In this study, a new vector form intrinsic finite element for the plate-shell member is
developed. The method developed in this study is a scheme by updating the geometry of
the structural system during the calculation of each time step, which is also called the
coordinate moving frame approach. By separating the rigid-body motions with the
deformed motions, the degree of freedoms of the element is reduced and calculation
procedure can also be simplified. In numerical examples, the accuracy and efficiency of
this new developed vector form intrinsic finite element for plate-shell simulation are also
examined. It is also found from the numerical results that compared to the traditional
FEM solution, the accuracy is acceptable while the efficiency is the encouraging
advantage for the new developed method.
