Finite Element Method

A Practical Course

CHAPTER 6:

FEM FOR 3D SOLIDS

 CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 TETRAHEDRON ELEMENT
– Shape functions
– Strain matrix
– Element matrices
 HEXAHEDRON ELEMENT
– Shape functions
– Strain matrix
– Element matrices
– Using tetrahedrons to form hexahedrons
 HIGHER ORDER ELEMENTS
 ELEMENTS WITH CURVED SURFACES
 CASE STUDY
 INTRODUCTION
 For 3D solids, all the field variables are dependent
of x, y and z coordinates – most general element.
 The element is often known as a 3D solid element
or simply a solid element.
 A 3-D solid element can have a tetrahedron and
hexahedron shape with flat or curved surfaces.
 At any node there are three components in x, y and
z directions for the displacement as well as forces.
 TETRAHEDRON ELEMENT
 3D solid meshed with tetrahedron elements
TETRAHEDRON ELEMENT
Consider a 4 node tetrahedron element
w4
 u1  
v  
 node 1 4= l
 1  v4
 w1  
  w3
u4
 u2   w1

 v2   node 2 v3
   i
 w2   1= u3 3= k
v1
de   
fsz
 u3   u1
 v3   z=Z fsy
 node 3 w2
  
fsx
 w3  
u  y=Y u2
 4  2= j
 v4   x=X
 node 4 u2
w  
 4 
z = Z


Shape functions
U h ( x, y, z )  N( x, y, z )d e
 node
  1   node
   2   node
  3    node
   4 

 N1 0 0 N2 0 0 N3 0 0 N4 0 0
 0 
where N  0 N1 0 0 N2 0 0 N3 0 0 N4
 0 0 N1 0 0 N2 0 0 N3 0 0 N 4 

Use volume coordinates (Recall Area coordinates for 4=l

2D triangular element)
1=i P 3=k
V P 234
L1 
V1234 z
y
x 2=j
Shape functions
VP134 VP124 VP123
Similarly, L2  , L3  , L4 
V1234 V1234 V1234

Can also be viewed as ratio of distances

d d d d 4=l
L1  P  234 , L2  P 134 , L3  P 124 , L4  P 123
d1 234 d1 234 d1 234 d1 234

L1  L2  L3  L4  1 (Partition of unity) 1=i P 3=k

since z

VP 234  VP134  V P124  VP123  V1234 x

y
2=j
Shape functions
1 at the home node i
Li   (Delta function property)
0 at the the remote nodes jkl

x  L1 x1  L2 x 2  L3 x3  L4 x 4
y  L1 y1  L2 y 2  L3 y 3  L4 y 4
z  L1 z1  L2 z 2  L3 z 3  L4 z 4 L1  L2  L3  L4  1

 1  1 1 1 1   L1 
x  x x x3 x 4   L2 
   1 2
    
 y   y1 y 2 y3 y 4   L3 
 z   z1 z 2 z3

z 4   L4 
Shape functions (Adjoint matrix)

 L1   a1 b1 c1 d1  1  i= 1,2
Therefore, L   d 2   x  i
 2  1 a 2 b2 c2
    l = 4,1
 L3  6V  a3 b3 c3 d 3  y l j
 L4    
a 4 b4 c4 d 4  z  j = 2,3
k
(Cofactors) k = 3,4
xj yj z j  1 yj zj
where ai  det  xk yk zk  , bi   det 1 yk z k 
 xl yl zl  1 yl z l 
yj 1 zj  yj zj 1
ci   det  yk 1 z k  , d i   det  y k zk 1 
 yl 1 zl   yl zl 1 
Shape functions
 1 xi y i zi 
 1 xj yj z j 
1
V   det  (Volume of tetrahedron)
6  1 xk y k zk 
 
 1 xl y l zl 

1
Therefore, N i  Li  (ai  bi x  ci y  d i z )
6V
 Strain matrix
 x 0 0 
Since, U ( x, y, z )  N( x, y, z )d e
h
 0   y 0 
 
