Finite Element Method: From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Finite Element Method: From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Finite Element Method: From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
4 Discretization
4.1 Choosing a basis
4.2 Small support of the basis
4.3 Matrix form of the problem
4.4 General form of the finite element method
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History
The finite element method originated from the need for solving complex elasticity and structural
analysis problems in civil and aeronautical engineering. Its development can be traced back to the work
by Alexander Hrennikoff (1941) and Richard Courant[1] (1942). While the approaches used by these
pioneers are dramatically different, they share one essential characteristic: mesh discretization of a
continuous domain into a set of discrete sub-domains, usually called elements.
Hrennikoff's work discretizes the domain by using a lattice analogy while Courant's approach divides
the domain into finite triangular subregions for solution of second order elliptic partial differential
equations (PDEs) that arise from the problem of torsion of a cylinder. Courant's contribution was
evolutionary, drawing on a large body of earlier results for PDEs developed by Rayleigh, Ritz, and
Galerkin.
Development of the finite element method began in earnest in the middle to late 1950s for airframe and
structural analysis[2] and gathered momentum at the University of Stuttgart through the work of John
Argyris and at Berkeley through the work of Ray W. Clough in the 1960s for use in civil engineering.
By late 1950s, the key concepts of stiffness matrix and element assembly existed essentially in the form
used today. NASA issued a request for proposals for the development of the finite element software
NASTRAN in 1965. The method was again provided with a rigorous mathematical foundation in 1973
with the publication of Strang and Fix's An Analysis of The Finite Element Method[3] has since been
generalized into a branch of applied mathematics for numerical modeling of physical systems in a wide
variety of engineering disciplines, e.g., electromagnetism, thanks to Peter P. Silvester[4][5] and fluid
dynamics.
Application
A variety of specializations under the umbrella of the
mechanical engineering discipline (such as aeronautical,
biomechanical, and automotive industries) commonly use integrated FEM in design and development of
their products. Several modern FEM packages include specific components such as thermal,
electromagnetic, fluid, and structural working environments. In a structural simulation, FEM helps
tremendously in producing stiffness and strength visualizations and also in minimizing weight,
materials, and costs.
FEM allows detailed visualization of where structures bend or twist, and indicates the distribution of
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Technical discussion
We will illustrate the finite element method using two sample problems from which the general method
can be extrapolated. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with calculus and linear algebra.
P1 is a one-dimensional problem
where f is given, u is an unknown function of x, and u'' is the second derivative of u with respect to
x.
The two-dimensional sample problem is the Dirichlet problem
where Ω is a connected open region in the (x,y) plane whose boundary is "nice" (e.g., a smooth
manifold or a polygon), and uxx and uyy denote the second derivatives with respect to x and y,
respectively.
The problem P1 can be solved "directly" by computing antiderivatives. However, this method of solving
the boundary value problem works only when there is only one spatial dimension and does not
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generalize to higher-dimensional problems or to problems like u + u'' = f. For this reason, we will
develop the finite element method for P1 and outline its generalization to P2.
Our explanation will proceed in two steps, which mirror two essential steps one must take to solve a
boundary value problem (BVP) using the FEM.
In the first step, one rephrases the original BVP in its weak, or variational form. Little to no
computation is usually required for this step. The transformation is done by hand on paper.
The second step is the discretization, where the weak form is discretized in a finite dimensional
space.
After this second step, we have concrete formulae for a large but finite dimensional linear problem
whose solution will approximately solve the original BVP. This finite dimensional problem is then
implemented on a computer.
Variational formulation
The first step is to convert P1 and P2 into their variational equivalents, or Weak formulation. If u solves
P1, then for any smooth function v that satisfies the displacement boundary conditions, i.e. v = 0 at
x = 0 and x = 1,we have
(1)
Conversely, if u with u(0) = u(1) = 0 satisfies (1) for every smooth function v(x) then one may
show that this u will solve P1. The proof is easier for twice continuously differentiable u (mean value
theorem), but may be proved in a distributional sense as well.
(2)
We can loosely think of to be the absolutely continuous functions of (0,1) that are 0 at
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x = 0 and x = 1 (see Sobolev spaces). Such function are (weakly) "once differentiable" and it turns
out that the symmetric bilinear map then defines an inner product which turns into a
Hilbert space (a detailed proof is nontrivial.) On the other hand, the left-hand-side is
also an inner product, this time on the Lp space L2(0,1). An application of the Riesz representation
theorem for Hilbert spaces shows that there is a unique u solving (2) and therefore P1. This solution is
a-priori only a member of , but using elliptic regularity, will be smooth if f is.
If we integrate by parts using a form of Green's identities, we see that if u solves P2, then for any v,
where denotes the gradient and denotes the dot product in the two-dimensional plane. Once more
can be turned into an inner product on a suitable space of "once differentiable" functions of Ω
that are zero on . We have also assumed that (see Sobolev spaces). Existence and
uniqueness of the solution can also be shown.
