Finite Element Method 2017 Batch

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Finite Element Method
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FINITE ELEMENT METHOD AND APPLICATIONS
Introduction
Dentition, Modeling, History, Applications, Advantages, Mathematical Background
Discrete Systems
One Dimensional Element: Spring Element, Bar Element
Two Dimensional Element: Plane Truss element
Three Dimensional Element: Space Truss element, Beam element, Frame element
Continuum Problems
Common Methods for Solving Continuum Problems
Variational Formulations
Need for Weighted-Integral Statements
Elements of Calculus of Variations: Variational Operator and First Variation; Fundamental
Lemma of Variational Calculus; The Euler’s Equation; Natural and Essential Boundary
Conditions
Method of Weighted Residuals: The Petrov-Galerkin Method; The Galerkin Method; The Least
Square Method; The Point Collocation Method
Ritz Method
Strong and Weak formulation
Examples for One dimensional Problem (Differential equation and Variational form): Rod
subjected to distributed axial force; Taut string subjected to lateral load
Examples for Two dimensional Problem (Differential equation and Variational form): 2
dimensional membrane; Torsion of Non-circular shaft
Interpolation Functions for Finite Element Formulation

Piecewise defined functions
Polynomial form of Interpolation Function
Selection of the Order of the Interpolation Polynomial
Convergence Requirements
Linear Interpolation Polynomial in Terms of Global Coordinates: One dimensional element; Two
dimensional triangular element; Two dimensional rectangular element; Three dimensional
element
Linear Interpolation Polynomials in terms of Local Coordinates
Patch Test
Applications of One dimensional Problems

Finite Element Formulation for One dimensional Problem
Application in Heat Transfer

Governing equation for Heat Transfer
One-Dimensional Finite Element Formulation
Two-Dimensional Finite Element Formulation
Line or Point Sources
Three-Dimensional Heat Transfer Finite Element Formulation
Time Dependent Heat Transfer
Application in Solid Mechanics

Governing equation for elasticity
Basic Concepts of Plane Stress and Plane Strain
Derivation of the Constant-Strain Triangular Element Stiffness Matrix and Equations
Treatment of Body and Surface Forces
Finite Element Solution of a Plane Stress/Strain Problem
Stress Analysis using Rectangular Element
Three dimensional Stress Analysis
Axisymmetric Stress Analysis
Thermal Stress Analysis
Isoparametric Formulation
Isoparametric Formulation of the Bar Element Stiffness Matrix
Isoparametric Formulation of the Plane Element Stiffness Matrix
Gaussian and Newton-Cotes Quadrature (Numerical Integration)
Evaluation of the Stiffness Matrix and Stress Matrix by Gaussian Quadrature
Higher Order Shape Functions
Application in Fluid Mechanics

Application in Structural Dynamics
Analysis of Plate Bending
Error Estimates
26 November 2017
Course Objective
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD • Understand the basic steps of finite element methods, its
applications and advantages.
AND APPLICATIONS • Develop the finite element model for discrete structural and non
structural problems.
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems • Develop the finite element model for continuum problems: heat
transfer, plane elasticity.
Design and Engineering • Develop computer program in MATLAB for above mentioned
problems.
COURSE INTRODUCTION • Use commercial software to simulate above mentioned

problems (Ansys).
2017 2
Course Outlines Continuum Problems

Introduction Common Methods for Solving Continuum Problems
Dentition, Modeling, History, Applications, Advantages, Variational Formulations
Mathematical Background Need for Weighted-Integral Statements
Elements of Calculus of Variations: Variational Operator and First
Discrete Systems Variation; Fundamental Lemma of Variational Calculus; The
One Dimensional Element: Spring Element, Bar Element Euler’s Equation; Natural and Essential Boundary Conditions
Two Dimensional Element: Plane Truss element Method of Weighted Residuals: The Petrov-Galerkin Method; The
Three Dimensional Element: Space Truss element, Beam element, Galerkin Method; The Least Square Method; The Point Collocation
Frame element Method
Ritz Method
Strong and Weak formulation
3 4
Continuum Problems (cont.) Interpolation Functions for Element Formulation

Examples for One dimensional Problem (Differential equation and Piecewise defined functions
Variational form): Rod subjected to distributed axial force; Taut Polynomial form of Interpolation Function
string subjected to lateral load Selection of the Order of the Interpolation Polynomial
Examples for Two dimensional Problem (Differential equation and Convergence Requirements
Variational form): 2 dimensional membrane; Torsion of Non-circular Linear Interpolation Polynomial in Terms of Global Coordinates:
shaft One dimensional element; Two dimensional triangular element; Two
dimensional rectangular element; Three dimensional element
Linear Interpolation Polynomials in terms of Local Coordinates
Patch Test
5 6
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Applications of One dimensional Problems Application in Solid Mechanics

Finite Element Formulation for One dimensional Problem Governing equation for elasticity
Basic Concepts of Plane Stress and Plane Strain
Application in Heat Transfer Derivation of the Constant-Strain Triangular Element Stiffness
Governing equation for Heat Transfer Matrix and Equations
One-Dimensional Finite Element Formulation Treatment of Body and Surface Forces
Two-Dimensional Finite Element Formulation Finite Element Solution of a Plane Stress/Strain Problem
Line or Point Sources Stress Analysis using Rectangular Element
Three-Dimensional Heat Transfer Finite Element Formulation Three dimensional Stress Analysis
Time Dependent Heat Transfer Axisymmetric Stress Analysis
Thermal Stress Analysis
7 8
Isoparametric Formulation Books

Isoparametric Formulation of the Bar Element Stiffness Matrix • D. L. Logan: A First Course in the Finite Element Method
Isoparametric Formulation of the Plane Element Stiffness Matrix • D. V. Hutton: Fundamentals of Finite Element Analysis
Gaussian and Newton-Cotes Quadrature (Numerical Integration) • J. N. Reddy: An Introduction to the Finite Element Method
Evaluation of the Stiffness Matrix and Stress Matrix by Gaussian • O. C. Zienkiewic, K. Morgan: Finite Elements and
Approximation
Quadrature
• S. S. Rao: The Finite Element Method in Engineering
Higher Order Shape Functions
• L J Segerlind: Applied Finite Element Analysis
• T. R. Chandrupatla, A. D. Belegundu: Introduction to Finite
Application in Fluid Mechanics
Elements in Engineering
Application in Structural Dynamics
• S. Moaveni: Finite Element Analysis-Theory and Application
Analysis of Plate Bending with ANSYS
Error Estimates • S. S. Bhavikatti: Finite Element Analysis
• K. J. Bathe: Finite Element Procedures
9 10
Evaluation
• 1st Assessment: 10
• 2nd Assessment: 10
• Assignments: 8
• MATLAB Project: 4
• FE Package: 4
• MATLAB Test: 4
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1.1 INTRODUCTION
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD The finite element method (FEM), sometimes referred to as finite
element analysis (FEA), is a computational technique used to obtain
AND APPLICATIONS approximate solutions of boundary value problems in engineering.
A boundary value problem is a mathematical problem in which one

M.Sc. Mechanical Systems or more dependent variables must satisfy a differential equation
everywhere within a known domain of independent variables and
satisfy specific conditions on the boundary of the domain.
Design and Engineering
Boundary value problems are also sometimes called field problems.
The field is the domain of interest and most often represents a
INTRODUCTION physical structure.
2017 2
The field variables are the dependent variables of interest governed

by the differential equation. The boundary conditions are the Modeling a body by dividing it into an equivalent system of finite
specified values of the field variables (or related variables such as elements interconnected at a finite number of points on each element
derivatives) on the boundaries of the field. called nodes.
Depending on the type of physical problem being analyzed, the field

variables may include physical displacement, temperature, heat flux,
and fluid velocity, etc.
FEM is a numerical method for solving a system of governing

equations over the domain of a continuous physical system, which is
discretized into simple geometric shapes called finite element.
Continuous system
Discrete system
Time-independent PDE
Linear algebraic eq.
Time-dependent PDE
3 4
General Description of the Method The approximating functions are defined in terms of field variables
of specified points called nodes or nodal points. Thus in the finite
In engineering problems there are some basic unknowns. If they are element analysis the unknowns are the field variables of the nodal
found, the behaviour of the entire system can be predicted. The basic points. Once these are found the field variables at any point can be
unknowns or the field variables which are encountered in the found by using interpolation functions.
engineering problems are displacements in solid mechanics,
velocities in fluid mechanics, electric and magnetic potentials in After selecting elements and nodal unknowns next step in finite
electrical engineering and temperatures in heat flow problems. element analysis is to assemble element properties for each element.
For example, in solid mechanics, we have to find the force-
In a continuum, these unknowns are infinite. The finite element displacement i.e. stiffness characteristics of each individual element.
procedure reduces such unknowns to a finite number by dividing the Mathematically this relationship is of the form
solution region into small parts called elements and by expressing
the unknown field variables in terms of assumed approximating
functions (Interpolating functions/Shape functions) within each
element. where [ke] is element stiffness matrix, {u} is nodal displacement
vector of the element and {f} is nodal force vector.
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1.2 BRIEF HISTORY OF FEM
7 8
1.3 Mathematical Modeling of Physical

The field of mechanics can be subdivided into three major areas:
Theoretical, Applied, and Computational.
Theoretical Mechanics deals
Recent Developments: with fundamental laws and
New element development, convergence principles of mechanics studied
for their intrinsic scientific value.
studies, the developments of
supercomputers, the availability of powerful Applied Mechanics transfers
this theoretical knowledge to
microcomputers, the development of user-
scientific and engineering
friendly general-purpose finite element applications.
software packages.
Computational Mechanics solves specific problems by simulation
through numerical methods implemented on digital computers.
9 10
1.4 FEM Steps

Solution
Three major steps in FEM are : Preprocessing, Solution,
Postprocessing. During the solution phase, finite element software assembles the
governing algebraic equations in matrix form and computes the
Preprocessing
unknown values of the primary field variable(s).
• Define the geometric domain of the problem.
• Define the element type(s) to be used. Postprocessing
• Define the material properties of the elements. Analysis and evaluation of the solution results is referred to as
• Define the geometric properties of the elements (length, area, and postprocessing. Postprocessor software contains sophisticated
the like). routines used for sorting, printing, and plotting selected results from
• Define the element connectivities (mesh the model). a finite element solution.
• Define the physical constraints (boundary conditions).
• Define the loadings.
11 12
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1.5 FEM Applications

1.6 FEM Advantages
The finite element method can be used to analyze both the
structural and nonstructural problems. Typical structural areas This method has a number of advantages that have made it very
include Stress analysis, including popular. They include the ability to
• truss and frame analysis and stress concentration problems • Model irregularly shapes bodies quite easily.
• Buckling • Handle general load conditions without difficulty.
• Vibration analysis • Model bodies composed of several different materials because
the element equations are evaluated individually.
Nonstructural problems include • Handle unlimited numbers and kinds of boundary conditions.
• Heat transfer • Alter the finite element model relatively easily and cheaply.
• Fluid flow, including seepage through porous media • Include dynamic effects.
• Distribution of electric or magnetic potential • Handle nonlinear behaviour existing with large deformations
• Biomechanical engineering problems and nonlinear materials.
13 14
Computer Applications for FEM Application Examples: Stress Analysis
Problem Specific Programming: MATLAB

• Mostly used for regular domain
General Packages: NASTRAN, ANSYS, ABAQUS, ALGOR,

