Koiter shell model

Summary

The Koiter shell model is a two-dimensional shell theory for thin linearly elastic shells, due to W. T. Koiter. Its energy is the sum of a membrane term and a bending term. The membrane term is proportional to the thickness and quadratic in the change of metric of the middle surface. The bending term is proportional to the cube of the thickness and quadratic in the change of curvature. It is the shell analogue of Kirchhoff–Love plate theory, and it is widely used in the mathematical analysis of shells. It exists in a nonlinear form and in a linearised form.