 0 0  z 
Therefore,   LU  LNd e  Bd e where B  LN   0  z  y  N
 
 z 0  x 
 
 b1 0 0 b2 0 0 b3 0 0 b4 0 0    y   x 0 
0 c1 0 0 c2 0 0 c3 0 0 c4 0 

1 0 0 d1 0 0 d 2 0 0 d3 0 0 d 4 
B  
2V  0 d1 c1 0 d 2 c2 0 d3 c3 0 d 4 c4 
 d1 0 b1 d2 0 b2 d3 0 b3 d3 0 b4 
 
 c1 b1 0 c2 b2 0 c3 b3 0 c4 b4 0 

(Constant strain element)

Element matrices

k e   BT cBdV Ve BT cB
Ve

 N11 N12 N13 N14 

N N 22 N 23 N 24 
m e    N NdV   
T  21
dV
Ve Ve
 N 31 N 32 N 33 N 34 
 
 N 41 N 42 N 43 N 44 

Ni N j 0 0 
 
where N ij   0 Ni N j 0 
 0 0 N i N j 

Element matrices
Eisenberg and Malvern, 1973 :
m !n ! p !q !

Ve
L1m Ln2 L3p Lq4 dV 
(m  n  p  q  3)!
6Ve

2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 

 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
 
 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
 
V 2 0 0 1 0 0 1
m e  e 
20 2 0 0 1 0 0
 
 2 0 0 1 0
 2 0 0 1
 
 sy. 2 0 0
 
 2 0
 2
Element matrices

Alternative method for evaluating me: special natural

coordinate system
4= l
=constant

3= k
1= i Q =1
=0

z
P
2= j
y
=1
x
Element matrices

4= l
=constant

3= k
1= i =1
=0
P
z

2= j
y
=0
x
Element matrices

4= l =0
=constant

R Q
3= k
1= i =1
=1 P

2= j
y
=1
x
 Element matrices
xP   ( x3  x2 )  x2 xB   ( xP  x1 )  x1   ( x3  x2 )   ( x2  x1 )  x1
yP   ( y3  y2 )  y2 yB   ( yP  y1 )  y1   ( y3  y2 )   ( y2  y1 )  y1
z P   ( z3  z 2 )  z 2 z B   ( zP  z1 )  z1   ( z3  z2 )   ( z2  z1 )  z1
x  x4   ( x4  xB )  x4   ( x4  x1 )   ( x2  x1 )   ( x2  x3 )
y  y4   ( y4  yB )  y4   ( y4  y1 )   ( y2  y1 )   ( y2  y3 )
z  z4   ( z4  z B )  z4   ( z4  z1 )   ( z2  z1 )   ( z2  z3 )
4= l =0
= constant
N1  (1   )
N 2   (1   ) O 3= k
=1
1= i
=1
N 3   =0
B =1
=0
P [xP(x3x2)+x2, yP(y3y2)+y2,zP(z3z2)+z2]
N 4  (1   ) z
=1
B [xB(xPx1)+x1, yB(yPy1)y1, zB(zPy1)z1]
=constant
y =1 2 = j = constant
=0
x =1
z=Z O [x=(1)(x4xB)xB, y=(1)(y4yB)yB, z=(1)(z4zB)zB]
 Element matrices
 x x x 
    

y y y 
Jacobian: J
    
 z z z 
 
    

 x21   x31  x31  x41   x21   x31

det[J ]   y21   y31  y31  y41   y21   y31  6V  2
 z21   z31  z31  z41   z21   z31
1 1 1
m e   NT NdV    NT Ndet[J]d d d
0 0 0
Ve

 N11 N12 N13 N14 

1 1 1
N N 22 N 23 N 24 
m e  6Ve      2  21 d d d
0 0 0  N 31 N 32 N 33 N 34 
 
 N 41 N 42 N 43 N 44 
Element matrices
 f sx 
   0 31 
fe   [N]T
 f sy  dl
l 2 3  
f   sx 
f
 sz   f sy 
 