COSMOS
15 16
17 18
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Application Examples: Heat Transfer
19 20
Example1: Archimedes’Approximation of π
Draw a circle of radius r and diameter d = 2r.
Inscribe a regular polygon of n sides, where n = 8.
Rename polygon sides as elements and vertices as
nodes. Label nodes with integers 1, . . . 8.
Extract a typical element, say that joining nodes 4–

5.
This is an instance of the generic element i– j.
The element length is Lij = 2r sin(π/n). Since all

elements have the same length, the polygon
perimeter is Ln = nLij , whence the approximation
to π is πn = Ln/d = n sin(π/n).
21 22
1.7 Mathematical Background

The mathematics required for the study of finite element analysis
can vary from elementary to sophisticated. Most concepts can be
mastered with a reasonable knowledge of vector analysis, matrix
analysis, and differential equations.
Revise
• Definition, Unit Vector
• Vector Differential Operator
• Gradient, Divergence, Curl
• Integral Theorems: Divergence Theorem, Green’s theorem
• Matrix Definition: Diagonal matrix, Identity matrix, Null matrix,
Example1.2 Symmetric matrix, Skew symmetric matrix
Determine the circumference of a circle of radius ‘r’ using the • Matrix Operations: Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication
basic principles of the finite element method. • Determinants, Matrix Transpose, Matrix Inversion
• Rank of a Matrix, Singular Matrix, Matrix Partioning
23 • Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations 24
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1.8 Vector Space Therefore, the coordinates (or components of a vector) alone do not
Consider a column vector of define the actual geometric quality, but they need to be given together
order 3 such as with the specific coordinate system in which they are measured.
The concepts of three dimensional geometry generalize to a vector
of any finite order n. If n >3, we can no longer obtain a plot of the
vector; however, we shall see that mathematically all concepts that
{x} represents a geometric pertain to vectors are independent of n. As before, when we
vector in a chosen coordinate considered the specific case n = 3, the vector of order n represents a
system in three-dimensional quantity in a specific coordinate system of an n-dimensional space.
space. Assume that we are dealing with a number of vectors all of order n,
which are defined in a fixed coordinate system. Then the collection
The geometric representation of {x} depends completely on the of vectors x1, x2, …., xn is said to be linearly dependent if there
coordinate system chosen; in other words, it would give the exists numbers α1, α2, …, α3, which are not all zero, such that
components of a vector in a different coordinate system, then the
geometric representation of {x} would be different from the one in
Figure. If the vectors are not linearly dependent, they are called linearly
25 independent vectors. 26
Example 1.2
Determine if the vectors {1 0 0}T, {0 1 0}T and {0 0 1}T are
linearly dependent or independent.
According the definition of linear dependency, check if there are

constants α1, α2, and α3 , not all zero, that satisfies the equation
which is satisfied only if α1 = α2 = α3 = 0; therefore, the given

vectors are linearly independent.
27
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2.1 INTRODUCTION
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD The primary characteristics of a finite element are embodied in the
element stiffness matrix.
AND APPLICATIONS For a structural finite element, the stiffness matrix contains the
geometric and material behavior information that indicates the
resistance of the element to deformation when subjected to loading.
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems Such deformation may include axial, bending, shear, and torsional
effects.
Design and Engineering For finite elements used in nonstructural analyses, such as fluid
flow and heat transfer, the term stiffness matrix is also used, since
the matrix represents the resistance of the element to change when
ONE DIMENSIONAL DISCRETE subjected to external influences.
ELEMENT: SPRING AND BAR

2017 FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
2
2.2 SPRING AND BAR ELEMENTS As an elastic spring supports axial

2.2.1 LINEAR SPRING AS FINITE ELEMENT loading only, we select an element
A linear elastic spring is a mechanical device capable of supporting coordinate system (also known as a
axial loading only and constructed such that, over a reasonable local coordinate system) as an x axis
operating range (meaning extension or compression beyond oriented along the length of the
undeformed length), the elongation or contraction of the spring is spring, as shown
directly proportional to the applied axial load. The ends of the spring are the nodes and the nodal displacements are
The constant of proportionality between deformation and load is denoted by u1 and u2 and are shown in the positive sense.
referred to as the spring constant, spring rate, or spring stiffness,
generally denoted as k, and has units of force per unit length. If these nodal displacements are known, the total elongation or
contraction of the spring is known as is the net force in the spring.
We require that forces be applied to the element only at the nodes

(distributed forces are accommodated for other element types later),
and these are denoted as f1 and f2 and are also shown in the positive
3
sense. 4
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
Assuming that both the nodal displacements are zero when the spring
is undeformed, the net spring deformation is given by
where
The resultant axial force in the spring is

is defined as the element stiffness matrix in the element coordinate
For equilibrium, f1 + f2 = 0 or f1 = − f2, and we can rewrite Equation system (or local system), {u} is the column matrix (vector) of nodal
(3.2) in terms of the applied nodal forces as displacements, and {f} is the column matrix (vector) of element
nodal forces
In general, the nodal forces are prescribed and the objective is to
solve for the unknown nodal displacements. Formally, the solution is
which can be expressed in matrix form as represented by
where [ke]−1 is the inverse of the element stiffness matrix.

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However, this inverse matrix does not exist, since the determinant of For a single, unconstrained element, if arbitrary forces are applied at
the element stiffness matrix is identically zero. Therefore, the each node, the spring not only deforms axially but also undergoes
element stiffness matrix is singular, and this also proves to be a acceleration according to Newton’s second law. Hence, there exists
general result in most cases. not only deformation but overall motion. If, in a connected system of
spring elements, the overall system response is such that nodes 1 and
2 of a particular element displace the same amount, there is no
elastic deformation of the spring and therefore no elastic force in the
The physical significance of the singular nature of the element spring.
stiffness matrix is found by reexamination of spring, which shows
that no displacement constraint whatever has been imposed on This physical situation must be included in the element formulation.
motion of the spring element; that is, the spring is not connected to The capability is indicated mathematically by singularity of the
any physical object that would prevent or limit motion of either element stiffness matrix. As the stiffness matrix is formulated on the
node. With no constraint, it is not possible to solve for the nodal basis of deformation of the element, we cannot expect to compute
displacements individually. Instead, only the difference in nodal nodal displacements if there is no deformation of the element.
displacements can be determined, as this difference represents the
elongation or contraction of the spring element owing to elastic
effects. This means rigid body motion. 7 8
System Assembly in Global Coordinates To illustrate the assembly of element characteristics into global (or
system) equations, consider the system of two linear spring
Derivation of the element stiffness matrix for a spring element was
elements.
based on equilibrium conditions. The same procedure can be applied
to a connected system of spring elements by writing the equilibrium
equation for each node.
However, rather than drawing free-body diagrams of each node and

formally writing the equilibrium equations, the nodal equilibrium
equations can be obtained more efficiently by considering the effect
of each element separately and adding the element force contribution
to each nodal equation.
The process is described as “assembly” , as we take individual

stiffness components and “put them together” to obtain the system
equations.
9 10
Assuming the system of two spring elements to be in equilibrium, we Substituting Equations (3.9) into Equations (3.8), we obtain
examine free-body diagrams of the springs individually and express
the equilibrium conditions for each spring as
These equations are not yet amenable to direct combination, as the

displacement vectors are not the same. We expand both matrix
To begin “assembling” the equilibrium equations describing the equations to 3 × 3 as follows (while formally expressing the facts
behavior of the system of two springs, the displacement compatibility that element 1 is not connected to node 3 and element 2 is not
conditions, which relate element displacements to system connected to node 1):
displacements, are written as
The compatibility conditions state the physical fact that the springs
are connected at node 2, remain connected at node 2 after
deformation, and hence, must have the same nodal displacement at 12
node 2. FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
11
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
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The addition of Equations (3.11) and (3.12) yields which is of the form [K]{U} = {F}, similar to Equation (3.5).
However, Equation (3.15) represents the equations governing the
system composed of two connected spring elements. By direct
consideration of the equilibrium conditions, we obtain the system
stiffness matrix or global stiffness matrix [K] as
Next, we refer to the free-body diagrams of each of the three nodes.
The equilibrium conditions for nodes 1, 2, and 3 show that
Note that the system stiffness matrix is

• symmetric, as is the case with all linear systems referred to
orthogonal coordinate systems;
Substituting into Equation (3.13), we obtain the final result: • singular, since no constraints are applied to prevent rigid body
motion of the system; and
• the system matrix is simply a superposition of the individual
element stiffness matrices with proper assignment of element
nodal displacements and associated stiffness coefficients to
13 system nodal displacements. 14
In order for the global system of equations to have a unique solution, To eliminate rigid body motions and render the system nonsingular
the determinant of the global system matrix must be nonzero. we must apply the physical support conditions as displacement
However, an examination of the global system matrix reveals that boundary conditions. For the above example if the node 1 is fixed
one of its eigenvalues is zero, thus resulting in a zero determinant or and P force is applied towards right at node 3, the corresponding
singular matrix. Therefore, the solution is not unique. boundary conditions should be
The eigenvector corresponding to the zero eigenvalue represents the
translational mode, and the remaining nonzero eigenvalues
represent all of the deformation modes. Applying these boundary conditions, Equation (3.15) reduces to
Application of Boundary Conditions and Solution
Having formed the assembled equation (3.15) for the system we can
proceed to the solution phase. In most of the cases the solution
“blows up” because the coefficient matrix (the global stiffness This equation can be solved for unknown displacements U2 and U3.
matrix) is singular. The mathematical interpretation of this behavior
Substituting U2 and U3 into Equation (3.15), we can determine the
is that rows and columns of [K] are linear combinations of each
unknown reaction F1.
other [Rank of Stiffness Matrix]. The physical interpretation of
singularity is that there are unsuppressed rigid body motions. 15 16
EXAMPLE 2.1 EXAMPLE 2.2

Given: For the spring system shown in Figure , Three rigid bodies, 2, 3, and 4, are connected by four springs, as
k1 = 100 N/mm, k2 = 200 N/mm, k3 = 100 N/mm P = 500 N shown in the Figure. A horizontal force of 1,000 N is applied on
Find: (a) the global stiffness matrix Body 4. Find the displacements of the three bodies and the forces
(b) displacements of nodes 2 and 3 (tensile/compressive) in the springs. What is the reaction at the
(c) the reaction forces at nodes 1 and 4. wall? Assume the bodies can undergo only translation in the
horizontal direction. The spring constants (N/mm) are k1 = 400,
k2 = 500, k3 = 500, k4 = 300.
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2.2 ELASTIC BAR AS FINITE ELEMENT Consider an elastic bar of length L to which is affixed a uniaxial
coordinate system x with its origin arbitrarily placed at the left end.
While the linear elastic spring serves to introduce the concept of the This is the element coordinate system or reference frame.
stiffness matrix, the usefulness of such an element in finite element
analysis is rather limited. Certainly, springs are used in machinery in
many cases and the availability of a finite element representation of
a linear spring is quite useful in such cases. The spring element is
also often used to represent the elastic nature of supports for more
complicated systems.
Denoting axial displacement at any position along the length of the
A more generally applicable, yet similar, element is an elastic bar bar as u(x), we define nodes 1 and 2 at each end as shown and
subjected to axial forces only. This element, which we simply call a introduce the nodal displacements u1 = u(x = 0) and u2 = u(x = L).
bar element, is particularly useful in the analysis of both two- and
three dimensional frame or truss structures. Recall from elementary strength of materials that the deflection  of
an elastic bar of length L and uniform cross-sectional area A when
subjected to axial load P is given by
19 20
The associated axial force is then given by

