Institute of Structural Engineering

Method of Finite Elements I

Held by Prof. Dr. E. Chatzi, Dr. P. Steffen

Assistant: Adrian Egger, HIL E 13.3
Lectures homepage:
http://www.ibk.ethz.ch/ibk/ibk/ch/education/femi/index_EN
Course book: Finite Element Procedures by K.J. Bathe
Performance assessment

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 1

Page 2

Institute of Structural Engineering

Contents

An overview of the MFE I course

MFE development
Introduction to the use of Finite Elements
Modelling the physical problem
Finite elements as a tool for computer-aided

design and assessment

Basic mathematical tools a review

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Course Overview

16.02.2015 Introductory Concepts

Matrices and linear algebra - short review.
23.02.2015 The Direct Stiffness Method
Demos and exercises in MATLAB
02.03.2015 Demos and exercises in MATLAB
09.03.2015 Formulation of the Method of Finite
Elements.
The Principle of Virtual Work
16.03.2015 Isoparametric finite element matrices
23.03.2015 Demos and exercises in MATLAB

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 3

Institute of Structural Engineering

Course Overview

30.03.2015 1D Elements (truss/beam)

20.04.2015 2D Elements (plane stress/strain)
27.04.2015 Demos and exercises in MATLAB
04.05.2015 Practical application of the MFE
Practical Considerations
11.05.2015 Results Interpretation
18.05.2015 Assignment 3 - Project Presentations
A Real Test Case is modelled and analyzed

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 4

Institute of Structural Engineering

MFE development
The MFE is the confluence of three ingredients: matrix structural analysis,
variational approach and a computer
Theoretical Formulation
1. Lsung von Variationsproblemen by W. Ritz in 1908
2. Weak formulation by B. Galerkin in 1915
3. Mathematical foundation by R. Courant ca. 1943
Formulation & First Applications (1950s and 1960s)
1. 1950s, M.J. Turner at Boeing (aerospace industry in general): Direct
Stiffness Method
2. Matrix formulation of structural analysis by Agyris in 1954
3. Term Finite Element coined by Clough in 1960
4. First book on EM by Zienkiewicz and Cheung in 1967

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 5

Institute of Structural Engineering

MFE development
Commercial Software (since 1970s)
1.
2.

General purpose packages for main frames (Abaqus..) in 1970s

Special purpose software for PCs in 1980s

During this class, the following software packages will be used:

ABAQUS, ANSYS, CUBUS, SAP2000

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 6

Institute of Structural Engineering

FEM is a big success story, because it

1. can handle very complex geometry
2. can handle a wide variety of engineering problems
- mechanics of solids & fluids
- dynamics/heat/electrostatic problems
3. can handle complex restraints & loading
4. is very well suited for computers

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 7

Page 8

Institute of Structural Engineering

Method of Finite Elements I

civil

fluid dynamics

aerospace

mechanical

Applications

Institute of Structural Engineering

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 9

Institute of Structural Engineering

Introduction to the Use of Finite Elements

Within the framework of continuum mechanics

dependencies between geometrical and physical
quantities are formulated on a differentially small
element and then extended to the whole continuum
As a result we obtain differential, partial differential or
integral equations for which, generally, an analytical
solution is not available they have to be solved using
some numerical procedure
The MFE is based on the physical discretization of the
observed domain, thus reducing the number of the
degrees of freedom; moreover the governing equations
are, in general, algebraic

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 10

Institute of Structural Engineering

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 11

Institute of Structural Engineering

Steps in the MFE

The continuum is discretized using a mesh of finite

elements.

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 12

Page 13

Institute of Structural Engineering

Steps in the MFE

The continuum is discretized using a mesh of finite

elements.

These elements are connected at nodes located on the

element boundaries.

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Steps in the MFE

State of deformation, stresses, etc. in each element is described by

interpolation (shape) functions and corresponding values in the nodes;
these nodal values are the basic unknowns of the MFE.

