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Six-node shell element (S6)

This is a general purpose triangular shell element. The node numbering and the direction of the normal to the surface is shown in Figure [*].

Figure: 6-node triangular element
\begin{figure}\epsfig{file=C2D6.eps,width=8cm}\end{figure}

In CalculiX, six-node shell elements are expanded into three-dimensional wedge elements. The way in which this is done is illustrated in Figure [*]. For more information on shell elements the reader is referred to the eight-node shell element in the next section.

Figure: Expansion of a 2D 6-node element into a 3D wedge element
\begin{figure}\epsfig{file=C2Dtri.eps,width=12cm}\end{figure}