1  f sz 
For uniformly distributed load: fe  l23  
2  sx 
f
w4  f sy 
 
4= l
v4  f sz 
 0 
  31 
w3
u4
w1
v3
1= i u3 3= k
v1
f sz
z= Z u1
w2 f sy
f sx
y= Y
u2
x= X 2= j
z= Z u2
 HEXAHEDRON ELEMENT
 3D solid meshed with hexahedron elements

P P’

P’’’ P’’
Shape functions 5 8

U  Nd e
6 fsz 4
 d e1  displacement components at node 1 7
d  displacement components at node 2 1
 e2  0
d e3  displacement components at node 3 z fsy
  2
fsx
d  displacement components at node 4
de   e4  0

d e 5  displacement components at node 5 y 3

d e 6  displacement components at node 6
  x
d e 7  displacement components at node 7
d  displacement components at node 8
 e8 
Ni 0 0
N i   0 0 
 u1 
 
d ei   v1  (i  1, 2, ,8)
Ni (i  1,2, ,8)
w 
 1
 0 0 N i 

N   N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6 N7 N8 
Shape functions

(-1, -1, 1)5 8(-1, 1, 1)
5 8
(1, -1, 1)6

6 fsz 4 7 (1, 1, 1)
7 
1 (-1, -1, -1)1 4(-1, 1, -1)
0
z fsy
2 fsx
(1, -1, -1)2
0
y 3 3(1, 1, -1)

x

8
x   N i ( , ,  ) xi 1
i 1 N i  (1   i )(1   i )(1   i )
8
y   N i ( , ,  ) y i
8
i 1
8
z   N i ( , ,  ) z i
(Tri-linear functions)
i 1
Strain matrix
  LU  LNd e  Bd e
B   B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 
whereby
N i x 0 0 
 0 N y 0 
 i 
 0 0 N i z 
B i  LN i   
 0  N i  z N i y 
 N i z 0 N i x 
 
N i y N i x 0 

Note: Shape functions are expressed in natural

coordinates – chain rule of differentiation
Strain matrix
N i N i x N i y N i z
  
 x  y  z 
N i N i x N i y N i z Chain rule of
  
 x  y  z 
differentiation
N i N i x N i y N i z
  
 x  y  z 

 N i   N i   x y z 
    
 
 x 
   
 N 
 N i   i x y z 
    J   where J
    y      
 N i   N i   x y z 
    z   
      
Strain matrix
8 8 8

Since, x   N i ( , ,  ) xi , y   N i ( , ,  ) yi , z   N i ( , ,  ) z i
i 1 i 1 i 1

 x1 y1 z1 
 z2 
 N1 N 2 N 3 N 4 N5 N6 N 7 N8   x2 y2
           x3 y3 z3 
  
 N N 2 N 3 N 4 N5 N6 N 7 N8   x4 y4 z4 
J 1 
           x5 y5 z5 
 
 N1 N 2 N 3 N 4 N5 N6 N7 
N8  x6 y6 z6 
 
           x7 y7 z7 
 
 x8 y8 z8 
 8 N i 8
N i 8
N i 
 xi 
 y i

 zi  
 i 81 i 1 i 1

N i 8
N i 8
N i
or J   xi  y  z 
 i 1  i 1
i
 i 1
i
 
 8 N i 8
N i 8
N i 
 xi  y i  z i

 i 1  i 1  i 1  
Strain matrix
 N i   N i 
 x    
 N   
 i 1  N i  Used to replace derivatives
 J  
 y     w.r.t. x, y, z with
 N i   N i  derivatives w.r.t. , , 
 z    
 

N i x 0 0 
 0 N y 0 
 i 
 0 0 N i z 
B i  LN i   
 0  N i  z N i y 
N i z 0 N i x 
 

 i
N y  N i x 0 
Element matrices
1 1 1
ke   B cBdV     B TcB det[J ]d dd
T
1 1 1
Ve

