Finite-element Design of Concrete Structures

ISBN: 978-0-7277-4189-9
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved
doi: 10.1680/fedcs.41899.001

Chapter 1

General

Numerical calculations based on the nite-element method (FEM) are becoming a

standard tool in the design of structures. Furthermore, the lower cost of computer
hardware and improved performance of increasingly user-friendly software often obviate
the necessity for manual calculations. This applies not only to complex 3D structures
and slabs, shear walls and shells of complicated shape, but also to normal beams. It
can be economical since it is much faster to design a simple supported reinforced
concrete beam under uniform loading by using a computer. However, one saves
working time only when the necessity for manually checking the numerical results is
disregarded.
A few years ago, powerful computers were needed to conduct FE analyses, and only
experts and big consulting ofces were able to perform this analysis. Nowadays, the
designing of an entire building can be handled by a simple PC. Graphical input makes
it easy to generate 3D FE meshes with several thousand nodes. Computer programs
can design concrete, steel or wooden structures that have linear or nonlinear material
behaviour, under static or dynamic loading. There no longer seems to be any limitations.
Nonetheless, this development has led to an increasing number of cases where FEM has
been misused.
As daily experience shows, results from computer calculations are often trusted with
blind faith. Users assume that expensive software for design of structures must be free
from any error. A graphical pre-processor and a user-friendly input of systems and loadings may suggest that a computer program has a high degree of technical competence and
reliability. Nevertheless, as practical experience shows, this condence can only be
justied to a very limited degree. Almost no software is free from errors. Therefore a
critical approach is appropriate, as program errors may also occur in software that
has been in use for a long time and which may not have been recognised to date.
It should always be kept in mind that FEM is only a numerical tool based on numerous
assumptions and simplications. This must be considered when using software for design
of structures. Otherwise, the result of numerical calculations may turn out to be totally
wrong. For explanation purposes, the following is a very simple example: a plate element
only provides a numerical model of a real slab. It is assumed to have a linear strain
distribution over its depth under pure bending. There are no stresses at the midplane.
With such a plate element, one will never be able to estimate the normal forces of a
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