HIGHER ORDER INTERPOLATION, NUMERICAL INTEGRATION

1. Introduction
One of the important point of finite element formulation is the approximate of the
different fields i.e., displacement, temperature, velocity and pressure etc. Already we
have seen in the previous discussions that the simplest approximation of the fields
with the help of linear interpolation yields the derivative (i.e., strain, temperature
gradient, velocity gradient) piecewise constant which in tern makes the element
matrices partially explicit. Unfortunately these linear elements are not always useful
particularly for the problems with rapid change of the gradients within a small zone.
Higher order interpolation for the fields, thus, is essential for such type of problems.
Although the higher order interpolation makes the element matrices complicated but
these elements even with a course mesh are able to capture the behavior with
sufficient accuracy. But the evaluation of the element matrices requires the
integration over one, two or three dimensions. Since, the explicit integration is
tedious and complicated almost every where, the numerical integration is essential.
Thus to illustrate the different steps, we discuss the following parts associated to the
higher order element.
Natural Coordinates
Higher order interpolation
Numerical Quadrature

Natural Coordinates
Of all the quardature formula, as will be discussed in the subsequent discussions
require the domain of the integration to be [-1, 1] . This require the transformation of
the problem coordinate x to a local coordinate such that
when 1 and when 1
A B
x x x x = = = = (1)
The transformation between x and can be represented by the linear stretch
transformation
x a b = + (2)
x=-1 x=1
x
x
x
x
A
B
A B
B
A
x
x
x
x
1
2
3
r
s
t A
A
A
1
2
3
Where a,b are constants to be determined to satisfy Eq, (1). Thus, the transformation
in this situation take the form
( ) (1 ) (1 )
(1 )
2 2 2
B A
A A B
x x
x x x x

+
= + + = + (3)




Figure 1: Geometric link between the natural coordinate and the true coordinate
The local coordinate is called the normalized coordinate or natural coordinate and
its value always lie between -1 and 1 with the origin at the center of the elements.
For the triangular elements the natural coordinate is related to the area ratio as shown
in the following figure:






Figure 2: Master triangle with area coordinates r,s,t
The local coordinate is useful in two ways:
(i) it is convenient in constructing the interpolation function
(ii) it is required in numerical integration

Higher order interpolation
In this section the higher order interpolation for 1D and 2D elements are summarized.
For the 1D and 2D quadrilateral element, the Lagrange formula is useful to construct
the interpolation formula. The following conditions are essential to conduct the
interpolation formula
1 if
( ) (Kroneker Delta property)
0 if
i i
i j
i j

=
=

(4)
x=-1 x=1
x
x=-1 x=1 x=0
x
1
( ) 1 (Partion of unity property)
Node
i
i

=
=

(5)

Lagrange Formula for 1D: The interpolation associated with node i of any n-noded
element is
1 1 2 1 1
1 2 1 1
( )( )...( )( ).....( )
( )
( )( )...( )( ).....( )
n i i n
i
i i i i i i i n
l

+
+

=

(6)

Example 1: 2- noded element

1
1 1
1
2 2
(1 )
( ) ( )
2
(1 )
( ) ( )
2
l
l

= =
+
= =


Figure 3: Linear interpolation function in 1D

Example 1: 3-noded element
2
1 1
2 2
2 2
2
3 3
(1 )
( ) ( )
2
( ) ( ) (1 )
(1 )
( ) ( )
2
l
l
l






= =
= =
+
= =

Figure 4: Quadratic interpolation function in 1D
Lagrange Interpolation for 2D Quadrilaterals: Using the Lagranges interpolation
formula for 1D, the interpolation function for the 2D uadrilateral may be construct
easily as:
( , ) 1
( , ) ( ) ( ) for node ( , ) ( , ) ( 1) ( 2)
a i j i j
a i j where a i j j n i = = + +

Higher Order Triangles: From the higher order triangular element with k nodes
(equally spaced per side, the total of nodes per element is
( 1)
1 2 ......( 1)
2
k k
n k k
+
= + + + = and interpolation (Lagrange type) degree will be
1
2
3
4
s
s
s
s
s
1
2
3
4
=1
=2/3
=1/3
(k-1). For example the quadratic element k-1=2 or k=3 will have
( 1) 3 4
6
2 2
k k +
= = nodes. Let the corner (vertex nodes be denoted by I, J, K and let
i
h be the perpendicular distance of the node I from the side connectivity J and K.
Then the area coordinates S to the p-th row parallel to the side J-K (under the
assumption that the nodes are equally spaced along the sides and the rows) is given in
non-dimensional form by
1
1
, 0 1
1
p i k
p
S S and S S
K

= = = =

Figure 5: Higher order master Triangle with node arrangements
The interpolation function
i
should be zero at the nodes on the lines
1 2 2
0, , , ... and
1 1 1
i i
k
s
k k k