1 1 1 n m l
Gauss integration: I  1 1 1 f ( , )dd   wi w j wk f ( i , j ,  j )
i 1 j 1 k 1

1 1 1
m e   N NdV  T
  NT Ndet[J]d d d
1 1 1
Ve
 Element matrices
For rectangular hexahedron:

det[J]  abc  Ve / 8

m11 m12 m13 m14 m15 m16 m17 m18 

 m 22 m 23 m 24 m 25 m 26 m 27 m 28 

 m 33 m 34 m 35 m 36 m 37 m 38 
 
m 44 m 45 m 46 m 47 m 48 
me  
 m55 m 56 m 57 m 58 
 
 m 66 m 67 m 68 
 sy. m 77 m 78 
 
 m88 
Element matrices
(Cont’d)
1 1 1
where m ij  1 1 1 abcN i N j ddd
Ni 0 0 N j 0 0 
0  
0   0
1 1 1
 abc    Ni Nj 0  ddd
1 1 1
 0 0 N i   0 0 N j 
Ni N j 0 0 
1 1 1  
 abc    0 Ni N j 0  ddd
1 1 1
 0 0 N i N j 

Element matrices
(Cont’d)
mij 0 0
 
or m ij   0 mij 0
0 0 mij 

1 1
where mij  abc  
1 1
N i N j ddd
abc 1 1 1

64 1
(1   i  )(1   j  ) d 1
(1   i )(1   j ) d 1
(1   i )(1   j  )d

hab
 (1  13  i j )(1  13  i j )(1  13  i j )
8
Element matrices
(Cont’d)
abc abc
E.g. m33  (1  3  1  1)(1  3  1  1)(1  3  1  1)  8 
1 1 1
8 216
8 abc
m11  m22  m33  m44  m55  m66  m77  m88 
216
4 abc
m12  m23  m34  m56  m67  m78  m14  m58  m15  m26  m37  m48 
216
2 abc
m13  m24  m16  m25  m36  m47  m57  m68  m27  m38  m45  m18 
216
1abc
m17  m28  m35  m46 
216
Element matrices
(Cont’d)
8 4 2 4 4 2 1 2
 8 4 2 2 4 2 1 
 
 8 4 1 2 4 2
  Note: For x direction only
abc  8 2 1 2 4 
m ex 
216  8 4 2 4
 
 8 4 2 
 sy. 8 4
 
 8 

(Rectangular hexahedron)
Element matrices
 f sx 
 
f e   [N]T  f sy  dl 5 8
l 3 4
f 
 sz   0 31 
 0  fsz
 31  6 4

For  f sx  1
7

uniformly   f  0

 sy  z fsy
 f sz 
fsx
distributed 2

  f  0
load: 1  sx 
f e  l 3  4    y 3
2  f sy 
 f sz 
x

 0 
 31 
 0 31 
 
 0
 31 
 0 31 
Using tetrahedrons to form hexahedrons
 Hexahedrons can be made up of several
tetrahedrons 8
5
4
8 1
1

Hexahedron 5 8 3
6 8
made up of 5
4
tetrahedrons: 1
6 7
8 6 7
2 3
3
6
6
1
1 3
3 2
Using tetrahedrons to form hexahedrons
 Element matrices can 5 8

be obtained by
4
assembly of 1
6 7
tetrahedron elements 8
5 8 2 3

6 4 7
1 6
4
2 3
2
Break into three

Hexahedron 5 8
5
made up of 6 1 6 4
tetrahedrons: 1 4 4
6
2 6
HIGHER ORDER ELEMENTS
 Tetrahedron elements

10 nodes, quadratic:
4
N i  (2 Li -1)Li for corner nodes i  1,2,3,4
9
N 5  4 L2 L3 
8
N 6  4 L1 L3 
 7
2
N 7  4 L1 L2  10
 for mid-edge nodes
N8  4 L1 L4 
1 5

