Mathematics

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS AS COMPUTATION

What the textbooks don't teach you about finite element analysis

Chapter 8: Stress consistency

Gangan Prathap
Director
NISCAIR, S.V. Marg
New Delhi - 110016

Contents

8.1 Introduction
8.2 Variable moduli problems
8.2.1 A tapered bar element
8.2.2 Numerical experiments
8.2.3 Reconstitution of the stress-resultant field using the Hu-Washizu
principle
8.3 Initial strain/stress problems
8.3.1 Description of the problem
8.3.2 The linear bar element - Derivation of stiffness matrix and thermal
load vector
8.3.3 Example problem
8.3.4 A note on the quadratic bar element
8.3.5 Re-constitution of the thermal strain/stress field using the HuWashizu principle
8.3.6 Numerical examples

8.3.7 Concluding remarks

Chapter 8
Stress consistency
8.1 Introduction
InChapters6to7weexaminedthedifficultiesexperiencedbythedisplacementapproachto
thefiniteelementformulationofproblemsinwhichsomestrainfieldsareconstrained.To
obtainaccuratesolutionsatreasonablelevelsofdiscretization,itwasnecessarytomodify
thesestrainfieldsandusetheseincomputingthestiffnessmatrixandalsoinstressrecovery.
Thecriteriongoverningtherelationshipbetweenthevarioustermsinthemodifiedstrainfield
interpolationwasdescribedasconsistencyi.e.thestrainfieldinterpolationsmustmaintaina
consistentbalanceinternallyofitscontributingterms.Thisallowstheconstraintsthatemerge
afterdiscretizationtoremainphysicallyfaithfultothecontinuumproblem.Thiswastherule
thatguidedthelockingfreedesignofallelementsdiscussedsofar.
Inthischapter,wetakealookataclassofproblemswherenoconstraintsareimposedonthe
strainsbutthereisaneedtorelaxthesatisfactionoftheconstitutiverelationshiplinking
discretised stress to discretised strain so that again a certain degree of consistency is
maintained.Suchsituationsdevelopwheretherearestructuralregionsinwhichtherigidity
variesspatiallyduetovaryingelasticmoduliorcrosssectionalareaandalsoininitialstrain
problems,ofwhichthethermalstrainproblemisthemostcommonlyencountered.
Instructuralregionswithvaryingrigiditythespatialvariationofstrainfieldsandstressor
stressresultantfieldswillnotmatch.Inthediscretizationofsuchcases,itisnecessaryto
consideraformofexternalconsistencyrequirementbetweenthediscretizedstrainfieldsand
the discretized stress or stressresultant fields. This is necessary so that a correct
interpretationofcomputedstressesandstressresultantsispossible;otherwise,oscillations
willbeseen.
Ininitialstrainproblems,theinitialstrainvariationandthetotalstrainvariationsmaybeof
differentorder.Thisisafamiliarprobleminfiniteelementthermalstressanalysis.Here,itis
necessarytoobtainkinematicallyequivalentthermalnodalforcesfromtemperaturefields
andalsoensurethatthediscretisedthermalstrainscorrespondingtothisareconsistentwith
thediscretiseddescriptionoftotalstrains.Again,onemustcarefullyidentifytheconflicting
requirementsontheorderofdiscretisedfunctionstobeused.
8.2 Variable moduli problems
8.2.1 A tapered bar element
Weshallnowconductasimplenumericalexperimentwithataperedbarelementtoshowthat
theforcefieldcomputeddirectlyfromstrainsinastructuralelementofvaryingsectional
rigiditieshasextraneousoscillations.Alinearelementwouldhavesufficedtodemonstrate
thebasicprinciplesinvolved.However,weuseaquadratictaperedbarelementsothatthe
extraneousoscillations,whichforageneralcasecanbeofcubicform,arenotonlyvividly
seenbutalsoneedspecialcaretobereducedtoitsconsistentform.Inalinearelement,this
exercisebecomesverytrivial,assamplingatthecentroidoftheelementgivesthecorrect
stressresultant.

