MANE 4240 & CIVL 4240

Introduction to Finite Elements

Four-noded
rectangular element
Prof. Suvranu De
Reading assignment:

Logan 10.2 + Lecture notes
Summary:

Computation of shape functions for 4-noded quad
Special case: rectangular element
Properties of shape functions
Computation of strain-displacement matrix
Example problem
Hint at how to generate shape functions of higher order
(Lagrange) elements
Finite element formulation for 2D:

Step 1: Divide the body into finite elements connected to each
other through special points (nodes)

x
y
S
u
S
T
u
v
x
p
x
p
y
Element e
3
2
1
4
y
x
v
u
1
2
3
4
u
1
u
2
u
3
u
4
v
4
v
3
v
2
v
1

=
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
v
u
v
u
v
u
v
u
d
Displacement approximation in terms of shape functions
Strain approximation in terms of strain-displacement matrix
Stress approximation
Summary: For each element
Element stiffness matrix
Element nodal load vector
d N u =
d B D = o
d B =
}
=
e
V
k dV B D B
T


S
e
T
b
e
f
S
S
T
f
V
T
dS T dV X f
} }
+ = N N
Constant Strain Triangle (CST) : Simplest 2D finite element
3 nodes per element
2 dofs per node (each node can move in x- and y- directions)
Hence 6 dofs per element

x
y
u
3
v
3
v
1
u
1
u
2
v
2
2
3
1
(x,y)

v

u

(x
1
,y
1
)

(x
2
,y
2
)

(x
3
,y
3
)

3 3 2 2 1 1
3 3 2 2 1 1
v y) (x, N v y) (x, N v y) (x, N y) (x, v
u y) (x, N u y) (x, N u y) (x, N y) (x, u
+ + ~
+ + ~
Formula for the shape functions are
A
y c x b a
N
A
y c x b a
N
A
y c x b a
N
2
2
2
3 3 3
3
2 2 2
2
1 1 1
1
+ +
=
+ +
=
+ +
=
1 2 3 2 1 3 1 2 2 1 3
3 1 2 1 3 2 3 1 1 3 2
2 3 1 3 2 1 2 3 3 2 1
3 3
2 2
1 1
x 1
x 1
x 1
det
2
1
x x c y y b y x y x a
x x c y y b y x y x a
x x c y y b y x y x a
y
y
y
triangle of area A
= = =
= = =
= = =
(
(
(

= =
where
x
y
u
3
v
3
v
1
u
1
u
2
v
2
2
3
1
(x,y)

v

u

(x
1
,y
1
)

(x
2
,y
2
)

(x
3
,y
3
)

Approximation of the strains
xy
u
v
u v
x
y
x
Bd
y
y x
c
c
c

c

c


c

= = ~
` `
c

)
c c
+

c c
)
(
(
(

=
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
=
3 3 2 2 1 1
3 2 1
3 2 1
3 3 2 2 1 1
3 2 1
3 2 1
0 0 0
0 0 0
2
1
y) (x, N y) (x, N y) (x, N y) (x, N y) (x, N y) (x, N
y) (x, N
0
y) (x, N
0
y) (x, N
0
0
y) (x, N
0
y) (x, N
0
y) (x, N
b c b c b c
c c c
b b b
A
x y x y x y
y y y
x x x
B

=
)
`

=
3
3
2
2
1
1
3 2 1
3 2 1
v
u
v
u
v
u
N 0 N 0 N 0
0 N 0 N 0 N
y) (x, v
y) (x, u
u
d N u =
Approximation of displacements
Element stiffness matrix
}
=
e
V
k dV B D B
T
At k
e
V
B D B dV B D B
T T
= =
}
t=thickness of the element
A=surface area of the element
Since B is constant
t
A
Element nodal load vector


S
e
T
b
e
f
S
S
T
f
V
T
dS T dV X f
} }
+ = N N
Class exercise
}
=
e
T
S
S
T
S
dS T f N
For the CST shown below, compute the vector of nodal loads due to surface traction
x
y
f
S3x
f
S3y
f
S2y f
S2x
2
3
1
}

=
e
l
S
along
T
S
dS T t f
3 1
3 2
N
p
y
=-1
(0,0)
(1,0)
Class exercise
}

=
e
l
S
along
T
S
dS T t f
3 1
3 2
N
x
y
f
S3x
f
S3y
f
S2y f
S2x
2
3
1
p
y
=-1
)
`

=
1
0
S
T
The only nonzero nodal loads are
}
=

=
1
0
3 2
2
2
x
y
along
S
dx p N t f
y
}
=

=
1
0
3 2
3
3
x
y
along
S
dx p N t f
y
( ) ( )
x
x x y
x y
y
x y
y
y
y
x y y
A
x y y y x y x
A
x b a
A
y c x b a
N
y
along
=

