Two types of shell elements are available in
Abaqus:
conventional shell elements and continuum shell elements.
Conventional shell elements discretize a reference surface by
defining the element's planar dimensions, its surface normal, and its initial
curvature. The nodes of a conventional shell element, however, do not define
the shell thickness; the thickness is defined through section properties.
Continuum shell elements, on the other hand, resemble three-dimensional solid
elements in that they discretize an entire three-dimensional body yet are
formulated so that their kinematic and constitutive behavior is similar to
conventional shell elements. Continuum shell elements are more accurate in
contact modeling than conventional shell elements, since they employ two-sided
contact taking into account changes in thickness. For thin shell applications,
however, conventional shell elements provide superior performance.
In this guide only conventional shell elements are discussed. Henceforth,
we will refer to them simply as “shell elements.” For more information on
continuum shell elements, see
About Shell Elements.