Weshallconsideranisoparametricformulationforaquadraticbarelementoflength2lwith
midnode exactly at the midpoint of the element. Then the interpolations for the axial
displacementuandthecrosssectionalareaAintermsoftheirrespectivenodalvaluesare,
u u2 u3 u1 2 u1 2u2 u3 2 2

A A 2 A3 A1 2 A1 2A 2 A3 2 2

Weshallfirstexamine how theelement stiffnessisformulated whentheminimum total

potentialprincipleisused.Westartwithafunctionalwrittenas,

1 2

T
N dx W

where,
theaxialstrain,
E A x thekinematicallyconstitutedaxialforce,
pu dx thepotentialofexternalforces,
distributedaxialload,
Young'smodulusofelasticity

du dx

p
E

Afterdiscretization,willbealinearfunctionofbutNwillbeacubicfunctionof.The
strainenergyofdeformationisthenexpressedas,
U 1 2

dx

Fromthisproductthetermsofthestiffnessmatrixemerge.Duetotheorthogonalnatureof
the Legendre polynomials, terms from N which are linked with the quadratic and cubic
Legendrepolynomials,N3andN4respectively,willnotcontributetotheenergyandtherefore
willnotprovidetermstothestiffnessmatrix!Itisclearthat,thedisplacementsrecovered
fromsuchaformulationcannotrecognizethepresenceofthequadraticandcubicterms N3
andN4inthestressfield Nasthesehavenotbeenaccountedforwhenthestiffnessmatrix
was computed. Hence, in a displacement type finite element formulation, the stresses
recoveredfromthedisplacementvectorwillhaveextraneousoscillationsifN3andN4arenot
eliminatedfromthestressfieldduringstressrecovery.Weshalldesignateby BAR3.0,the
conventionalelementusingNforstiffnessmatrixevaluationandrecoveryofforceresultant.
Next,wemustseehowtheconsistentrepresentationoftheforcefielddenotedby N mustbe
made. N shouldcompriseonlythetermsthatwillcontribute tothestiffnessandstrain
energyandthesimplestwaytodothisistoexpandthekinematicallydeterminedNinterms
of Legendre polynomials, and retain only terms that will meaningfully contribute to the
energyin N T . Thus, N mustbe consistent with ,i.e.inthiscase,retainonlyupto
linearterms:
N N 1 N 2
(8.1)
Such an element is denoted by BAR3.1. It uses N for stiffness matrix evaluation and
recoveryofforcesresultant.Toseethevariationalbasisfortheprocedureadoptedsofar,the

problemisreformulatedaccordingtotheHuWashizuprinciplewhichallowsindependent
fieldsforassumedstrainandassumedstressfunctions.

8.2.2 Numerical experiments

Weshallperformthecomputationalexerciseswiththetwoversionsoftheelement;notethat
inbothcases,thestiffnessmatricesandcomputeddisplacementsareidentical.Figure8.1
showsataperedbarclampedatnode1andsubjectedtoanaxialforcePatnode3.Thetaper
isdefinedbytheparameters,
A3 A1 2A 2 and A1 2A 2 A3 2A 2

Finiteelementresultsfromacomputationalexerciseusingthetwoversionsdescribedabove
forabarwithcrosssectiontaperinglinearlyfromtheroottothetipforwhich =0 are
obtained.Thusisgivenby,

A 3 A1 A1 A 3
Thus canvaryfrom 0 to 1.0.Fig.8.2showstheaxialforcepatternsobtainedfromthe
finiteelementdigitalcomputationforacasewith =0.9802 (with A3=0.01A1)Itcanbe
notedherethattheresultsareaccurateat 1 3 .

Fig.8.1Acantileverbarmodeledwithasingleelement.

Fig.8.2Axialforcepatternforlinearlytaperedbar(=0.9802and=0.0)withA3=0.01A1.