=
(
(
(

=
(
(
(

=
+
=
+
=
(

+ +
=
=

1
) (
) 1 (
0 x 1
0 x 1
x 1
det
) 1 (
x 1
x 1
x 1
det
2 2 2
2 3 1
1
3
2
1 1
1
3 3
2 2
1 1
1 1
1 3 3 1 1 3 2 2
0
2 2 2
3 2
2
(can you derive this simpler?)
2
) 1 )( 1 (
1
0
1
0
3 2
2
2
t
dx x t
dx p N t f
x
x
y
along
S
y
=
=
=
}
}
=
=

Now compute
}
=

=
1
0
3 2
3
3
x
y
along
S
dx p N t f
y
4-noded rectangular element with edges parallel to the
coordinate axes:
x
y
(x,y)

v

u

(x
1
,y
1
)

(x
2
,y
2
)

(x
3
,y
3
)

1 2
3 4 (x
4
,y
4
)

2b
2a

=
~
4
1
i
y)u (x, y) (x, u
i
i
N

=
~
4
1
i
y)v (x, y) (x, v
i
i
N
4 nodes per element
2 dofs per node (each node can move in x- and y- directions)
8 dofs per element
Generation of N
1
:
x
y
1 2
3
4
2b
2a
N
1
l
1
(y)
l
1
(x)
1
1
2 1
2
1
) (
x x
x x
x l

=
At node 1
has the property
0 ) (
1 ) (
2 1
1 1
=
=
x l
x l
Similarly
4 1
4
1
) (
y y
y y
y l

=
has the property
0 ) (
1 ) (
4 1
1 1
=
=
y l
y l
Hence choose the shape function at node 1 as
( )( )
4 2
4 1
4
2 1
2
1 1 1
4
1
) ( ) ( y y x x
ab y y
y y
x x
x x
y l x l N =
|
|
.
|

\
|

|
|
.
|

\
|

= =
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
1 3 4
2 4 3
3 1 2
4 2 1
4
1
4
1
4
1
4
1
y y x x
ab
N
y y x x
ab
N
y y x x
ab
N
y y x x
ab
N
=
=
=
=
Using similar arguments, choose
Properties of the shape functions:
1. The shape functions N
1
, N
2
, N
3
and N
4
are bilinear functions
of x and y

=
nodes other at
i node at
y x
0
' ' 1
) , ( N
i
3. Completeness
y y
x x
i
i
=
=
=

=
=
=
4
1 i
i
4
1 i
i
4
1 i
i
N
N
1 N
2. Kronecker delta property
3. Along lines parallel to the x- or y-axes, the shape functions
are linear. But along any other line they are nonlinear.

4. An element shape function related to a specific nodal point is
zero along element boundaries not containing the nodal point.

5. The displacement field is continuous across elements

6. The strains and stresses are not constant within an element
nor are they continuous across element boundaries.

(
(
(
(
(
(
(

c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
c
=

=
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
B
4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1
4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1
xy
v
u
v
u
v
u
v
u
y) (x, N y) (x, N y) (x, N y) (x, N y) (x, N y) (x, N y) (x, N y) (x, N
y) (x, N
0
y) (x, N
0
y) (x, N
0
y) (x, N
0
0
y) (x, N
0
y) (x, N
0
y) (x, N
0
y) (x, N

x y x y x y x y
y y y y
x x x x
y
x

c
c
c
The strain-displacement relationship
(
(
(

=
y y x x y y x x y y x x y y x x
x x x x x x x x
y y y y y y y y
ab
B
1 3 2 4 3 1 4 2
3 4 1 2
1 2 3 4
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
4
1
Notice that the strains (and hence the stresses) are NOT constant within an element


The B-matrix (strain-displacement) corresponding to this element is












We will denote the columns of the B-matrix as








Computation of the terms in the stiffness matrix of 2D elements (recap)

x

y
(x,y)

v

u

1

2

3

4

v
4


v
3


v
2


v
1


u
1


u
2


u
3


u
4




1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4
N (x,y) N (x,y) N (x,y) N (x,y)
0 0 0 0
N (x,y) N (x,y) N (x,y) N (x,y)
0 0 0 0
N (x,y) N (x,y) N (x,y) N (x,y) N (x,y) N (x,y) N (x,y) N (x,y)
x x x x
y y y y
y x y x y x y x
(
c c c c
(
c c c c
(
( c c c c
(
c c c c
(
( c c c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c c c (

u
1


v
1


u
2


v
2


u
3


u
4


v
3


v
4


1 1
1
1
1
1
N (x,y)
0
N (x,y)
0 ; ; and so on...
N (x,y)
N (x,y)
u v
x
B B
y
y
x
(
(
c
(
(
(
c
(
c
(
= =
(
(
c
(
( c
(
c
(
c
(

(
c


}
=
e
V
k dV B D B
T
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88
k k k k k k k k
k k k k k k k k
k k k k k k k k
k k k k k k k k
k
k k k k k k k k
k k k k k k k k
k k k k k k k k
k k k k k k k k

(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

u
1


v
1


u
2


v
2


u
3


u
4


v
3


v
4


u
1


v
1


u
2


v
2


u
3


u
4


v
3


v
4


The stiffness matrix corresponding to this element is
which has the following form
1 1 1 1 1 2
1 1 1 1
T T T
11 12 13
T T
21 21
B D B dV; B D B dV; B D B dV,...
B D B dV; B D B dV;.....
e e e
e e
u u u v u u
V V V
v u v v
V V
k k k
k k
= = =
= =
} } }
} }
The individual entries of the stiffness matrix may be computed as follows

Notice that these formulae are quite general (apply to all kinds
of finite elements, CST, quadrilateral, etc) since we have not
used any specific shape functions for their derivation.




