AE 420 / ME 471

Introduction to Finite Element Analysis

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 Course Information
Instructor: Prof. Kai James
Room 319G Talbot Lab
Tel: 217-300-3270
kaijames@illinois.edu
 
Lecture Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 9:00am - 9:50am, 103 Transportation Bldg.
 
Prof. Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 5:00pm - 6:00pm on Zoom
***Beginning August 26th
 
Teaching Assistants: Jimmy He & Talha Kavuncu
junyanh2@illinois.edu, kavuncu2@illinois.edu
on Zoom
Hours: Monday (Jimmy) and Wednesday (Talha) 5:00 pm – 6:00
pm
 
Course Website: https://compass2g.illinois.edu

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 Resources
Textbooks: Concepts and Applications of Finite Element Analysis.
R.D. Cook, D.S. Malkus, and M.E. Plesha. Wiley & Sons 4th
Edition
 
The Finite Element Method. O.C. Zienkiewicz and R.L. Taylor
Vol. 1: Basic Formulation and Linear Problems.
Vol. 2: Solid and Fluid Mechanics - Dynamics and Non-linearity
McGraw-Hill
 
Other References: T. Hughes, Finite Element Method: Linear Static and Dynamic
Finite Element Analysis

T. Hughes, Finite Element Method: Linear Static and Dynamic

Finite Element Analysis

J.N. Reddy, Introduction to the Finite Element Method, 3rd ed.

O.C. Zienkiewicz;   Finite Element Method: Its Basis and

Fundamentals, 6th ed.

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 Instruction & Course Format
• All course content will be covered in the lecture notes
• Powerpoint slides will be uploaded to the course website
• Supplementary notes and example problems will be derived on the
document camera.

• Lectures will be recorded and will be available for download

Grading
Homework: 20%
Group Work: 10%
Midterm: 20%
Course Project: 15%
Final exam: 35%

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Homework:
• 6 assignments posted to the website roughly every 2 weeks
• Will involve handwritten solutions, Matlab code/graphical output, Abaqus
results
• Tutorial sessions will take place in the computer lab

Exams:
• One midterm (Wednesday, October 13 during lecture hour)
• Final exam during exam week
• will be cumulative
• closed book and closed notes
• equation sheet provided

Course Project:
• Work in teams of up to 4 students to develop/implement your own FEA code
to solve an analysis problem, which you will design
• Student enrolled in 4-hour section will be required to solve more challenging
problems

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Group Work:
• 4 special “Challenge” problems assigned over the course of the semester
• These will be solved in class in groups up to 4 students
• These problems will be designed to be extra challenging, and encourage students to
think creatively to apply the concepts taught in class
• Challenges will generally take place on Fridays (advanced notice provided)
• Each group will submit one solution by the beginning of the following class
• Online students will be grouped with other students in the online section, and are
encouraged to meet over Zoom the solve the problems as a team

Objectives:
By the end of the semester, you should…
• have a solid grasp of the mathematical theory underlying FEA
• be able to identify and solve complex engineering problems using commercial FEA
software
• possess a strong foundation in FEA programming and be able to solve simple linear
elastic analysis problems using Matlab
• have the ability to identify the assumptions and limitations of different FEM models

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 Course Outline
1. Introduction
1.1 Historical perspective: The Big Picture
1.2 Applications/Modern FEA in action
1.3 Review of basic relations from beam theory and theory of elasticity

2. Rayleigh-Ritz method

3. Basic concepts of the FEM: solution of 1-D bar problem

3.1 Basic concepts : mesh, nodes, elements, interpolation, …
3.2 FEA of axially loaded bar
3.3 Notes : direct method, higher-order elements, …
3.4 Principle of Virtual Work (PVW) approach
3.5 Galerkin Weighted Residual (GWR) method
3.6 Implementation issues

4. FEA of 2-D truss problem

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 Course Outline (Cont’d)
5. FEA of 2D Poisson problem
5.1 Equation and applications
5.2 Variational approach
5.3 Weighted residual method
5.4 2-D global elements
5.5 Convergence
5.6 Higher-order C0 elements
5.7 Isoparametric elements
5.8 Numerical integration
5.9 Gradient computation

6. FEA of structural problems

6.1 3-D elastic continuum element
6.2 Plane stress/plane strain element
6.3 Axi-symmetric element
6.4 Euler/Bernouilli beam element
6.5 Frame element
6.6 Mindlin beam element
6.7 Plate and shell elements
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 Table of Contents (Cont’d)
7. Important issues in FEA
7.1 Mesh design and error control
7.2 Condensation and substructuring
7.3 Special integration schemes
7.4 Special elements

8. Advanced topics in FEA

8.1 FEA of transient problems
8.1.1 Transient thermal problems
8.1.2 Transient structural problems
8.2 FEA for fluid-structure interaction problems (Guest Lecture)

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 Covid-19
Face Coverings
All students, faculty, staff, and visitors are required to wear face coverings in classrooms
and university spaces at all times, regardless of vaccination status

Building Access
Faculty members may ask students in the classroom to show their Building Access
Status in the Safer Illinois app or the Boarding Pass

Absence due to Illness

Students who feel ill must not come to class. In addition, students who test positive for
COVID-19 or have had an exposure that requires testing and/or quarantine must not
attend class. The University will provide information to the instructor, in a manner that
complies with privacy laws, about students in these latter categories.

Equity and Inclusivity

The Grainger College of Engineering is committed to the creation of an anti-racist, inclusive community
that welcomes diversity along a number of dimensions, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity and
national origins, gender and gender identity, sexuality, disability status, class, age, or religious beliefs.
Bias Assessment and Response Team (BART) https://bart.illinois.edu/

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 About Me
Name: Kai James
Position: Associate Professor
Department: Aerospace Engineering
Research Interests: multidisciplinary design optimization; computational
structural mechanics; aeroelasticity, additive manufacturing

About You
1) Name
2) Major/Department
3) Favorite Subject
4) Career Objectives (optional)
5) Course Objectives

Assignment 0; Due Wednesday, August 25th at noon

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 What is FEA?