N 9  4 L2 L4  6
 3
N10  4 L3 L4 
HIGHER ORDER ELEMENTS
 Tetrahedron elements (Cont’d) 4

20 nodes, cubic: 14
12
N i  12 (3Li  1)(3Li  2)Li for corner nodes i  1,2,3,4 20 13
N 5  92 (3L1  1)L1L3 N11  92 (3L1  1)L1L4  11 16 2
8
N 6  92 (3L3  1)L1L3 N12  92 (3L4  1)L1L4  7 17
 19 9
N 7  92 (3L1  1)L1L2 N13  92 (3L2  1)L2 L4  1 5 18 15
 for edge nodes
N8  92 (3L2  1)L1 L2 N14  92 (3L4  1)L2 L4  5 10
N 9  92 (3L2  1)L2 L3 N15  92 (3L3  1)L3 L4  6
 3
N10  92 (3L3  1)L2 L3 N16  92 (3L4  1)L3 L4 
N17  27 L2 L3 L4 
N18  27 L1 L2 L3 

 for center surface nodes
N19  27 L1L3 L4 
N 20  27 L1L2 L4 
HIGHER ORDER ELEMENTS



 Brick elements nd=(n+1)(m+1)(p+1) nodes 

(n,m,p)

Lagrange type:
(n,m,0)
Ni  N N N 1D
I
1D
J
1D
K  l ( )l ( )l ( )
n
I
m
J
p
K i(I,J,K)

where (0,0,0) (n,0,0)

(   0 )(  1 )  (   k 1 )(   k 1 ) (   n )
lkn ( ) 
( k   0 )( k  1 )  ( k   k 1 )( k   k 1 )  ( k   n )
 HIGHER ORDER
ELEMENTS


(-1, -1, 1)5 15 8(-1, 1, 1)

 Brick elements (Cont’d) 16
14
(1, -1, 1)6 13 3
19
Serendipity type elements: 20
7 (1, 1, 1)


17 18
(-1,-1,-1)1
11(-1,0,-1) 4(-1, 1, -1)
12(0-1,-1)
20 nodes, tri-quadratic: 10(0,1,-1)
(1, -1, -1)2
9(1,0,-1) 3(1, 1, -1)
N j  18 (1   j )(1   j )(1   j )( j   j   i  2) 

for corner nodes j  1,  , 8

N j  14 (1   2 )(1   j )(1   j ) for mid-side nodes j  10,12,14,16
N j  14 (1   2 )(1   j )(1   j ) for mid-side nodes j  9,11,13,15
N j  14 (1   2 )(1   j )(1   j ) for mid-side nodes j  17,18,19, 20
HIGHER ORDER ELEMENTS 

 Brick elements (Cont’d)


32 nodes, tri-cubic:
Nj  1
64 (1   j )(1   j )(1   j )(9 2  9 2  9 2  19)
for corner nodes j  1,  , 8
Nj  9
64 (1   2 )(1  9 j )(1   j )(1   j ) 

for side nodes with  j   13 , j  1 and  j  1

Nj  9
64 (1   2 )(1  9 j )(1   j )(1   j )
for side nodes with  j   13 ,  j  1 and  j  1
Nj  9
64 (1   2 )(1  9 j )(1   j )(1   j )
for side nodes with  j   13 ,  j  1 and  j  1
ELEMENTS WITH CURVED
SURFACES 4
4
9
9 8
8
10 2
7
7 2 10
5 1
1 5
6 3 6
3

2 10 3
2
9 10 9 11
14
1 14 11 3 1 15
12 12 4
4 15 
13 6 18 13 6 16
7 7
18
17 16 17
5 19 19
20 5
8 8
 20
 CASE STUDY
 Stress and strain analysis of a quantum dot
heterostructure
Material E (Gpa) 
GaAs cap layer
GaAs 86.96 0.31

InAs 51.42 0.35

InAs wetting
InAs quantum dot
layer

GaAs substrate
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
30 nm

30 nm
CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY