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FEMfor3DSolids(FiniteElementMethod)Part1

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FEMfor3DSolids(FiniteElementMethod)Part1

Introduction
Athreedimensional(3D)solidelementcanbeconsideredtobethemostgeneralofallsolidfiniteelements
becauseallthefieldvariablesaredependentofx,yandz.Anexampleofa3Dsolidstructureunderloadingis
showninFigure9.1.Ascanbeseen,theforcevectorsherecanbeinanyarbitrarydirectioninspace.A3D
solidcanalsohaveanyarbitraryshape,materialpropertiesandboundaryconditionsinspace.Assuch,thereare
altogethersixpossiblestresscomponents,threenormalandthreeshear,thatneedtobetakenintoconsideration.
Typically,a3Dsolidelementcanbeatetrahedronorhexahedroninshapewitheitherflatorcurvedsurfaces.
Eachnodeoftheelementwillhavethreetranslationaldegreesoffreedom.Theelementcanthusdeforminall
threedirectionsinspace.
Sincethe3Delementissaidtobethemostgeneralsolidelement,thetruss,beam,plate,2Dsolidandshell
elementscanallbeconsideredtobespecialcasesofthe3Delement.So,whyisthereaneedtodevelopallthe
otherelements?Whynotjustusethe3Delementtomodeleverything?Theoretically,yes,the3Delementcan
actuallybeusedtomodelallkindsofstructururalcomponents,includingtrusses,beams,plates,shellsandso
on.However,itcanbeverytediousingeometrycreationandmeshing.Furthermore,itisalsomostdemanding
oncomputerresources.Hence,thegeneralruleofthumbis,thatwhenastructurecanbeassumedwithin
acceptabletolerancestobesimplifiedintoa1D(trusses,beamsandframes)or2D(2Dsolidsandplates)
structure,alwaysdoso.Thecreationofa1Dor2DFEMmodelismucheasierandefficient.Use3Dsolid
elementsonlywhenwehavenootherchoices.Theformulationof3Dsolidselementsisstraightforward,
becauseitisbasicallyanextensionof2Dsolidselements.Allthetechniquesusedin2Dsolidscanbeutilized,
exceptthatallthevariablesarenowfunctionsofx,yandz.Thebasicconcepts,proceduresandformulations
for3Dsolidelementscanalsobefoundinmanyexistingtopics(see,e.g.,Washizu,1981Rao,1999
ZienkiewiczandTaylor,2000etc.).

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Figure9.1.Exampleofa3Dsolidunderloadings.

TetrahedronElement
StrainMatrix
Considerthesame3DsolidstructureasFigure9.1,whosedomainisdividedinapropermannerintoa
numberoftetrahedronelements(Figure9.2)withfournodesandfoursurfaces,asshowninFigure9.3.A
tetrahedronelementhasfournodes,eachhavingthreeDOFs(u,vandw),makingthetotalDOFsina
tetrahedronelementtwelve,asshowninFigure9.3.

Figure9.2.Solidblockdividedintofournodetetrahedronelements.

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Figure9.3.Atetrahedronelement.
Thenodesarenumbered1,2,3and4bytherighthandrule.ThelocalCartesiancoordinatesystemfora
tetrahedronelementcanusuallybethesameastheglobalcoordinatesystem,astherearenoadvantagesin
havingaseparatelocalCartesiancoordinatesystem.Inanelement,thedisplacementvectorUisafunctionof
thecoordinatex,yandz,andisinterpolatedbyshapefunctionsinthefollowingform,whichshouldbynowbe
showntobepartandparcelofthefiniteelementmethod:

wherethenodaldisplacementvector,de,isgivenas

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andthematrixofshapefunctionshastheform

Todeveloptheshapefunctions,wemakeuseofwhatisknownasthevolumecoordinates,whichisanatural
extensionfromtheareacoordinatesfor2Dsolids.Theuseofthevolumecoordinatesmakesitmoreconvenient
forshapefunctionconstructionandelementmatrixintegration.Thevolumecoordinatesfornode1isdefinedas

whereVp234andVi234denote,respectively,thevolumesofthetetrahedronsP234and1234,asshownin
Figure9.4.Thevolumecoordinatefornode24canalsobedefinedinthesamemanner:

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Figure9.4.Volumecoordinatesfortetrahedronelements.

ThevolumecoordinatecanalsobeviewedastheratiobetweenthedistanceofthepointPandpoint1to
theplane234:

Itcaneasilybeconfirmedthat

since

Itcanalsoeasilybeconfirmedthat

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UsingEq.(9.9),therelationshipbetweenthevolumecoordinatesandCartesiancoordinatescanbeeasily
derived:

Equations(9.7)and(9.10)canthenbeexpressedasasinglematrixequationasfollows:

TheinversionofEq.(9.11)willgive

where

inwhichthesubscriptivariesfrom1to4,andj,kandlaredeterminedbyacyclicpermutationintheorderofi,
j,k,l.Forexample,ifi=1,thenj=2,k=3,l=4.Wheni=2,thenj=3,k=4,l=1.Thevolumeofthe
tetrahedronelementVcanbeobtainedby

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ThepropertiesofLi,asdepictedinEqs.(9.6)to(9.9),showthatLicanbeusedastheshapefunctionofa
fournodaltetrahedronelement:

