FINITE ELEMENT METHOD (FEM / FEA) INTRODUCTION

The FEM is a numerical procedure for solving Boundary Value Problems (BVP s) and structural & solid mechanics problems in engineering. The method had its birth in the aerospace industry in the early 1950s and then with applications to structural and solid mechanics.

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In 1963 it was shown that the FEM was a variation of Raleigh-Ritz Method (which produces a set of linear equations by minimizing the potential energy of the system). This lead to its application in different areas of heat transfer, fluid flow, etc. In 1969 it was shown that element equations could also be derived using a weighted residual procedure such as Galerkin s Method or the least squares approach. This allows application to any BVP and therefore enlarged its use and application.

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 Fundamental Concept of FEM Any continuous quantity, such as temperature, pressure, or displacement, can be approximated by a discrete model composed of a set of piecewise continuous functions (polynominals) defined over a finite number of subdomains or elements.

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EXAMPLE: 1-D temperature distribution in a fin (rod).

T
Continuous function

T(x )

x=0

x =L

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The discrete model is constructed as follows: 1. A finite number of points in the domain is identified. These points are called nodal points or nodes.
1 2 3 4 Nodes 5

Note: Nodes need not be spaced equally.

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2. The value of the continuous quantify at each node is denoted as a variable which is to be determined. (Ti , Pi , Ui ,...)
T1
T2

T3
T4 T5

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3. The domain is divided into a finite number of subdomains called elements. These elements are connected at common nodes and collectively approximate the shape of the domain.

T1 T2

polynomial

T2

T3

T3

T4

1 (1) 2

2 ( 2) 3

3 ( 3) 4

4 ( 4) 5

T5

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4. The continuous quantity T(x ) is approximated over each element by a polynomial that is defined using the nodal values of the . continuous quantity (T1 , T2 ,...) A different polynomial is defined for each element, but the element polynomials are selected in such a way that continuity is maintained along the element boundaries.

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- element polynomials or functions are linear in x (2

nodes for each element!) in this case. For higher order elements these functions will be of higher order.
(e) (e) (e)

i
Linear

j
Quadratic

Cubic

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Final approximation to T(x) is,

T

T1

T3

T4

T5

Discrete model for the 1-D temperature distribution

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 Advantages and Strengths 1. Extensive application and use. It applies to all physical problems in BVP or structural and solid mechanics. Typical transport problems: thermal processing of food and biomaterials (drying, cooling, baking, microwaving, freezing, ). Movement of water and chemicals in soil and other porous media.

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2. The material properties in adjacent elements do not have to be the same. This allows application to composite materials. 3. Irregularly shaped boundaries can be approximated using elements with straight sides or matched exactly using elements with curved boundaries. The method is not therefore limited to nice shapes with easily defined boundaries (like many analytical solutions or some other numerical methods).

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4. The size of the elements can be varied. This allows the element grid or mesh to be expanded or refined as the need arises. 5. Boundary conditions such as discontinuous surface loadings present no difficulties for the method. Mixed boundary conditions can be easily handled.

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6. The above properties can be incorporated into one general computer program for a particular subject matter area. (also availability of many commercial FEA software). 7. Automatic mesh or grid generation techniques to assist in model building. (especially in large problems the preparation of input data is a cumbersome task).

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8. An integral part of CAD/CAM and CFD systems. 9. Applications involving high performance computing and parallel algorithms: crash testing, explosion, combustion, fluidstructure interaction, large CFD problems, plasma fusion, biomedical research, constructive surgery, . 10. Impact on Engineering Curriculum.

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 Disadvantages of FEM/FEA 1. Need for computer programs & facilities 2. Still an approximate technique. 3. Gives solution only at nodal points.

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Global competition Design cycle time and cost reduction Rapid product development capability Efficiency and accuracy of engineering analysis and design
Finite Element Analysis Artificial Intelligence Design Optimization Fuzzy Logic

Product Specification Functional Requirements Development Costs

Material Selection Manufacturability Cost Estimation

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FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS COST

In Linear static problems 45%: preprocessing 20%: analysis 35%: post-processing In general 65%: preprocessing 20%: analysis 15%: post-processing

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CONVENTIONAL FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

FE Model (Preprocessing)

Solution (Processing)

Results (Postprocessing)

Accuracy of the solutions?

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ADAPTIVE FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Initial Coarse Mesh (Uniform?) Finite Element Analysis Mesh Enhancement Accuracy Error Analysis

Stop

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EXAMPLE
1000 N / cm
2

Critical Point (Stress Concentration)

E = 20x10 6 N / cm 2 v = 0.25 t = 1 cm
10 cm

Idealized Model

Initial Coarse Mesh

Refined Mesh

= 49.1%

= 14.5%

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