=

should be unity at i k = . Thus we have the
necessary information for the construction of the interpolation function
i


1
( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
( 1) 1
( )
1 1
a I I I
I
I
I I
r s t T r T s T t
r
l for I
r where r
for I

1
2
3
r
s
(1,1,2)
(2,1,1)
(1,2,1)
(1,1,2)=>( ) r ,s ,t
1 2 1
1
2
3
r
s
(1,1,3)
(3,1,1)
(1,3,1)
(2,1,2)
(2,2,1)
(1,2,2)
4
5
6
Example: 3-noded triangle
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
1
2 1
1 0 0
1 2 1 1 2 1 1
2 1 1
1
2
2 1 2 1 3 1 1 2
2 2 2
( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( 1) ( 1) ( 1)
2 1 2 1
2 1 ( 1)
(2 1)
(1) ( 1) 2 1 2 1
( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ; ( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( )
r r
r r r r
r s t
r s t T r T s T t l l l
r s t
r r
r
l r r
r r
r s t T r T s T t s r s t T r T s T t t

=
= =
= =


= = = =

= = = =

Example:6-noded triangle:
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
1 2
3 1 3 2
2 0 0
1 3 1 1 3 1 1
2 1 1
2
3
2 1 3 1
3 1 1 3
2 2 2
( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( 1) ( 1) ( 1)
2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1
(2 1) (2 1)
2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1
( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (2 1)
( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (2
r r r r
r r r r r r r r
r s t
r s t T r T s T t l l l
r s t
r r r r
l r r r
r r r r
r s t T r T s T t s s
r s t T r T s T t t

= =
= = = =
= =

= = =

= =
= =
4 2 2 1
5 1 2 2
6 2 1 2
1)
( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 4
( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 4
( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 4
t
r s t T r T s T t rs
r s t T r T s T t st
r s t T r T s T t rt

= =
= =
= =










Figure 6: A 3-nodfed and a 6-noded triangle with local natural co-ordinates
Brick/solid and tetrahedral elements: The higher order interpolation for bricks and
tetrahedral elements may be constructed in a similar manner and may be written
explicitly as
3 1 2
1 1 1
( , , )
( , , )
( , , ) ( ) ( ) ( ) for bricks
( , , , ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) for tetrahedron
n n n
a i j k i i i
a i j k I J K L
l l l
r s t u T r T s T t T u

+ + +
=
=

Interpolation of the Geometry and transformation of the integrand:
Accurate representation of domains with curved boundaries can be accomplished with the
aid of the higher order interpolation. For example, for a 3 noded 1D element the
geometry may be represented as:
1 1 2 2 3 3
1 1 2 2 3 3
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
x x x x
y y y y


= + +
= + +

Jacobian of the transformation becomes
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
, ,
2 2
, , 1D
or ( ) ( )
or J
ds dx dy ds x y d
ds x y d d

= + = +

= + =

x
(x ,y )
(x ,y )
(x ,y )
1
2
3 3
2
1
1
2
3
1 2 3
x
y
x

Figure 7: A curved 3-noded 1D element
Similarly for 2D 9-noded elements the geometry may be represented as:
9 1 2
1 2 9
9 1 2
, ,
, ,
( , ) ( , ) ........ ( , )
x x x x
y y y y
x x dx d
or
y y dy d

= + + +



=




Thus, if the integral is defined over the element domain (1D or 2D or 3D) may easily be
transformed and be represented over the mapped domain as:
1
1
1 1
, ,
, ,
1 1
( , ) ( , )
( , ) ( , ) det
e
e
L
ds
f ds f d
d
x x
f dxdy f d d
y y

=

=







Numerical Integration or Quadrature:
Exact and explicit evaluation of the integral associated to the element matrices and the
source/loading vector is not always possible because of the algebraic complexity of the
coefficient of the different equation (i.e., the stiffness influence coefficients, elasticity
matrix loadng functions). In such cases, it is convenient to seek for the numerical
evaluation of these integral expressions. Numerical evaluations of the coefficient are
some times very useful in problem involving constraints (i.e., Timoshenko beam). The
key idea of numerical evaluation of integral, called numerical integration or numerical
quadrature, rests on the polynomial expansion of the integrated upto a sufficient degree,
since the integral of a polynomial can be evaluated exactly. To make the numerical
quadrature easy with respect to the computer implementations, it is convenient to
represent the different types of quadrature into a similar format. To illustrate, let us
consider the following 1D integral
1
1 1 2 3 2 3
1 1
1 1
1
1 ..... 2.35 1 .....
2! 3! 2! 3!
2 2 2
2.3504 2 ........ 2.3504 (upto 6th degree)
6 120 5040
x
x x x x
e dx e e x dx x
or

