The elements HA8, HEPH and
BRICK20 can be transformed to solid-shell elements by setting
constant the normal stress through the thickness.
This assumption allows obtaining solid elements suitable for thick-shell modeling, where only one
element through a thickness can be used. In additional to these elements,
SHELL16, PA6 and other solid-shell
elements are available. Figure 1. Solid versus Solid-Shell
Table 1. Solid-Shell Elements
Mesh
Element Name
Number of Integration
Points
Hourglass
Formulation
HSEPH
Inplane: 1
In thickness: up to
9
Physical stabilization
HA8
From 2x2x2 to 9x9x9
---
PA6
Inplane: 1
In thickness: up to
9
---
SHELL16
Inplane: 3x3 or 2x2
In thickness:
up to 9
---
Solid-shell elements, especially SHELL16 can be useful to model thick shell
structures with massive junctions (Figure 2). The time
step proportion to the shortest distance between two nodes can be small depending on
the thickness and material characteristics. Figure 2. Application of Solid-Shell Elements
