Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 February 2018
In this investigation, a new simple triangular strain based membrane element with drilling rotation for 2-D structures analysis is proposed. This new numerical model can be used for linear and dynamic analysis. The triangular element is named SBTE and it has three nodes with three degrees of freedom at each node. The displacements field of this element is based on the assumed functions for the various strains satisfying the compatibility equations. This developed element passed both patch and benchmark tests in the case of bending and shear problems. For the dynamic analysis, lumped mass with implicit/explicit time integration are employed. The obtained numerical results using the developed element converge toward the analytical and numerical solutions in both analyses.