= + + + + + + + +


+ + + + =


Approximation integration with Newton-Coates:
The :well known trapezoidal and the Simpsons rule are the special cases of the more
generalized Newton Coates formula. The integral is approximated as:
1
0
1
( ) 2
n
n
i i n
i
f x dx c f R
=

= +

Where
n
R is the reminder term and
n
i
c are the Newton Coates constant which are
tabulated as:
No of interval
n
i
c
n
i
c
n
i
c
n
i
c
n
i
c
n
i
c
n
i
c
n
R
Trapezoidal 1 1 1
1 3 ''
10 2 ( ) f x

Simpsons 2 1/3 4/3 1/3
3 5 4
10 2 ( ) f x

3 1/4 3/4 3/4 1/4

3 5 4
10 2 ( ) f x

4 7/45 32/45 12/45 32/45 7/45

6 7 6
10 2 ( ) f x

Note: It may noted that formulas for n=3 and n=5 have the same order of accuracy as the
formulas for n=2 and n=4 respective. For this reason, the even order formulas (i.e., are
used in practice). The function is evaluated at the equal spaced intervals
1
1 1
1
1 0 1
1 1
1 1
3 3
2.718 0.368 3.086
1 4 1 2.718 4 0.368
1 2.362
3 3 3 3 3 3
1 3 3 1
4 4 4 4
0.368 3 3 2.718
0.716 1.396 2.3553
4 4 4 4
x x x
x x
x x x
x x x
x x x x
x x x x
e dx e e
e e e
e e e e
= =

= = =
= = = =
+ = + =
+ + = + + =
+ + +
= + + + =

The Gauss-Legendre Quadrature:
In the Newton Coates quadrature the base point locations have been specified. If the
sampling locations are not specified then there will be 2r+2 undetermined parameters, the
weights
i
w and the base points
i
x which define a polynomial of degree 2rH. The Gauss-
legendre and the gauss quadrature are based on the same idea. The base points
i
x and the
weights
i
w are chosen so that the sum of the r+1 appropriately weighted value of the
function yields the integral exactly when f(x) is a polynomial of degree 2r+1 or less. The
weight and the sampling points/base points are given in the following table

One point
0
2 2 1 2
x
x
e
=
= =
Two point
1 1
3 3
1.7813 0.56138 2.3427
x x
x x
e e
= =
+ = + =
4 point
0.86113 0.86113
0.339981 0.339981
0.347855 0.347855
0.652145 ( ) 2.3504
x x
x x
x x
x x
e e
e e
= =
= =
+ +
+ =



















Figure 8: Gauss points for triangle




References

K. J. Bathe, Finite element procedures in engineering analysis, Prentice-Hall Englewood
Cliffs, NJ, 1982.

O.C. Zeinkiewicz and R. Taylor, The finite element method: volume I; The Basis,
Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, 2000

R D Cook, D S Malkus, M E Plesha and R J Witt, Concepts and applications of finite
element analysis, John Wiley and Sons, Inc, Singapore,2002

B Szabo and I Babuska, Finite Element Analysis, John Wiley and Sons, Inc, Canada,
1991

C A Fellippa, Intruduction to Finite Elements, <web page >




Table 1: Gauss-Legendra Quadrature rules
N
Base points Weights N Base points Weights
3
0.7745966692414834
0.0000000000000000
0.5555555555555556
0.8888888888888889
7

0.9491079123427585
0.7415311855993944
0.4058451513773972
0.0000000000000000

0.12948496616886969
0.27970539148927667
0.38183005050511895
0.41795918367346939
4
0.8611363115940526
0.3399810435848563
0.3478548451374539
0.6521451548625461
8

0.9602898564975362
0.7966664774136267
0.5255324099163290
0.1834346424956498

0.10122853629037626
0.22238103445337447
0.31370664587788729
0.36268378337836198
5
0.9061798459386640
0.5384693101056831
0.0000000000000000

0.2369268850561891
0.4786286704993665
0.5688888888888889
9

0.9681602395076261
0.8360311073266358
0.6133714327005904
0.3242534234038089
0.0000000000000000

0.08127438836157441
0.18064816069485740
0.26061069640293546
0.31234707704000284
0.33023935500125976
6
0.9324695142031520
0.6612093864662645
0.2386191860831969
0.17132449237917034504
0.36076157304813860757
0.46791393457269104739

10

0.9739065285171717
0.8650633666889845
0.6794095682990244
0.4333953941292472
0.1488743389816312

0.06667134430868814
0.1494513491505806
0.2190863625159820
0.2692667193099964
0.2955242247147529



















Table 2: Gauss-Lobatto Quadrature rules
N Base points Weights N Base points Weights








































Table 3: Quadrature rules for triangle