[FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS]

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INTRODUCTION TO FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
The finite element analysis is a numerical technique. In this method allthe
complexities of the problems, like varying shape, boundary conditions and
loads are maintained as they are but the solutions obtained are approximate.
The fast improvements in computer hardware technology and slashing of cost
of computers have boosted this method, since the computer is the basic need
for the application of this method. A number of popular brand of finite
element analysis packages are now available commercially Some of the
popular packages are STAAD-PRO, GT-STRUDEL, NASTRAN, NISA and ANSYS.
Using these packages one can analyze several complexstructures.
The finite element analysis originated as a method of stress analysis in the
design of aircrafts. It started as an extension of matrix method of structural
analysis. Today this method is used not only for the analysis in solid mechanics,
but even in the analysis of fluid flow, heat transfer, electric and magnetic fields
and many others. Civil engineers use this method extensively for the analysis of
beams, space frames, plates, shells, folded plates, foundations, rock mechanics
problems and seepage analysis of fluid through porous media. Both static and
dynamic problems can be handled by finite element analysis. This method is
used extensively for the analysis and design of ships, aircrafts, space crafts,
electric motors and heat engines
The basic unknowns or the Field variables which are encountered in the
engineering problems are displacements in solid mechanics, velocities in fluid
mechanics, electric and magnetic potentials in electrical engineering and
temperatures in heat flow problems In a continuum, these unknowns are
infinite. The finite element procedure reduces such unknowns to a finite
number by dividing the solution region into small parts called elements and by
expressing the unknown field variables in terms of assumed approximating
functions (Interpolating functions/Shape functions) within each element. The
approximating functions are defined in terms of field variables of specified
points called nodes or nodal points. Thus in the finite element analysis the
unknowns are the field variables of the nodal points. Once these are found the
field variables at any point can be found by using interpolation functions. After
selecting elements and nodal unknowns next step in finite element analysis is
to assemble element properties for each element. For example, in solid
mechanics, we have to find the force-displacement i.e. stiffness characteristics
of each individual element. Mathematically this relationship is of the form
[k]e {δ}e = {F}e
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where [k]e is element stiffness matrix, {δ }e is nodal displacement vector of the

element and {F}e is nodal force vector. The element of stiffness matrix kij
represent the force in coordinate direction ‘i’ due to a unit displacement in
coordinate direction ‘j’. Four methods are available for formulating these
element properties viz. direct approach, variational approach, weighted
residual approach and energy balance approach. Any 2
one of these methods can be used for assembling element properties. In solid
mechanics variational approach is commonly employed to assemble stiffness
matrix and nodal force vector (consistent loads).
Element properties are used to assemble global properties/structure
properties to get system equations [k]
{u} = {F}. Then the boundary conditions are imposed. The solution of these
simultaneous equations give the nodal unknowns. Using these nodal values
additional calculations are made to get the required values
e.g. stresses, strains, moments, etc. in solid mechanics problems.
Thus the various steps involved in the finite element analysis are:
1) Select suitable field variables and the elements.
2) Discritise the continua.
3) Select interpolation functions.
4) Find the element properties.
5) Assemble element properties to get global properties.
6) Impose the boundary conditions.
7) Solve the system equations to get the nodal unknowns.
8) Make the additional calculations to get the required values.
Methods of Engineering Analysis
There are three methods are adopted for analyzing the product
1. Experimental methods
2. Analytical methods
3. Numerical methods

1. Experimental methods
In these methods the actual products or their proto type models or atleast
their material specimen are tested by using some equipments
Ex: UTM, Rockwell hardness tester

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2. Analytical methods
These methods are theoretically analyzing methods. Only simple and regular
shaped products like beams, shafts, plates can be analyzed by these methods
3. Numerical methods
For the products of complicated sizes and shapes with complicated material
properties and boundary conditions getting solution using analytical methods
is highly difficult. In such situation the numerical method can be employed
There are three numerical methods
a. Functional approximating methods
b. Finite element method
c. Finite difference method

Application of FEM

S.No Area of Study Analysing problem

1 Civil Engineering Analysis of trusses, folded plates, shell roofs,
structures bridges and prestressed concrete structures
2 Aircraft structures Analysis of aircraft wings, fins, rockets, space
craft and missile structures
3 Mechanical Design Stress analysis of pressure vessels, pistons,
composite materials, Linkages and gears
4 Heat Conduction Temperature distribution in solida and fluids
5 Hydraulic and water Analysis of potential flows, free surface
resources Engineering flows, viscous flows, analysis of hydraulic
structures and dams
6 Electrical Machines and Analysis of synchronous and induction
Electromagnetic machines eddy current and core losses in
electric machines
7 Nuclear Engineering Analysis of nuclear pressure vessels and
containment structures
8 Geomechanics Stress analysis in soils, dams, layered piles
and machine foundations

