The Finite Element Structural Analysis 3.

Fundamentals for Finite Element Method

3. Fundamentals for Finite Element Method

INTRODUCTION

As mentioned before, when using the Finite Element Method (FEM) to solve mechanics problems
governed by a set of partial differential equations, the profile of the displacements is assumed for each
element in simple forms to obtain element equations.

Discretized system equations can be solved routinely for the final displacement field. The use of such a
principle guarantees the best (not exact) satisfaction of the governing system equation under certain
conditions.

FEM PROCEDURE

Domain Discretization
The solid body is divided into Ne elements. The procedure is often called meshing. Figure 3.1 shows an
example of a mesh for a two-dimensional solid. An element is formed by connecting its nodes in a pre-
defined consistent fashion to create the connectivity of the element.

Figure 3.1. Example of a mesh with elements and node properly numbered.

It is possible for the domain to consist of different types of elements with different numbers of nodes, as
long as they are compatible (no gaps and overlapping). The density of the mesh depends upon the accuracy
requirement of the analysis and the computational resources available. As such, the mesh is usually not
uniform, with a finer mesh being used in the areas where the displacement gradient is larger or where the
accuracy is critical to the analysis.

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The Finite Element Structural Analysis 3. Fundamentals for Finite Element Method

Displacement Interpolation

In formulating FEM equations for elements, it is often convenient to use a local coordinate system that is
defined for an element in reference to the global coordination system that is usually defined for the entire
structure, as shown in Figure 3.4. Based on the local coordinate system defined on an element, the
displacement within the element is now assumed simply by polynomial interpolation using the
displacements at its nodes (or nodal displacements) as

where the superscript h stands for approximation, nd is the number of nodes forming the element, and di is
the nodal displacement at the i th node, which is the unknown the analyst wants to compute, and can be
expressed in a general form of

where nf is the number of Degrees Of Freedom (DOF) at a node. For 3D solids, nf = 3, and

Note that the displacement components can also consist of rotations for structures of beams and plates. The
vector de in Eq. (3.6) is the displacement vector for the entire element, and has the form of

Therefore, the total DOF for the entire element is nd × nf.

In Eq. (3.6), N is a matrix of shape functions for the nodes in the element, which are predefined to assume
the shapes of the displacement variations with respect to the coordinates. It has the general form of

Where

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The Finite Element Structural Analysis 3. Fundamentals for Finite Element Method

where Nik is the shape function for the kth displacement component (DOF) at the ith node. For 3D solids, nf
= 3, and often Ni1 = Ni2 = Ni3 = Ni.

Figure 3.4. Local and global coordinate system.

Standard Procedure for Constructing Shape Functions

Consider an element with nd nodes at xi_ (i = 1, 2, nd), where

for one dimensional problems,

for two dimensional problems,

for three dimensional problems,

the displacement component is approximated in the form of a linear combination of nd linearly-independent

basis functions pi (x), i.e.

where uh is the approximation of the displacement component, pi (x) is the basis function of monomials in
the space coordinates x, and αi is the coefficient for the monomial pi (x). Vector α is defined as

The pi (x) in Eq. (3.12) is built with nd terms of one-dimensional monomials; based on the Pascal’s triangle
shown in Figure 3.2 for two-dimensional problems; or the well-known Pascal’s pyramid shown in Figure
3.3 for three-dimensional problems.

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The Finite Element Structural Analysis 3. Fundamentals for Finite Element Method

A basis of complete order of p in the one-dimensional domain has the form

As a general rule, the nd terms of pi (x) used in the basis should be selected from the constant term to higher
orders symmetrically from the Pascal triangle shown in Figures 3.2 or 3.3. Some higher-order terms can be
selectively included in the polynomial basis if there is a need in specific circumstances.

Figure 3.2. Pascal triangle of monomials (two-dimensional case).

Figure 3.3. Pascal pyramid of monomials (three-dimensional case).