Discretization
The basic idea is to replace the infinite dimensional linear
problem:
For problem P1, we take the interval (0,1), choose n values of x with
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Choosing a basis
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for k = 1,...,n; this basis is a shifted and scaled tent function. For the two-dimensional case, we
choose again one basis function vk per vertex xk of the triangulation of the planar region Ω. The
function vk is the unique function of V whose value is 1 at xk and zero at every .
Depending on the author, the word "element" in "finite element method" refers either to the triangles in
the domain, the piecewise linear basis function, or both. So for instance, an author interested in curved
domains might replace the triangles with curved primitives, and so might describe the elements as being
curvilinear. On the other hand, some authors replace "piecewise linear" by "piecewise quadratic" or even
"piecewise polynomial". The author might then say "higher order element" instead of "higher degree
polynomial". Finite element method is not restricted to triangles (or tetrahedra in 3-d, or higher order
simplexes in multidimensional spaces), but can be defined on quadrilateral subdomains (hexahedra,
prisms, or pyramids in 3-d, and so on). Higher order shapes (curvilinear elements) can be defined with
polynomial and even non-polynomial shapes (e.g. ellipse or circle).
Examples of methods that use higher degree piecewise polynomial basis functions are the hp-FEM and
spectral FEM.
More advanced implementations (adaptive finite element methods) utilize a method to assess the quality
of the results (based on error estimation theory) and modify the mesh during the solution aiming to
achieve approximate solution within some bounds from the 'exact' solution of the continuum problem.
Mesh adaptivity may utilize various techniques, the most popular are:
and
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and
If we denote by and the column vectors (u1,...,un)t and (f1,...,fn)t, and if we let
L = (Lij)
and
M = (Mij)
Lij = φ(vi,vj)
and
. (5)
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As we have discussed before, most of the entries of L and M are zero because the basis functions vk
have small support. So we now have to solve a linear system in the unknown where most of the
entries of the matrix L, which we need to invert, are zero.
Such matrices are known as sparse matrices, and there are efficient solvers for such problems (much
more efficient than actually inverting the matrix.) In addition, L is symmetric and positive definite, so a
technique such as the conjugate gradient method is favored. For problems that are not too large, sparse
LU decompositions and Cholesky decompositions still work well. For instance, Matlab's backslash
operator (which uses sparse LU, sparse Cholesky, and other factorization methods) can be sufficient for
meshes with a hundred thousand vertices.
The matrix L is usually referred to as the stiffness matrix, while the matrix M is dubbed the mass
matrix.
One chooses a grid for Ω. In the preceding treatment, the grid consisted of triangles, but one can
also use squares or curvilinear polygons.
Then, one chooses basis functions. In our discussion, we used piecewise linear basis functions, but
it is also common to use piecewise polynomial basis functions.
A separate consideration is the smoothness of the basis functions. For second order elliptic boundary
value problems, piecewise polynomial basis function that are merely continuous suffice (i.e., the
derivatives are discontinuous.) For higher order partial differential equations, one must use smoother
basis functions. For instance, for a fourth order problem such as uxxxx + uyyyy = f, one may use
Another consideration is the relation of the finite dimensional space V to its infinite dimensional
counterpart, in the examples above . A conforming element method is one in which the space V is a
subspace of the element space for the continuous problem. The example above is such a method. If this
condition is not satisfied, we obtain a nonconforming element method, an example of which is the space
of piecewise linear functions over the mesh which are continuous at each edge midpoint. Since these
functions are in general discontinuous along the edges, this finite dimensional space is not a subspace of
the original .
Typically, one has an algorithm for taking a given mesh and subdividing it. If the main method for
increasing precision is to subdivide the mesh, one has an h-method (h is customarily the diameter of the
largest element in the mesh.) In this manner, if one shows that the error with a grid h is bounded above
by Chp, for some and p > 0, then one has an order p method. Under certain hypotheses (for
instance, if the domain is convex), a piecewise polynomial of order d method will have an error of order
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p = d + 1.
If instead of making h smaller, one increases the degree of the polynomials used in the basis function,
one has a p-method. If one combines these two refinement types, one obtains an hp-method (hp-FEM).
In the hp-FEM, the polynomial degrees can vary from element to element. High order methods with
large uniform p are called spectral finite element methods (SFEM). These are not to be confused with
spectral methods.
For vector partial differential equations, the basis functions may take values in .
The most attractive feature of the FEM is its ability to handle complicated geometries (and
boundaries) with relative ease. While FDM in its basic form is restricted to handle rectangular
shapes and simple alterations thereof, the handling of geometries in FEM is theoretically
straightforward.[citation needed]
The most attractive feature of finite differences is that it can be very easy to implement.
[citation needed]
There are several ways one could consider the FDM a special case of the FEM approach. One
might choose basis functions as either piecewise constant functions or Dirac delta functions. In
both approaches, the approximations are defined on the entire domain, but need not be continuous.