Advantages and disadvantages of FEM

Advantages
Using FEM we are able to

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1. model irregular shaped bodies quite easily

2. handle general load conditions without difficulty
3. model bodies composed of several different materials because the
element equations are evaluated individually
4. handle unlimited numbers and kinds of boundary conditions

5. vary the size of the element to make it possible to use small elements
6. alter the finite element model easily and cheaply
7. include dynamic effects
Disadvantages
1. The finite element method is time consuming process
2. FEM cannot produce exact results as those of analytical methods
EQUILIBRIUM OF STRESS
Consider two perpendicular planes passing through a point p. The stress
components acting on these planes These stresses are usually shown together
acting on a small material element of finite size, It has been seen that the
stress may vary from point to point in a material but, if the element is very
small, the stresses on one side can be taken to be (more or less) equal to the
stresses acting on the other side. By convention, in analyses of the type which
will follow, all stress components shown are positive.

stress components acting on two perpendicular planes through a point; (a)

two perpendicular surfaces at a point, (b) small material element at the point

The four stresses can conveniently be written in the form of a stress matrix:

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It will be shown below that the stress components acting on any other plane
through p can be evaluated from a knowledge of only these stress
components.
Symmetry of the Shear Stress
Consider the material element reproduced The element has dimensions is x
 y and is subjected to uniform stresses over its sides.
The resultant forces of the stresses acting on each side of the element act
through the sidecentres, The stresses shown are positive, but note how
positive stresses can lead to negative forces, depending on the definition of the
x  y axes used. The resultant force on the complete element is seen to be zero.

stress components acting on a material element;

(a) stresses,
(b) resultant forces on each side
By taking moments about any point in the block, one finds that {▲Problem 1}
 xy   yx
Thus the shear stresses acting on the element are all equal, and for this reason
the  yx stresses are usually labelled  xy , or simply labelled  ,

shear stress acting on a material element

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In fact, in two-dimensional problems, the double-subscript notation is often

dispensed with for simplicity, and the stress matrix can be expressed as

to go along with the representation

a simpler notation for 2D stress components (without the double subscripts)

Three Dimensional Stress

The three-dimensional counterpart to the two-dimensional element Again, all
stresses shown are positive.

a three dimensional material element

Moment equilibrium in this case requires that

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The nine stress components, six of which are independent, can be written in
the matrix form

A vector F has one direction associated with it and is characterised by three

components (Fx, Fy, Fz ). The stress is a quantity which has two directions
associated with it (the direction of a force and the normal to the plane on
which the force acts) and is characterised by the nine components of Such a
mathematical object is called a tensor. Just as the three components of a
vector change with a change of coordinate axes so the nine components of the
stress tensor change with a change of axes. This is discussed in the next section
for the two-dimensional case.
STRESS TRANSFORMATION EQUATIONS
Consider the case where the nine stress components acting on three
perpendicular planes through a material particle are known. These
components are ,  xx xy  , etc. when using x, , y z axes, and can be
represented by the cube shown in Fig. 3.4.6a. Rotate now the planes about the
three axes – these new planes can be represented by the rotated cube the
axes normal to the planes are now labelled x  , , y z and the corresponding
stress components with respect to these new axes are ,  x   x xy  , etc.

a three dimensional material element; (a) original element, (b) rotated

element

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There is a relationship between the stress components ,  xx xy  , etc. and the

stress components ,  x   x xy  , etc. The relationship can be derived using
Newton’s Laws. The equations describing the relationship in the fully three-
dimensional case are very lengthy. Here, the relationship for the two-
dimensional case will be derived – this 2D relationship will prove very useful in
analysing many practical situations.

TWO-DIMENSIONAL STRESS TRANSFORMATION EQUATIONS

Assume that the stress components of Fig. 3.4.7a are known. It is required to
find the stresses arising on other planes through p. Consider the perpendicular
planes shown in Fig. 3.4.7b, obtained by rotating the original element through
a positive (counterclockwise) angle  . The new surfaces are defined by the
axes x  y .

stress components acting on two different sets of perpendicular surfaces, i.e.

in two different coordinate systems; (a) original system, (b) rotated system

To evaluate these new stress components, consider a triangular element of

material at the point, Fig. 3.4.8. Carrying out force equilibrium in the direction
x , one has (with unit depth into the page)

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a free body diagram of a triangular element of material

The forces can also be resolved in the y direction and one obtains the relation
   ( yy  xx )sin cos  cos 2
Finally, consideration of the element in yields two further relations, one of
which is the same as Eqn.

a free body diagram of a triangular element of material

In summary, one obtains the stress transformation equations:

2D Stress Transformation Equations

These equations have many uses, as will be seen in the next section.

