Chapter Two

Finite Element Approximation Techniques

• In general there are several approaches to
formulating finite element problems. The well
known methods are:
1.Direct Formulation
2. The Minimum total potential energy
formulation and
3.The weighted residual formulation

It is important to note that the basic steps involved in

any finite element analysis, regardless of how we
generate the finite element model will be the same.
• 1. Direct Formulation
• The direct approach has the following features
• It applies physical concept (e.g. Force Equilibrium,
energy conservation, mass conservation etc.)
directly to discretized elements
• It does not need elaborate, sophisticated
mathematical manipulation or concept
• Its applicability is limited to certain problems for
which equilibrium or conservation law can be
easily stated in terms of physical quantities one
wants to obtain. In most cases discretized elements
are self obvious in the physical sense.
• The direct method is based on linear static analysis
concepts . Most structural problems can be treated as a
linear static problems, based on the following
assumptions.
I. Small deformations (loading pattern is not
changed due to the deformed shape)
II. Elastic Materials (no plasticity or failures)
III.Static loads (the load is applied to the structure
in a slow or steady fashion.
Linear analysis can provide most of the information
about the behavior of a structure , and can be a good
approximation for many analysis. It is also the bases of
the nonlinear analysis in most of the cases.
Bar and Spring Elements are well know for Direct
method Forumlation.
Use of Bar Element For Direct Formulations
• Consider a uniform prismatic bar as shown in
fig below.
• The following equations govern the behavior of the
bar:

1. Equilibrium of the element, i.e. the sum of the

nodal internal forces acting on the element is equal to
zero:

Figure Various configurations of bar elements: (a) horizontally aligned bar

and (b) bar element positioned at an arbitrary angle in two dimensions
• 2) The elastic stress–strain law, known as Hooke’s law, which states
that the stress is a linear function of the strain

3) The deformation of the structure must be compatible, i.e. no gaps or

overlaps can develop in the structure after deformation
It is important to recognize the difference between the sign convention
for the internal axial force (and the stress) and that for the nodal internal
forces. The internal force pe is positive in tension and negative in
compression, i.e. pe is positive when it points out from the surface on
which it is acting; the nodal internal forces are positive when they point
in the positive x-direction and are not associated with surfaces, see
Figure below .
 Stiffness Matrix formulation
• Assuming that the displacement u is varying
linearly along the axis of the bar, i.e.,

• We have
• We also have

• Thus,(5) and (6) lead to

• The bar is acting like a spring in this case and

we conclude that element stiffness matrix is
• This can be verified by considering equilibrium of
the forces at the two nodes

The axial force and the stress are positive in tension

and negative in compression.
From equilibrium of the bar element it follows that
Procedure for Direct Stiffness Method (Displacement Method)

1. Discretize into finite elements, Identify nodes, elements

and number them in order.

2. Develop element stiffness matrices [Ke] for all the

elements.

3. Assemble element stiffness matrices to get the global

stiffness matrix ([KG] =S [Ke]). The size of of global
stiffness matrix = total d.o.f of the structure including at
boundary nodes. Assembly is done by matching element
displacement with global displacements. Also develop
appropriate force vector (by adding element force vectors)
such that equation of the type [KG] {u}={F} is obtained.
Procedure for Direct Stiffness Method (Ctd…)

4. Apply kinematic boundary conditions. Without applying

boundary conditions, [KG] will be singular. (minimum
number of boundary conditions required is to arrest ‘Rigid
Body’ displacements).

5. Solve for unknown displacements {u} ( {u}= [KG] –1{F}).

6. Once displacements are determined find

(a) reactions by picking up appropriate rows from the
equation {F}=[KG] {u}, (b) Find element forces {f}=[Ke]
{ue}, (c) Element stresses given by {se}= [D][B]{ue}.
 F 2 , u2 F3 , u3
F1 , u1

1 2 3
Boundary Conditions
u1=0,28-Nov-17
u 2=0 13
 2A, L, E A, L, E

 2 -2 
AE  
 G
K  -2 2+1 -1
L  
 -1 1 

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28-Nov-17 15
Reactions 0 
AE PL   2P
F1  2 -2 0 1   
L 3AE   3
0 
{
0 
AE PL   P
F3  0 -1 1 1   
L 3AE   3
0 
28-Nov-17 16
Element Forces

Element 1 f2
f1
f1  2AE  1 -1  u1  A, L, E
     
f 2  L -1 1  u 2  2P
2P
3
2AE  1 -1 PL 0   2p / 3 3

     2A, L, E
L -1 1 3AE 1  2p / 3 
Element 2
f1  AE  1 -1  u 2 
     
f 2  L  -1 1  u 3 
P P
AE  1 -1 PL 1   p / 3  3 A, L, E 3
=     
L -1 1 3AE 0    p / 3
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28-Nov-17 18
 Direct Method For Varying Area Bar
• Consider a bar with a variable cross section supporting a load P, as
shown in Figure below. The bar is fixed at one end and carries the
load P at the other end.
• We are interested in determining how much the bar will deflect at
various points along its length when it is subjected to the load P.
We will neglect the weight of the bar in the following analysis,
assuming that the applied load is considerably larger than the
weight of the bar

Let us designate the width of the

bar at the top by w1 at the bottom
by w2 its thickness by t, and its
length by L. The bar's modulus of
elasticity will be denoted by E

FIGURE A bar under axial loading.

 Preprocessing Phase
Step 1: Discretize the solution domain into finite elements

FIGURE 1.2 Subdividing the bar into elements and nodes.

The given bar is modeled using four individual segments, with each
segment having a uniform cross section. The cross-sectional area of each
element is represented by an average area of the cross sections at the
nodes that make up (define) the element
Step 2. Assume a solution that approximates the behavior of an
element
• In order to study the behavior of a typical element, consider the
deflection of a solid member with a uniform cross section A that has
a length l when subjected to a force F, as shown in Figure below.

FIGURE A solid member of uniform

cross section subjected to a force F

since the bar's cross section varies in the y-direction for the problem, as
a first approximation, we model the bar as a series of centrally loaded
members with different cross sections.
• The bar is represented by a model consisting of four elastic
springs (elements) in series, and the elastic behavior of an
element is modeled by an equivalent linear spring according
to the equation

• where the equivalent element stiffness is given by

The free body diagram of nodes, which shows the forces

acting on nodes 1 through 5 of this model, is depicted in
Figure below.
Static equilibrium requires that the sum of the
forces acting on each node be zero. This
requirement creates the following five
equations:

Rearranging the above equilibrium equations

by separating the reaction force R, and the
applied external force P from the internal
forces, we have
• Presenting the above equilibrium equations in a matrix form, we have:

distinguish between the reaction forces and the applied loads in the load
matrix

under additional nodal loads and other fixed boundary conditions, the
relationship given by the above equation can be put into the general
form
• Turning our attention to the Example again, we find that
because the bar is fixed at the top, the displacement of node
1 is zero. Thus, the first row of the system of equations
given above should read u1 = 0. Thus, application of the
boundary condition leads to the following matrix equation:
• Step 3. Develop equations for an element
• Because each of the elements in Example 1.1 has two nodes, and with
each node we have associated a displacement, we need to create two
equations for each element.
• Consider the internally transmitted forces fi and fi+1 and the end
displacements ui and ui+1 of an element, which are shown in Figure
below.
• Static equilibrium conditions
require that the sum of fi and
fi+1 be zero. Note that the
sum of fi and fi+1 is zero
regardless of which
representation of the figure
is selected.
Thus, the transmitted forces
at nodes i and i + 1 are :
Figure: Internally
transmitted forces through
an arbitrary element.
Step 4. Assemble the elements to present the entire problem
• Applying the elemental equations to all elements and
assembling them (putting them together) will lead to the
formation of the global stiffness matrix.

The stiffness matrix for element (1) and its corresponding

position in the global matrix are:

The stiffness matrix for element (2) and its corresponding

position in the global matrix are:
 • The final global stiffness matrix is obtained by assembling, or
adding, together each element's position in the global stiffness
matrix:

Step 5. Apply boundary conditions and loads

The bar is fixed at the top, which leads to the boundary condition u1 =
0.The external load P is applied at node 5.
 Solution Phase
Step 6. Solve a system of algebraic equations simultaneously
In order to obtain numerical values of the nodal displacements, let us
assume that E = 10.4 x lo6 lb/in2 (aluminum), wl = 2 in, w2 = 1 in, t =
0.125 in, L = 10 in, and P = 1000 Ib. You may consult Table below while
working toward the solution.

The variation of the cross-sectional area of the bar in the y-direction can
be expressed by:
• Next, the equivalent stiffness coefficient for each element is
computed from the equations

and the elemental matrices are

• Assembling the elemental matrices leads to the generation
of the global stiffness matrix:

• Applying the boundary condition u, = 0 and the load P =

1000 Ib, we get
• Because in the second row, the -975 coefficient gets
multiplied by ul = 0, we need only to solve the following 4 x
4 matrix.

The displacement solution is: ul = 0, u2 = 0.001026 in, u3 =

0.002210 in, u4 =0.003608 in, and u5 = 0.005317 in.
Postprocessing Phase
Step 7. Obtain other information.
average normal stresses in each element
Reaction Forces we can compute the reaction forces from the
general reaction equation

Performing the matrix operation, we have

Element 1 Element 2

u1 u2 u2 u3
AE  1  1 AE  1  1
 K1     K2   
L  1 1 L  1 1

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28-Nov-17 36
28-Nov-17 37
28-Nov-17 38
Stress in element 1
 u1   1 1   u1 
1  E1  EB    E     
u2   L L  u2 
u 2  u1 4 1.5  0
=E  2.0  10  200N / mm 2
L 150
Stress in element 2
u2   1 1  u2 
2  E2  EB    E     
u3   L L  u3 
u3  u2 4 1.2  1.5
=E  2.0  10  40N / mm 2
L 150
28-Nov-17 39
 Minimum Total Potential Energy
Formulation
• The minimum total potential energy formulation is a
common approach in generating finite element
models in solid mechanics.
• External loads applied to a body will cause the body
to deform.
• During the deformation, the work done by the
external forces is stored in the material in the form
of elastic energy, called strain energy.
Element Formulation by Virtual Work

 Use virtual work to derive element stiffness

matrix based on assumed displacements
– Principle of virtual work states that if a general
structure that is in equilibrium with its applied
forces deforms due to a set of small
compatible virtual displacements, the virtual
work done is equal to its virtual strain energy
of internal stresses.

28-Nov-17 41
 At element level, dUe = dWe
– dUe = virtual strain energy of internal stresses
– dWe = virtual work of external forces acting
through virtual displacements

28-Nov-17 42
 We now assume a simple displacement
function to define the displacement of every
material point in the element.
 Usually use low order polynomials
 Here
u = a1 + a2x
– u is axial displacement
– a1, a2 are constants to be determined
– x is local coordinate along member
28-Nov-17 43
 The constants are found by imposing the
known nodal displacements ui, uj at nodes i
and j
ui = a1 + a2xi
uj = a1 + a2xj
 ui, uj are nodal displacements
 xi, xj are nodal coordinates

28-Nov-17 44
 letting xi = 0, xj = L, we get
– a1 = ui
– a2 = (uj-ui)/L
 We can write
 x x  u i 
u  1     [ N ]{ d }
 L L u j 

– [N] = matrix of element shape functions or

interpolation functions
– {d} = nodal displacements
28-Nov-17 45
 N    N1 N2 
x
N1  1  , N1=1
L
x
N2  Variation of N1
L
Pr operties
N i  1 at node i and zero at all other nodes N2=1

 Ni  1
Variation of N2
i.e. at any point in the element N1  N 2  1

28-Nov-17 46
 Strain is given by
du d[N]
  {d}  [B]{d}
dx dx
1
 B   1 1
L

 where [B] is a matrix relating strain to

nodal displacement (matrix of derivatives
of shape function)

28-Nov-17 47
 Now
 = E( o )= E[B]{d}-E o
– Stress and strain are constant in a member
 Define internal virtual strain energy for a
set of virtual displacements {dd} to be

dU e  V (d) dV T

28-Nov-17 48
  d = virtual strain
  = stress level at equilibrium
– dV = volume
 Virtualwork of nodal forces is
T
dWe = {dd} {f}
 Then, virtual work is given by

  d ) dv  dd f 
T T

28-Nov-17 49
  Substituting and rearranging gives
V [B]{dd})  E[B]{d}  Eo ) dV  {dd}T {f }
T

{dd}T V [B]T E[B]{d}dV  {dd}T V [B]T Eo dv {dd}T {f }

T
 Canceling {dd} gives [k]{d}={F} where
[k]   [B] E[B]dV
T
V

 1
F  f   EAo  
1 
For thermal problem o  T
28-Nov-17 50
 for a bar element we get

EA 1 1
[k]   
L 1 1 

 thisformulation method also applies to 2-d

and 3-d elements

28-Nov-17 51
 Weighted Residual Methods
• The weighted residual methods are based on
assuming an approximate solution for the governing
differential equation.
• The assumed solution must satisfy the initial and
boundary conditions of the given problem. Because
the assumed solution is not exact, substitution of the
solution into the differential equation will lead to
some residuals or errors.
• Simply stated, each residual method requires the
error to vanish over some selected Intervals or at
some points.
The method of weighted residuals provides a very
powerful approximate solution procedure that is
applicable to a wide variety of problems.
Let the governing equations be represented by
1

Substitution of the above equation into Equation (1)

results in (Refer additional material!)