if i am analysing a long member which has a sudden increase in cross section, it is advisable to use s solid mesh. Is it any different than solving this scenario with shell elements having no shear flexibility?
Dear Ankit,
the sudden increase in the cross-section produces local effects, like stress concentrations, local warping that are generally not handled by beam and plate models.
As a consequence, using solid FE, shell or plate elements with shear deformation, and shell or plate element without shear deformation will lead to decreasing accuracy of the solution.
Obviously, according to your needs, it is possible that the error that you obtain with the coarsest approach is passable.
Dear Mr. Ankit,
The answer depends on the purpose of your analysis. If the purpose is to obtain the overall stress resultant distributions, the thin shll element is enough for that purpose. However, if the purpose is to get information regarding the stress concentration in the vicinity of the geometric discontinuity (i.e. the sudden change in cross section), the solid element should be used.
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