Example
x
y
2
3
4
1
300 psi
1000 lb
3 in
2 in
Thickness (t) = 0.5 in
E= 3010
6
psi
v=0.25
(a) Compute the unknown nodal displacements.
(b) Compute the stresses in the two elements.
This is exactly the same problem that we solved in last class, except
now we have to use a single 4-noded element
Realize that this is a plane stress problem and therefore we need to use
psi
E
D
7
2
10
2 . 1 0 0
0 2 . 3 8 . 0
0 8 . 0 2 . 3
2
1
0 0
0 1
0 1
1

(
(
(

=
(
(
(
(

=
v
v
v
v
Write down the shape functions
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
6
) 3 (
4
1
6 4
1
6
) 2 (
4
1
6
) 2 )( 3 (
4
1
1 3 4
2 4 3
3 1 2
4 2 1
y x
y y x x
ab
N
xy
y y x x
ab
N
y x
y y x x
ab
N
y x
y y x x
ab
N

= =
= =

= =

= =
x y
0 0
3 0
3 2
0 2
We have 4 nodes with 2 dofs per node=8dofs. However, 5 of these are fixed.
The nonzero displacements are

u
2
u
3
v
3
Hence we need to solve

(
(
(

y
f v
u
u
k k k
k k k
k k k
3 3
3
2
33 32 31
23 22 21
13 12 11
0
0
Need to compute only the relevant terms in the stiffness matrix
2 2 2 3 2 3
3 2 3 3 3 3
3 2 3 3 3 3
T T T
11 12 13
T T T
21 22 13
T T T
31 22 13
B D B dV; B D B dV; B D B dV
B D B dV; B D B dV; B D B dV
B D B dV; B D B dV; B D B dV
e e e
e e e
e e e
u u u u u v
V V V
u u u u u v
V V V
v u v u v v
V V V
k k k
k k k
k k k
= = =
= = =
= = =
} } }
} } }
} } }
u
2
u
3
v
3

c
c
c
c
=
6
0
6
) 2 (
0
2
2
2
x
y
y
N
x
N
B
u

c
c
c
c
=
6
0
6
0
3
3
3
x
y
y
N
x
N
B
u

c
c
c
c
=
6
6
0 0
3
3
3
y
x
x
N
y
N
B
v
Compute only the relevant columns of the B matrix
2 2
T
11
3 2
8 7 5 2
0 0
7
B D B dV
2
0.5 (0.1067 10 0.533 10 )( ) 3.33 10
6
0.656 10
e u u
V
x y
k
y
x dxdy
= =
=
(
= +
(

=
}
} }
Similarly compute the other terms
How do we compute f
3y
y
S y
f f
3
1000
3
+ =
lb
dx
x
dx N t f
x
x edge
along
S
y
225
2
3
150
3
) 300 )( 5 . 0 (
) 300 (
3
0
3
0 4 3
3
3
=
=
=
=
}
}
=
=
4 3
3 6
2
2
3
3 4
3
x xy
N N
y
y
edge =
(

= =
=
=

lb f f
y
S y
1225 1000
3
3
= + =
x
y
a
a
1 2
3 4
b
b
Corner nodes
(

+
=
(

=
(

+
(

=
(

+
(

+
=
2 2
4
2 2
3
2 2
2
2 2
1
2
) (
2
) (
2
) (
2
) (
2
) (
2
) (
2
) (
2
) (
b
y b y
a
x a x
N
b
y b y
a
x a x
N
b
y b y
a
x a x
N
b
y b y
a
x a x
N
5
6
7
8 9
Midside nodes
(

+
=
(

=
(

=
(

+
(

=
2
2 2
2
8
2 2
2 2
7
2
2 2
2
6
2 2
2 2
5
2
) (
2
) (
2
) (
2
) (
b
y b
a
x a x
N
b
y b y
a
x a
N
b
y b
a
x a x
N
b
y b y
a
x a
N
Center node
2 2 2 2
9
2 2
a x b y
N
a b
( (

=
( (
( (

How about a 9-noded rectangle?
Question: Can you generate the shape functions of a 16-noded rectangle?
Note: These elements, whose shape functions are generated by multiplying the
shape functions of 1D elements, are said to belong to the Lagrange family