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The Finite Element Structural Analysis 3. Fundamentals for Finite Element Method

The coefficients αi in Eq. (3.12) can be determined by enforcing the displacements calculated using Eq.
(3.12) to be equal to the nodal displacements at the nd nodes of the element. At node i we can have

where di is the nodal value of uh at x = xi. Equation (3.17) can be written in the following matrix form:

where de is the vector that includes the values of the displacement component at all the nd nodes in the
element:

For two-dimensional polynomial basis functions, we have

Using Eq. (3.18), and assuming that the inverse of the moment matrix P exists, we can then have

Substituting Eq. (3.23) into Eq. (3.12), we then obtain

or in matrix form

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The Finite Element Structural Analysis 3. Fundamentals for Finite Element Method

Properties of the Shape Functions

Property 1. Reproduction property and consistency

Property 2. Linear independence

Property 3. Delta function properties

The delta functions property states that the shape function must be a unit at its home node, and zero at its
remote nodes. For a two-dimensional problem, it can be expressed as

Property 4. Partitions of unity property

Property 5. Linear field reproduction

Formation of FE Equations in Local Coordinate System

The strain energy in the entire domain of elastic solids and structures can be expressed as

where ε are the strains obtained using the set of admissible time histories of displacements. The work done
by the external forces over the set of admissible time histories of displacements can be obtained by

where Sf represents the surface of the solid on which the surface forces are prescribed (see Figure 2.2).

As long as the shape functions are constructed, the FE equation for an element can be formulated using the
following process. By substituting the interpolation of the nodes, Eq. (3.6), and the strain–displacement
equation ( ) into the strain energy term (Eq. (3.4)), we have

where the subscript e stands for the element and B is often called the strain matrix, defined by

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The Finite Element Structural Analysis 3. Fundamentals for Finite Element Method

where L is the differential operator that is defined for different problems in Chapter 2. For 3D solids, it is
given by Eq. (2.7). By denoting

which is called the element stiffness matrix, Eq. (3.69) can be rewritten as

to obtain the work done by the external forces, Eq. (3.6) is substituted into Eq. (3.5):

Where

And

Eq. (3.77) can then be rewritten as

These two nodal force vectors can then be added up to form the total nodal force vector fe:

The total potential energy is

Λ= -
Performance of the minimization of the total potential energy with respect to the nodal
displacement de for the element results in

 _

d e
and
=

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The Finite Element Structural Analysis 3. Fundamentals for Finite Element Method

Equation (3.89) is the FEM equation for an element, while ke, and fe is the element force vector of the total
external forces acting on the nodes of the element.

Coordinate transformation

The element equation given by Eq. (3.89) is formulated based on the local coordinate system defined on an
element. In general, the structure is divided into many elements with different orientations.
To assemble all the element equations to form the global system equations, a coordinate transformation has
to be performed for each element in order to formulate its element equation in reference to the global
coordinate system which is defined on the whole structure.

The coordinate transformation gives the relationship between the displacement vector de based on the local
coordinate system and the displacement vector De for the same element, but based on the global coordinate
system:

and

Substitution of Eq. (3.90) into Eq. (3.89) leads to the element equation based on the global coordinate
system:

Where

Assembly of Global FE Equation

The FE equations for all the individual elements can be assembled together to form the global FE system
equation:

Where K is the globe stiffness matrix, D is a vector of all the displacements at all the nodes in the entire
problem domain, and F is a vector of all the equivalent nodal force vectors.

Imposition of Displacement Constraints

The global stiffness matrix K in Eq. (3.96) does not usually have a full order, because displacement
constraints (supports) are not yet imposed. For constrained solids and structures, the constraints can be
imposed by simply removing the rows and columns corresponding to the constrained nodal displacements.

Solving the Global FE Equation

By solving the global FE equation, displacements at the nodes can be obtained. The strain and stress in any
element can then be retrieved using Eq. (3.6) in Eqs. (2.5) and (2.8).

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