Towards an alternative approach to geometrical modelling of shell surfaces using a parametric representation

A new approach to geometrical modelling of shell surfaces is presented. The geometrical mid-surface of the shell is represented through a parametric Hermite interpolation scheme, so providing a piecewise, smooth representation for an arbitrary shell geometry. This approach is well suited for applications in computer-aided geometric design (CAGD), since it produces visually pleasing plots in respect of the idea of the designer. Moreover, it can be easily implemented in finite element codes. To evaluate the performance of this approach, an elastic degenerate continuum shell element based on displacement interpolation has been implemented. Reduced and selective integration schemes in order to remove shear and membrane locking are used. The preliminary results are very promising, since they reveal a good convergence and accurate predictions.