and three-dimensional solid elements to verify the accuracy of these finite element models. In addition, results are obtained for various hollow cylinders for possible verification of shell theories and shell elements based on such theories. A point is made here that although 3D elements can provide accurate results, they are not practical in industrial applications of thin- and thick-walled structures. Instead, shell elements are needed for such applications. However, further improvements to the shell theory used in the finite element formulation are needed to improve the accuracy of these shell elements.

Keywords: FEA accuracy; finite element analysis; shell elements; vibration analysis; 3D elasticity; isotropic cylinders; thin-walled cylinders; thick-walled cylinders; modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVNV.2012.048171

International Journal of Vehicle Noise and Vibration, 2012 Vol.8 No.3, pp.221 - 236

Published online: 29 Aug 2014 *

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