Geometrically nonlinear analysis with a 4-node membrane element formulated by the quadrilateral area coordinate method

Recently, a 4-node quadrilateral membrane element AGQ6-I, has been successfully developed for analysis of linear plane problems. Since this model is formulated by the quadrilateral area coordinate method (QACM), a new natural coordinate system for developing quadrilateral finite element models, it is much less sensitive to mesh distortion than other 4-node isoparametric elements and free of various locking problems that arise from irregular mesh geometries. In order to extend these advantages of QACM to nonlinear applications, the total Lagrangian (TL) formulations of element AGQ6-I was established in this paper, which is also the first time that a plane QACM element being applied in the implicit geometrically nonlinear analysis. Numerical examples of geometrically nonlinear analysis show that the presented formulations can prevent loss of accuracy in severely distorted meshes, and therefore, are superior to those of other 4-node isoparametric elements. The efficiency of QACM for developing simple, effective and reliable serendipity plane membrane elements in geometrically nonlinear analysis is demonstrated clearly.