Comparison of strain recovery techniques for the mixed iterative method

Abstract

Three strain recovery techniques are investigated in the framework of the mixed iterative method. The need for appropriate strain recovery for low-order elements is shown. The three techniques compared are: C-lumping, strain-smoothing and a new technique called C-splitting. It is shown that the use of C-lumping has negative effects on the convergence of the mixed iterative method. Both strain-smoothing and C-splitting deliver convergent results, but the new technique converges faster.