Resource-efficient structural analysis: A volumetric finite element approach for eco-friendly engineering

The volumetric triangular prism finite element based on piecewise constant approximations of stresses is presented. The stress fields are continuous along finite element boundaries and discontinuous inside ones. The solution of the volume theory elasticity problem was obtained on the basis of the additional energy functional and the possible displacements principle. The proposed volumetric finite element based on piecewise constant stress approximations allows obtaining more accurate stress and displacement values compared to the finite element method based on displacement approximation. As tests, the circular plates calculations were performed. Such tasks were chosen because there are analytical solutions for them. the results of round plate calculations show that the proposed volumetric finite element based on piecewise constant stress approximations allows obtaining more accurate stress and displacement values compared to the finite element method based on displacement approximation.