ERROR ANALYSIS OF MIXED-INTERPOLATED ELEMENTS FOR REISSNER-MINDLIN PLATES

Abstract

We give an error analysis for the recently introduced mixed-interpolated finite element methods for Reissner-Mindlin plates. Optimal error estimates, which are valid uniformly with respect to the thickness of the plate, are proven for the deflection, rotation and the shear force. In addition, the earlier families are augmented with a new method with linear approximations for the deflection and the rotation. We also introduce a simple postprocessing method by which an improved approximation for the deflection can be obtained.