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The eight node plane strain element is a general purpose plane strain
element. It is actually a special case of plane stress element: the
treatise of the previous section also applies here. In addition we
have:
- The displacement in z-direction of all nodes (not only the
midnodes) is zero. This
condition is introduced in the form of MPC's, expressing that the
displacement in z-direction of nodes not in the midplane is identical
to the displacement of the corresponding nodes in the midplane.
- Different thicknesses do not make sense: one thickness
applicable to all plane strain elements suffices.
Plane strain elements are used to model a slice of a very long
structure, e.g. of a dam.
Guido Dhondt
2003-08-06