Discrete energy method for the analysis of cylindrical shells

This paper presents an investigation into the use of the closely associated finite difference technique for the analysis of shell structures as a feasible alternative to the finite element method. The method discretises the total energy of the structure into energy due to extension and bending and that due to shear and twisting, contributed by two separate sets of rectangular elements formed by a suitable finite difference network. The derivatives in the corresponding energy expressions are replaced by their finite difference forms and the nodal displacements then constitute the undetermined parameters in the variational formulation. The formulation is also extended to a cylindrical shell element of rectangular planform. The results obtained by DEM are compared with existing results and they show excellent agreement.