An efficient method for the finite element analysis of shell structures by placing feature-fitted local shell meshes in a global shell mesh

This paper presents an efficient method for the finite element analysis of shell structures using feature-fitted local shell meshes that are placed in a global shell mesh. Feature-fitted local shell meshes are independently constructed to accurately represent the geometric features of shell structures. Non-matching interfaces between global and local shell meshes are connected by interface shell elements with an arbitrary number of nodes on the element sides. Assumed covariant strains are used to alleviate the shear and membrane locking phenomena in interface shell elements. Numerical results show that more accurate solutions near the geometric features of shell structures can be obtained from feature-fitted shell meshes compared to those from conventional shell meshes composed of mixed-typed shell elements.