“A numerical technique for finding approximate solutions to boundary value

problems for partial differential equations. FEM subdivides a large
problem into small, simpler parts called finite elements”
~ Wikipedia

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 Chapter 1: Introduction
Table of contents

1.1) Historical perspective: The Big Picture

1.2) Applications/Modern FEA in action
1.3) Review of basic relations from beam theory and theory of
elasticity

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 1.1 Introduction - Historical perspective
• A great majority of structural problems are too complex to be solved analytically:
– Complex geometry (3-D, holes and corners, …)
– Complex loading conditions (contact, impact, …)
– Complex material behavior (plasticity, viscoelasticity, creep, …)
– Complex structural response (large deformations, crack propagation, …)

• Therefore approximate numerical methods are often needed

– Convert PDE’s to algebraic equations, which can be solved computationally

• However, closed-form solutions are still important!

– Why?
– Model validation

• Available numerical methods

– Finite difference method (FDM)
• Advantages: simplicity
• Disadvantages: limited to structured meshes
• Use: mostly CFD

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 Introduction - Historical perspective
– Boundary element method (BEM) - only discretize boundary
• Advantage: natural connection with CAD
• Disadvantages: complexity, limited applications
– Finite volume method (FVM)
• Convert volume integrals to surface integrals using divergence theorem
• Advantage: Easily formulated to allow for unstructured meshes
• Use: primarily CFD
– Finite element method (FEM)
• Advantage: flexibility
• Disadvantage: more complex than FDM
• Use: CSM, Heat transfer, CFD and many others

• A little history…
– Early work by Courant (1940’s) but no computer to really apply
– M.J. Turner, aerospace engineering at Boeing, credited with “inventing” FEM
• Used for efficiently approximating elastic response of aircraft structures
– The success of numerical techniques in general, and of the FEM in particular, can
be associated with the dramatic improvement of computational power...

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Supercomputer Computing Power
Blue Waters,
2013 @ UIUC!!!

Courtesy E.P. Chen, Sandia National Labs

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FEM and the Physical System

R = Ku – F = 0

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1.2 Applications of the Finite Element Method

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 Some CSM Finite Element Applications...

Finite element mesh

Automotive application :

Exhaust manifold assembly

(from www.abaqus.com) Temperature distribution

Complexity: geometry
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Complete Structural Analysis of an F-16

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 Dynamic Simulations

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 Topology Optimization

Aerostructural Optimization

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1.3 Review of basic relations of beam theory and elasticity
1) Basic equations of beam theory
A) Beam extension (axial loaded bar)

po(x) P
x
x=0 x=L


GDE: E Au    p o x  for 0  x  L

BC:
either u x   u *
or E Au ' x   P * (with x  0 and L)

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 Review: Beam theory
B) Beam torsion


GDE:  J     mo x  for 0  x  L

BC:either  x  =  * or  J  ' x   M *

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 Review: Beam theory
C) Beam bending

z, w
qo(x)

V
Mb x


GDE : E I w  q o x  for 0  x  L

 either wx   w * or E I wx   V


BC : and
either wx   w * or E I wx   M
 b

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 Review: Theory of elasticity
2) Basic equations of theory of linear elasticity
undeformed

deformed
u(x) Tex
Cauchy' s relation : Ti  ij n j ST
1
Strain ten sor :  ij  ui , j  u j ,i  x
2 SU
y
Equilibriu m :  ij , j bi 0
 ij  ji
Compatibil ity :  ij ,kl   kl ,ij  ik , jl   jl ,ik
Constituti ve :  ij Cijkl  kl
 ij  mm  ij  2 ij (isotropic )

+ physical significance of plane stress/plane strain

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 Review: Energy formulation
3) Energy formulation of structural problems
1) Principle of Minimum Potential Energy (PMPE)
“At equilibrium, the total potential energy  of a deformable elastic body
subjected to conservative external forces is minimum”
with
Work done is independent of path
 = strain energy (U) + external potential energy (V)
The expression of U and V depends on the type of structural element (3-D, 2-D, bar,
beam, truss, plate, shell, …)
L L
1
   E Au ' dx   p o u dx
2
A) For beam extension: 20 0

L L
1
    J  ' dx   m o  dx
2

B) For beam torsion: 20 0

L L
1
   E I w' ' dx   q o w dx
2
C) For beam bending: 20 0

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 Review: Energy formulation

D) For 3-D linearly elastic body:

1 1
U   ij ij dVol    E  dVol
2 Vol Lin .Elastic 2
Vol

V     bi ui dVol   Ti ui dST    b udVol   T udS T

Vol ST Vol ST

where    xx  yy  zz 2 xy 2 xz 2 yz  strain vector

   xx  yy  zz  xy  xz  yz  stress vector

u  u v w  displacement vector

T  Tx Ty Tz  applied traction vector

b  bx by bz  body force vector

E   6 * 6 material stiffness matrix such that    E  

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 Review : Energy formulation
2) Principle of Virtual Work (PVW)
“A body is in equilibrium if and only if the total virtual work δW is zero for any
virtual displacement δu”
i.e.,
δW = δWin + δWex = 0 for all δu
where

Win      dVol  virtual work done by internal stresses

Vol

Wex    b udVol   T udST  virtual work done by external forces

Vol ST

Notes :
1) PMPE is a special case of PVW (and is therefore less general)
2) The expressions above are for a 3-D solid: they would be different for other types
of structural elements

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