Fourteen-Node Mixed Stiffness Element and Its Computational Comparisons with Twenty-Node Isoparametric Element

Abstract

In this paper, a family of 3-dimensional elements different from isoparametric serendipity is developed according to the variational principle and the convergence criteria of the mixed stiffness finite element method. For the new family, which is named mixed stiffness elements, the number of nodes on the quadratic element is not 20 but 14. Theoretical analysis and various computational comparisons have found the mixed stiffness element superior over the isoparametric serendipity element, especially a substantial improvement in computational efficiency can be achieved by replacing the 20 node-isoparametric element with the 14-node mixed stiffness element.