# Avoiding Membrane Locking with Regge Interpolation

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new interpolation-based method using Regge finite element space to effectively reduce membrane locking in thin shell simulations, improving computational efficiency and ease of implementation.

## Contribution

It presents a novel interpolation operator into Regge finite element space that halves the membrane locking constraints compared to traditional methods.

## Key findings

- Reduces membrane locking constraints asymptotically by half.
- Easily integrable into existing shell element frameworks.
- Demonstrates effectiveness through benchmark examples.

## Abstract

In this paper we present a novel method to overcome membrane locking of thin shells. An interpolation operator into the so-called Regge finite element space is inserted in the membrane energy term to weaken the implicitly given kernel constraints. The number of constraints is asymptotically halved on triangular meshes compared to reduced integration techniques. Provided the interpolant, this approach can be incorporated easily into any shell element. The performance of the proposed method is demonstrated by means of several benchmark examples.