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Guide

Try the following flow chart to find the best membrane element to use.

  1. Is the geometry regular or irregular?
  2. regular --- use quadrilateral elements
  3. irregular --- use triangular elements

Triangular Elements

  1. Is drilling DoF required?
  2. yes --- Allman
  3. no --- go to Q2
  4. Prefer speed or accuracy?
  5. speed --- CP3
  6. accuracy --- CP6

Noting that CP3 element is very rigid and often requires a very dense mesh to get relatively accurate result, it is not recommended for most applications.

Quadrilateral Elements

  1. Is drilling DoF required?
  2. yes --- go to Q2
  3. no --- go to Q3
  4. Is consistent material stiffness available?
  5. yes --- go to Q6
  6. no --- GQ12
  7. Used in elastoplastic applications?
  8. yes --- normally mixed formulation is better, go to Q4, alternatively displacement based formulation, go to Q5
  9. no --- go to Q5
  10. Prefer speed or accuracy?
  11. speed --- PS
  12. accuracy --- QE2
  13. Prefer speed or accuracy?
  14. speed --- CP4I or second option CP4
  15. accuracy --- CP8R or second option CP8
  16. Need faster analysis?
  17. yes --- SGCMQ
  18. no --- GCMQ