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Eight-node brick element (C3D8)

This is a general purpose linear brick element, fully integrated (2x2x2 integration points). The shape functions can be found in [18]. The node numbering follows the convention of Figure 16 and the integration points are numbered according to Figure 17. This latter information is important since element variables printed with the *EL PRINT keyword are given in the integration points.

Figure 16: 8-node brick element
\begin{figure}\epsfig{file=C3D8.eps,width=10cm}\end{figure}

Figure 17: 2x2x2 integration point scheme in hexahedral elements
\begin{figure}\epsfig{file=Int8.eps,width=8cm}\end{figure}

Although the structure of the element is straightforward, it should not be used in the following situations:



guido dhondt 2006-02-19