• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.245-256
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• 2011

In this paper, the use of universal serendipity elements (USE) to eliminate node mapping distortions for dynamic problem is presented. Rectangular shaped elements for USE are being introduced by using a flexible master element with an adjustable edge node location. The shape functions of the universal serendipity formulation are used to derive the mass and damping matrices for the dynamic analyses. These matrices eliminate the node mapping distortion errors that occurs incase of the standard shape function formulations. The verification of new formulation will be tested and the errors encountered in the standard formulation will be studied for a dynamically loaded deep cantilever.