Using Equation (3.17), we obtain the equivalent spring constant of an
elastic bar as
Equation (3.21) is now used to relate the applied nodal forces f1 and
and could, by analogy with the linear elastic spring, immediately f2 to the nodal displacements u1 and u2 as
write the stiffness matrix as Equation (3.6).
To obtain the necessary equilibrium equations relating the
displacements to applied forces, we proceed from displacement to
strain, strain to stress, and stress to loading, as follows. In uniaxial
loading, as in the bar element, we need consider only the normal Equations (3.22) and (3.23) are expressed in matrix form as
strain component, defined as
Comparison of Equation (3.24) to Equation (3.4) shows that the

The axial stress, by Hooke’s law, is then stiffness matrix for the bar element is given by
21 22
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3.1 INTRODUCTION TO TRUSS ELEMENT

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD Structures composed of straight elastic members subjected to axial
forces only are defined as truss structures. Satisfaction of this
AND APPLICATIONS restriction requires that all members of the truss be bar elements and
that the elements be connected by pin joints such that each element
is free to rotate about the joint.
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems Although the bar element is inherently one dimensional, it is quite
effectively used in analyzing both two- and three dimensional
Design and Engineering trusses.
DISCRETE ELEMENT:
PLANE/SPACE TRUSS
2
3.2 STIFFNESS OF A PLANE TRUSS ELEMENT Then the force displacement relationship for the element is given by
Direct (Unit Displacement) Method

Consider an arbitrarily oriented bar
as shown in Figure. The local node
numbers of the element are defined Let us apply unit displacement at node i in horizontal direction (ui =
as i and j. With respect to the global 1), as shown in Figure, while keeping other the same. The resulting
coordinate system XY, there are force required at each degree of freedom of system is then given by
four local degree of freedom for the
element defined as ui, vi, uj and vj.
The local displacement vector and

local force vector are defined as
3 4
The net deformation  of Hence, the first column of the stiffness matrix is given by
the bar is given by
Therefore, force produced

in the axial direction is Similarly applying unit displacements at the remaining degrees of
freedom, we can derive
Now resolving the forces,
we get
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Hence the stiffness matrix of an arbitrarily oriented bar elements with Transformation Method
reference to global coordinate system is given by The force displacement relationship for the bar element shown in
Figure with reference to local coordinate system X’Y’ is
where [k’] is the stiffness matrix

for axial direction (X’).
The transformation of
displacements between the local
and global coordinate systems are
given by
7 8
Rewriting the above equations in matrix form Rewriting in matrix form
where
Substituting {f’} from Equation (4.8) into Equation (4.11), we get
is called transformation matrix.
Similarly the local and global force

components are related as Substituting {u’} from Equation (4.9) into Equation (4.12), we get
where [K] is the global stiffness matrix and is given by
9 10
EXAMPLE 3.1
Substituting [] and [k’], we get
For the plane truss composed of the three elements shown in
Figure E3.1, determine the horizontal and vertical displacements
at node 3. Also determine the reactions at nodes 1 and 2.
which is same as Equation (4.7).
Figure E3.1
11 12
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3.3 STIFFNESS OF A SPACE TRUSS ELEMENT Above equations can be expressed in matrix form as
Referring to Figure which depicts a one-dimensional bar element
connected to nodes i and j in a 3-D global reference frame, the unit
vector along the element axis (i.e., the element reference frame)
expressed in the global system is
where [] is the transformation matrix mapping the one-dimensional

element displacements into a three-dimensional global coordinate
Thus, the element displacements are system.
expressed in components in the 3-D Following the identical procedure used for the 2-D, the element
global system as stiffness matrix in the element coordinate system is transformed into
the 3-D global coordinates via
13 14
Substituting for the transformation matrix [] and performing the 3.4 Stress and Strain on a Truss Element
multiplication results in The final computational step in finite element analysis of a truss
structure is to utilize the global displacements obtained in the
solution step to determine the strain and stress in each element of the
truss.
For an element connecting nodes i and j, the element axial strain is
given by
To simplify the calculations, we can also express Equation (4.20) as

Substituting from Equation (4.9) into Equation (4.23), we get
where
The element axial stress is then obtained by the application of
Hooke’s law as
15 16
where EXAMPLE 3.2

The members of the space truss shown in Figure E3.2 have a
for plane truss cross-sectional area of 15 cm2 and are made of steel (E = 200
GPa). Determine the deflection of joint A, the stress in each
member and the reaction forces.
for space truss
17 18
Figure E3.2
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4.1 INTRODUCTION TO FLEXURAL ELEMENT

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD A flexure (beam) element is a structural component capable of
properly exhibiting transverse bending effects. The element is first
presented as a line (one-dimensional) element capable of bending in
AND APPLICATIONS a plane. The development is then extended to two-plane bending and
the effects of axial loading and torsion are added.
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems A beam is a long, slender structural member generally subjected to
transverse loading that produces significant bending effects as
opposed to twisting or axial effects. This bending deformation is
Design and Engineering measured as a transverse displacement and a rotation.
DISCRETE ELEMENT: FLEXURE

ELEMENTS
2
4.2 STIFFNESS OF A BEAM ELEMENT Then the force displacement relationship for the element is given by
Consider the beam element shown in Figure. The local nodal forces
are given by fiy’s and the bending moments by Mi’s. and the bending
moments by vi’s and the rotation by i’s.
To determine the first column of the stiffness matrix, let us apply unit
displacement at node i (vi = 1), while keeping other the same. The
resulting force/moment required at each degree of freedom of system
is then given by
The local displacement vector and local force vector are defined as
3 4
The deflection and slope of a cantilever beam subjected to load P

Then considering equilibrium conditions, we get
and moment M0 at its free end, as shown in Figure (ith node) are
given as and
Hence, the first column of the stiffness matrix is given by
Similarly applying unit displacements at the remaining degrees of

freedom, we can derive
Now, solving above equations for P and M0, with  = vi =1 and i=0,
we get
and
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4.3 FLEXURE ELEMENT WITH AXIAL LOADING

Hence the stiffness matrix of a beam element with reference to nodal
coordinate system is given by
We can simply add the spar element stiffness matrix to the flexure
element stiffness matrix to obtain the 6 × 6 element stiffness matrix
for a flexure element with axial loading.
EXAMPLE 4.1
Hence the stiffness matrix corresponding to nodal force vector
For the beam shown in Figure E4.1, determine the beam is given as
deformation and end reactions.
Figure E4.1 7 8
4.4 FLEXURE ELEMENT WITH AN ARBITRARY In a manner exactly analogous to that of TRUSS, it is readily shown
ORIENTATION that the 6 × 6 element stiffness matrix in the global system is given
by
Figure depicts an element oriented at
an arbitrary angle  from the X axis
of a global reference frame and shows EXAMPLE 4.2
the element nodal displacements. For the rigid frame shown in Figure E4.2, determine the
displacements and rotations of the node 2.
Referring to Equation (4.9), we can write directly
where [] is the transformation matrix that relates element

displacements to global displacements. 9 10
Figure E4.2
4.5 A GENERAL THREE DIMENSIONAL BEAM ELEMENT Bending in x'z' Plane
A general three-dimensional beam element is capable of both axial The stiffness of the element subjected to bending in x'z' plane is
and torsional deflections as well as two-plane bending. To examine given by
the stiffness characteristics of such an element and obtain the
element stiffness matrix, we first consider each case separately and
the assemble them.
Axial Deflection
The stiffness of the element subjected to axial deflection in x' is
given by
and the corresponding nodal displacement vector is
and the corresponding nodal displacement vector is .

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Torsional Deflection
Bending in x'y' Plane
The total angle of twist of the
The stiffness of the element subjected to bending in x'y' plane is given element can be expressed in
by terms of the nodal rotations and
twisting moments as
Application of the equilibrium condition M'xi + M'xj = 0 lead directly

to the element equilibrium equations:
and the corresponding nodal displacement vector is
so the torsional stiffness is
13
and the corresponding nodal displacement vector is 14
Direct superposition yield the element stiffness matrix for the beam
or frame element in three dimensional space as
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5.1 INTRODUCTION
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD Problems in engineering and science fall into two fundamentally
different categories, depending on which point of view we adopt.
AND APPLICATIONS
One point of view is that all matter consists of discrete particles that
retain their identity and nature as they move through space. Their
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems position at any instant is given by coordinates in some reference
system, and these coordinates are functions of time ─ the only
independent variable for any process. This viewpoint, known as the
Design and Engineering rigid body viewpoint, is the basis for Newtonian particle mechanics.
CONTINUUM PROBLEMS I
2017 2
The other viewpoint, the one that we shall use, stems from the 5.2 SOME METHODS FOR SOLVING CONTINUUM
continuum rather than the discrete molecular or particle approach to PROBLEMS
nature. In the continuum viewpoint we say that all bodies of interest
There are a number of approaches to the solution of linear and
are continuous at all points in space to the extent that all field
nonlinear boundary value problems, and they range from completely
quantities describing the state of the body are sufficiently
analytical to completely numerical.
differentiable in the independent variables of the continuum, space,
and time. This allows us to focus our attention on one point in space Some of these methods are:
and time and observe the phenomena occurring there.
1. Direct Integration (Exact Solutions)
Continuum problems are concerned with the fields of temperature, • Separation of variables
stress, mass concentration, displacement and potentials, to name just • Similarity solutions
a few examples. These problems arise from phenomena in nature that • Fourier and Laplace transforms
are approximately characterized by partial differential equation and
their boundary conditions.
3 4
2. Approximate Solutions Because regular and singular perturbation methods are applicable
• Perturbation primarily when the nonlinear terms in the equation are small in
• Power series relation to the linear terms, their usefulness is limited. The power
• Probability schemes series method is robust and has been employed with success, but
• Ritz method since the method requires the generation of a coefficient for each
• Finite difference techniques term in the series, it is relatively tedious. Also, it is difficult, if not
• Finite element method: Method of weighted residuals impossible, to demonstrate that the series converges.
For a few problems it is possible to obtain an exact solution by direct The probability schemes, usually classified under the heading of
integration of the differential equation. This is accomplished Monte Carlo methods, are used for obtaining a statistical estimate of
sometimes by an obvious separation of variables or by applying a a desired quantity by random sampling. These methods work best
transformation that makes the variables separable and leads to a when the desired quantity is a statistical parameter and sampling is
similarity solution. Occasionally a Fourier or Laplace transformation done from a selective population.
of the differential equation leads to an exact solution. However, the
With the advent of computers the currently outstanding methods for
number of problems with exact solutions is severely limited, and
obtaining approximate solutions of high accuracy are the method of
most of these have already been solved. They are the classical
weighted residuals, the Ritz method, the finite difference method, and
problems.
5
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5.3 VARIATIONAL FORMULATIONS 5.4 NEED FOR WEIGHTED-INTEGRAL STATEMENTS

