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Basic Formulas
Galerkins method assumes that the approximate (or trial) solution, u, can
be expressed as a linear combination of the nodal point displacements ui ,
where i refers to the corresponding node number.
X
u(x) u h (x) = Ni (x)ui = N(x)u
i
The shape functions correspond to each degree of freedom (dof), and they
have to satisfy the condition of being equal to 1 at the node of the
corresponding dof and 0 everywhere else.
The order of the shape function is chosen based on the problems strong
form. Moreover, the shape functions are usually expressed in the
iso-parametric coordinate system
Bar Element
d 2u
For the standard bar element, the strong form is AE + f (x) = 0. The
dx 2
d2u
homogeneous form is AE dx 2 = 0 which is a 2nd order ODE with known solution:
u(x) = C1 x + C2 , i.e., a 1st degree polynomial.
The shape functions N() are therefore selected as 1st degree polynomials:
1
(1 )
u1
N() = 2
1
u2
(1 + )
2
Beam Element
d2 d 2
For the standard beam element, the strong form is EI 2 + f (x) = 0.
dx 2 dx
2 2
d d
The homogeneous form is EI 2 = 0 which is a 4th order ODE with
dx 2 dx
known solution: u(x) = C1 x3 + C2 x 2 + C3 x + C4 , i.e., a 3rd degree polynomial.
The shape functions H() are therefore selected as 3rd degree polynomials:
1
(1 )2 (2 + )
4 u1
1
(1 )2 (1 + ) 1
4
H() =
1
(1 + ) (2 + ) u2
2
4
1 2
2
(1 + ) ( 1)
4
Institute of Structural Engineering Method of Finite Elements II 4
Cheat Sheet
Basic Formulas-Stiffness Matrices
Going from Strong to Weak form yields the expressions of the equivalent
stiffness matrix for each element:
Bar Element
Z L
dNj (x) dNi (x)
Kij = AE dx
0 dx dx
Going from Strong to Weak form yields the expressions of the equivalent
stiffness matrix for each element:
Beam Element
L
d 2 Hj (x) d 2 Hi (x)
Z
Kij = EI dx
0 dx 2 dx 2
# Points xi wi
1 p{0} 2
2 { p1/3} 1
3 q{0, 3/5}
p
{8/9, 5/9}
4 { 3/7 2/7 6/5, {(18 + 30)/36,
q p
3/7 + 2/7 6/5} (18 30)/36}