KYUNG HEE UNIVERSITY

College of Engineering

AE7502-00 - Introduction to Finite Element Methods (Spring Semester 2020)

1st Assignment - 04/16/2020 (Due on 04/27/2020)

1. The plane structure shown below consists of a rigid, weightless bar and linear springs
of stiffness k1 and k2. With the two linear springs, this bar forms a structure whose
stiffness matrix K is 2x2.
1) Assuming small displacements, obtain K for the following choice of degrees of
freedom:
Vertical displacement, v1, at x = L/4 and vertical displacement, v2, at x = L/2.

2) Obtain the load vector for a moment M (counterclockwise direction) applied at x = 0.

Hint: Use the physical interpretation of stiffness coefficients.

2. For the truss structure shown below:
1) Compute the global unconstrained stiffness matrix and global load vector.
2) Obtain the displacement at node 3.
3) Calculate the internal forces of all three truss members.

Take A = 0.5 in2 and E = 29 x 103 ksi for each element. The only external load is the
vertical force at node 3. The node (element) numbers are indicated in a circle (square).
Use the numbering for degrees of freedom indicated in the figure (near the arrows at
each node). Therefore,

NOTE: The lower left node is node 1 (not node 6). This node has global degrees of
freedom ux1 and uy1.