gravity load on membrane elements

[cspkumar]

From what I know, membrane elements carry only inplane loads. And the stress in the out-of-plane direction is zero. Then, can we use these elements when we have gravity load normal to them? The thickness is very small compared to the lateral dimensions, hence, I am using membrane elements.

Thanks!

 

[corus]

If the thickness is small then use thin shell elements with bending.

 

[cspkumar]

I am using Algor. All I have is shell elements and membrane elements in Algor's library.

 

[corus]

Use the shell elements, these should have at least 5 degrees of freedom per node that allow the bending stresses to be calculated. Thickness of the shell should be a parameter/property of the element.