In the analysis of nonlinear elastic shells often the stability and postbuckling behaviour governs the response. Here we discuss problems which also include contact constraints. A nonlinear cylindrical shell element is derived directly from the associated shell theory using one point integration and a stabilization technique. Within a general solution algorithm a simple but effective branch-switching procedure is presented. Additional considerations allow the treatment of bifurcation problems with contact constraints. Several examples of beam and shell problems show the performance of the developed algorithms and elements.
展开▼