The way in which these three steps are approached has a great
influence on the results of the calculations .
Method of Finite Elements I

Page 14

Institute of Structural Engineering

Basic Types of MFE

Direct MFE: analogue to displacement method

Residual MFE: based on the differential equations that

are used to describe the problem

Energy Balance MFE: based on the balance of

different energy types, mostly used to solve
thermodynamic problems

Variational MFE: based on the principle of stationarity

of a functional, which is usually total potential energy or
complementary potential energy

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 15

Institute of Structural Engineering

Page 16

Modelling of the Physical Problem

The MFE is only a way of solving the mathematical model

The solution of the physical problem depends on the quality
of the mathematical model the choice of the mathematical
model is crucial
The chosen mathematical model is reliable if the required
response can be predicted within a given level of accuracy
compared to the response of a very comprehensive (highly
refined) mathematical model
The most effective mathematical model for the analysis is
the one that gives the required response with sufficient
accuracy and at the lowest computational toll

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Simple Example

Complex physical problem modelled by a simple

mathematical model
Method of Finite Elements I

Page 17

Institute of Structural Engineering

Simple Example

Detailed reference model 2D plane stress model

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 18

Institute of Structural Engineering

Page 19

Considerations

Choice of mathematical model must correspond to desired

response
The most effective mathematical model delivers reliable answers
with the least amount of effort
Any solution (including MFE) of a mathematical model is limited
to information contained in or fed into the model: bad input bad
output (garbage in garbage out)
Assessment of accuracy is based on comparisons with the results
from very comprehensive models but in practice it has to be
based on experience (experiments)
The engineer (user) should be able to judge the quality of
the obtained results (i.e. for plausibility)

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Seismic Analysis of a Concrete Gravity

Dam in ABAQUS

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 20

Institute of Structural Engineering

Page 21

Analysis of a Wind Turbine Structure in ANSYS

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Page 22

Chapter 1
Fundamental Mathematical Concepts
(short review)

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 23

Institute of Structural Engineering

Matrices
A matrix is an array of ordered numbers. A general matrix
consists of mn numbers arranged in m rows and n columns,
thus the matrix is of order m x n (m by n). When we have
only one row (m = 1) or one column (n = 1), A is also called a
vector

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 24

Institute of Structural Engineering

Matrices
When dealing with systems of linear equations, a matrix
formulation proves highly advantages:

This results in an equation Ax=b, where A is matrix of

coefficients, x is a vector of unknowns and b a vector of known
quantities.
Method of Finite Elements I

Page 25

Institute of Structural Engineering

Basic Matrix Operations

Scalar multiplication:
A matrix A is multiplied by a scalar value c such that cA. This is achieved by
multiplying each entry of A by c:

where 1 i m and 1 j n

Addition:
Two matrices A and B may be added to each other iff they possess
the same order. The sum A+B is calculated entry wise:

+
Method of Finite Elements I

= +

Page 26

Institute of Structural Engineering

Basic Matrix Operations

Transposition:
The transpose of a matrix A denoted by AT is obtained by interchanging
The rows and columns pf a matrix:

Multiplication:
Two matrices A and B may be multiplied iff A is m-by-n and B is n-by-p
such that the resulting matrix will be of order m-by-p. The matrix product
AB is given by the dot product of the corresponding row of A and the
column of B.

+
Method of Finite Elements I

= +

Page 27

Institute of Structural Engineering

Rules of Matrix Operations

Commutative law does not hold, i.e. AB BA
Distributive law does hold, i.e. E = (A+B)C = AC+BC
Associative law does hold, i.e. G = (AB)C =A(BC) = ABC
AB = CB does not imply that A = C
Special rule for the transpose of matrix product:
(AB)T = BTAT
Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Special Square Matrices

Square matrix:
A matrix is said to be square if m = n
Identity matrix:
The identity matrix is a square matrix with entries on the diagonal equal to 1
while all others are equal to 0. Any square matrix A multiplied by the identity
matrix I of equal order returns the unchanged matrix A.

1 0 0
3 = 0 1 0
0 0 1
Method of Finite Elements I

Page 28

Institute of Structural Engineering

Special Square Matrices

Diagonal Matrix D:
All other entries but those on the diagonal equal to zero

Upper Triangular Matrix U:

All entries below the diagonal equal to zero
Entries on the diagonal equal to one

Lower Triangular Matrix L:

All entries above the diagonal equal to zero
Entries on the diagonal equal to one

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 29

Institute of Structural Engineering

Special Matrices
Symmetric Matrix:
A symmetric matrix is a square matrix the satisfies AT = A
Sparse Matrix:
A matrix with mostly/many zero entries

Rotation Matrix R:
Used to rotate quantities about a certain point
In 2D it is given as follows:

cos() sin()
=
sin() cos()
Method of Finite Elements I

Page 30

Page 31

Institute of Structural Engineering

Special Matrices
Banded Matrix:

For symmetric banded matrix A we have aij = 0 for j > i+mA, 2mA+1 being the
bandwidth
If the half-bandwidth, mA, of a matrix is zero, we have nonzero elements only
on the diagonal of the matrix and denote it as a diagonal matrix (for
example, unit matrix).
mA

a14 0 j 4 1 mA mA 2

2mA 1 2 2 1 5

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Matrix Inversion
The inverse of a matrix A is denoted as A-1
If a matrix is invertible then there is
AA-1 = A-1A = I
and A is said to be non-singular.

