A formulation of general shell elements—the use of mixed interpolation of tensorial components

Abstract
We briefly discuss the requirements on general shell elements for linear and nonlinear analysis in practical engineering environments, and present our approach to meet these needs. We summarize and give further insight into our formulation of a 4‐node shell element using a mixed interpolation of tensorial components, and present a new 8‐node element using this approach. Specific attention is given to the general applicability of the elements and their efficient use in practice.