A new finite element based on the theory of a Cosserat point—extension to initially distorted elements for 2D plane strain

This paper describes an improvement of the Cosserat point element formulation for initially distorted, non-rectangular shaped elements in 2D. The original finite element formulation for 3D large deformations shows excellent behaviour for sensitive geometries, large deformations, coarse meshes, bending dominated and stability problems without showing undesired effects such as locking or hourglassing, as long as the initial element shape resembles that of a rectangular parallelepiped. In the following, an extension of this element formulation for 2D plane strain is presented which has the same good properties also for the case of non-rectangular initial element shapes. Results of numerical tests are presented, that clearly show the advantages of the improved Cosserat point element compared to the standard displacement elements and the original version of the Cosserat point element. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.