Computational mechanics is the discipline concerned with the use of computational methods to

study phenomena governed by the principles of mechanics. Computational mechanics is

interdisciplinary, its three pillars are mathematics, computer science, and mechanics.


1. A mathematical model of the physical phenomenon is made. This usually involves
expressing the natural or engineering system in terms of partial differential equations.
This step uses physics to formalize a complex system.
2. The mathematical equations are converted into forms which are suitable for digital
computation. This step is called discretization because it involves creating an
approximate discrete model from the original continuous model. In particular, it typically
translates a partial differential equation (or a system thereof) into a system of algebraic
equations. The processes involved in this step are studied in the field of numerical
analysis.
3. Computer programs are made to solve the discretized equations using direct methods
(which are single step methods resulting in the solution) or iterative methods (which start
with a trial solution and arrive at the actual solution by successive refinement).
Depending on the nature of the problem, supercomputers or parallel computers may be
used at this stage.
4. The mathematical model, numerical procedures, and the computer codes are verified
using either experimental results or simplified models for which exact analytical
solutions are available. Quite frequently, new numerical or computational techniques are
verified by comparing their result with those of existing well-established numerical
methods. In many cases, benchmark problems are also available. The numerical results
also have to be visualized and often physical interpretations will be given to the results.

Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation.
Propagation errors: Round offs, Truncation and discretization error, Numerical stability
and well-posed problems (Sensitivity), Subtractive Cancelation (Loss of Signifance)
Interpolation solves the following problem: given the value of some unknown function at
a number of points, what value does that function have at some other point between the
given points? (i.e We have observed the temperature to vary from 20 degrees Celsius at
1:00 to 14 degrees at 3:00. A linear interpolation of this data would conclude that it was
17 degrees at 2:00 and 18.5 degrees at 1:30pm.)
Motivation: Computing values of functions, Solving equations and systems of equations, Solving
eigenvalue or singular val,ue problems, Optimization, Evaluating integrals, Differential
equations

In mathematics, the finite element method (FEM) is a numerical technique for finding
approximate solutions to boundary value problems for differential equations. It uses variational
methods (the calculus of variations) to minimize an error function and produce a stable solution.
Weak form is derived by multiplying the minimum potential equation with a test function v such
that v is in the same space H
1
as the solution, thus v also satisfies the boundary conditions. The
idea is to connect many simple element equations over many small subdomains to approximate a
more complex equation.