A stabilized mixed formulation for finite strain deformation for low-order tetrahedral solid elements

A stabilized mixed finite element formulation for four-noded tetrahedral elements is introduced for robustly solving small and large deformation problems. The uniqueness of the formulation lies within the fact that it is general in that it can be applied to any type of material model without requiring specialized geometric or material parameters. To overcome the problem of volumetric locking, a mixed element formulation that utilizes linear displacement and pressure fields was implemented. The stabilization is provided by enhancing the rate of deformation tensor with a term derived using a bubble function approach. The element was implemented through a user-programmable element of the commercial finite element software ANSYS. Using the ANSYS platform, the performance of the element was evaluated by comparing the predicted results with those obtained using mixed quadratic tetrahedral elements and hexahedral elements with a B-bar formulation. Based on the quality of the results, the new element formulation shows significant potential for use in simulating complex engineering processes. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.