3.1.10.32. Shell Element

This command constructs a four-node shell element using the Bathe MITC4 formulation with membrane and drilling degrees of freedom. The command names in OpenSees are shell, Shell, shellMITC4, or ShellMITC4.

Use with -ndm 3 -ndf 6. The section is typically a PlateFiberSection, ElasticMembranePlateSection, or layered shell section.

element ShellMITC4 $eleTag $iNode $jNode $kNode $lNode $secTag <-updateBasis> <-damp $dampTag>

Argument	Type	Description
$eleTag	integer	unique element tag
$iNode $jNode $kNode $lNode	integer	four nodes in counter-clockwise order
$secTag	integer	tag of a previously defined section object
-updateBasis	string	update the element local basis during analysis (optional)
$dampTag	integer	tag of an elemental damping object used with -damp (optional)

Note

1. This is a 3D element with 6 DOFs per node and cannot be used in a 2D domain.

2. Valid Element Recorder queries include forces, stresses, and material $matNum ....

Example

1. Tcl Code

section PlateFiber 1 1 10.0
element ShellMITC4 1 1 2 3 4 1

2. Python Code

section('PlateFiber', 1, 1, 10.0)
element('ShellMITC4', 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1)

Code developed by: Ed Love; reimplementation by Leopoldo Tesser, Diego A. Talledo, Veronique Le Corvec