Often continuum problems have a different, but equivalent In almost all approximate methods used to determine the solution of
formulation: a differential formulation and a variational formulation. differential and/or integral equations, we seek a solution in the form
In the differential formulation, the problem is to integrate a ………. (1)

differential equation or a system of differential equations subjected to
specified boundary conditions.
where u represents the solution of a particular differential equation
In the variational formulation the problem is to find the unknown and associated boundary conditions, UN is its approximation that is
function or functions that extremize (minimize or maximize) or make represented as a linear combination of unknown parameters cj and
stationary a functional or system of functionals subjected to the same known functions j of position x in the domain  on which the
specified boundary conditions. problem is posed.
The two formulations are equivalent because the functions that The approximate solution UN is completely known only when cj are
satisfy the differential equation system and its boundary conditions known. Thus, we must find a means to determine cj such that UN
also extremize or make stationary functionals. satisfies the equations governing .
7 8
If somehow we can find N that satisfies the differential equation at Consider the problem of solving the differential equation
every point x in the domain  and conditions on the boundary  of
, then UN(x) = u(x), which is the exact solution of the problem. ………. (2a)
Of course, approximate methods are not about problems for which subjected to the boundary conditions
exact solutions can be determined by some methods of mathematical
analysis; the role of approximate methods is to find an approximate ………. (2b)
solution of the problems that do not admit analytical solutions.
where a(x), c(x) and f(x) are known functions, u0 and Q0 are known
When the exact solution cannot be determined, the alternative is to parameters, and u(x) is the function to be determined. The set of a(x),
find a solution UN that satisfies the governing equations in an c(x), f(x), u0 and Q0 is called problem data.
approximate way.
We seek an approximate solution over the entire domain in
In the process of satisfying the governing equations approximately, the form
we obtain N algebraic relations among the N parameters c1, c2, c3,
…, cN. ………. (3)
9 10
where the cj are coefficients to be determine and j(x) and 0(x) are To be more specific, let L = 1, u0 = 1, Q0 = 0, a(x) = x, c(x) = 1, f(x)
functions chosen such that the specified boundary conditions of the = 0 and N =2. Then we choose the approximate solution in the form
problem are satisfied by the N-parameter approximate solution UN.
Note that the particular form of in equation (3) has two parts: one
containing the unknowns that is termed the homogeneous that satisfies the boundary conditions, equation (2b), of the problem
part and the other is the nonhomogeneous part (0) that has the sole for any values of c1 and c2 because
purpose of satisfying the specified boundary conditions of the
problem.
………. (4)
Since (0) satisfies the boundary conditions, the sum must
To make U2 satisfy the differential equation (2a), we must have
satisfy, for arbitrary, the homogeneous form of the boundary
conditions
11 ………. (5) 12
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Since this expression must be zero for any value of x, the coefficients wi(x) is called a weight function. From equation (6), we obtain as
of the various powers of x must be zero many linearly independent equations as there are linearly
independent functions wi(x).
These relations are inconsistent; hence, there
is no solution to the equations. For example, in the present example, if we take w1 = 1 and w2 = x,
we obtain
On the other hand, we can require the approximate solution UN to

satisfy the differential equation (2a) in the weighted-integral sense,
………. (6)
On simplifying,
where  denotes the left side of the equality in equation (5) and is
called the residual,
………. (7)
which provides two linearly independent equations for c1 and c2.
13 14
5.5 ELEMNETS OF CALCULUS OF VARIATIONS 5.5.1 Variational Operator and First Variation
Calculus of variation is a branch of mathematics that deals with Consider the functional F(x, u, u’). For an arbitrarily fixed value of
extrema and stationary behavior of functionals. There are many independent variable x, F depends on u and u’.
problems that can be posed only as finding the extremum of
functionals, such as the Brachistochrone problem, geodesic problem, The change v in u, where  is a
and isoperimetric problem. constant and v is a function, is
called the variation of u is denoted
The field of solid and structural mechanics heavily depends on the by u, as shown in Figure.
use of energy principles that are stated in terms of finding the
………. (8)
extrema or stationary values of functionals to construct finite
element models (e.g., the principle of minimum total potential where the operator  is called the
energy, the principle of total complementary energy, and the Hu- variational operator.
Washizu and Hellinger-Reissner mixed variational principles).
The direct variational methods like the Ritz method use variational
principles to obtain approximate solutions directly, bypassing the
derivation of the governing equations. 15 16
The variation u of a function u represents an admissible change in

the function u(x) at a fixed value of the independent variable x. If u is The first variation of F is defined by
specified at a point (usually on the boundary), the variation of u
should satisfy the homogeneous form of the boundary conditions of
u. The variation u represents a virtual but admissible change in u.
Associated with this change in u (i.e., when u is changed to u + v),
there is change in F,
………. (9)
Expanding in powers of  gives (treating u + v and u’ + v’ as

………. (11)
dependent functions)
Thus, the variation of F can be written in terms of the variations of

the dependent variable u and its derivatives u’.
………. (10)
17 18
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Note the analogy between the first variation (11), and the total It can easily be verified that the laws of variation of sums, products,
differential of F, ratios, powers, and so forth are completely analogous to the
corresponding laws of differentiation. For example, F1 = F1(u) and F2
………. (12) = F2(u), then
Since x is not varied during the variation of u to u + u, dx = 0 and
the analogy between F and dF becomes apparent, i.e.,  acts as a
differential operator with respect to dependent variables.
The above discussion can be extended to two dimensions and to

functions F that depend on more than one dependent variable in two
Furthermore, the variational operator can commute with differential
or more dimensions. Let F = F(x, y, u, v, ux,vx, uy, vy), where, u =
u(x,y) and v = v(x,y) are dependent variables, and ux = u/ x, uy = and integral operators (as long as the coordinates x and y are the
u/ y and so on. The first variation of F is given by fixed coordinates):
19 20
5.5.2 Fundamental Lemma of Variational Calculus 5.5.3 The Euler Equations

As stated earlier, certain problems are formulated as one of seeking
The fundamental lemma of calculus of variations can be stated as the extremum of functionals (i.e., functions of dependent unknowns
follows: for any integrable function G(x), if the statement of the problem). For example, problems of solid mechanics can be
formulated as one of minimizing the total potential energy of the
system.
Typically, the total potential energy (functional) is written in terms
holds for any arbitrary function (x) for all x in (a, b), then it follows of the displacement field and applied loads. Then it is useful to
that G(x) = 0 in (a, b). derive the differential equations that govern the displacement field
from this minimum principle.
A simple proof of the lemma follows from setting (x), which is
arbitrary, equal to G. We have Consider, for example, the problem of finding a function u = u(x)
such that
………. (20)
and ………. (21)

Since an integral of a positive function G2, is positive, the above
statement implies that G(x) = 0 in the domain  = (a, b). 21 22
is a minimum.
The necessary condition for I to attain a minimum gives The boundary term vanishes because u is zero at x = a and x = b.
The fact that u is arbitrary inside the interval (a, b) and yet the
equation should hold implies, by the fundamental lemma of the
calculus of variations, that the expression in the square brackets is
zero identically:
………. (22)
Equation (22) is called the Euler equation of the functional in

equation (21). Of all the admissible functions, the one that satisfies
(i.e., the solution of) equation (22) is the true minimizer of the
functional I.
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Next consider the problem of finding (u, v), defined on a two- The next step in the development involves the use of integration by
dimensional region , such that the following functional is to be parts, or the gradient theorem on the second, third, fifth, and sixth
minimized: terms in equation (25). Consider the second term. We have
………. (23)
where ux = u/ x, uy = u/ y and so on. For the moment we assume …. (26)
that u and v are specified on the boundary  of . The vanishing of
the first variation of I(u, v) is written as
Using a similar procedure on the other terms and collecting the
………. (24) coefficients of u and v separately, we obtain
Here u and v denote (partial) variations with respect to u and v,

respectively. We have
…. (27)
………. (25)
25 26
5.5.4 Natural and Essential Boundary Conditions
…. (27) Consider the problem of minimizing the functional in equation (21)

subjected to no end conditions [hence, an element v of the set of
admissible variation is arbitrary even at the end points, i.e., v(a)  0
Since (u, v) are specified on , u = v =0 and the boundary and v(b)  0]. Then the functional I(u) has the form
expressions vanish. Then, since u and v are arbitrary and
independent of each other in , the fundamental lemma yields the ………. (30)
Euler equations
where Qa and Qb are the known values. The necessary conditions for
………. (28)
I to attain a minimum yields
………. (29)
……. (31)
27 28
Now suppose that F/ u’ and v are selected such that The requirement that v = 0 an end point is equivalent to the
requirement that u is specified (to be some value) at that point. The
……. (32) end conditions in (33) are classified into two types: essential
boundary conditions, which require v (and possibly its derivatives) to
Then using the fundamental lemma of the calculus of variations, we vanish at the boundary, and natural boundary conditions, which
obtain the same Euler equation (22). require the specification of the coefficient of v (and possibly its
derivatives).
Equations in (32) are satisfied identically for any of the following Problems in which all of the
combinations: boundary conditions are of
the essential type are called
Dirichlet boundary value
problems, and those in which
………. (33) all of the boundary conditions
are of the natural type are
Mixed boundary value problems are called Neumann boundary
those in which both essential and value problems.
natural boundary conditions are
29 30
specified. FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
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Next consider the functional in equation (23), and suppose that (u, v) Equations (34) represent the essential boundary conditions and
are arbitrary on  for the moment. It is easy to identify the natural Equations (35) represent the natural boundary conditions. The pair of
and essential boundary conditions of problem from equation (27): In elements (u, v) are called primary variables and
each of the pairings on boundary , specifying the first
element(which contains no variation of the independent variables)
constitutes the natural boundary condition, and vanishing of the
second element (or, equivalently, specifying the quantity in front of are called secondary variables. Thus, specification of the primary
the variational operator) constitutes the essential boundary condition. variables constitute essential boundary conditions and the
Thus, we have either specification of the secondary variables constitute natural boundary
conditions. In general, one element of each pair (u, Qx) and (v, Qy)
………. (34) (but not both elements of the same pair) may be specified at any
point of the boundary. Thus, there are four possible combinations of
or natural and essential boundary conditions for the problem under
discussion.
………. (35)
31 32

Derive Euler’s Equation for a functional I defined by A string of length L, is subjected to a lateral distributed load of
intensity q per unit length and tension T. The governing
differential equation is given by
EXAMPLE 5.2
Derive the variational form of the problem.
Find the governing differential equation for a uniform beam
subjected to lateral load q for which potential energy is given by
33 34
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6.1 METHOD OF WEIGHTED RESIDUAL

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD The method of weighted residuals can be described in its generality
by considering the operator equation.
AND APPLICATIONS ………. (1)

where A is an operator (linear or nonlinear), often a differential
operator, acting on the dependent variable u and f is a known
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems function of the independent variables.
Some examples of such operators are given below:

CONTINUUM PROBLEMS II
2017 2
The function u is not only required to satisfy the operator equation Note that the residual  is a function of position as well as
(1), it is also required to satisfy the boundary conditions associated parameters cj. In the weighted residual method, as the name suggests,
with the operator equation. the parameters cj are determined by requiring the residual  to
In the weighted residual method, the solution u is approximated by vanish in the weighted integral sense:
the expression
………. (4)
………. (2) where  is a two-dimensional domain and i are weight functions,

which, in general, are not the same as the approximation functions
Substitution of the approximate solution UN into the left hand side i. The {i} must be be a linearly independent set; otherwise the
of equation (1) gives a function A(UN) that, in general, is not equal equations provided by (4) will not be linearly independent and hence
to the specified function f. The difference A(UN) – f, called the will not be solvable.
residual of the approximation, is nonzero:
Various special cases of the weighted-residual method are explained
………. (3) below.
3 4
6.1.1 The Petrov-Galerkin Method 6.1.2 The Galerkin Method

The weighted residual method is referred to as the Petrov-Galerkin If the weight function i is chosen to be equal to the approximation
method when i  i. When the operator A is linear, (4) can be function i, the weighted-residual method is known as the Galerkin
simplified to the form method. The algebraic equations of the Galerkin approximation are
where
Once again, we note that Aij is not symmetric.

