6 The standard discrete system and origins of the finite element method

If nowthe equilibrium conditions of a typical node, a, are to be established, the sum of the
component forces contributed by the elements meeting at the node are simply accumulated.
Thus, considering all the force components we have
_m
e=1
qe
a
= q1
a
+ q2
a
+ = 0 (1.7)
in which q1
a is the force contributed to node a by element 1, q2
a by element 2, etc. Clearly,
only the elements which include point a will contribute non-zero forces, but for conciseness
in notation all the elements are included in the summation.
Substituting the forces contributing to node a from the definition (1.3) and noting that
nodal variables ua are common (thus omitting the superscript e), we have
_ _m
e=1
Ke
a1
_
u1 +
_ _m
e=1
Ke
a2
_
u2 + +
_m
e=1
f e
i
= 0 (1.8)
The summation again only concerns the elements which contribute to node a. If all such
equations are assembled we have simply
Ku + f = 0 (1.9)
in which the submatrices are
Kab =
_m
e=1
Ke
ab and fa =
_m
e=1
f e
a (1.10)
with summations including all elements. This simple rule for assembly is very convenient
because as soon as a coefficient for a particular element is found it can be put immediately
into the appropriate location specified in the computer. This general assembly process
can be found to be the common and fundamental feature of all finite element calculations
and should be well understood by the reader.
If different types of structural elements are used and are to be coupled it must be remembered
that at any given node the rules of matrix summation permit this to be done only if
these are of identical size. The individual submatrices to be added have therefore to be built
up of the same number of individual components of force or displacement.
1.4 The boundary conditions
The system of equations resulting from Eq. (1.9) can be solved once the prescribed support
displacements have been substituted. In the example of Fig. 1.1, where both components
of displacement of nodes 1 and 6 are zero, this will mean the substitution of
u1 = u6 =
_
0
0

which is equivalent to reducing the number of equilibrium equations (in this instance 12) by
deleting the first and last pairs and thus reducing the total number of unknown displacement