FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

INTRODUCTION

What is finite element analysis, FEM?

A Brief history of FEM

What is FEM used for?

1D Rod Elements, 2D Trusses

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

WHAT IS IT?
The

Finite Element Method (FEM) is a

numerical method of solving systems of
partial differential equations (PDEs)
It reduces a PDE system to a system of
algebraic equations that can be solved
using traditional linear algebra techniques.
In simple terms, FEM is a method for
dividing up a very complicated problem
into small elements that can be solved in
relation to each other.

Overview of the Finite

Element Method

S W G M
Strong

Weak

Galerkin

Matrix

form

form

approx.

form

1. Lord John William Strutt Rayleigh (late 1800s), developed a

method for predicting the first natural frequency of simple
structures. It assumed a deformed shape for a structure and
then quantified this shape by minimizing the distributed energy
in the structure.

2. Ritz then exp Walter ended this into a method, now known as
the Rayleigh-Ritz method, for predicting the stress and
displacement behavior of structures.

3. Dr. Ray Clough coined the term finite element in 1960. The 1960s saw the
true beginning of commercial FEA as digital computers replaced analog
ones with the capability of thousands of operations per second.
4. In the 1950s, a team form Boeing demonstrated that complex surfaces
could be analyzed with a matrix of triangular shapes.
5. In 1943, Richard Courant proposed breaking a continuous system into
triangular segments. (The unveiling of ENIAC at the University of
Pennsylvania.)
6. In the early 1960s, the MacNeal-Schwendle Corporation (MSC) develop a
general purpose FEA code. This original code had a limit of 68,000 degrees
of freedom. When the NASA contract was complete, MSC continued
development of its own version called MSC/NASTRAN, while the original
NASTRAN become available to the public and formed the basis of dozens
of the FEA packages available today. Around the time MSC/NASTRAN6 was
released, ANSYS, MARC, and SAP were introduced.

7. By the 1970s, Computer-aided design, or CAD, was introduced later in the

decade.
8. standards such as IGES and DXF. Permitted limited geometry transfer
between the systems.
9. In the 1980s,CAD progressed from a 2D drafting tool to a 3D surfacing tool,
and then to a 3D sIn the 1980s, the use of FEA and CAD on the same
workstation with developing geometry olid modeling system. Design
engineers began to seriously consider incorporating FEA into the general
product design process.
10. As the 1990s draw to a place, the PC platform has become a major force in
high end analysis. The technology has become to accessible that it is
actually being hidden inside CAD packages.
7

BASIC CONCEPTS

Loads
f T Pi

Equilibrium

Boundary conditions

ji , j

~
fi 0

DEVELOPMENT OF THEORY

Rayleigh-Ritz Method
Total

potential energy equation

Galerkins Method

1D ROD ELEMENTS

To understand and solve 2D and 3D problems we

must understand basic of 1D problems.

Analysis of 1D rod elements can be done using

Rayleigh-Ritz and Galerkins method.

To solve FEA problems same are modified in the

Potential-Energy approach and Galerkins
approach

1D ROD ELEMENTS

Loading consists of three types : body force f ,

traction force T, point load Pi

Body force: distributed force , acting on every

elemental volume of body i.e. self weight of body.

Traction force: distributed force , acting on surface

of body i.e. frictional resistance, viscous drag and
surface shear

Point load: a force acting on any single point of

element

1D ROD ELEMENTS

Element strain energy

Element stiffness matrix

Element -1

Element-2

1 T e
U e q [k ]q
2
E e Ae
[k ]
le
e

Load vectors
body load vector
Element traction-force vector

1 1
1 1

Element

e Ae l e f
f
2

e Tl e
T
2

1

1

1

1

2D TRUSS

2 DOF

Transformations

Modified Stiffness Matrix

Methods of Solving

2D TRUSS

Transformation Matrix
Direction

Cosines

le

l m 0 0
[ L]

0
0
l
m

x2 x1 2 y 2 y1 2

x 2 x1
l cos
le
y 2 y1
m sin
le

2D TRUSS

Element Stiffness Matrix

l2

lm
2

m
E e Ae lm
[k e ]
l e l 2 lm

2
lm m

l2

lm

lm m
l2
lm

lm

METHODS OF SOLVING

Elimination Approach
Eliminate

Constraints

Penalty Approach

ELIMINATION METHOD

Set defection at the constraint to equal zero

ELIMINATION METHOD
Modified Equation
DOFs 1,2,4,7,8 equal to zero

2D TRUSS

Element Stresses

Element Reaction Forces

Ee

l m l m q

le

R K Q

2D TRUSS

Development of Tables
Coordinate

Table
Connectivity Table
Direction Cosines Table

2D TRUSS

Coordinate Table
E.g;

2D TRUSS

Connectivity Table
E.g;

2D TRUSS

le

x2 x1 2 y 2 y1 2

x 2 x1
l cos
le
y 2 y1
m sin
le

3D TRUSS STIFFNESS MATRIX

3D Transformation Matrix
Direction

Cosines

l m n 0 0 0
[ L]

0
0
0
l
m
n

le
l cos

x2 x1 2 y 2 y1 2 z 2 z1 2

x 2 x1
le

m cos

y 2 y1
le

n cos

z 2 z1
le

3D TRUSS STIFFNESS MATRIX

3D Stiffness Matrix

l2
lm
ln
l 2 lm ln

2
2
lm
m
mn

lm

mn

2
2
mn
n
ln mn n
E e Ae ln
[k e ]

2
l e l 2 lm ln
l
lm
ln
lm m 2 mn lm
m2
mn

2
2
ln
mn
n
ln mn n

EXAMPLE 1D ROD ELEMENTS

Example 1
Problem statement: (Problem 3.1 from Chandrupatla and Belegundas
book)
Consider the bar in Fig.1, determine the following by hand calculation:
1) Displacement at point P 2) Strain and stress
3) Element stiffness matrix 4) strain energy in element

Given:

E 30 106 psi
Ae 1.2 in 2

q1 0.02in
q2 0.025in

EXAMPLE 2D TRUSS

CONCLUSION

Good at Hand Calculations, Powerful when

applied to computers

Only limitations are the computer limitations

MATLAB PROGRAM TRUSS2D.M

REFERENCES