Which can be rewritten in matrix form as
Note that the coefficient matrix [A] is not symmetric:
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6.1.3 The Least Square Method 6.1.4 The Point Collocation Method
In least square method, we determine the parameters cj by In the collocation method, we seek an approximate solution UN to (1)
minimizing the integral of the square of the residual in the form of (2) by requiring the residual to vanish identically at N
selected points xi = (xi, yi, zi) (i = 1, 2, 3, ….., N) in the domain .
Comparison of the above equation with equation (4) shows that The collation method can be shown to be a special case of weighted
residual method with i =  (x - xi) where  (x) is the Dirac delta
function.
7 8

Obtain two terms approximate displacement equation for the Find two parameter approximate solution of the equation
simply supported beam of length H and section property EI
shown in Figure E6.1. Compare the deflection at the middle with
the theoretical value y = -5WH4/384EI. The governing differential
equation is
Use
(a) Point collocation method
Use
(b) Petrov-Galerkin method
(a) Point collocation method
(c) Galerkin method
(d) Least square method.
(c) Galerkin method
9 10
EXAMPLE 6.3
6.2 RITZ METHOD
Find two parameter approximate solution of the equation
Ritz method can also be viewed as seeking a solution of the form
Use in which the parameters cj are determined by minimizing the

(a) Point collocation method functionals (potential energy in structural problems).
(c) Galerkin method
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EXAMPLE 6.4 6.3 WEAK FORMULATIONS

Determine the approximate solution for the deflection of a A weak form is defined to be a weighted integral statement of a
simply supported beam subjected to a point load P at center differential equation in which the differentiation is transferred from
using Ritz method for which potential energy function is given the dependent variable to the weight function such that all natural
by boundary conditions of the problem are also included in the integral
statement.
6.3.1 Development of Weak Form
There are three steps in the development of the weak form of any
EXAMPLE 6.5 differential equation. For the explanation, consider the differential
Derive the variational form of the problem of Example 6.1 and equation
determine two terms approximate solution by using Ritz ………. (5)
method.
subjected to the boundary conditions
………. (6)
13 14
Here a(x) and f(x) are are known functions of the coordinate x; u0 and Step 2: Integration by parts
QL are known values; and L is the size of the one-dimensional
While the weighted-integral statement (7) allows us to obtain the
domain. When the specified values are nonzero, the boundary
necessary number of algebraic relations among cj for N different
conditions are said to be nonhomogeneous; when the specified values
choices of the weight function w, it requires that the approximation
are zero, the boundary conditions are said to be homogeneous.
functions ϕj be such that UN is differentiable as many times as called
Step 1 (Weighted-integral statement) for in the original differential equation (5) and satisfies the specified
boundary conditions. If this is not a concern, one can proceed with the
This step is the same as in a weighted residual method. Move all integral statement (7) and obtain the necessary algebraic equations cj.
terms of the differential equation to one side, multiple the entire
equation with a function w(x), and integrate over the domain  = If we plan to use the approximation functions ϕj for w ~ wi , it makes
[0, L] of the problem: sense to shift half of the derivatives from u to w so that both are
differentiable equally, and we have fewer (or weaker) continuity
………. (7) requirements on ϕj. The resulting integral from is known the weak
form.
15 16
The weak formulation has two desirable characteristics. Now expanding Equation (8)
First, it requires weaker continuity of the dependent variable, and for
self-adjoint equations it always results in a symmetric coefficient
matrix.
Second, the natural boundary conditions of the problem are included
in the weak form, and therefore the approximate solution UN is
required to satisfy only the essential boundary conditions of the
problem.
Now integrating the first term of the expression of Equation (7) by
parts to obtain ………. (9)
Equation (9) is called the weak form of the differential equation (5).
The word 'weak' refers to the reduced (i.e., weakened) continuity of
u, which is required to be twice-differentiable in the weighted-
………. (8) integral statement but only once-differentiable in equation (9).
Note that now the weight function w is required to be differentiable
at least once. 17 Step 3: Impose boundary conditions (derivatives) 18
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Step 3: Impose boundary conditions (derivatives) which is the weak form equivalent to the original differential equation
(5) and the natural boundary condition (6). This completes the steps
The third and last step of the weak formulation is to impose the
involved in the development of the weak form of a differential
actual boundary conditions of the problem under consideration. It is
equation.
here that we require the weight function w to vanish at boundary
points where the essential boundary conditions are specified, i.e., w is The weak form of a differential equation is a weighted-integral
required to satisfy the homogeneous form of the specified essential statement equivalent to the differential equation and the specified
boundary conditions of the problem. In weak formulations, the natural boundary condition of the problem. Note that the weak form
weight function has the meaning of a virtual change (or variation) of exists for all problems – linear or nonlinear – that are described by
the primary variable w ~ u. If a primary variable is specified at a second – and higher – order differential equations. When the
point, the virtual change there must be zero. differential equation is linear and of even order, the resulting weak
form will have a symmetric bilinear form in the dependent variable u
For the problem, using the boundary conditions are given in equation and weight function w.
(6)
………. (10)
19 20
6.3.2 Linear and Bilinear Forms and Quadratic Functionals The variational problem associated with equations (5) and (6) can be
The weak form (10) contains two types of expressions: those stated as one of the finding the solution u such that
involving both the dependent variable u and weight function w, and ………. (13)
those involving only the later. We shall denote these two types of
expressions by B(w, u) and l(w), respectively: holds for any holds for any w that satisfies the homogenous form of
the specified essential boundary conditions and continuity conditions
implied by the weak form.
…. (11)
The function w can be viewed as a variation of the actual solution w
Hence, the weak form (10) can be expressed in the form = u, and equation (12) can be written as
………. (12) ………. (14)
which is termed the variational problem associated with equations (5)
and (6). If B(., .) is bilinear and symmetric and l(.) is linear, we have
………. (15)
21 22
so that equation (14) can be expressed as EXAMPLE 6.6
………. (16) Derive the weak form for the given differential equation and
determine two-term solutions for the above boundary conditions.
where
………. (17)
The result in equation (16) can be verified for the problem
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7.1 BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEM FOR AN

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD AXIALLY LOADED BAR
7.1.1 Derivation of Differential Equation
AND APPLICATIONS Consider a bar with variable cross-

sectional area A = A(x). The bar is
subjected to a distributed axial
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems load q(x) and a concentrated force
F at its right end.
Design and Engineering The equilibrium equation of an

infinitesimal part of the bar yields
…. (1)
EXAMPLES FOR CONTINUUM
or,
PROBLEMS
…. (2)
2017 2
where N = N(x) is the axial force acting on a cross-section located at Substituting (5) into (2)
x.
According to the Hooke’s law, the force N(x) can be expressed as a ………. (6)
function of strain ε(x)
Assuming that the bar is fixed at the left end and free at the right
………. (3) end, the following boundary conditions may associate the governing
Equation (6) :
where E is the modulus of elasticity.
………. (7)
Since
………. (4) ………. (8)
where u(x) is the axial displacement, Equation (3) can be written as:
………. (5)
3 4
7.1.2 Derivation of Potential Energy Since

Total potential energy is defined by ………. (12)
………. (9)
and
where U is the strain energy of stresses or internal forces, and W is
the energy possessed by the external loads (e.g., concentrated forces ………. (13)
and surface tractions).
The strain energy U and the work W are given by the following Then Equation (10) can be expressed as
equations
………. (14)
………. (10)
Substituting Equations (11) and (14) into Equation (9), we get
and
………. (11) ………. (15)
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7.2 BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEM FOR A where T is the tension,  is the mass per unit length, and  is the
TAUGHT STRING angle the deflected string makes with the x-axis. For an elemental
length dx,
7.2.1 Derivation of Differential Equation
Consider a tightly stretched elastic string or cable of length L ………. (17)
subjected to a transverse force q(x, t) per unit length.
………. (18)
and
………. (19)
Then Equation (16) reduces
The transverse displacement of the string, w(x, t), is assumed to be ………. (20)
small. Equilibrium of the forces in the vertical direction gives
………. (16)
7 8
Since we seek solution of w = w(x), Equation (20) can be expressed The strain energy associated with the deformation of the string is
as given by the work done by the tensile force T(x) while moving
through the distance ds - dx:
………. (21)
………. (24)
Assuming that the string is fixed at the both ends, the following
boundary conditions may associate the governing Equation (21): The work done by the nonconservative distributed load acting on the
………. (22) string, q(x,t), can be expressed as
………. (25)
7.2.2 Derivation of Potential Energy
The length of a differential element dx in the defonned position, ds, Then the total potential energy can be expressed as
can be expressed as ………. (26)
………. (23)
9 10
7.3 BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEM FOR A TWO- Similarly, the resultant in the w-direction due to the tension Ty on the
DIMENSIONAL MEMBRANE dx-edge of a small element of area (dx × dy) is
Let the tension in the x, y-directions be Tx, Ty per unit length,
respectively. Let w be the lateral deflection.
………. (28)
Therefore, the total lateral force due to Tx and Ty is
………. (29)
This force is balanced by the applied lateral pressure, p(x,y), and we

have
The resultant in the w-direction due to the tension Tx on the dy-edge
of a small element of area (dx × dy) is ………. (30)
If Tx = Ty , Equation (30)
………. (27) ………. (31)
11 12
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The in-plane or projected displacements can thus be determined as

7.4 BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEM FOR A ………. (32)
TORSION
………. (33)
Consider the typical cross-section
of solid subjected to torsion. The Using the assumption that the section rotation is a linear function of
origin of the coordinate system is the axial coordinate, we can assume that the cylinder is fixed at z = 0
located at point O called the center and take
of twist. ………. (34)
Under torque T, the displacement where the parameter  is the angle of twist per unit length.
of a generic point P in the x,y-plane The out-of-plane, warping displacement is assumed to be a function
will move to location P’ as shown. of only the in-plane coordinates and is left as an unknown to be
Line OP then rotates through a determined. Collecting these results together, the displacements for
small angle , and thus the arc the torsion problem can thus be written as
length PP’ = r, and this distance ………. (35)
may be represented by a straight
line normal to OP. ………. (36)
13 ………. (37) 14
Using the displacement form, the strain-displacement relations give For this case, with zero body forces, the equilibrium equations
the following strain field: reduce to
………. (38)
………. (44)
………. (39)
Differentiating (42) with respect to y and (43) with respect to x and
subtracting the results, we get a special compatibility relation for this
………. (40) particular problem as
The corresponding stresses follow from Hooke’s law: ………. (45)

