A two dimensional interface element for coupling of independently modeled three dimensional finite element meshes and extensions to dynamic and non-linear regimes

The work reported here pertains only to the first year of research for a three year proposal period. As a prelude to this two dimensional interface element, the one dimensional element was tested and errors were discovered in the code for built-up structures and curved interfaces. These errors were corrected and the benchmark Boeing composite crown panel was analyzed successfully. A study of various splines led to the conclusion that cubic B-splines best suit this interface element application. A least squares approach combined with cubic B-splines was constructed to make a smooth function from the noisy data obtained with random error in the coordinate data points of the Boeing crown panel analysis. Preliminary investigations for the formulation of discontinuous 2-D shell and 3-D solid elements were conducted