AgeneralcaseoftaperisexaminednextwhereA1=1.0,A2=0.36andA3=0.04,andthearea
ratiosare=4/3and=4/9.Fig.8.3showstheresultsfromthefiniteelementcomputations.
Duetothepresenceofbothquadraticandcubicoscillations,therearenopointswhichcanbe
easily identified for accurate force recovery! Therefore it is necessary to perform a re
constitution of the force resultant fields on a consistency basis using the orthogonality
principleasdoneherebeforereliableforcerecoverycanbemade.
8.2.3 Reconstitution of the stress-resultant field using the Hu-Washizu principle
InformingtheHuWashizufunctionalforthetotalpotential,anasyetundeterminedassumed
forcefunction N isintroducedbuttheassumedstrainfield canbesafelyretainedas
(notethatinaconstrainedmediaproblemitwillberequiredtointroduceafieldconsistent
thatwillbedifferentfromthekinematicallyderivedandthereforeusuallyfieldinconsistent
)thefunctionalnowbecomes

1 2 EA T N T dx W

Fig.8.3Axialforcepatternforbarwithcombinedlinearandquadratictaper(=4/3and=4/9).

AvariationoftheHuWashizuenergyfunctionalwithrespecttothekinematicallyadmissible
degreeoffreedomu,givestheequilibriumequation,
T
u dN dx p dx 0

Variationwithrespecttotheassumedstrainfield givesrisetoaconstitutiverelation

- N

EA dx 0

(8.2)

andvariationwithrespecttotheassumedforcefield N givesrisetothecondition
T
(8.3)
N - dx 0
NowEquations(8.2)and(8.3)aretheorthogonalityconditionsrequiredforreconstitutingthe
assumedfieldsforthestressresultantandthestrain.Theconsistencyparadigmsuggeststhat
theassumedstressresultantfield N shouldbeofthesameorderastheassumedstrainfield
.ThenEquation(8.3)givestheorthogonalityconditionforstrainfieldredistribution.
Ontheotherhand,orthogonalitycondition(8.2)canbeusedtoreconstitutetheassumed
stressresultantfield N fromthekinematicallyderivedfieldN.Now,Equation(8.2)canbe
writtenas,

N - N dx 0

(8.4)

Thus,ifNisexpandedintermsofLegendrepolynomials,itcanbeprovedthat N whichis
consistentandorthogonallysatisfiesEquation(8.4)isobtainedverysimplybyretainingall
theLegendrepolynomialtermsthatareconsistentwith ,i.e.asshowninEquation(8.1).
Thustheprocedureadoptedintheprevioussectionhasvariationallegitimacy.
8.3 Initial strain/stress problems
Finiteelementthermalstressanalysisrequirestheformulationofwhatiscalledaninitial
strainproblem.Thetemperaturefieldswhichareimposedmustbeconvertedtodiscretised
thermal(initial)strainsandfromthiskinematicallyequivalentthermalnodalforcesmustbe
computed.Theusualpracticeingeneralpurposecodesistousethesameshapefunctionsto
interpolatethetemperaturefieldsandthedisplacementfields.Thermalstressescomputed
directlyfromstressstrainandstraindisplacementmatricesafterthefiniteelementanalysisis
performedthusshowlargeoscillatingerrors.Thiscanbetracedtothefactthatthetotal
strains(whicharederivedfromdisplacementfields)areoneorderhigherthanthethermal
strains(derivedfromtemperaturefields).Someusefulrulesthatareadoptedtoovercomethis
difficultyarethatthetemperaturefieldusedforthermalstressanalysisshouldhavethesame
consistencyastheelementstrainfieldsandthatifelementstressesarebasedonGausspoints,
thethermalstressesshouldalsobebasedontheseGausspointvalues.Thisstrategyemerged

fromtheunderstandingthattheunreliable stresspredictions originatefromthemismatch

betweentheelementstrainandtheinitialstrainduetotemperature0.Weshallnowshow
thatthisisduetothelackofconsistencyoftheirrespectiveinterpolationswithintheelement.
Earlierinthischapter,wesawthatstressresultantfieldscomputedfromstrainfieldsina
displacementtypefiniteelementdescriptionofadomainwithvaryingsectionalrigidities
showedextraneousoscillations.Thiswastracedtothefactthatthesestressresultantfields
wereofhigherinterpolation orderthanthestrainfieldsandthatthehigherdegreestress
resultanttermsdidnotparticipateinthestiffnessmatrixcomputations.Inthissection,we
show that much the same behavior carries over to the problem of thermal stress
computations.
8.3.1 Description of the problem
With the introduction of initial strains 0 due to thermal loading, the stress to strain
relationshiphastobewrittenas