………. (41)
This represents an independent relation among the stresses developed
………. (42) under the continuity conditions of w(x,y).
Relations (44) and (45) constitute the governing equations for the
………. (43) stress formulation.
15 16
The coupled system pair can be reduced by introducing a stress EXAMPLE 7.1
function approach. For this case, the stresses are represented in terms Develop a continuum model for a tapered member of length L
of the Prandtl stress function ϕ = ϕ (x, y) by circular cross section to evaluate the free end elongation. Use Ritz
method using polynomial as assumed solution. Show how the
………. (46) elongation converges to the exact value as the degrees of
polynomial increase. Take P = 10 kN, E = 200 GPa, D1 = 10cm, D2
………. (47) = 5 cm, L= 50 cm.
The equilibrium equations are then identically satisfied and the

compatibility relation gives
………. (48)
The usual boundary condition is that the stress function ϕ must be a

constant on the cross-section boundary. Because the value of this
constant is not specified, we may choose any convenient value and
this is normally taken to be zero.
17 18
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EXAMPLE 7.2
Determine the displacement and stress in a bar of uniform cross
section due to self weight. Use (i) Linear (ii) Quadratic, for
approximating polynomial. Express the result in terms of Length
L, unit weight  and Modulus of elasticity E.
19
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8.1 INTRODUCTION
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD The basic idea of the finite element method is piecewise
approximation, that is, the solution of a complicated problem is
obtained by dividing the region of interest into small regions (finite
AND APPLICATIONS elements) and approximating the solution over each subregion by a
simple function.
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems Thus, a necessary and important step is that of choosing a simple
function for the solution in each element. The functions used to
Design and Engineering represent the behavior of the solution within an element are called
interpolation functions or approximating functions or interpolation
models.
INTERPOLATION FUNCTIONS FOR
FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION
2017
Polynomial-type interpolation functions have been most widely used

in the literature due to the following reasons:
• It is easier to formulate and computerize the finite element

equations with polynomial-type interpolation functions.
Specifically. It is easier to perform differentiation or integration
with polynomials.
• It is possible to improve the accuracy of the results by increasing

the order of the polynomial. Theoretically, a polynomial of infinite
order corresponds to the exact solution. But in practice we use
polynomials of finite order only as an approximation.
Although trigonometric functions also possess some of these

properties, they are seldom used in the finite element analysis. We
shall further consider only polynomial-type interpolation functions
When the interpolation polynomial is of order one, the element is The higher order elements are especially useful in cases in which tile
termed a linear element. A linear element is called a simplex element gradient of the field variable is expected to vary rapidly. In these
if the number of nodes in the element is 2, 3, and 4 in 1, 2, and 3 cases the simplex elements, which approximate the gradient by a set
dimensions, respectively. of constant values, do not yield good results. The combination of
If the interpolation polynomial is of order two or more, the element greater accuracy and a reduction in the data preparation effort has
is known as a higher order element. resulted in the widespread use of higher order elements in several
practical applications.
In higher order elements, some secondary (midside and/or interior)
nodes are introduced in addition to the primary (corner) nodes in If the order of the interpolation polynomial is fixed, the
order to match the number of nodal degrees of freedom with the discretization of the region (or domain) can be improved by two
number of constants (generalized coordinates) in the interpolation methods. In the first method, known as the r-method, the locations
polynomial. of the nodes are altered without changing the total number of
In general, fewer higher order elements are needed to achieve the elements. In the second method, known as the h-method, the
same degree of accuracy in the final results. Although it does not number of elements is increased. On the other hand, if improvement
reduce the computational time, the reduction in the number of in accuracy is sought by increasing the order of the interpolation of
elements generally reduces the effort needed in the preparation of polynomial, the method is known as the p-method.
data and hence the chances of errors in the input data.
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Problems involving curved boundaries cannot be modeled 8.2 POLYNOMIAL FORM OF INTERPOLATION
satisfactorily by using straight-sided elements. The family of FUNCTIONS
elements known as "isoparametric" elements has been developed for
this purpose. The basic idea underlying the isoparametric elements is If a polynomial type of variation is assumed for the field variable
to use the same interpolation functions to define the element shape or (x) in a one-dimensional element, (x) can be expressed as
geometry as well as the variation of the field variable within the
element.
Similarly, in two- and three-dimensional finite elements the
polynomial form of interpolation functions can be expressed as
where a, b, c, ……… are the coefficients of the polynomial, also

known as generalized coordinates.
In most of the practical applications the order of the polynomial in
the interpolation functions is taken as one, two, or three.
For n = 1 (Linear model)
One-dimensional case:
Two-dimensional case:
Three-dimensional case:
For n = 2 (Quadratic model)

One-dimensional case:
Two-dimensional case:
Three-dimensional case:
8.3 SELECTION OF THE ORDER OF THE

INTERPOLATION POLYNOMIAL
While choosing the order of the polynomial in a polynomial-type
interpolation function, the following considerations have to be taken
into account:
• The interpolation polynomial should satisfy, as far as possible, the

convergence requirements.
• The pattern of variation of the field variable resulting from the
polynomial model should be independent of the local coordinate
system.
• The number of generalized coordinates (a, b, c, …) should be equal

to the number of nodal degrees of freedom of the element (i).
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According to the second consideration, as can be felt intuitively also, 8.4 CONVERGENCE REQUIREMENTS
it is undesirable to have a preferential coordinate direction. That is, Since the finite element method is a numerical technique, we obtain a
the field variable representation within an element, and hence the sequence of approximate solutions as the element size is reduced
polynomial, should not change with a change in the local coordinate successively. This sequence will converge to the exact solution if the
system (when a linear transformation is made from one Cartesian interpolation polynomial satisfies the following convergence
coordinate system to another). This property is called geometric requirements:
isotropy or geometric invariance or spatial isotropy. In order to
achieve geometric isotropy, the polynomial should contain terms that • The field variable must be continuous within the elements. This
do not violate symmetry as shown in Pascal triangle in the case of requirement is easily satisfied by choosing continuous functions as
two dimensions and Pascal tetrahedron in the case of three interpolation models. Since polynomials are inherently
dimensions. continuous, the polynomial type of interpolation models satisfies
this requirement. [Continuity Requirement]
The final consideration in selecting the order of the interpolation
polynomial is to make the total number of terms involved in the • All uniform states of the field variable  and its partial derivatives
polynomial equal to the number of nodal degrees of freedom of the up to the highest order appearing in the functional I() must have
element. The satisfaction of this requirement enables us to express representation in the interpolation polynomial when, in the limit,
the polynomial coefficients in terms of the nodal unknowns of the the element size reduces to zero. [Completeness Requirement]
element.
• The field variable  and its partial derivatives up to one order less
than the highest order derivative appearing in the functional I()
must be continuous at element boundaries or interfaces.
[Compatibility Requirement]
If rth derivative of the field variable  is continuous, then  is said to

have cr continuity. In terms of this notation, the completeness
requirement implies that  must have cr continuity within an element,
whereas the compatibility requirement implies that  must have cr-1
continuity at element interfaces.
C0 Continuous Interpolation Function
C1 Continuous Interpolation Function C2 Continuous Interpolation Function
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8.5 LINEAR INTERPOLATION POLYNOMIALS IN By using the nodal conditions

TERMS OF GLOBAL COORDINATES
8.5.1 One-Dimensional Element
Consider a one-
dimensional element (line we obtain
segment) of length h with
two nodes, one at each
end, as shown in Figure.
The solution of these equations gives
Let the nodes be denoted
as i and j and the nodal
values of the field
where xi and xj denote the global coordinates of nodes i and j,
variable  as i and j.
respectively.
The variation of  inside Substituting a and b, we obtain
the element is assumed
to be linear as
This fact can be used for derivation of shape functions Ni(x) and Nj(x)
by using alternative method. For one dimensional linear
This equation can be written, after rearrangement of terms, as interpolation, we can assume Ni(x) and Nj(x) as
where Since Ni(xi) = 1 and Ni(xj) =0
The linear functions of x defined in the above equation are called

interpolation or shape functions. Notice that each interpolation Solving for ai and bi, we get
function has a subscript to denote the node to which it is associated.
Furthermore, the value of Ni(x) can be seen to be 1 at node i (x = xi)
and 0 at node j (x = xj). Likewise, the value of Nj(x) can be seen to be Then substituting ai and bi, we get an expression for Ni(x) as
0 at node i (x = xi) and 1 at node j (x = xj). These represent the
common characteristics of interpolation functions. They will be equal
to 1 at one node and 0 at each of the other nodes of the element.
Similarly, since Nj(xi) = 0 and Nj(xj) =1 8.5.2 Two-Dimensional Triangular Element

The two-dimensional element is a straight-sided triangle with three
nodes, one at each corner, as indicated in Figure. Let the nodes be
labeled as i, j and k by proceeding counterclockwise from node i,
Solving for aj and bj, we get which is arbitrarily specified.
Let the global coordinates of the
nodes i, j and k be given by (xi,
Then substituting aj and bj, we get an expression for Nj(x) as yi), (xj, yj) and (xk, yk), and the
nodal values of the field variable
 (x, y) by i , j and k,
respectively.
The variation of  (x, y) inside

the element is assumed to be
linear as
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The nodal conditions where
lead to the system of equations The field variable can then be expressed
where,
The solution of the above equations yields
Alternative method Solving for ai, bi and ci,

For two dimensional linear interpolation, we can assume Ni(x,y),
Nj(x,y) and Nk(x,y) as
Since Ni(xi, yi) = 1, Ni(xj, yj) = 0 and Ni(xk, yk) = 0 where
Then substituting ai, bi and ci, we get an expression for Ni(x,y) as
Similarly, aj, bj and cj can be determined to get the expression for Similarly, ak, bk and ck can be determined to get the expression for
Nj(x,y) as Nk(x,y) as
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8.5.3 Two-Dimensional Rectangular Element Applying the four nodal conditions and writing in matrix form gives
Rectangular elements are convenient for use in modeling regular
geometries, can be used in conjunction with triangular elements, and
form the basis for development of general quadrilateral elements. The
simplest of the rectangular family of elements is the four-node which formally gives the polynomial coefficients as
rectangle shown in Figure, where it is assumed that the sides of the
rectangular are parallel to the global Cartesian axes.
By convention, we number the nodes
sequentially in a counterclockwise direction,
as shown. As there are four nodes and 4 In terms of the nodal values, the field variable is then described by
degrees of freedom, a four-term polynomial
expression for the field variable is
appropriate. Since there is no complete four
term polynomial in two dimensions, the
incomplete, symmetric expression
is used to ensure geometric isotropy.
This formulation suggests that expression of the interpolation Applying the conditions that must be satisfied by each interpolation
functions in terms of the nodal coordinates is algebraically complex. function at each node, we obtain
Fortunately, the complexity can be reduced by a more judicious
choice of coordinates. For the rectangular element, we introduce the
normalized coordinates (also known as natural coordinates or
serendipity coordinates) r and s as
where 2a and 2b are the width and height

of the rectangle, respectively, and the
coordinates of the centroid are
hence
Therefore, r and s are such that the values

range from −1 to +1, and the nodal
coordinates are as in Figure.

