Numerical analysis of junctions between thin shells Part 1: Continuous problems Original Research Article

The junctions of beams, plates and shells are the basic components of any industrial structural construction. The numerical simulation of such junctions is a classical part of the commercial finite element codes. On the other hand, it seems that there are very few mathematical studies of such junctions. In this paper, we propose a variational formulation of junctions between thin shells when the junction can be considered as an elastic or a rigid hinge. Then, we study the mathematical properties of these equations.