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In matrix form,

These relations hold also in the case when there are body forces, when the
material is accelerating and when there are non-uniform stress fields. (This is
discussed in the next section.)

STRAIN DISPLACEMENT RELATIONS

Taking displacement components in x, y ,z directions as u, v, and w
respectively, the relations among components of strain and the components of
displacement are

strains are expressed up to the accuracy of second order (quadratic) changes in

displacements. These equations may be simplified to the first (linear) order
accuracy only by dropping the second order changes terms. Then linear strain
– displacement relation is given by:

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LINEAR CONSTITUTIVE EQUATIONS

The constitutive law expresses the relationship among stresses and strains. In
theory of elasticity, usually it is considered as linear. In one dimensional stress
analysis, the linear constitutive law is stress is proportional to strain and the
constant of proportionality is called Young’s modulus. It is very well known as
Hooke’s law.
The similar relation is expressed among the six components of stresses and
strains and is called ‘Generalized Hookes Law”. This may be stated as:

where D is 6 × 6 matrix of constants of elasticity to be determined by

experimental investigations for each material. As D is symmetric matrix [Dij =
Dji], there are 21 material properties for linear elastic Anisotropic Materials.
Certain materials exhibit symmetry with respect to planes within the body.
Such materials are called Orthotropic materials. Hence for orthotropic
materials, the number of material constants reduces to 9 as shown below:

Note that there are 12 material properties in above equations However only
nine of these are independent because the following relations exist

For Isotropic Materials the above set of equations are further simplified. An
isotropic material is the one that has same material property in all directions.
In other word for isotropic materials,

Hence for a three dimensional problem, the strain stress relation for isotropic
material is,
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STRESS STRAIN RELATIONS

One basic ingredient in the study of the mechanics of deformable bodies is the
resistive properties of materials. These properties relate the stresses to the
strains and can only be determined by experiment.
One of the simplest tests for determining mechanical properties of a material
is the tensile test. In this test, a load is applied along the longitudinal axis of a
circular test specimen. The applied load and the resulting elongation of the
member are measured. In many cases, the process is repeated with increased
load until the desired load levels are reached or the specimen breaks.
Load-deformation data obtained from tensile and/or compressive tests do not
give a direct indication of the material behavior, because they depend on the
specimen geometry.
However, using the relationships we previously discussed, loads and
deformations may be converted to stresses and strains.

σ = normal stress on a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the

specimen
P = applied load
A = original cross sectional area
ε = normal strain in the longitudinal direction
δ = change in the specimen’s gage length
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L = original gage length

The resulting stress-strain curve or diagram gives a direct indication of the
material properties.
Note: Stress-strain diagrams are typically based upon the original cross
sectional area and the initial gage length, even though these quantities change
continuously during the test. These changes have a negligible effect except
during the final stages of the test.

Engineering stress and engineering strain are computed using the original
specimen dimensions.

Ductile Material Test Specimen

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True stress and true strain are based upon instantaneous values of cross
sectional area and gage length.

As shown in the previous diagram, the initial portion of the stress-strain

diagram for most materials used in engineering structures is a straight line. For
the initial portion of the diagram, the stress σ is directly proportional to the
strain ε. Therefore, for a specimen subjected to a uniaxial load, we can write
σ = Eε
This relationship is known as Hooke’s Law and was first recorded by Robert
Hooke, an English mathematician, in 1678.
Note: Hooke’s Law describes only the initial linear portion of the stress-strain
curve for a bar subjected to uniaxial extension. The slope of the straight-line
portion of the stress-strain diagram is called the Modulus of Elasticity or
Young’s Modulus.
E = σ/ε (normal stress – strain) G = τ/γ (shear stress – strain)
E = Elastic Modulus or Modulus of Elasticity

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G = Shear Modulus or Modulus of Rigidity

PLANE STRESS PROBLEM
The thin plates subject to forces in their plane only, fall under this category of
the problems. Fig. shows a typical plane stress problem. In this, there is

PLANE STRAIN PROBLEM

A long body subject to significant lateral forces but very little longitudinal
forces falls under this category of problems. Examples of such problems are
pipes, long strip footings, retaining walls, gravity dams, tunnels, etc. In these
problems, except for a small distance at the ends, state of stress is represented
by
any small longitudinal strip. The displacement in longitudinal direction (z-
direction) is zero in typical strip. Hence the strain components,

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Functional Approximation Methods

The nature of the problems for which the solutions to be found out are
(i) Equilibrium problems
(ii) Eigen value problems
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(iii) probagation problems

The functional approximation methods for solving the above types of problems
are classified in to major types
i) Variational methods
ii) Weighted residual methods

VARIATIONAL AND WEIGHTED RESIDUAL METHODS

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