A one dimensional linear element has been used to approximate The nodal temperature values for the simplex element shown in
the temperature distribution in a fin. The solution indicates that the Figure given below are T1 = 1300C, T2 = 1000C and T3 =
the temperatures at node i and j are 1200C and 900C, 1200C. Determine where the 1250C isotherm intersects the
respectively. Determine the temperature at a point 4 cm from the boundaries of the element.
origin and the temperature gradient within the element. Nodes i
and j are located at 1.5 cm and 6 cm from the origin as shown in
Figure.
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EXAMPLE 8.3
Determine the points on the 500C contour line for the rectangular
element shown in Figure. The nodal values are T1 = 420C, T2 =
540C, T3 = 560C and T4 = 460C.
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9.1 INTRODUCTION
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD To make the ideas so far expressed more concrete, we shall consider
in this section some one-dimensional examples in which piecewise
defined shape functions are used to solve problems governed by
AND APPLICATIONS ordinary second order differential equations.
Consider the problem of finding the function ϕ(x) that satisfies the
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems differential equation
..... (1)
Design and Engineering ..... (2a)
APLICATIONS: ONE ..... (2b)

..... (2c)
DIMENSIONAL PROBLEMS
2017 2
Equation [1] arises in connection with the analytical description of An approximation

many physical processes. For example, conduction and convection
..... (3)
heat transfer in plane wall or fin, flow through channels and pipes,
transverse deflection of cables, axial deformation of bars, and many can be constructed, where ϕm is the value of the approximation at
other physical processes. node m. The boundary conditions at x = 0 and x = 1 can therefore be
We solve this problem by the finite element method for k = 1 and L = satisfied immediately by specification of the appropriate nodal
1. A set of 4 nodes is chosen in the region 0 < x < 1, as shown in values.
Figure, and with each node we associate a piecewise linear global However, it is more convenient to formulate the weighted residual
shape function Nm. equations without initially prescribing the boundary values of ϕ and
then to insert these known conditions when solving the final equation
set. Thus with ϕ1, ϕ2, ϕ3 and ϕ4 all regarded as being unkown at this
stage, the weighted residual form of [1] is then
..... (4)
3 4
Equation [4] requires continuity of first derivates of the trial We now observe that the contributions to these terms from a typical
functions if infinite values are to be avoided. Integration by parts element e, associated with nodes numbered i and j , as in Figure, can
relaxes this requirement on the shape function and leads to a weak be calculated in a general form. On such a typical element e, we can
form of the weighted residual statement write
..... (5)
Now it is apparent that only C0 continuity of ϕ^ (and hence of Nm)

and wl is demanded. The piecewise linear shape functions satisfy this
requirement, and C0 continuity of the weighting functions is ensured
if the Galerkin method is used. The Galerkin form of this equation set
can be expressed immediately as
..... (6) where he = xj – xi. The only nonzero global trial functions on element e
are Ni and Nj, and so Nl = 0 on element e if l does not equal to i or j,
..... (6a) ..... (6b) that is, if node l does not belong to element e.
where
5 6
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Then approximate function given by Equation [3] can also be Solution for Case 1
expressed as
We solve Equation [1] subjected to the boundary conditions
..... (7)
Then approximate solution given by Equation [8] can be expressed
as
which can be combined as
..... (9)
which is equivalent to choosing
..... (8)
for Galerkin formulation.
Since two nodal values and are given, we need two linear
equations to determine the unknown nodal values ϕ2 and ϕ3.
7 8
Substituting wl = 1 = N2 into Equation [5], we get Similarly, substituting wl = 2 = N3 into Equation [5], and following
the similar procedure we get
..... (10) ..... (13)
Since N2 = 0 at x = 0 and x = 1, Equation [10] can be expressed as Solution for Case 2

..... (11) Then approximate solution given by Equation [8] can be expressed
as
Defining ..... (14)
Equation [11] can be expressed as
..... (12)
9 10
Since only on nodal values is given, we need three linear Substituting wl = 1 = N2 into Equation [16], we get
equations to determine the unknown nodal values ϕ2, ϕ3 and ϕ4.
..... (17)
Weak formulation of the given problem to include the derivative
boundary conditions can be expressed as
Since N2 = 0 at x = 0 and x = 1, Equation [17] can be expressed as
..... (15)
..... (18)
Substituting
..... (19)
Similarly substituting wl = 2 = N3 into Equation [16], and

..... (16) following the similar procedure we get
..... (20)
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Substituting wl = 3 = N4 into Equation [16], we get Solution for Case 3

..... (21)
Since N4 = 0 at x = 0 and N4 = 1 at x = 1, Equation [21] can be Then approximate solution given by Equation [8] can be expressed
expressed as as
..... (24)
..... (22)

..... (23) Since none of the nodal values are given we need four linear
equations to determine the unknown nodal values ϕ1, ϕ2, ϕ3 and ϕ4.
13 14
Weak formulation of the given problem to include the derivative Substituting wl = 1 = N1 into Equation [26], we get
boundary conditions can be expressed as
..... (27)
Since N1 = 1 at x = 0 and N1 = 0 at x = 1, Equation [27] can be

..... (25) expressed as
Substituting
..... (28)

..... (29)
..... (26)
15 16
Similarly, substituting wl = 2 = N2 and wl = 3 = N3 into Equation Equation [33] can be expressed as

[26], and following the similar procedure we get ..... (34)
..... (30)
..... (31) Evaluation of Elements of Stiffness Matrix
Similarly, substituting wl = 3 = N3 into Equation [26], and Using

following the similar procedure we get
elements of stiffness matrix are determined as
..... (32)
Since N4 = 0 at x = 0 and N4 = 1 at x = 1, Equation [27] can be

expressed as
..... (33)
17 18
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26 November 2017
Similarly,
19 20
Similarly,
21 22
Similarly, Similarly,
Similarly,
23 24
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26 November 2017
25 26
Similarly,
27 28
Following similar procedure, other remaining coefficients can be Then finite element equation for Case 1 is given by
found to be
Then finite element equation for Case 2 is given by
29 30
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Then finite element equation for Case 3 is given by Then finite element equation for Case 3 is given by
Element-wise Calculation of Stiffness Coefficients Element-wise Calculation of Stiffness Coefficients

Global stiffness matrix for the problem can also be obtained by the Global stiffness matrix for the problem can also be obtained by the
assembly of stiffness matrix for a single element obtained from the assembly of stiffness matrix for a single element obtained from the
relation relation
31 32
For Element 1, i = 1 and j = 2 EXAMPLE 9.1

Solve the differential equation using the Galerkin finite element
method. Assume that the domain 0 < x < 1 is divided into equal
For Element 2, i = 2 and j = 3 length elements.
For Element 3, i = 3 and j = 4
a) Use two linear elements.

b) Use three linear elements.
By assembly of stiffness matrix of each element, we get the global c) Use four linear elements.
stiffness matrix as above. d) Compare the obtained value ϕ(0.5) of in each case with exact
value.
33 34
35 36
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EXAMPLE 9.2
length elements.

c) Use four linear elements.
d) Compare the obtained value ϕ(0.5) of in each case with exact
value.
37 38
EXAMPLE 9.3
length elements.

value.
39 40
41 42
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EXAMPLE 9.4
length elements.

value.
43
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10.1 One Dimensional Plane Wall

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD Steady state heat transfer through plane wall is given by
..... (1)
AND APPLICATIONS
with boundary conditions
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems ..... (2)
where
APLICATIONS: HEAT TRANSFER I
2017 2
Using weighted residual principle
Substituting
..... (3)
Equation [3] can also be expressed as

..... (4)
3 4
Then elements of [K]k are determined by Then elements of {f}Q are determined by
..... (5) ..... (9)
Substituting Ni = (1 – x/L) and Nj = x/L, we get Substituting Ni = (1 – x/L) and Nj = x/L, we get
..... (10)
..... (6)
Then elements of {f}h, which is defined only for the

Then elements of [K]h, which is defined only for the
element at the right end, are determined by
element at the right end, are determined by
..... (11)
..... (7)
Substituting Ni = 0 at x = L and Nj = 1 at x = L, we get Substituting Ni = 0 at x = L and Nj = 1 at x = L, we get
..... (8) ..... (12)
5 6
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10.2 One Dimensional Fin Using weighted residual principle
Steady state heat transfer through an one dimensional fin is given by
..... (13)
Substituting

..... (14)
where P is perimeter.
7 8
..... (15)
..... (16)
Then elements of [K]hP are determined by
..... (17)
Substituting Ni = (1 – x/L)
and Nj = x/L, we get ..... (18)
9 10
Then elements of {f}hP are determined by EXAMPLE 10.1

A furnace wall consists of two layers, firebrick and insulating
..... (19) brick. The thermal conductivities are k1 = 1.2 W/m/0C for the
firebrick and k2 = 0.2 W/m0C for the insulating brick. The
temperature inside the furnace is Tf = l500oC and the convection
Substituting Ni = (1 – x/L) and Nj = x/L, we get coefficient at the inner surface is hi = 12 W/m2.0C. The ambient
temperature is Ta = 20oC and the convection coefficient at the
..... (20) outer surface is h0 = 2.0 W/m2.oC. The thermal resistance of the
interface between firebrick and insulating brick can be neglected.
Using two finite elements (one for each brick), determine the rate
of heat loss through the outer wall, the temperature Ti at the
inner surface, and the temperature T0 at the outer surface.
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EXAMPLE 10.2
A thermal protection system for a space vehicle consists of a 0.1-
m-thick outer ceramic foam and 0.1-m-thick inner metal foam.
The thermal conductivities of the ceramic and metal foams,
respectively. are 0.05 and 0.025 W/m.K. A fluid is passed through
the metal foam, which absorbs heat at the rate of 1,000 W/m3.
The metal foam is attached to the vehicle structure and is
insulated. The outside temperature of the ceramic foam is
estimated to be 1,000 K. Use one-dimensional linear elements to
determine the temperature distribution in the foams. What is the
temperature of the vehicle structure? Calculate the heat entering
the system due to aerodynamic heating. Take one linear element
for the ceramic foam and two linear elements for the metal foam.
13 14
EXAMPLE 10.3
An array of aluminum pin fins are used to remove heat from a
surface whose temperature is 120°C. The temperature of the
ambient air is 25°C. The thermal conductivity of aluminum is
168 W/m∙K. The natural convective coefficient associated with
the surrounding air is 30 W/m2.K. The fins are 100 mm long and
have respective diameters of 4 mm. (a) Determine the
temperature distribution along a fin using five equally spaced
elements. (b) Approximate the total heat loss for an array of 100
fins.
15
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11.1 Two Dimensional Heat Transfer

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD Steady state two dimensional heat transfer is given by
AND APPLICATIONS ..... (1)

M.Sc. Mechanical Systems
..... (2)
APLICATIONS: HEAT TRANSFER II
2017 2
Using weighted residual principle Using gradient theorem
Combining first and third terms
3 4
Since  = ϕ + q + h and substituting
..... (23)

..... (24)
Then elements of [K]k are determined by

Since wi = 0 on ϕ
..... (25)
5 6
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Substituting Ni = ai + bi x +ci y , Nj = aj + bj x +cj y and Nk Then elements of {f}Q are determined by

= ak + bk x +ck y, we get
..... (29)
..... (26)
Element values of {fi}Q can be determined to be
Then elements of [K]h, which is defined only for the edges of the ..... (30)
element subjected to convection, are determined by
..... (27) Then elements of {f}q, which is defined only for the edges
of the element subjected to convection, are determined by
If jk edge of an element is subjected to convection, Ni = 0 ..... (31)
on the edge jk and Nj = (1 – s/sjk) and Nj = (s/sjk) on the
edge jk, we get If jk edge of an element is subjected to convection, Ni = 0
..... (28)
edge jk, we get
7 8
EXAMPLE 11.1
..... (32)
Determine the temperature distribution for a square plate shown
in Figure. Take Q = 1000 W/m2 and k = 1 W/m.K. Temperature
Then elements of {f}h, which is defined only for the edges along all edges is 00C.
of the element subjected to convection, are determined by
..... (33)
If jk edge of an element is subjected to convection, Ni = 0

edge jk, we get
..... (34)
9 10
EXAMPLE 11.2
Calculate the k and f matrices for the element shown in Figure.
The conductivities are Kxx = Kyy = 15 W/(m 0C) and the
convection coefficient is h = 20 W/(m2 0C). Convection occurs
across the i-m surface. The free-stream temperature is T = 15
0C. The coordinates are shown expressed in units of meters. Let
the line source be Q = 100 W/m as located in the figure. Take the
thickness of the element to be 1 m.
11
MCL 2
26 November 2017
12.1 Two Dimensional Heat Transfer (Variational