D - 0 D m

(8.5)

Thestraintermsnowneedtobecarefullyidentified. {} isthetotalstrainand {m} isthe

mechanicalorelasticstrain.Thefreeexpansionofmaterialproducesinitialstrains
0 T

(8.6)

whereTisthetemperaturerelativetoareferencevalueatwhichthebodyisfreeofstressand
isthecoefficientofthermalexpansion.Thetotalstrains(i.e.thekinematicallyderived
strains)aredefinedbythestraindisplacementmatrix,
{}=[B]{d}

(8.7)

where {d} is the vector of nodal displacements. In a finite element description, the
displacementsandtemperaturesareinterpolatedwithinthedomainoftheelementusingthe
same interpolation functions. The calculation of the total strains {} involves the
differentiationofthedisplacementfieldsandthestrainfieldfunctionswillthereforebeof
lowerorderthantheshapefunctions.Theinitialstrainfields(seeEquation(8.6))involvethe
temperaturefieldsdirectlyandthisisseentoresultinaninterpolationfieldbasedonthefull
shape functions. The initial strain matrix is of higher degree of approximation than the
kinematicallyderivedstrainfieldsifthetemperaturefieldscanvarysignificantlyoverthe
domainandareinterpolatedbythesameisoparametricfunctionsasthedisplacementfields.It
isthislackofconsistencythatleadstothedifficultiesseeninthermalstressprediction.This
originatesfromthefactthatthethermalloadvectorisderivedfromapartofthefunctionalof
theform,

D 0 dV

(8.8)

Again,theproblemisthatthe`higherorder'componentsofthethermal(orinitial)stress
vectorarenotsensedbythetotalstraininterpolationsintheintegralshownabove.Inother

words,thetotalstrainterms"dowork"onlyontheconsistentpartofthethermalstressterms
in the energy or virtual work integral. Thus, a thermal load vector is created which
corresponds to a initial strain (and stress) vector that is `consistent' with the total strain
vector.Thefiniteelementdisplacementandtotalstrainfieldswhichareobtainedinthefinite
elementcomputationthenreflectonlythisconsistentpartofthethermalloading.Therefore,
onlytheconsistentpartofthethermalstressshouldbecomputedwhenstressrecoveryis
made from the nodal displacements; the inclusion of the inconsistent part, as was done
earlier,resultsinthermalstressoscillations.
Wedemonstratetheseconceptsusingasimplebarelement.
8.3.2 The linear bar element - Derivation of stiffness matrix and thermal load vector
Consideralinearbarelementoflength 2l.Theaxialdisplacement u,thetotalstrain ,the
initialstrain0andstressareinterpolatedasfollows:
u u1 u2 2 u2 u1 2

(8.9a)

Fig.8.4Linearbarelement.

u,x u2 u1 2l

(8.9b)

0 T1 T2 2 T2 T1 2

(8.9c)

E u2 u1 2l E T1 T2 2 T2 T1 2

(8.9d)

where x l (seeFig.8.4),Eisthemodulusofelasticity,Atheareaofcrosssectionofthe
barandthecoefficientofexpansion.
Toformtheelementstiffnessandthermalloadvector,anintegraloftheform

dx

istobeevaluated.Thisleadstoamatrixequationforeachelementoftheform,

(8.10)

EA 1 1 u1 TT 21 1 F1
EA
2l 11 u2 2 1 F2

(8.11)

where F1 and F2 are the consistently distributed nodal loads arising from the distributed
externalloading.ByobservingthecomponentsoftheinterpolationfieldsinEquations(8.9b)
to(8.9d)carefully(i.e.constantandlinearterms)andtracingthewaytheyparticipateinthe
`work'integralinEquation(8.10),itisclearthatthe T2 T1 2 termassociatedwiththe
linear(i.e.)termin(originatingfrom0)cannotdoworkontheconstantterminTand
thereforevanishesfromthethermalloadvector;seeEquation(8.11).Thustheequilibrium
equationsthatresultfromtheassemblyoftheelementequilibriumequationsrepresentedby
Equation(8.11)willonlyrespondtotheconsistentpartoftheinitialstrainandwillgive
displacementscorrespondingtothispartonly.
If these computed displacements are to be used to recover the initial strains or thermal
stresses,onlytheconsistentpartofthesefieldsshouldbeused.Theuseoftheoriginalinitial
strainorstressfieldswillresultinoscillationscorrespondingtotheinconsistentpart.We
shallworktheseoutby

