Displacement and Eq

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING
Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 2001; 52:287–342 (DOI: 10.1002/nme.339)
Classic Reprints Series

Displacement and equilibrium models in the 2nite element
method by B. Fraeijs de Veubeke, Chapter 9, Pages 145–197
of Stress Analysis, Edited by O. C. Zienkiewicz and G. S.
Holister, Published by John Wiley & Sons, 1965
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY O. C. ZIENKIEWICZ
A few years ago we took the editorial decision to introduce a series called ‘Classic Reprints’
in which from time-to-time we shall record papers which have contributed signi2cantly to the
development of the subject and which are not easy to locate in standard archival journals. We
opened the series with the paper by Courant of 1943 to celebrate 50 years of his work and
to allow access for our readers to this well-known contribution in which the linear triangular
element was used for the 2rst time. The present reprint of the paper by Professor Fraeijs de
Veubeke which was presented in 1963 and published in 1965 is the second of this series. The
reason for the choice of this paper is not only that it contains very many seminal ideas but
also because the location of this paper is not widely accessible.
Baudouin Fraeijs de Veubeke 1917–1976
Correspondence to: O. C. Zienkiewicz, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton
Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, U.K.
E-mail: olek@901792295676
Copyright ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

288 O. C. ZIENKIEWICZ
The paper was published in 1965 as part of a book in which both numerical and exper-
imental methods of stress analysis were presented by various authorities dealing with the
subject. Ten of these papers were concerned with numerical analysis and in the appendix to
this introduction we give the list of contents listing chapters one to ten and dealing with 2nite
diJerence, 2nite element methods and the boundary integral procedures.
One of the reasons for that particular publication was that at the time the subject of nu-
merical analysis was still at the cross roads and the three alternatives of 2nite diJerences,
2nite elements and boundary integral methods were making inroads into the computer-based
activity. Which procedure was the best? This was obviously the question which at that time
we felt needed to be addressed. This question of course did not possess a single answer.
Professor Fraeijs de Veubeke, at that time a colleague of Professor Massonnet, was sug-
gested to us by him as a very suitable presenter of the subject. His paper was certainly not
disappointing; indeed, the archival value of his chapter which we reproduce here was so great
that it has been widely cited. Unfortunately, the book itself after limited printing of 3000
copies was exhausted and is now no longer in print. Thus I am presenting the paper here to
allow those who cannot 2nd its origin to read it.
The paper (or rather chapter) was well ahead of its time and in addition to presenting a
comprehensive look at the formulation of 2nite elements, it included many ideas expressed
and recorded for the 2rst time. These are:
1. The introduction of the so-called equilibrating elements based on complementary energy
principle.
2. The realization that the standard potential energy formulation and the complementary
energy formulation provide bounds to the energy of the system, the 2rst from the lower
and the second from the upper limit. The bounding thus is an extremely useful practical
measure for assessing the accuracy of any particular solution.
3. The chapter introduces for the 2rst time a quadratic element (here the two-dimensional
six-node triangle) which later was to become extremely popular.
4. It introduces mixed formulations which are for the 2rst time discussed in detail.
5. Of particular importance is the introduction of the limitation principle for mixed for-
mulation which failed to draw the attention of many later investigators and was only
incorporated into texts in the late 1980s.
Others may 2nd diJerent aspects of this paper to comment on. It seems to me, however,
that the 2ve items mentioned indicate that the paper deserves to be put in the classic category.
In some detail perhaps it is worthwhile to mention that the ideas introduced for achieving
the complementary energy formulations were not widely developed in the form suggested
here. Later de Veubeke and Zienkiewicz [1] introduced an alternative way of approaching the
same subject via stress function formulations. However, it is of importance to realize that the
idea of bounds is unique and for the 2rst time introduced here seriously.
Whilst introduction of a quadratic element is novel it proceeded by several years the use
of such elements and isoparametric forms with polynomial powers going as high as four.
However, it is the quadratic triangle which provides one of the most versatile and useful
elements and perhaps deserves the name of the Veubeke triangle just as the linear triangle is
often associated with the name of Turner.
Finally, the limitation principle which, as I mentioned earlier, waited for some years before
being recognized provides to me the reason why so many mixed formulations have proved
Copyright ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 2001; 52:287–342
DISPLACEMENT AND EQUILIBRIUM MODELS 289
to be less than miraculous. To many it seems that the addition of free stress variable would
provide a great freedom of representing that of the stresses in complex structure and thus
greatly improved the accuracy. This only was to be the case if the limitation principle is
not violated. What the principle says is simply that if the mixed formulation is capable of
producing the same approximation of that produced by direct displacement form then it will
in fact reproduce that form exactly and give identical and therefore not improved results. Any
student considering for instance the addition of many higher order polynomials representing
stress distribution in a linear triangle will soon 2nd out that although the formulation is correct
nothing is gained by its use as all the higher-order terms disappear.
Fraeijs de Veubeke contributed many other papers during his career and indeed established
a very successful Department of Aeronautics at the University of LiOege which at present
continues as one of the European centres of 2nite element analysis. Unfortunately, Fraeijs
died at a relatively early age in 1976 and his contributions were cut oJ. This note has been
written by his friend in sincere appreciation of his various contributions and of his personality.
APPENDIX
Contents
Part I. Numerical methods
Chapter 1 The nite-di erence approach 3
D. N. de G. Allen and D. W. Windle
Chapter 2 Two-dimensional stress analysis and plate exure by nite di erences 20
O. C. Zienkiewicz
Chapter 3 Stress analysis of shells I Introduction: a lead from plate theory 41
D. N. de G. Allen
Chapter 4 Stress analysis of shells II Basic (plane strain) theory 52
D. N. de G. Allen and G. M. Birtwistle
Chapter 5 Stress analysis of shells III Basic (plane stress) theory 72
Chapter 6 Stress analysis of shells IV Boundary conditions 79
Chapter 7 The nite element method in structural mechanics 85
R. W. Clough
Chapter 8 Finite element procedures in the solution of plate and shell problems 120
O. C. Zienkiewicz
Chapter 9 Displacement and equilibrium models in the nite element method 145
B. Fraeijs de Veubeke
Chapter 10 Numerical use of integral procedures 198
C. E. Massonnet
REFERENCES
1. de Veubeke B Fraeijs, Zienkiewicz OC. Strain energy bounds in 2nite element analysis. Journal of Strain
Analysis 1967; 2:265–271.
O. C. ZIENKIEWICZ
Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Wales Swansea,
Swansea SA2 8PP, U.K.
290 B. F. DE VEUBEKE

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING

Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 2001; 52:287–342 (DOI: 10.1002/nme.339)

Classic Reprints Series

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY O. C. ZIENKIEWICZ

Baudouin Fraeijs de Veubeke 1917–1976

Copyright ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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