On Pure-Bending Non-Linear Plate Elements With Developable Surfaces

In this study, a new approach for generating beam and plate finite elements is proposed for a large-deformation and large-rotation dynamical multibody simulation of thin structures. The elements employ curvatures and/or torsions in the definition of generalized coordinates. This definition of element degrees of freedom is based on intrinsic properties of a spatial curve or a surface and it avoids longitudinal elongations of the beams and plates with associated high frequency vibrations, which helps to avoid problems during numerical simulation.