Fig.8.5Clampedbarsubjecttovaryingtemperature

handusingasimpleexamplebelowandcompareitwiththeanalyticalsolution.
8.3.3 Example problem
Figure8.5showsabaroflength L=4l clamped atbothendsandsubjected toavarying
temperaturefield.Weshallconsideracasewheretwoconventionallyderivedlinearelements
areused,sothatwerequirethenodaltemperaturesT1,T2andT3asinput.Thenodalreactions
are F1 and F3 (correspondingtotheclampedconditions u1=u3=0).Wehavetheassembled
equationsas,

11 0 F1 TT 21
EA EA
121 u2 0 TT 31
2l 2
11 0 F3 TT 32

(8.12)

Fromthis,wecancomputethedisplacementsandnodalreactionsas,
u2 l T1 T3 2 and F1 F3 EA T1 2T2 T3 4

(8.13)

andthesearethecorrectanswersonecanexpectwithsuchanidealization.Ifthestressinthe
bar is computed from the nodal reactions, one gets a constant stress
E T1 2T2 T3 4 , in both elements, which is again the correct answer one can
expectforthisidealization.Itisaverytrivialexercisetoshowanalyticallythataproblemin
whichthetemperaturevarieslinearlyfrom0toTatbothendswillgiveaconstantstressfield
ET 2 ,whichtheabovemodelrecoversexactly.

ProblemshoweverappearwhenthenodaldisplacementcomputedfromEquations(8.12)is
usedinEquations(8.9b)to(8.9d)tocomputetheinitialstrainsandstressesineachelement.
Wewouldobtainnow,thestressesas(subscripts12and23denotethetwoelements)
12 E T1 2T2 T3 4 E T2 T1 2

(8.14a)

23 E T1 2T2 T3 4 E T3 T2 2

(8.14b)

It is now very clear that a linear oscillation is introduced into each element and this
correspondstothatinconsistentpartoftheinitialstrainorstressinterpolationwhichwasnot
sensedbythetotalstrainterm.Thisoffersusastraightforwarddefinitionofwhatconsistency
isinthisproblemretainonlythatpartofthestressfieldthatwilldoworkonthestrainterm
inthefunctional.Toseehowthispartcanbederivedinavariationallycorrectmanner,we
mustproceedtotheHuWashizutheorem.
8.3.4 A note on the quadratic bar element
Wemaynotenowthatifaquadraticbarelementhadbeenthebasisforthefiniteelement
idealization,thetotalstrainswouldhavebeeninterpolatedtoalinearorder;theinitialstrain
andthermalstressfieldwillnowhaveaquadraticrepresentation(providedthetemperature
fieldhasaquadraticvariation)andtheinconsistencywillnowbeofthe 1 3 2 type;thus
thermalstressesderivedusingaformaltheoreticalbasiswillshowthesequadraticoscillations
whichwillvanishtogivecorrectanswersatthepointscorrespondingto 1 3 ;i.e.the
pointscorrespondingtothe2pointGaussintegrationrule.
8.3.5 Re-constitution of the thermal strain/stress field using the Hu-Washizu principle
Wenowseektofindavariationalbasisfortheuseofthereconstitutedconsistentinitial
strainandstressinterpolationsintheHuWashizuprinciple.
Theminimumtotalpotentialprinciplestatesthepresentproblemas,findtheminimumofthe
functional,

MTP

m 2 P dV

(8.15)

where and m areasdefinedin(8.5)to(8.7)andthedisplacementandstrainfieldsare

interpolated from the nodal displacements using the element shape functions and their
derivativesandPisthepotentialenergyoftheprescribedloads.
Wenowknowthatthediscretizedstressfieldthusderived,,isinconsistenttotheextentthat
theinitialstrainfield 0 isnotofthesameorderasthetotalstrainfield .Itistherefore
necessarytoreconstitutethediscretizedstressfieldintoaconsistentstressfield without
violatinganyvariationalnorm.Intheexamplesabove,wehadseenasimplewayinwhich
thiswaseffected.
Toseehowweprogressfromtheinconsistentdiscretizeddomain(i.e.involving 0and)to
the consistent discretized domain (i.e. introducing 0 and , it is again convenient to
developthetheoryfromthegeneralizedHuWashizumixedtheorem.Weshallpresentthe

