Finite Element Method

ME438
Introduction

Dr Aamir Mubashar
• PhD Mechanical Engineering
– Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom

• MSC Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Systems

Management
– The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Course Contents
• Introduction

• Stiffness (Displacement) Method

• Development of Truss Equations

• Development of Beam Equations

• Plane Stress / Strain Stiffness Equations

• Practical Considerations in Modelling

• Usage of Commercial Finite Element Software (Abaqus)

• Term Project (4 weeks)

Marks Distribution

• Quizzes 15%
5% Class Quizzes
20% Term Project
• Projects / Assignments 10%

• OHT-1 15%

• OHT-2 15%

• End Semester Exam 45%

INTRODUCTION TO FEM
Finite Element Method
• FEM is a numerical method for solving problems or engineering and
mathematical physics

• Typical classes of problems

– Structural analysis
– Heat transfer
– Fluid flow
– Mass transport
– Electromagnetic potential
– etc.

• Can solve problems involving complicated geometries, loadings and

material properties for which analytical solutions are not possible
Introduction to FEM

GENERAL STEPS OF FEM

General Steps of FEM
• For simplicity, we will consider the structural problem for now
• Engineers seeks to determine displacements and stresses
throughout a structure, which is in equilibrium and subjected to
applied loads
• Two general approaches traditionally associated with FEM
– Force or flexibility method: uses internal forces as unknowns,
result is a set of algebraic equations for determining unknown
forces
– Displacement or stiffness method: uses displacements of nodes
as unknowns
• For computational purposes, displacement or stiffness method is
simpler to formulate for most of the problems and will be discussed
further
How FEM Works?
How FEM Works?
General Steps of FEM

Step 1 Step 6 Step 7

• Discretise and select • Solve for unknown • Solve for element
the element types degree of freedom strains and stresses
(displacements)

Step 2 Step 5 Step 8

• Select a displacement • Assemble to obtain global • Interpret the results
equations and apply
function boundary conditions

Step 3 Step 4 Step 1 & 8 are generally decided

by Analyst
• Define the strain / • Derive the element Steps 2-7 are carried out
displacement and stiffness matrix and automatically by computer
stress / strain equations program
relationships
General Steps of FEM

Step 1 Step 6 Step 7

• Discretise and select • Solve for unknown • Solve for element
the element types degree of freedom strains and stresses
(displacements)

Step 2 Step 5 Step 8

• Select a displacement • Assemble to obtain global • Interpret the results
equations and apply
function boundary conditions

Step 3 Step 4
• Define the strain / • Derive the element
displacement and stiffness matrix and
stress / strain equations
relationships
Step 1: Discretise and Select the Element Types
• Dividing the body into an equivalent system of finite elements with
associated nodes
• Choose most appropriate element type to model most closely the actual
physical behaviour
• Primary Engineering Judgements
– Total number of elements used
– Variation in size and type of elements within a given body
• Elements
– Small enough to give useable results
– Large enough to reduce computational effort
– Small element (and possibly higher order elements) are generally
desirable where the results are changing rapidly such as where
changes in geometry occurs
– Large elements can be used where results are relatively constant
General Steps of FEM

Step 1 Step 6 Step 7

• Discretise and select • Solve for unknown • Solve for element
the element types degree of freedom strains and stresses
(displacements)

Step 2 Step 5 Step 8

• Select a displacement • Assemble to obtain global • Interpret the results
equations and apply
function boundary conditions

Step 3 Step 4
• Define the strain / • Derive the element
displacement and stiffness matrix and
stress / strain equations
relationships
Step 2: Select a Displacement Function
• Involves choosing a displacement function within each
element

• Defined using nodal values of the element

• Linear, quadratic and cubic polynomials are frequently used

functions as they are simple to use in FEM formulation

• Trigonometric series can also be used

• For a two dimensional element, displacement function is a

function of the coordinates in its plane (e.g. x-y plane)
Step 2: Select a Displacement Function
• The functions are expressed in terms of nodal unknowns (in two
dimensional problem, in terms of x-y components)

• Same general displacement function can be used repeatedly for

each element

• Hence, in FEM a continuous quantity such as displacement

throughout the body is approximated by a discrete model
composed of a set of piece-wise continuous functions defined
within each finite domain or finite element
General Steps of FEM

Step 1 Step 6 Step 7

• Discretise and select • Solve for unknown • Solve for element
the element types degree of freedom strains and stresses
(displacements)

Step 2 Step 5 Step 8

• Select a displacement • Assemble to obtain global • Interpret the results
equations and apply
function boundary conditions

Step 3 Step 4
• Define the strain / • Derive the element
displacement and stiffness matrix and
stress / strain equations
relationships
Step 3: Define the Strain / Displacement and
Stress / Strain Relationships
• Necessary for deriving the equations for each finite element

• In case of one dimensional deformation, say x-direction

𝑑𝑢
𝜀𝑥 =
𝑑𝑥

• Stresses must be related to strains by a constitutive law.