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD Formulation)
Weak formulation for steady state two dimensional heat transfer is
given by
AND APPLICATIONS
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems ..... (1)
Design and Engineering Then the functional for variational formulation of the
problem is given by
APLICATIONS: HEAT TRANSFER

III
..... (2)
2017 2
If the given domain is divided into a certain number of elements, Since Ni = ai + bi x +ci y , Nj = aj + bj x +cj y and Nk = ak +
bk x +ck y, gradients of field variables are given by
...... (3)
For a linear triangular element
Then the first integral term of Equation [3] for a single

element is given by
3 4
Then the second integral term of Equation [3] for a single element
is given by
..... (a)
..... (b)
where
where
5 6
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26 November 2017
If jk edge of an element is subjected to convection Similarly the fourth integral term of Equation [3] for a
single element is given by
Similarly the third integral term of Equation [3] for a

single element is given by
..... (d)
where
..... (c)
If jk edge of an element is subjected to convection
where
7 8
Similarly the last integral term of Equation [3] for a single Now substituting expressions [a], [b], [c], [d] and [e] into
element is given by Equation [3], we get
..... (e)
..... (4)
where
where [K] = [Ke]k + [Ke]h and {f} = {f}Q + {f}q + {f}h
If jk edge of an element is subjected to convection Assembling the equations, Then using Ritz method,
..... (5)
9 10
12.2 Two Dimensional Heat Transfer Using For a linear rectangular element, field variable is given by
Rectangular Element
Bilinear shape functions for
a two dimensional
rectangular element are
Then gradients of field variables are given by
where
11 12
MCL 2
26 November 2017
Then stiffness matrix due to conductivity is given by Then stiffness matrix due to convection is given by
13 14
Similarly the force vector due to heat generation is given Similarly the force vector due to convection is given by
by

Similarly the force vector due to heat flux is given by
If jk edge of an element is subjected to heat flux
15 16
EXAMPLE 12.1
For the square two-dimensional body shown in Figure, determine
the temperature distribution. Let Kxx = Kyy = 10 W/(m °C) and
h = 10 W/(m2 °C). The top face is maintained at 100 °C, the left
face is maintained at 0 °C, and the other two faces are exposed to
a free-stream temperature of 0 °C.
a) Use two triangular elements.
b) Use four rectangular elements
17
MCL 3
26 November 2017
13.1 Basic Equations of Solid Mechanics

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD The primary aim of any stress analysis or solid mechanics
problem is to find the distribution of displacements and
stresses under the stated loading and boundary conditions.
AND APPLICATIONS If an analytical solution of the problem is to be found, one
has to satisfy the following basic or fundamental equations
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems of solid mechanics.
Equilibrium Equations
Design and Engineering Due to the application of loads, stresses will be developed
inside the body. If we consider an element of material
APLICATIONS: SOLID inside the body, it must be in equilibrium due to the internal
stresses developed. This leads to equations known as
MECHANICS I internal equilibrium equations.
2017 2
Theoretically, the state of stress at any point in a loaded These equations show that the state of stress at any point
body is completely defined in terms of the nine can be completely defined by the six components σx, σy, σz,
components of stress σx, σy, σz, xy, yx, yz, zy, zx, and xz, xy, yx and yz. The equilibrium of forces in the x, y, and z
where the first three are the normal components and the directions gives the following differential equilibrium
latter six are the components of shear stress. The equations equations:
of internal equilibrium relating the nine components of
stress can be derived by considering the equilibrium of
moments and forces acting on the elemental volume shown
in Figure 1. ..... (2)
The equilibrium of moments
about the x, y, and z axes,
assuming that there are no body
moments, leads to the relations where and are the body forces per unit volume
acting along the directions x, y, and z, respectively.
...... (1) 3 4
Strain-displacement Relations Stress-strain Relations

The deformed shape of an elastic body under any given In the case of a linear, elastic, isotropic three-dimensional
system of loads and temperature distribution conditions can solid, the stress–strain relations are given by Hooke’s law
be completely described by the three components of as follows
displacement u, v and w parallel to the directions x, y and z,
respectively. In general, each of these components u, v and
w is a function of the coordinates x, y and z. The strains
induced in the body can be expressed in terms of the
displacements u, v and w as
..... (3)
5 6
..... (4)
MCL 1
26 November 2017
which can be expressed in simpler form as 13.2 Two-dimensional case

..... (5) For a two-dimensional problem, there will be only three
independent stress components (σx, σy, xy) and the
Sometimes, the expressions for stresses in terms of strains
equilibrium equations, Equation [2], reduce to
will be needed.
..... (8)
In the case of two-dimensional problems, two types of

stress distributions, namely plane stress and plane strain,
are possible
..... (6)
which can be expressed in simpler form as
..... (7) 7 8
Plane stress In this case, the stress–strain relations, Equations [4] and
The assumption of plane stress is applicable for bodies [6], reduce to
whose dimension is very small in one of the coordinate
directions. Thus, the analysis of thin plates loaded in the
plane of the plate can be made using the assumption of ..... (10)
plane stress. In plane stress distribution, it is assumed that
..... (9)
where z represents the and
direction perpendicular to
the plane of the plate as
shown in Figure, and the ..... (11)
stress components do not
vary through the thickness
of the plate (i.e., in the z
direction). 9 10
Plane strain
The assumption of plane strain is applicable for bodies that
are long and whose geometry and loading do not vary
significantly in the longitudinal direction. Thus, the
analysis of dams, cylinders, and retaining walls shown in
Figure can be made using the assumption of plane strain.
In plane strain distribution, it is assumed that w = 0 and

(∂w/∂z) = 0 at every cross section. Here, the dependent
variables are assumed to be functions of only the x and y
coordinates provided we consider a cross section of the
body away from the ends.
11 12
MCL 2
26 November 2017
In this case, the three-dimensional stress–strain relations 13.3 Finite Element Formulation
given by Equations [4] and [6] reduce to
Equilibrium equations for two dimensional elasticity
problem is given by
..... (12)
..... (14)
and
..... (13) ..... (15)
13 14
Using weighted residual principle for first equation of

Equation [14],
Using gradient theorem for first two terms,
..... (16a)
15 16
..... (16a) If the given domain is divided into a certain number of

elements,
Repeating similar procedure for second first equation of
Equation [14],
..... (16b) ..... (18)
Equations [16a] and [16b] can be expressed in combined

form as
Now using strain displacement relations
..... (17) where
..... (19)
17 18
MCL 3
26 November 2017
Now using stress-strain and then strain-displacement

relations
..... (20)
Substituting Equation [20] into Equation [18], we get ..... (21)

Using linear operator defined in Equation [19],
..... (21) ..... (22)
19 20
For a linear triangular element, where,

..... (23)
..... (24)
Substituting Equation [24] into Equation [20], we get

..... (25)
21 22
Then ith equation can be written as

..... (26)
..... (29)
..... (27)
where
Substituting Equations [26] and [27] into Equation [22], we
get
Similarly jth and kth equation can be derived and assembling
all these, we get equation for an element as
..... (28)
..... (30)
23 24
MCL 4
26 November 2017
where EXAMPLE 13.1

Determine the nodal displacements and stresses of the
following structural part.
{fi}x should de calculated for the edges of the elements

subjected to traction.
25 26
MCL 5
26 November 2017
14.1 Variational Formulation of Solid Mechanics

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD Problem
Total potential energy of any elastic body is given by the
AND APPLICATIONS sum of elastic strain energy and potential energy due to
displacement produced by external forces, i.e.,
...... (1)
M.Sc. Mechanical Systems Elastic strain energy is given by
Design and Engineering ...... (2)

APLICATIONS: SOLID ...... (3)
MECHANICS II
2017 2
Substituting Substituting into equation [7],

...... (4)
..... (8)
into equation [3],
Substituting Equations [5] and [8] into Equation [1]
...... (5)
Similarly, potential energy due to displacement produced

..... (9)
by external forces is given by
...... (6) If the given domain is divided into a certain number of
elements,
...... (7)
3 4
Assembling the equations,

..... (11)
Then using Ritz method,
..... (10)
where
5 6
MCL 1
26 November 2017
EXAMPLE 14.1 14.2 Plane Elasticity Using Rectangular Element

Determine the nodal forces for a linearly varying Bilinear shape functions for a two dimensional rectangular
pressure px on the edge of the triangular element shown element are
in Figure. Assume the element thickness is equal to t.
EXAMPLE 14.2
Solve the plane
stress problem in For a bilinear rectangular element,
Figure.
..... (1)
7 8
Equation [1] can also be expressed as where
..... (2)
..... (3)
Using strain-displacement relations

..... (4)
9 10
Then stiffness matrix is given by EXAMPLE 14.1

Determine the nodal displacements and stresses of the
following structural part. Use one rectangular element.
Similarly, force vector due to body forces are given by
11 12
MCL 2
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Finite Element Method

Presentation · October 2019

Mahesh Chandra Luintel

Dynamic Analysis of Pelton Turbine and Assembly View project

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Interpolation Functions for Finite Element Formulation

Applications of One dimensional Problems

Application in Heat Transfer

Application in Solid Mechanics

Application in Fluid Mechanics

COURSE INTRODUCTION • Use commercial software to simulate above mentioned

Course Outlines Continuum Problems

Continuum Problems (cont.) Interpolation Functions for Element Formulation

Applications of One dimensional Problems Application in Solid Mechanics

Isoparametric Formulation Books

A boundary value problem is a mathematical problem in which one

The field variables are the dependent variables of interest governed

Depending on the type of physical problem being analyzed, the field

FEM is a numerical method for solving a system of governing

1.2 BRIEF HISTORY OF FEM

1.3 Mathematical Modeling of Physical

1.4 FEM Steps

1.5 FEM Applications

Computer Applications for FEM Application Examples: Stress Analysis

Problem Specific Programming: MATLAB

General Packages: NASTRAN, ANSYS, ABAQUS, ALGOR,

Application Examples: Heat Transfer

Extract a typical element, say that joining nodes 4–

The element length is Lij = 2r sin(π/n). Since all

1.7 Mathematical Background

According the definition of linear dependency, check if there are

which is satisfied only if α1 = α2 = α3 = 0; therefore, the given

ELEMENT: SPRING AND BAR

2.2 SPRING AND BAR ELEMENTS As an elastic spring supports axial

We require that forces be applied to the element only at the nodes

The resultant axial force in the spring is

where [ke]−1 is the inverse of the element stiffness matrix.

However, rather than drawing free-body diagrams of each node and

The process is described as “assembly” , as we take individual

These equations are not yet amenable to direct combination, as the

Note that the system stiffness matrix is

EXAMPLE 2.1 EXAMPLE 2.2

The associated axial force is then given by

Comparison of Equation (3.24) to Equation (3.4) shows that the

3.1 INTRODUCTION TO TRUSS ELEMENT

Direct (Unit Displacement) Method

The local displacement vector and

Therefore, force produced

where [k’] is the stiffness matrix

Rewriting the above equations in matrix form Rewriting in matrix form

Similarly the local and global force

where [K] is the global stiffness matrix and is given by

which is same as Equation (4.7).

where [] is the transformation matrix mapping the one-dimensional

To simplify the calculations, we can also express Equation (4.20) as

where EXAMPLE 3.2

for space truss

4.1 INTRODUCTION TO FLEXURAL ELEMENT

DISCRETE ELEMENT: FLEXURE

The deflection and slope of a cantilever beam subjected to load P

Hence, the first column of the stiffness matrix is given by

Similarly applying unit displacements at the remaining degrees of

4.3 FLEXURE ELEMENT WITH AXIAL LOADING