Presentation of a New Membrane Strain-Based Finite Element for Static and Dynamic Analysis

A numerical solution using a strain-based quadrilateral finite element is presented to analyse static and dynamic behaviours for membrane structures. The proposed quadrilateral element which possesses two degrees of freedom (u and v) at the four corner nodes as well as at the central node is based on assumed strains. All the three components of strains have linear variation satisfying the compatibility equation. The validity of the developed element is first applied to several selected static examples. This element is further applied to analyse both free and forced vibrations.