HuWashizutheoremfromthepointofviewoftheneedtoreconstitutetheinconsistent 0to
aconsistent 0 withoutviolatinganyvariationalnorms.Weproceedthus:
Letthecontinuumlinearelasticproblemhaveadiscretizedsolutionbasedontheminimum
totalpotentialprincipledescribedbythedisplacementfieldu,strainfieldandstressfield
(weprojectthatthestrainfield isderivedfromthedisplacementfieldthroughthestrain
displacementgradientoperatorsofthetheoryofelasticityandthatthestressfield isderived
fromthestrainfieldthroughtheconstitutivelawsasshownin(8.2).Letusnowreplacethe
discretizeddomainbyanotherdiscretizeddomaincorrespondingtotheapplicationoftheHu
Washizuprincipleanddescribethecomputedstatetobedefinedbythequantities , 0 and
, where again, we take that the stress fields are computed using the constitutive
relationships,i.e. D 0 .Itisclearthat 0 isanapproximationofthestrainfield 0.
Note that wealso argue that we can use as there is no need tointroduce sucha
distinctionhere(inaconstrainedmediaelasticityproblemitisparamountthat bederived
astheconsistentsubstitutefor.)
WhattheHuWashizutheoremdoes,followingtheinterpretationgivenbydeVeubeke,isto
introduce a "dislocation potential" to augment the usual total potential. This dislocation
potentialisbasedonathirdindependentstressfield whichcanbeconsideredtobethe
Lagrangemultiplierremovingthelackofcompatibilityappearingbetweenthekinematically
derived strain field 0 and the independent strain field 0 . The threefield HuWashizu
theoremcanbestatedas,
HW 0

(8.16)

where
HW

Tm 2

dV

(8.17)

where m 0 .Atthisstagewedonotknowwhat or 0 areexceptthattheyareto

beofconsistentorderwith.
Inthesimplerminimumtotalpotentialprinciple,whichisthebasisforthederivationofthe
displacement type finite element formulation in most textbooks, only one field (i.e. the
displacement field u), is subject to variation. However, in this more general three field
approach,allthreefieldsaresubjectedtovariationandleadstothreesetsofequationswhich
canbegroupedandclassifiedasfollows:
VariationonNatureEquation,
uEquilibrium
(8.18a)

termsfromP=0

Orthogonality T 0 0 dV
(Compatibility)
T
0 Orthogonality 0 dV
(Equilibrium)

(8.18b)
(8.18c)

Fig.8.6(a)Clampedbarunderlineartemperaturevariationandits(b)Barelementmodel,(c)Planestress
model.

Let us first examine the orthogonality condition in (8.18c). We can interpret this as a
variational condition to restore the equilibrium imbalance between and . In this
instancethisconditionreducesto .Notethatinaproblemwheretherigiditymodulus
D can vary significantly over the element volume, this condition allows to be
reconstitutedfrom inaconsistentway.
Theorthogonalityconditionin(8.18b)isnowveryeasilyinterpreted.Sincewehave
consistentwith ,thisconditionshowsushowtosmooth 0 to 0 tomaintainthesame
levelofconsistencyas .Thisequationthereforeprovidesthevariationallycorrectruleor
procedure to determine consistent thermal strains and stresses from the inconsistent
definitions.

