Escolar Documentos
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Cultura Documentos
1 2
Ferdinando Auricchio
1
DICAR Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Architettura, Universit`
a di Pavia, Italy
2
IMATI Istituto di Matematica Applicata e Tecnologie Informatiche, CNR, Italy
March 7, 2014
O.C.Zienkiewicz and R.L.Taylor, The Finite Element Method, vol.1 & vol. 2,
Butterworth-Heinemann (2005)
T.J.R.Hughes, The Finite Element Method: Linear Static and Dynamic Finite
Element Analysis, Dover (2000)
E.Onate, Structural Analysis with the Finite Element Method. Linear Statics:
Volume 1: Basis and Solids, Springer (2013)
E.Onate, Structural Analysis with the Finite Element Method. Linear Statics:
Volume 2: Beams, Plates and Shells, Springer (2013)
Course notes
Sage
Free open-source mathematics software system licensed under the GPL
Combines the power of many existing open-source packages into a common
Python-based interface
Mission: Creating a viable free open source alternative to Magma, Maple,
Mathematica and Matlab.
http://www.sagemath.org/
http://www.sagemath.org/pdf/SageTutorial.pdf
Matlab, Maple
Non open-source software for some initial developments and computations
Even if a variable varies in highly non-linear manner over the entire region, fair to
assume that it varies in a linear fashion over each (small) element
In the finite-element spirit, natural to consider the above structure as made of:
Two elements and three nodes
Element 1 delimited by nodes 1-2, element 2 delimited by nodes 2-3
System has three dofs, identified with the horizontal nodal displacements
u1 , u2 , u3
Very simple considerations tell that force N within the element is given by
N = k1 (u2 u1 )
assuming positive displacements in the x-axis direction and positive internal force if
tensile
Consider now the same element but with a different approach
P1 and P2 are element forces, i.e. forces acting on the element, clearly possibly
different than external applied loads
Spring equilibrium requires
P1 + P2 = 0
or in matrix form:
Ke ue = f e
with
k1 k1
Ke = element stiffness (symmetric!!)
k1 k1
u
1
ue = element displacement vector
u2
fe =
P1
element force vector
P2
Equation ?? fully characterizes response of spring 1
Equation ?? represents equilibrium of spring 1
Same considerations for spring 2
F P1e=1 = 0
1
F2 P2e=1 P1e=2 = 0
F3 P2e=2 = 0
Ku = f
where
K global stiffness matrix
u global displacement vector
f global force vector
K 6= Ke=1 + Ke=2
but
K = A Ke=1 , Ke=2
Once computed the solution, it is also possible to re-use the first equation of ??
k1 u1 k1 u2 = F1
enforcing equilibrium of node 1, to compute the reaction force:
reaction force F1 = k1 u2 = (F2 + F3 )!!
To guarantee global equilibrium, reaction force on node 1 should be equal and opposite
to the sum of the forces acting on nodes 2 and 3 !!
Approach adopted for the spring system is an example of matrix structural analysis
Often also indicated as displacement method since the displacements are chosen as
unknown or stiffness method since it is mainly based on the construction of the
stiffness of the single elements
Apart from the construction of the stiffness relation for the single elements
(extremely simple for the case under investigation), the followed steps are key steps
of the finite-element method
Establish stiffness relation for each element
Enforce compatibility, i.e. connect elements
Enforce equilibrium (assembling)
Enforce boundary conditions
Solve system of equations
Clearly, the finite element method is very general and the way in which it is
presented here is simplified and relative to a specific application
Later on we present a more flexible and general way for deriving finite element
approximations for differential equations