A locking-free hexahedral element for the geometrically non-linear analysis of arbitrary shells

The development of the formulation for a highly adaptable hexahedral shell finite element is presented in this paper. A basic 18-node isoparametric hexahedral element is adopted as the basis of the formulation. Potential strategies to alleviate transverse shear, trapezoidal, thickness and membrane locking are investigated, in several combinations, using a wide variety of geometrically linear benchmarks. The most promising approach is further assessed using geometrically non-linear shell and plate problems. The recommended ANS-formulation performs well against an extensive range of benchmarks, and continues to be accurate at an aspect ratio of 1:10,000.