Simplest relationship is given by Hooke’s law

𝜎𝑥 = 𝐸𝜀𝑥
General Steps of FEM

Step 1 Step 6 Step 7

• Discretise and select • Solve for unknown • Solve for element
the element types degree of freedom strains and stresses
(displacements)

Step 2 Step 5 Step 8

• Select a displacement • Assemble to obtain global • Interpret the results
equations and apply
function boundary conditions

Step 3 Step 4
• Define the strain / • Derive the element
displacement and stiffness matrix and
stress / strain equations
relationships
Step 4: Derive the Element Stiffness Matrix
and Equations
• Several methods are used for determining the element stiffness
matrix
Direct Equilibrium or Stiffness Method
• Stiffness matrix and element equations relating nodal forces to
nodal displacements are obtained using force equilibrium
conditions

• Most easily adaptable to line or one dimensional elements

• Can be used to illustrate development for spring, bar, and beam

elements
Step 4: Derive the Element Stiffness Matrix
and Equations
• Using any of the above methods, we get the equations to describe
the behaviour of an element

𝑓1 𝑘11 𝑘12 𝑘13 … 𝑘1𝑛 𝑑1

Vector of Vector of
𝑓2 𝑘21 𝑘22 𝑘23 … 𝑘2𝑛 𝑑2 unknown
element
nodal forces 𝑓3 = 𝑘31 𝑘32 𝑘33 … 𝑘3𝑛 𝑑3 element
⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ nodal dofs
𝑓𝑛 𝑘𝑛1 … 𝑘𝑛𝑛 𝑑𝑛
Element Stiffness Matrix

• In compact form
𝑓 = 𝑘 𝑑

• Generalised displacements may include such quantities as actual

displacements, slopes or even curvatures
General Steps of FEM

Step 1 Step 6 Step 7

• Discretise and select • Solve for unknown • Solve for element
the element types degree of freedom strains and stresses
(displacements)

Step 2 Step 5 Step 8

• Select a displacement • Assemble to obtain global • Interpret the results
equations and apply
function boundary conditions

Step 3 Step 4
• Define the strain / • Derive the element
displacement and stiffness matrix and
stress / strain equations
relationships
Step 5: Assemble to Obtain the Global
Equations and Introduce Boundary Conditions
• The individual element nodal equilibrium equations generated in
Step 4 are assembled into the global nodal equilibrium equations

• The direct method of superposition (called the direct stiffness

method), based on nodal force equilibrium, can be used

• Implicit in the direct stiffness method is the concept of continuity or

compatibility

• Compatibility means that the structure remains together and no

tears occur anywhere inside the structure

• The final assembled equation can be written as

𝐹 = 𝐾 𝑑
Step 5: Assemble to Obtain the Global
Equations and Introduce Boundary Conditions
• For most problems, global stiffness matrix is square and
symmetric

• It can be shown that global stiffness matrix is singular i.e. its

determinant is equal to zero

• To remove singularity, boundary conditions (constraints or

supports) are applied so structure remains in place and no
rigid body motion occurs

• Applied known loads are accounted for in the global force

matrix
General Steps of FEM

Step 1 Step 6 Step 7

• Discretise and select • Solve for unknown • Solve for element
the element types degree of freedom strains and stresses
(displacements)

Step 2 Step 5 Step 8

• Select a displacement • Assemble to obtain global • Interpret the results
equations and apply
function boundary conditions

Step 3 Step 4
• Define the strain / • Derive the element
displacement and stiffness matrix and
stress / strain equations
relationships
Step 6: Solve for Unknown Degrees of
Freedom (or Generalised Displacements)
• After modification to account for boundary conditions, a set of
simultaneous algebraic equations is obtained

𝐹1 𝐾11 𝐾12 𝐾13 … 𝐾1𝑛 𝑑1

𝐹2 𝐾21 𝐾22 𝐾23 … 𝐾2𝑛 𝑑2
𝐹3 = 𝐾31 𝐾32 𝐾33 … 𝐾3𝑛 𝑑3
⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮
𝐹𝑛 𝐾𝑛1 … 𝐾𝑛𝑛 𝑑𝑛

• Where 𝑛 is the structure total number of unknown nodal degrees of

freedom
• Can be solved for 𝑑s using elimination method (such as Gauss’s
method) or an iterative method (such as Gauss-Seidel method)
General Steps of FEM

Step 1 Step 6 Step 7

• Discretise and select • Solve for unknown • Solve for element
the element types degree of freedom strains and stresses
(displacements)

Step 2 Step 5 Step 8

• Select a displacement • Assemble to obtain global • Interpret the results
equations and apply
function boundary conditions

Step 3 Step 4
• Define the strain / • Derive the element
displacement and stiffness matrix and
stress / strain equations
relationships
Step 7: Solve for the Element Strains and Stresses

• For structural stress analysis, important secondary quantities

of strain and stress can be obtained from displacements

• Typical relationships between strain and displacements and

between stress and strain can be used
General Steps of FEM

Step 1 Step 6 Step 7

• Discretise and select • Solve for unknown • Solve for element
the element types degree of freedom strains and stresses
(displacements)

Step 2 Step 5 Step 8

• Select a displacement • Assemble to obtain global • Interpret the results
equations and apply
function boundary conditions

Step 3 Step 4
• Define the strain / • Derive the element
displacement and stiffness matrix and
stress / strain equations
relationships
Step 8: Interpret the Results

• Final goal is to interpret and analyse the results for use in the
design / analysis process

• Determination of locations in structures where large deformations

and large stresses occur is generally important

• Post processor computer programs help the user to interpret the

results by displaying them in graphical form