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 32

Institute of Structural Engineering

Matrix Inversion
Inversion: AA-1 = A-1A = I

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 33

Institute of Structural Engineering

Page 34

Sub Matrices
Matrices can be subdivided to facilitate matrix
manipulations
Partitioning lines must run completely across the original
matrix

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 35

Institute of Structural Engineering

The Trace of a Matrix

The trace of a matrix A is defined only if A is a square
matrix (nxn)
The trace of a matrix is a scalar value: tr A

a
i 1

Some rules:
tr(A+B) = tr(A) + tr(B)
tr(cA) = c tr(A)
tr(AB) = tr(BA)

Method of Finite Elements I

ii

Institute of Structural Engineering

The Trace of a Matrix

The trace of a matrix A, tr(A) = 4+6+8+12=30

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 36

Page 37

Institute of Structural Engineering

The Determinant of a Matrix

The determinant of a matrix A is defined only if A is a
square matrix (nxn)
The determinant of a matrix is a scalar value and is
obtained by means of the recurrence formula:
n

det( A) 1 a1 j det A1 j
1 j

j 1

where A1j is the (n-1)x(n-1) matrix obtained by eliminating

the 1st row and the jth column from the matrix A
if A=[a11] then detA=a11
Method of Finite Elements I

Page 38

Institute of Structural Engineering

The Determinant of a Matrix

The determinant of a matrix is a scalar value and is obtained
by means of the recurrence formula:
n

det( A) 1 a1 j det A1 j
j 1

Method of Finite Elements I

1 j

Institute of Structural Engineering

The Determinant of a Matrix

The determinant of a matrix using the recurrence formula
along the first row (2 1 0):
n

det( A) 1 a1 j det A1 j
j 1

Method of Finite Elements I

1 j

Page 39

Page 40

Institute of Structural Engineering

The Determinant of a Matrix

Some useful operations with determinants:

det(AB) = det(A) det(B)

det(A-1) = 1/det(A)
det(I) = 1

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 41

Institute of Structural Engineering

The Determinant of a Matrix

It is convenient to decompose a symmetric matrix A by so
called LDL decomposition (Cholesky): A=LDLT
L is a lower triangular matrix with all diagonal elements
equal to 1 and D is a diagonal matrix with components dii
1 0
L l21 1
l31 l32

0
0
1

Thus the determinant of matrix A (nxn) can be obtained as:

de tA

d
i 1

Method of Finite Elements I

ii

Institute of Structural Engineering

The Determinant of a Matrix

LDL decomposition: A=LDLT

Method of Finite Elements I

Page 42

Page 43

Institute of Structural Engineering

Tensors
A set of quantities that obey certain transformation laws
relating the bases in one generalized coordinate system to
those of another
A tensor consists of an array of a certain order (for
example: tensor of order 0 is a scalar, tensor of order 1 is a
vector)
Each tensor has a transformation law detailing the
response of a change of basis (or frame of reference).
Bathe: An entity is called a second-order tensor if it has
nine components tij, i=1,2,3 and j=1,2,3 in the unprimed
frame and nine components tij in the primed frame and if
these components are related by the characteristic law
tij=pikpjltkl, P being a rotation matrix
Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Stress Tensors

xx xy xz

yy yz

zz

A graphical representation of a tensor is possible using

Mohrs circles (for example: plane stress state shown on
figure above)
Method of Finite Elements I

Page 44

Page 45

Institute of Structural Engineering

Variational Calculus
Variational operator d
Variations (of deformation) are small enough not to disturb
the equilibrium and are consistent with the geometric constraint
of the system
Some rules:

du d
d du
dx dx
a

d udx dudx
0

Method of Finite Elements I

d F1 F2 dF1 dF2
d F1 F2 d F1 F2 F1d F2
F1
d
F2

d F1 F2 F1d F2

2
F

dF n nF n1dF