A study of three‐node triangular plate bending elements

Abstract An assessment of flat triangular plate bending elements with displacement degrees‐of‐freedom at the three corner nodes only is presented, with the purpose of identifying the most effective for thin plate analysis. Based on a review of currently available elements, specific attention is given to the theoretical and numerical evaluation of three triangular 9 degrees‐of‐freedom elements; namely, a discrete Kirchhoff theory (DKT) element, a hybrid stress model (HSM) element and a selective reduced integration (SRI) element. New and efficient formulations of these elements are discussed in detail and the results of several example analyses are given. It is concluded that the most efficient and reliable three‐node plate bending elements are the DKT and HSM elements.