Scribd
Upload
61 views

Finite Element Methods

The document describes the basic process and methodology of finite element analysis. It is divided into three main phases: pre-processing, analysis, and post-processing. In the analysis phase, the domain is divided into discrete elements, the governing equations are derived for each element and assembled into a global system of equations, and the equations are solved subject to boundary conditions. Two simple examples - a pin-jointed bar and a thermal rod - are presented to illustrate the basic finite element formulation and solution process.

Uploaded by

HammadMehmood
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
61 views

Finite Element Methods

The document describes the basic process and methodology of finite element analysis. It is divided into three main phases: pre-processing, analysis, and post-processing. In the analysis phase, the domain is divided into discrete elements, the governing equations are derived for each element and assembled into a global system of equations, and the equations are solved subject to boundary conditions. Two simple examples - a pin-jointed bar and a thermal rod - are presented to illustrate the basic finite element formulation and solution process.

Uploaded by

HammadMehmood
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 29

two

FINITE ELEMENT METHODS


The finite element method
▪ It is a straightforward and logical procedure that
follows a well-defined path
▪ It consists of the following phases
• Pre-processing phase
• Analysis phase
• Post-processing phase
Pre-processing phase
Analysis phase
Post-processing phase
Discretization
▪ In a body, the distribution of an unknown variable
(temperature or displacement) is required
▪ It is divided into an assembly of subdivisions
(elements), interconnected at joints (nodes)
Selection of approximating function

▪ The variable is assumed to act over each element in a


predefined manner (number and type of elements is
chosen such that variable distribution through the
whole body is adequately approximated by combined
elemental representation)
▪ Distribution across each element is defined by an
approximating function (usually a polynomial)
Derivation of basic element equations
▪ The equations of a particular type of element for a
specific problem area (stress analysis or thermal
analysis) have a constant format
▪ Variational formulation method and the weighted
residual method are two useful methods for this
purpose
Calculation of the system equations
▪ Once the general format of equations of an element
type is derived, the calculation of the equations for
each occurrence of that element in the body is
straightforward (simply a matter of substituting nodal
coordinates, material properties and loading conditions
of the element into the general format)
▪ The individual element equations are assembled to
obtain the system equations, which describe the
behavior of the body as a whole
▪ These equations usually take the form
Incorporation of boundary conditions

▪ Before these equations are solved, some form of


boundary condition must be applied ( 𝑘 is singular)
▪ In stress problems, this means that the body must be
constrained to prevent it from performing rigid body
motion
▪ For thermal problems, the temperature must be defined
at one or more nodes
Solution of the system equations

▪ Even after the application of boundary conditions, the


solution of these equations is not trivial because the
number of equations tend to be very large
▪ It is not practical to invert 𝑘
▪ Fortunately, 𝑘 is banded, and techniques have been
developed to store and solve the equations efficiently
▪ Some form of Gaussian elimination, or the wavefront
method* are usually employed

* In this method, the last three steps are not discrete


Calculation of stresses or heat flows
▪ It is simple to use temperatures to calculate the
elemental heat flows, or displacements to find strains
and then the elemental stresses
Presentation of results
▪ To make sense globally, the nodal values are averaged
▪ Contour plots are more intuitive and easy to understand
than lists of numbers
The pin-jointed bar
▪ It is the simplest finite element for stress analysis of
one-dimensional problems
▪ Each end is assumed to be pin-jointed, so that it can
only transmit a tensile or compressive axial force

▪ Assuming that the displacement varies linearly along


the length of the bar
…The pin-jointed bar

▪ Since the coordinates of the nodes are known

shape functions
…The pin-jointed bar
▪ When a structure is loaded and attains an equilibrium
position, its potential energy must be a minimum
…The pin-jointed bar

▪ For minimum potential energy, displacements must be


such that

▪ This is for one element


…The pin-jointed bar

▪ In practice, a system will consist of many elements,


and it is the total potential energy of the system that
must be minimized

▪ The term in the parenthesis is the global or system


stiffness matrix, and is the sum of all element stiffness
matrices
Find stresses EXAMPLE 1

Connectivity

Element 1

Element 2
…EXAMPLE 1

Assembly

Global stiffness
matrix

Global force vector


…EXAMPLE 1

Boundary conditions

Displacements

Reaction
…EXAMPLE 1

Post-processing

The mechanics of materials method?


The thermal rod
▪ It is the simplest finite element for heat transfer of one-
dimensional problems
▪ The unknown variable at each of the two nodes is
temperature T

▪ Fourier’s law
▪ If linear variation of temperature is assumed along the
length of the rod
The thermal rod
Heat conduction EXAMPLE 2
through a wall
…EXAMPLE 2

▪ What if the temperature of the hotter surface is reduced to


100℃?
Conclusions
▪ Two very simple finite elements were studied
▪ Each was used to solve a sample problem
▪ The procedures demonstrated are
• Discretization of the problem into selected element types
• Calculation of element matrices and vectors
• Assembly of the above to give global (or system) equations
• Incorporation of boundary conditions into global equations
• Solution of equations to find unknown nodal values of the
field variable
• Post-processing to give strains/stresses, and heat flows
…Conclusions
▪ Differences between this analysis and most finite element
analyses:
• Discretization was obvious here. It’s not usually so
• The problems yielded exact results; in practice, it is most
unlikely to occur. (It is rare for a finite element model to
represent the unknown displacement field precisely, and the
result will therefore invariably only approximate the true
solution.)
• Solution is not trivial (as was the case here); generally the
number of equations are in the thousands (at least)
Practice

You might also like