Alternatively, one might define the function on a discrete domain, with the result that the
continuous differential operator no longer makes sense, however this approach is not FEM.
[citation needed]
There are reasons to consider the mathematical foundation of the finite element approximation
more sound, for instance, because the quality of the approximation between grid points is poor in
FDM.[citation needed]
The quality of a FEM approximation is often higher than in the corresponding FDM approach, but
this is extremely problem dependent and several examples to the contrary can be provided.
[citation needed]
Generally, FEM is the method of choice in all types of analysis in structural mechanics (i.e. solving for
deformation and stresses in solid bodies or dynamics of structures) while computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) tends to use FDM or other methods like finite volume method (FVM). CFD problems usually
require discretization of the problem into a large number of cells/gridpoints (millions and more),
therefore cost of the solution favors simpler, lower order approximation within each cell. This is
especially true for 'external flow' problems, like air flow around the car or airplane, or weather
simulation in a large area.[citation needed]
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The Generalized Finite Element Method (GFEM) uses local spaces consisting of functions, not
necessarily polynomials, that reflect the available information on the unknown solution and thus ensure
good local approximation. Then a partition of unity is used to “bond” these spaces together to form the
approximating subspace. The effectiveness of GFEM has been shown when applied to problems with
domains having complicated boundaries, problems with micro-scales, and problems with boundary
layers.[8]
hp-FEM
The hp-FEM combines adaptively elements with variable size h and polynomial degree p in order to
achieve exceptionally fast, exponential convergence rates.[9]
hpk-FEM
The hpk-FEM combines adaptively elements with variable size h, polynomial degree of the local
approximations p and global differentiability of the local approximations (k-1) in order to achieve best
convergence rates.
XFEM
Spectral methods
Meshfree methods
See also
Boundary element method
Direct stiffness method
Discontinuity layout optimization
Discrete element method
Finite element machine
Finite element method in structural mechanics
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Galerkin method
Interval finite element
Isogeometric analysis
List of finite element software packages
Movable Cellular Automata
Multidisciplinary design optimization
Multiphysics
Patch test
Rayleigh-Ritz method
References
1. ^ Giuseppe Pelosi (2007). "The finite-element method, Part I: R. L. Courant: Historical Corner".
doi:10.1109/MAP.2007.376627.
2. ^ Matrix Analysis Of Framed Structures, 3rd Edition by Jr. William Weaver, James M. Gere, 3rd Edition,
Springer-Verlag New York, LLC, ISBN 9780412078613, First edition 1966
3. ^ Strang, Gilbert; Fix, George (1973). An Analysis of The Finite Element Method. Prentice Hall.
ISBN 0130329460.
4. ^ Roberto Coccioli, Tatsuo Itoh, Giuseppe Pelosi, Peter P. Silvester (1996). "Finite-element methods in
microwaves: a selected bibliography". doi:10.1109/74.556518.
5. ^ Ronald L. Ferrari (2007). "The Finite-Element Method, Part 2: P. P. Silvester, an Innovator in
Electromagnetic Numerical Modeling". doi:10.1109/MAP.2007.4293978.
6. ^ a b c Hastings, J. K., Juds, M. A., Brauer, J. R., Accuracy and Economy of Finite Element Magnetic
Analysis, 33rd Annual National Relay Conference, April 1985.
7. ^ McLaren-Mercedes (2006). "Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes: Feature - Stress to impress".
http://www.mclaren.com/features/technical/stress_to_impress.php. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
8. ^ Babuska, Ivo; Uday Banerjee, John E. Osborn (June 2004). "Generalized Finite Element Methods: Main
Ideas, Results, and Perspective". International Journal of Computational Methods 1 (1): 67–103.
doi:10.1142/S0219876204000083.
9. ^ P. Solin, K. Segeth, I. Dolezel: Higher-Order Finite Element Methods, Chapman & Hall/CRC Press, 2003
External links
Impact -- Dynamic Finite Element Program Suite
Multiphysics Glossary (Glossary of Multiphysics and Finite Element Modeling terms by
COMSOL)
NAFEMS -- The International Association for the Engineering Analysis Community
IFER -- Internet Finite Element Resources - an annotated list of FEA links and programs
Workshop "The Finite Element Method in Biomedical Engineering, Biomechanics and Related
Fields"
Finite Element Analysis Resources- Finite Element news, articles and tips
Finite-element Methods for Electromagnetics - free 320-page text
CAD, Finite Element Analysis (Abaqus,Ansys), CAE, Programming- FEM, CAD, Programming,
discussion forums
Finite Element Books- books bibliography
Mathematics of the Finite Element Method
Finite Element Methods for Partial Differential Equations - Lecture notes by Endre Süli
FEM AVI-gallery at CompMechLab site, St.Petersburg State Polytechnical University, Russia
Intro to FEA
Introduction to FEA for EM modeling (includes list of currently available software)
Finite Element modeling of light propagation
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