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Short Summary For FEM Computational Modelling
Short Summary For FEM Computational Modelling
interpretation will be raised, with possibly a few links to exercises, lectures too
Short Summary
Motivation for FEM: increasing complexity: large span, wide cantilevers, high rise, underground soil-structure, new materials in
structures, hybrids, non-cartesian free-form structures, shells etc.
nonlinear finite element analysis
Structural reassessments of existing infrastructure
Seismic assessments of buildings in the province of Groningen
Nonlinear FEM: reveals stress redistributions and capacity beyond elastic design stage
Input selection of element types, meshes, constitutive models, material parameters, boundary conditions, tyings, loadings,
Analysis control procedures
Output interpretation, presentation, checks, judgement
Displacement method: Displacements and rotations at the nodes are considered as the fundamental unknowns
Typically, Displacements continuous over element boundaries. Strains and stresses are not!
Physically nonlinear: plasticity, crack & crush models, nonlinear engineering stress-strain relations, interface and bedding
models,
Geometrically nonlinear: deformations are so large that they alter the orientation of forces and moments
Running a FEA job
1.
Preprocessing Via pre-processors (FX+): model preparation and checking (element types, generate mesh, check
connectivities, Choose units, dimensions, Material (isotropic linear, or nonlinear), Schematize loads, supports
2.
Analysis and checking: Check log-file with warnings, error messages; Check condition stiffness matrix, ratio diagonal
terms; Check convergence for nonlinear analysis
3.
Post-processing and checking: Plot displacements, (principal) stresses and strains, history data. Check equilibrium
total load versus reactions. Quantitative interpretation & Check hand calculation
Top-5 errors
1.
Inconsistent use of units, dimensions: e.g. gravity, density, length
2.
Inadequate constraints (supports, tyings) rigid body motion, mechanism,
3.
mixing up local/global axes,
4.
It doesnt converge (divergence). divergence failure!, check solution procedures, constitutive models, softening
Displacement at node
Differentiated to get strain =
(kinematic relation)
How does the finite element calculate the internal forces? (numerical integrated, analytical)
Solution procedures
See Fig 1 above, if we use an incremental procedure, we could be monitoring better how the non-linearity affects. Important
details on the material behaviour (for instance) would be gained. However, we could be drifting from the true equilibrium path.
A purely incremental method usually leads to inaccurate solutions in nonlinear analysis, unless very small step sizes are used. In
an iterative process the errors that occur can be reduced successively.
Most commonly used: Incremental-Iterative Solution
In nonlinear Finite Element Analysis the relation between a force vector and displacement vector is no longer linear.
For several reasons, discussed in Volume Material Library and 31.2, the relation becomes nonlinear and the
displacements often depend on the displacements at earlier stages, e.g. in case of plastic material behavior. Just as
with a linear analysis, we want to calculate a displacement vector that equilibrates the internal and external forces. In
the linear case, the solution vector could be calculated right away but in the nonlinear case it cannot. To determine the
state of equilibrium we not only make the problems discrete in space (with finite elements) but also in time (with
increments). To achieve equilibrium at the end of the increment, we can use an iterative solution algorithm. The
combination of both is called an incremental-iterative solution procedure.
Newton-Raphson
Within the class of Newton-Raphson methods, generally two subclasses are distinguished: the Regular and the Modified NewtonRaphson method. In a Newton-Raphson method, the stiffness matrix Ki represents the tangential stiffness of the structure: The
difference between the Regular and the Modified Newton-Raphson method is the point at which the stiffness matrix is evaluated.
Regular Newton-Raphson.
In the Regular Newton-Raphson iteration the stiffness
relation (31.8) is evaluated every iteration [Fig.31.2]. This
means that the prediction of (31.7) is based on the last
known or predicted situation, even if this is not an
equilibrium state. The Regular Newton-Raphson method
yields a quadratic convergence characteristic, which
means that the method converges to the final solution
within only a few iterations.
Modified Newton-Raphson.
The Modified Newton-Raphson method only evaluates the
stiffness relation (31.8) at the start of the increment [Fig.31.3].
This means that the prediction is always based on a converged
equilibrium state. Usually, Modified Newton-Raphson converges
slower to equilibrium than Regular Newton-Raphson. The
Convergence criteria
Force convergence: The remaining force imbalance is a small fraction of the total applied force. Example: pure
stress relaxation, Force norm is the only choice
Displacement convergence: The last update of the displacement increment is a small fraction of the initial
displacement increment. Example: pure creep deformations, Displacement norm is the obvious choice
Energy convergence: The last update of the stored energy is a small fraction of the initial stored energy. The
Energy norm combines displacements and forces
Structural Interfaces: The structural interface elements describe the interface behavior in terms of a
relation between the normal and shear tractions and the normal and shear relative displacements across
the interface. Typical applications for structural interface elements are elastic bedding, nonlinear-elastic
bedding (for instance no-tension bedding), discrete cracking, bond-slip along reinforcement, friction
between surfaces, joints in rock, masonry etc. Many types, usually place between 2 elements e.g. nodal
interface element to be placed between two nodes. Line interface elements to be placed between
the propagation of the crack or plastic zone. Cumbersome: most finite element programs prefer to have a
fixed mesh with fixed degrees of freedom
See example below:
tn normal traction
(stresses)
tt tangential
traction (stresses)
It could even be
coupled with
shear ts
Integration schemes interface elements: Gauss integration along the line or in the plane
Assignments:
1. Verify Strong stiffness changes: full Newton-Raphson. Plot traction vs displacement
2. Study how moment is different between linear bedding and no-tension bedding
In the first diagram for discrete, see the high intial stiffness.. For smeared, initial stiffnes not as high. We
are smearing out the crack over 1 element hence the reason the thickness (h) come in. Also see the effect
of element size (thickness) in the fracture energy. For discrete, thickness was not considered, the crack
was localized in a line
See the impact of tension stiffening effect in the above compared with noakowski. Concrete contributes to
steel, till the steel starts to yield
Modeling of reinforcements
Model reinforcement as truss element, connected to the nodes of the continuum elements. Embedded in the
continuum elements. Strain is derived from nodal displacements of mother element. Embedded element dont have
nodes. They depend on the concrete nodes.