A two-dimensional model for linear elastic thick shells

In this paper\ a two!dimensional model for linear elastic thick shells is deduced from the three!dimensional problem of a shell thickness 1o\ o 9[ From di}erent scalings on the tangent and normal components of the displacement uo as widely used in recent works\ the limit displacement appears to be Kirchho} Love displacement of a di}erent type[ It contains additional terms to those found in the Reissner Mindlin model and satis_es more general equations containing the classical terms found in the literature and some new terms related to the third fundamental form[ Such terms could not be well handled in the usual framework[ Shear stresses across the thickness are also computed[ This model appears to be appropriate to handle sti}ened shells which\ in fact\ cannot be considered uniformly as shallow shells[ As a by!product it also lays the mathematical background to justify the Reissner Mindlin model for plates and will probably contribute to a better understanding of the locking phenomenon encountered in computational mechanics