Itcanbeseenfromabovethattheshapefunctionisalinearfunctionofx,yandz,hence,thefournodal
tetrahedronelementisalinearelement.NotethatfromEq.(9.14),themomentmatrixofthelinearbasis
functionswillneverbesingular,unlessthevolumeoftheelementiszero(orthefournodesoftheelementare
inaplane).BasedonLemmas2and3,wecanbesurethattheshapefunctionsgivenbyEq.(9.15)satisfythe
sufficientrequirementofFEMshapefunctions.
Itwasmentionedthattherearesixstressesina3Delementintotal.Thestresscomponentsare
Togetthe
correspondingstrains,

wecansubstituteEq.
(9.1)intoEq.(2.5):

wherethestrainmatrixBisgivenby

UsingEq.(9.3),thestrainmatrix,B,canbeobtainedas

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Itcanbeseenthatthestrainmatrixforalineartetrahedronelementisaconstantmatrix.Thisimpliesthatthe
strainwithinalineartetrahedronelementisconstant,andthussoisthestress.Therefore,thelineartetrahedron
elementsarealsooftenreferredtoasaconstantstrainelementorconstantstresselement,similartothecaseof
2Dlineartriangularelements.

ElementMatrices
Oncethestrainmatrixhasbeenobtained,thestiffnessmatrixkefor3Dsolidelementscanbeobtainedby
substitutingEq.(9.18)intoEq.(3.71).Sincethestrainisconstant,theelementstrainmatrixisobtainedas

NotethatthematerialconstantmatrixcisgivengenerallybyEq.(2.9).Themassmatrixcansimilarlybe
obtainedusingEq.(3.75):

where

Usingthefollowingformula[EisenbergandMalvern,1973],

wecanconvenientlyevaluatetheintegralinEq.(9.20)togive

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Analternativewaytocalculatethemassmatrixfor3Dsolidelementsistouseaspecialnaturalcoordinate
system,whichisdefinedasshowninFigures9.59.7.InFigure9.5,theplaneof=constantisdefinedinsuch
awaythattheedgePQstaysparalleltotheedge23oftheelement,andpoint4coincideswithpoint4ofthe
element.WhenPmovestopoint1,=0,andwhenPmovestopoint2,=1.InFigure9.6,theplaneof=
constantisdefinedinsuchawaythattheedge14onthetrianglecoincideswiththeedge14oftheelement,
andpointPstaysontheedge23oftheelement.WhenPmovestopoint2,=0,andwhenPmovestopoint3,
=1.Theplaneof=constantisdefinedinFigure9.7,insuchawaythattheplanePQRstaysparalleltothe
plane123oftheelement,andwhenPmovestopoint4,=0,andwhenPmovestopoint2,=1.In
addition,theplane123ontheelementsitsonthexyplane.

Figure9.5.Naturalcoordinate,where=constant.
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Figure9.6.Naturalcoordinate,where=constant.

Figure9.7.Naturalcoordinate,where=constant.
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Therefore,therelationshipbetweenxyzand

canbeobtainedinthefollowingsteps:

InFigure9.8,thecoordinatesatpointParefirstinterpolatedusingthex,yandzcoordinatesatpoints2and3:

ThecoordinatesatpointBaretheninterpolatedusingthex,yandzcoordinatesatpoints1andP:

Figure9.8.CartesiancoordinatesxyzofpointOintermof.
ThecoordinatesatpointOarefinallyinterpolatedusingthex,yandzcoordinatesatpoints4andB:

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Withthisspecialnaturalcoordinatesystem,theshapefunctionsinthematrixofEq.(9.3)canbewrittenby
inspectionas

TheJacobianmatrixbetweenxyzandisrequired,andisgivenas

UsingEqs.(9.26)and(9.27),thedeterminateoftheJacobiancanbefoundtobe

Themassmatrixcannowbeobtainedas

whichgives

whereNijisgivenbyEq.(9.21),butinwhichtheshapefunctionsshouldbedefinedbyEq.(9.27).Evaluating
theintegralsinEq.(9.31)wouldgivethesamemassmatrixasinEq.(9.23).
Thenodalforcevectorfor3DsolidelementscanbeobtainedusingEqs.(3.78),(3.79)and(3.81).Suppose
theelementisloadedbyadistributedforcefontheedge23oftheelementasshowninFigure9.3thenodal
forcevectorbecomes

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Iftheloadisuniformlydistributed,
equationbecomes

areconstants,andtheabove

wherel34isthelengthoftheedge34.Equation(9.33)impliesthatthedistributedforcesareequallydivided
andappliedatthetwonodes.Thisconclusionalsoappliestoevenlydistributedsurfaceforcesappliedonany
faceoftheelement,andtoevenlydistributedbodyforceappliedontheentirebodyoftheelement.Finally,the
stiffnessmatrix,ke,themassmatrix,me,andthenodalforcevector,fe,canbeuseddirectlytoassemblethe
globalFEequation,Eq.(3.96),withoutgoingthroughacoordinatetransformation.

3DSimulation
3DSurface
Analysis

FiniteElementMethod
SurfaceArea
3DMesh

Nextpost:FEMfor3DSolids(FiniteElementMethod)Part2
Previouspost:FEMforPlatesandShells(FiniteElementMethod)Part3
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TheFiniteElementMethod
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IntroductiontoMechanicsforSolidsandStructures(FiniteElementMethod)Part1
IntroductiontoMechanicsforSolidsandStructures(FiniteElementMethod)Part2
IntroductiontoMechanicsforSolidsandStructures(FiniteElementMethod)Part3
FundamentalsforFiniteElementMethodPart1

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