• '

Trus~, Beam, and Frame

'

Elements·
. '

Learning· Oblec~~ve·s .. ,:· ,_ :..·.,, .

' \. . .... .. ~
·: . > __ _ .. '
.After studying this 'chap,er, the ·- __ , ., • . .

~~re'ad~-; ~in be ab ~ "io ,-~--~-~

•• understand the use of truss:··
beams, and' frame·~-~·, .••. .l
~·, •, ge~era~~:~~e~:~°.} _m,a,t_ti~~
s:~µs;~J~ !~~ _a!)alys!~~j .: _~- .·:,;; :;
• apply the. fl~1te eleme_nt a:n
ethod .for solving framed •· '.. •1.
, . . type of structuresand;bea
• ,_ l ' . • ~ ~
I
!'°: .. .,.
m~~bending • ·-. •
_.,,. . .,. •.. ..l.,. , i• _,> •• \ • -.~:: •S :: • .} -~.; \ -~·· { ; ~..._ 'It _i. _. • •· ".. •.; . ..J l -, :
! j

' •
>
,

4.1
' '

IN TR OD UC TI ON ' I

Th ere are str uc tur es tha t are for

me d by co nn ect ing ba rs of unifo
are fou nd in bri dg e str uct ure rm section and
s, the cha ssi s of aut om ob ile
str uc tur es of cei lin gs, an d sid veh icle s, skeleton
e wa ils use d for tem po rar y stru
loa ds are ap pli ed on ly at the ctures. If the
joi nts wh ere the me mb ers are
me mb ers res ist the ap pli ed loa connected and the
the str uc tur e is ref err ed to as
·
loa ds are ap pli ed at oth er po
a
d in the for m of ten sio n or com
tru ss typ e of structure. On the oth
pression,
1
er band! nlY
.f;:
int s, the n the me mb ers wi ll exp •
dir ec t ten sio n or co mp res sio n enence notpe o
of
bu t als o str ess du e to bending.
str uc tur e is ref err ed to as a fra Such ~~s and
me d str uct ure . If the members
fra me str uc tur e lie in a pla ne, of a nd plane
the str uct ure is kn ow n as a pla
fra me , oth erw ise it is kn ow n as ne tru ~ :eain is a
a spa ce truss an d space frame
str uc tur al me mb er wh ose cro . the 1ength
ss sec tio n dim ens ion s are small th
an d loa ds are ap pli ed no rm al er ~oads). 'fbe
to the axi s of the member_(transv
ap pli ed loa d wi ll cau se be nd e::ross see~0:
ing of the me mb er an ? thereby th
wi ll ex pe rie nc e ten sil e str ess aining secU0 5
ov er pa rt of the section; th.e r~
wi ll ex pe rie nc e co mp res siv e es e strllcwiesS
. str ess. Fin ite ele me nt analysis O •
is co ns ide red in thi s Ch apt er.
Se
.
cti on 4.2 th analysis of planectuJ" ~.-,.s
typ e of str uc tur es an d Se cti cov ers e '~
on 4.3 dea ls wi th spa ce trU SS pe of strll
ty
 Truss, Beam, and Frame Elements 189

ss in 3D). The finite element application for beam analysis is covered in

(:uon 4.4 and the fr~e type of sti:ucture is dealt with in Section 4.5. The
Se of ANSYS for solving problems is described in Section 4.6.
us

TRUSS ELEM ENT

4.2
In the context of the fl.nit~ element m~thod, the formulation of an elemen t in
the trUSS type of _s~ctu re is an extension of that considered for a bar element.
The basis for this is the fact that the externally applied load to a truss type
f stn1cture, plane truss, or space truss, is resisted in the form of tension or
~ompression developed along the axis of the member. The additional point
considered for a truss type of structure is the arbitrary orientation of its mem-
bers. The effect of temperature is also included in the formulation.

4.2.1 Plane Truss Eleme nt ,,

The members of the truss lie in a plane and the assumptions of the plane truss
analysis are as follows:
' •
' i

1. The members are joined by frictionless joints. tj

2. The loads are applied only at the joints.
3. The members are straight. •· .• •. ! , •-. . . , .. . ' ..
The element matrices for a plane truss are derived in Section 4.2.2. and the
details regarding computation of stress are given in Section 4.2.3. The proce-
dure for considering the effect of temperature is given in Section 4.2.4. As the
finite element method does not depend upon the typ·e of structu re-stat ically
determinate or indete rminat e-the advantage of employing the finite elemen t
method compared to the methods considered under the· strength of materials
approach can be seen. : '
4•2-2 Element Matric
es
Consider a prismatic bar of length L and cross section area A. Let E be the
modulus of elasticity of the material it is made of and 0 be the orientation of
tbe member as shown in Fig. 4.1 The degrees of freedom are u1, v1, u2, and
vi, the displacement components along the global reference directions x and y.
The element matrices can be derived using the element matrices of a bar
element. Let u1 and u2 be the displacements with respect to the axis of the
lllember (local reference axis). The local degrees of freedom can be defined in
~nns of the global degrees of freedom. This can be achieved by resolving the
isplacements defined in the x and y coordinate system along the axis of the
element . . ,
as given here. • ·
I ii I === u 1 cos 0 + v 1 sin 0
\
• ii2 === u2 cos 0 + v2 sin 0
 /
I
_, 190 Finite Element Method /

• l

/
/
A, E, L
- •J

J A • • I

iI

l , '.'!' •.

· Figure 4.1 Truss element

This can be further written in the following matri x form •

• I
'•'
Ut r
,, / '?

l
I ;

/
sinB 0 Vt
{ :~} = [ cos~ .o cosB
/ sin~ u2· ... I ... • i'
• .
l . v2

The aforementioned matrix form can be writte n as follows:

{-}
q -- [T] { q } '. • . ., . ' . . . .,,J , ., ..w ,, <.·' ~ ,
I • ' •\ •
. :'I.
•
,'
• •
..
~
.. .
... -r \ • • ., ..... • : I ,,. \ l . •• ! ,~ . ..
where {q} is th~ degree of freed o~ _vect(?r with respe ct to the axis of
the mem-
ber, [T] is the transformation ma~x , and { q} i~_ the globa l degrees of
freedom
vector with respect to the global reference axes x and y. The element
matrices
~f the truss element can .be obtair{ed by consi dering the total potential
1t for ~e
bar element. The total potential for the bar eleme nt with respe ct to
the local
reference is as follows:
-· . .

7t= ~ {q}' [k] {q}- {q}' {f} ,I. j t'

' I

The stiffness matrix [k] is .rp = AE [ 1 ~.i ] • ,

L"'J L -1 1
'. ,

Using Eq. (4.1), the total potential is expre ssed as follows: •

. ' .
. , 1 .
1t = 2 {q}' [T)' [k] [T] {q}- {q}' [T]' {f}
•
,·:· _
J

. 1 . !
.. 1t = 2 {q}' [k] {q}- {q}' {f}
- bete
Minim izing the total potential, the gover ning equat ion is [k] {q} ===
{/} ."'
,.
 nts 191
Truss, Beam, and Frame Eleme

[k] === [TY [k] [T]

cos 2 0 co s0 sin 0 -c os2 0
-c os 0 sin 0
AE co s0 sin 0 ~in2 0 -co s0 sin 0 -s in2 0
== =-
L -c os2 0 -c os 0s in 0 cos2 0 co s0 sin 0
2 cos 0 sin 0 -si n2 0 co s0 sin 0 sin2 0

and
/ 1 co s0

/ 1sin 0
{/} = [T]1 {/ } =
f2c os 0
/1 co s0

4.2.3 Stress Calculation

to be
ents, the stress for each element is
After solving for the nodal displacem ressed
is 1D in nature, the stress can be exp
calculated. Since the state of stress •
in the following form:

CT = E£ = E [B] {q } = E [B] [T] {q}

[B] (Eq . (3. 5), Ch apt er 3), and [T], the stress for a member in
Substituting for ••
the truss is defined asfollows:

] [ cos 0 sin 0 • 0 0 ]
_ [ 1 1 {q}
CT -E -L L 0 co s0 sin 0
0

co s0 v1 sin 0 u2 co s0 v2 sin 0) (4. 2)

. E( u1
L + L + L
CT = - L -

4 2 4 Temperature Effect
•• e
of tem per atu re du e to the env ironment, is considered in the sam
•The effect by
s for a sim ple bar ele me nt. It is included in the fonnulation
Way it wa tions
ng it int o equ iva len t me cha nic al loads. The necessary modifica
~nverti tion.
computation are given in this sec
~ tbe ele me nt ma tric es and the str ess
Th e
ffic ien t of the rm al exp ansion of the ~a ter ial considere~.
thet a be th~ coe ivalent
temperature L1T ts at1T. The equ
rtnal steam du e to change/rise in
is defined (Section 3.4) as follows:
Il}echan.icaI load du e to temperature

{J}T =A Ea !iT {-u '

~8 the ele1?1ent alo ng the axi s of ~e
Ille arra y def ines loa ds act ing at the ends of
erence 1s ~
~r , the loc al ref ere nce axi s. The load vector m the global ref
de
·
through the transformation matrix, [T]
;.
192 Finite Element Method .

cos 0 0 t

sin 0 0
•. {/}; = [T]t {f}r = '
AE a~ T{ -n
0 cos 0

'
'
~
.
I
0 sin 0
. -co s0
-si n0
{f} r =A Ea AT
cos 0 ,
(4.3)
'
sin 0
~ _
This load vector is added to the load vector
due to the externally applied load
on the truss structure. The stress developed
in t~e mem ber will be due to the
combined effect of the applied load and ther
mal loa d as explained in Section
3.4. The expression for the stress develop
ed in the truss mem ber is defined as
&oll
11 ows·.
••
• .., • 1 llf . ,'r ~ I .. '

- : ·o- =E (e~ -'e r).= E([ B]{ q}- aA T).

l . •
'E( [B] [T] {q} -aA T)· ,,. ':
• '
~ ! i ~ ,' • \ •
, .
" \
In the aforementioned expression, £ is the - ' • ' .. . : •
1 total strain, £ r is the strain due to
temperature, and {q} is the nodal degrees of
free dom vector wit h respect to the
axis of the member, local reference. Sµbstitu
ting fo~ [B], [T], the expression
for the stress is
\ ~' •• , t ' I •. ~ - \ «-". ' ~ I ' • '

sin e
L
cos e sin e ·] {q} ~ aar) _,. · (4.4)
L L .
iiiiiiiiid• _
Compute the stress developed in the mem
E = 200 GPa. Are a of the mem ber AB
bers of truss shown in Fig. 4.2 th~
2
is 20 cm and its length is 5 m. Mem-
bers BC and AC have the same area.and is
equ al to 25 cm2 . ; • • •
6 kN
. . ,'

·._J~
.. ll! . . . .,
5 kN"

: I •1

j I
• . t
...,,. -
'
;. • J

r • ~•
I_ _.. ;

Figure 4.2 Truss with thre e mem bers

Solution 1
I •

Pre-processing . •. · ) •:
•

. • · • ••• nts and

The truss can be considered as a combinatio
n of three plane trU~ S ele ~: of the
dat a for the elements are given in· the foll
owing table. The onentaUO
 Truss, Beam, and Frame Elements 193

. taken as positive if the angle is in the anticlockwise direction from

(lleJ1lber. isntal. Taking
• into
• ··
account the support conditions, • glob a1
node-wise
the bonzo • d S •
f freedom are ass1gne . 1nce node 1 is on the hinge support, b oth
degrees ~es of freedom are constrained and therefore, no number is assigned.
the
N°d
~f is partially ~o~strained (~llow~d t~ m~ve in the horizontal directio~;
of movement 1n the vertical direction 1s constrained) and node 3 will
freed?tsrndisplacements in both directions. The total number of degrees of free-
have 1
doIIl is 3. •
\
I

[ p,ternber Element 'Nodes Length(m)

•.

Area (cm2 r A~gle (Deg.) OOF

AB 1 1, 2 5.0 20 0 o. 0, 1, 0
2 2,3 2.5V3 25 150 1, 0, 2, 3
BC
AC 3 1, 3 2.5 25 60 0.0.2.3

processing ••
The element matrices are computed and assembled according to the data given
in the table. The element matrices are given here.
Element 1 The constants in the stiffness matrix are as follows:

AE = 80 x 106 cosB =1 sinB =0

L
r ' •
r •
The stiffness matrix is as follows:
., .
80 0 -80 0 . '

0 0 0 0
[k] 1 = 106
-80 0 "'A80 0
0 0 0 0 I \ ,_

Element 2 The constants in the stiffness matrix are as follows:

AE
L = 115.47 x 106 cos 0 = -0.8660 sinB = 0.5
The stiffness matrix is ..,
'l

86.6025 -49.9985 -86.6025 49.9985

-49.9985 28.8675 49.9985 -28.8675

[kb= 106
-86.6025 49.9985 ,-::· @ -~. _.,.;
-49.9985 !
/"

,
49.9985 -28.8675 -49.9985 28.8675
tlernent 3
The constants in the stiffness matrix are as follows:
AE
z: =2oox 10 6
cosB = 0.5 sin8 = 0.8660
 ........
194 Finite Element Method

50.0 86.6 -50. 0 -86.6

86.6 150.0 -86. 6 -150.Q
The stiffness matrix is [kb= 106
-50. 0 -86. 6 50.0 86.6
f""/
I
-86.6 -150 .0 ·86.6
I· 150.0
The element stiffness matrices are assembled according to the globa
l degr
of freedom indicated against the respective element. The global stiffne
& 11
ss ~es
tnx
•
1s
•
as 10 ows: a-
166.6025 -86.6025 49.9985
[K] = 106 -86.6025
,1

136.6025 36.6015
'
49.9985 36.6015 • 178.8675
The global load vector is defined directly considering the loads
applied at
node 3. The load vector is as follows: . • , ..
0 I •

{F} • 5000
-6000
The final equations are as follows:

166.6025 -86.6025 49.9985 0

106 -86.6025 136;6025. 36.6015 5000
49.9985 36.6015, 178.8675 -6000
The nodal displacements are computed through the inverse of the
matrix stiffness
•
ql
1
q2 -
106 X 1847571.717
q3
;
23094.0779 17320.3928 ,-9999.7015 0
17320.3928 27299.9227 -10427.8965 5000
-
.. -9999
,
. . .7015, -10427 .8965 15258.3250 -6000
The nodal displacements·vector is as follows:

79.3475
q2 = 10-6 107.7452 m
-77.7720
=
Truss, Beam, and Frame Elements 195

s developed in the members of the truss are computed by iden-

tresse f h .
files the displacement vector o t e element and using Eq. (4.2) of Section
0fyiflg the stress value computed becomes positive, then the member is under
4.Z•.3•n·If otherwise 1t
• ts
• under compression.
·
reos10 ' •
Jllent 1
£le E{ cos 0 sin 0 cos 0
cr1 ===
. - . l l l ~ } {q}1
0
0
Li =5
79.3475
0
Substituting the aforementioned in the expression of stress,
0
·o
-200 x 109 { _l O 51 0} 1_0-6 =3.174 MPa (tension)
CT! - 5 79.3475
0
Element 2
79.3475
0
<r2 = 200 X 109 { 51 1
- 5v'3 - 51 5 v~
1~3} 10-~
107.7452
-77.7720
= - 2.932 MPa (compression)
Element 3
0
0
107.7452
.I

-77.7720
=== -1.078 MPa (compression)
'
Post·Processing ,r, .., • • '

~e member stress values computed are listed iri. the following table and com-
aared With values obtained using method of joints, strength of materials (SM)
PProach.
- ..
~lenient Stress (MPa) · •Stress type/Nature SM(MPa) Stress type/Nature
I
3.174 Tension ,. 3.174 Tension
2
2.932 . Compression 2.932 Compression
3
l.078 Compression 1.079 Compres~ion
196 Finite Element Method
'
Ex n1P1.1·: 4.2
·2okN
A • truss containing five rn

D 15kN
r is subjected to loads as sh embers
· Fig. 4.3. Each one of the mown in
AD and DC has area 20 crn2. embers
other members have area 15' the
2
The length of member DB is 3 crn •
that of AB and BC are equal and /n
Member DB is perpendicular t: ~Ill.
10 kN E ,= 200 GPa. Compute the C.
developed in each one of the Slress
Figure 4.3 Truss with five members hers of the truss. mem.
l

Solution
Pre-processing
The number of.elements is 5 and number of nodes is 4. Since the left suppon
is a hinge typ~,•~l the degrees of fre~dom are co~strained; for the right sup-
port, only the vertical displaceme~t is constrained'. Hence', the total number of
degrees of freedom is 5. The following table gives the details of the elements
'' ,
.
t Member ::·El~e~t :/· -}~~;\ 14't:~_~;~::; ~-:A:~~,:·(;~)2 ._5Arigli,(peg:) i oo, _ J
AB 1 1,2 4 15 OJX) 0,0,1,2
,,
BC 2 2,3 4 15 0.00 1, 2, 3, 0
AD 3 1, 4 5 20 • 36.87 0,0,4,S
DB 4 2,4 3 15 90.00 1, 2,4, S
DC 5 · 3,4 5 20 143.13 • 3, 0, 4, S,

•Processing
The element matrices are computed using the data given in the table. The
following are the element matrices. • •
Elements l and 2 • The stiffness matrices of elements 1 and 2 are same. ¥ ==
7.5x107 cos9=1.0 sin9F0,Q2- ,\ 0

O· 0 ' 2-
0 -1.5 0 o µ
0 0 0 0 -02-
[k)i = [kb = 107
0 I -1,5 0
0 0
-
7.5 0
0 0
' J
2-0
i; '·

Element3 ¥,- = 8.0 x 10 cos 9 = 0.8sin9 = 0.6

7
U( e,- tl ~
5.12 3.84 -5.12 -3.84 ~
0
7 3.84 2.88 -3.84 -2.88
• [kb= lO ·-5.12 -3.84 5.12 3.84
-3.84 -2.88 3.84 2.88
I' Truss, Beam, and Frame Elements 197

i1e111ent 4
dP-
µ
= 10.0\ x 10:co~0 =~0sin0 = 1.0
' - .,. ~
0 0 0 0 1
0 10 0 -10 2.
0 0 0 0 ~
0 -10 0 10 0

Eleillent 5 A{ = 8.0 x 107 cos 0 = -0.8 sin 0 = 0.6

5.12 -3.84 -5.12 3.84
-3.84 2.88 3.84 -2.88
7
[k] 5 = 10
-5.12 3.84 5.12 -3.84
3.84 -2.88 -3.84 - . . --- -- _2.88
The assembled stiffness matrix is as follows:
\-- ~ ~
l?.00. ~--0.00 -7.50 0.00 0.00
0.00 10.00 0.00 0.00 -10.00
[K] = 107 -7.50 0.00 12.62 -5.12 3.84
0.00 0.00 -5.12 10.24 0.00
0.00 -10.00 3.84 0.00 15.76
The structure load vector (assembled load vector) can be defined directly as
the loads are applied at the nodes. The global load vector is as follows:

0
-10000
{F} = 0
15000
-20000
The final equations are as follows:
15.00 0.00 -7.50 0.00 0.00 0
ql
o.oo 10.00 0.00 0.00 -10.00 q2 -10000
107
-7.so 0.00 12.62 -5.12 3.84 q3 0
o.oo 0.00 -5.12 10.24 0.00 q4 15000
o.oo
\

-10.00 3.84 0.00 15.76 q5 -20000

198 Finite Element Method

The nodal displacements are computed by forming the following equ .

considering rows one by one from the "'afor~mentto
- • ned matrix
• form. Consid
ation
,
~~~~~~ r ~
2q 1 -q3 =0

; J (4.5)
From the second row, the following expression for q in terms of .
2 q5 IS
obtained.
q2 -q5 = -10-4
q2 = q5 - 10-4
(4.6)
Considering the second row the following equation is obtained.

8.87q 1 - 2.56q4 + l.92q5 =0 (4.7)

The fourth row will result in an equation inyplving q ~d q . Using Eq. (4.5),
3 4
an equation for q 1 in terms of q can be obtained as given here.
4
q1 = q4 -1.4648 X 10-4 (4.8)
From the fifth row, the following equation is obtained.
-q2 +0.384q
3
+ l.576q5 = -20 X 10-4
Using Eqs (4.5) and (4.6), the aforementioned expression can be simplified
and an equation for q 1 in te~s of q is defined as given here.
5

q1 = -3.90625 X io:._4 ~-0.75q~ (4.9)

Comparing Eqs (4.8) and (4.9), an equation for q in terms of q can be

4 5
obtained as given here.
1
q4 = -0.15q5 - 2.4414 X 10-4 (4.10)

Using Eqs (4.7), (4.9), and (4.10), the value for q can obtained as follows:
5
q5 = -10.0972 X 10-4

The other degrees of freedom values are obtained ~sing Eqs (4.5), (4.6), (4•9),
and (4.10). The nodal degree of freedom vector is as follows:
ql " 3.6667
"'\

q2 -11.0972
q3 = 10-4 7.3334 m
q4 5.1315
q5 -10.0972
 Truss, Beam, and Frame Elements 199

ent stress acting along the axis of the member is computed using
'f}le e1ern
SQ• (4,2) • .' • I ; • 1

The element degrees of freedom vector is as follows:

f:JenteD t 1
0
0
m
3.6667
I •

-11.0972
cr1 = <YAB = 18.33 MPa (tension)
Element 2 - The element degrees of freedom vector is •
3.6667
. --; 11.0972 JI

10-4
·7.3334
m. .
. -.
.
.i ' > •
!
'
f r •• . '
,o
cr2 = <rBc = 18.33 MPa (tension)

Element 3 The element degrees of freedom vector is, •

0 '·-.!
! * l

0
m
5.1315
-10.0972
cr3 = erAD = 7. 81 MPa (compression)
. of. freedom vector is
Element 4 The element degrees
3.6667
-11.0972
10-4 m
5.1315
-10.0972
cr4 = crv8 = 6.67 MPa (tension)
•
Elelllent 5 · The element degrees of freedom ,vector ts

7.3334
0
m
5.1315
-10.0972
' • !' • l

~5 =~DC= l?.i9 MPa (compression)

200 Finite iElement Method
Post-processing
The stress values computed can be compared with the ·strength of m
solu tion ancl this comparision, element by elemel)t, is shown in the foll
table. • •
~~~~!tl~ 11§B~::::~:::':¥~k
1 I 18.33 Tension
2 I 18.33 Tension 18.33 1
.• I Tension
'
3 I 7.81 Compression 7.81 _ Compression
II' ':
4 I 6.67 Tension 6.67
.......
Tension
5 I 17.19 Compression / . : i \ 17.19
( 1 ~-
Compression
4.3 SPACE TRUSS ELEMENT