Therefore,wenowseehowtheconsistentinitialstrainfield 0 canbederivedfromthe
inconsistentinitialstrainfield 0 withoutviolatinganyvariationalnorm.Wethushavea
variationallycorrectprocedureforreconstitutingtheconsistentinitialstrainfieldforthe
barelementabove,thiscanbeverytriviallydonebyusinganexpansionofthestrainfieldsin
terms of the orthogonal Legendre polynomials, as done in the previous section for the
consistentstressresultants.
8.3.6 Numerical examples

Inthissectionwetakeupthesameexampleofabarwithfixedendssubjectedtolinearly
varyingtemperature along its axis andmodel itwith thebar element and aplane stress
element for demonstrating the extraneous stress oscillations resulting from the lack of
consistencyininitialstraindefinition.
Abaroflength8units,depth2unitssubjectedtoalineartemperaturedistributionasshown
inFig8.6aismodeledfirstwithtwobarelements(seeFig4.18.6b).LetBAR.0andBAR.1
representthebarelementversionswithinconsistentandconsistentthermalstressfields.As
already predicted, both give accurate displacements (0.002 units at the mid point), see
Equation(9.13));BAR.1givesexactstressthroughoutwhileBAR.0showslinearoscillations
(seeEquations(8.14a)and(8.14b))asshowninFig8.7.

Fig.8.7Consistentandinconsistentthermalstressrecoveryforaclampedbarproblem.

8.3.7 Concluding remarks

Beforeweclosethissection,itwillbeworthwhiletodiscussthe"correctness"ofthevarious
approachesfromthevariationalpointofview.NotethatEquation(9.2)and(9.3)wouldhave
beenfulfilledifanassumedstressresultantfieldofthesameorderas N hadbeenusedin
place of the N of consistent order. This would result in the HuWashizu formulation
yieldingthesamestresspredictionsastheminimumpotentialprinciple.Thus,bothNand N
areequally"correct"intheHuWashizusense,butonly N is"correct"withtheminimum
potential energy formulation. Where they differ is in the consistency aspect i.e. N is
consistentwith whereas N isn't.Itfollowsthatfromthetheoreticalpointofviewofthe
variationalorvirtualworkmethods,thepotentialenergyformulationandtheHuWashizu
formulation describe the continuum physics in exactly the same way. Both the potential
energyandHuWashizuformulationsareequallyvalidasfarasvariationalcorrectnessis
concerned.However,whenapproximationsareintroducedinthefiniteelementmethod,the
HuWashizuformulationgivesdecidedlybetterresultsthanthepotentialenergyformulation
becauseoftheflexibilityitprovidestomodifystressfieldsandstrainfieldstosatisfythe
consistency requirements in situations where they play a prominent role. Note that the
consistencyparadigm,inthiscasethatusedtojustifythetruncationofN(obtaineddirectly
fromthedisplacementapproach)toaconsistent N ontheargumentthatthetruncatedterms
are not sensed in the discretized strain energy computations, lies clearly outside the
variational correctness paradigm. Similarly, in the earlier chapters of this book, we saw
anothervariationoftheconsistencyparadigmtheneedtoensureaproperbalanceinthe
discretizedrepresentationofconstrainedstrainfields,whichagainliesoutsidethescopeof
thevariationalcorrectnessparadigm.Itisveryimportanttounderstandthereforethatboth
consistencyandcorrectness paradigms aremutually exclusive butareneededtogether to
ensurethatthefiniteelementformulationsarecorrectlyandconsistentlydone.
The stress fieldconsistency paradigm introduced here also applies to finite element
applicationswherecertaintermsineitherthestressorstrainfieldsdonotparticipateinthe
displacement recovery due to their inconsistent representation e.g. initial stress/strain
problems, problems with varying material properties within an element etc. In the next
section,weshallextendthisparadigmtoextractconsistentthermalstressand/orstrainsfrom
adisplacementtypeformulation.
Inthissection,wehavedemonstrated anothervariationoftheconsistencyparadigm in
applications toevaluationofstressesandstressresultantsinfiniteelementthermalstress
computations. It is shown that such stresses must be computed in a consistent way,
recognizingthatthedisplacementtypefiniteelementprocedurecansenseonlystresseswhich
havethesameconsistencyasthetotalstrainfieldinterpolationsusedwithineachelement.
Thus, in an element where the temperature field interpolations do not have the same
consistencyasthestrainfields,itisnecessarytoderiveaconsistentinitialstrainfieldfor
purposes of recovery of stresses from the computed displacement field. A simple and
variationallycorrectwaytodothishasbeenestablishedfromtheHuWashizutheorem.