Geometrical nonlinear analysis by plane quadrilateral element

Various co-rotational schemes for solid, shell, bending plate and beam elements have been proposed so far. Nevertheless, this approach has rarely been utilized for membrane problems. In this paper, a new quadrilateral element will be suggested for solving nonlinear membranes. The simplicity, rapid convergence and high accuracy of the formulation are the three main characteristics of the presented element. It is worth emphasizing; the recommended element can solve structures with irregular geometry and distorted mesh. This element is insensitive to the aspect ratio. In addition, using this element leads to high-accuracy results. Several numerical examples will be tested to prove the high precision of authors’ element in coarse distorted meshes with a large aspect ratio.