A New Plate Formulation Based on Triangular Isogeometric Analysis

This paper presents application of rational triangular Bezier splines (rTBS) for developing Kirchhoff-Love plate elements in the context of isogeometric analysis. Triangular isogeometric analysis can provide the C1 continuity over the mesh including elements interfaces, a necessary condition in finite elements formulation based on Kirchhoff-Love shell and plate theory. Using rTBS and macro-element technique, we develop Kirchhoff-Love plate elements, investigate the convergence rate and apply the method on complex geometry. Obtained results demonstrate that the optimal convergence rate is achievable; moreover, this method is applicable to represent thin geometric models of complex topology or thin geometric models in which efficient local refinement is required.