On triangular self-stabilized virtual elements for Kirchhoff-Love shells

Abstract

This work presents a self-stabilized triangular virtual element for linear Kirchhoff–Love shells. The domain decomposition by flat triangles directly approximates the shell geometry without resorting to a curvilinear coordinate system or an initial mapping approach. The problem is discretized by the lowest-order conventional virtual element method for the membrane, in which stabilization is needless, and by a stabilization-free virtual element procedure for the plate. Numerical examples of static problems show the potential of the formulation as a prelude for the evolution of self-stabilized Kirchhoff–Love shell virtual elements.

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