Basic Elements

Basic elelments 1 / 15
 Stress-Strain Relations (1 of 2)
Few elements can be formulated using the direct method, as applied to rods and bars. In general, formulation of
elements for structural mechanics relies on long-estableshed tools for stress analysis, including stress-strain relations,
strain-displacement relations, and energy considerations. Here we state formulas in rectangular Cartesian coordinates.
Analogous formulas in polar and cylindrical coordinates may be stated as needed.
Let 𝜎𝜎 be the array of stresses and 𝜀𝜀 the array of strains. Subscripts zero indicate initial values. Constitutive matrix
𝐸𝐸 contains elastic constants. For linearly elastic conditions, stress-strain relations cab be stated in the matrix forms
𝜎𝜎 = 𝐸𝐸 𝜀𝜀 + 𝜎𝜎0 or 𝜎𝜎 = 𝐸𝐸 𝜀𝜀 − 𝜀𝜀0 where 𝜎𝜎0 = − 𝐸𝐸 𝜀𝜀0
This relation is valid in one, two or three dimensions. For uniaxial stress state, with no initial stress, it is simply 𝜎𝜎 = 𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸,
where 𝐸𝐸 is the elastic modulus. In two dimensions, with 𝑥𝑥 and 𝑦𝑦 as the in-plane coordinates, it becomes
𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥 𝐸𝐸11 𝐸𝐸12 𝐸𝐸13 𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥0
𝜎𝜎𝑦𝑦 = 𝐸𝐸21 𝐸𝐸22 𝐸𝐸23 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦 + 𝜎𝜎𝑦𝑦0
𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑦𝑦 𝐸𝐸31 𝐸𝐸32 𝐸𝐸33 𝛾𝛾𝑥𝑥𝑦𝑦 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥0
Constitutive matrix 𝐸𝐸 is symmetric; 𝐸𝐸𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 𝐸𝐸𝑗𝑗𝑗𝑗 . 𝐸𝐸 can represent isotropic or anisotropic material properties. For
isotropic and plane stress conditions (𝜎𝜎𝑧𝑧 = 𝜏𝜏𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = 𝜏𝜏𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = 0), 𝐸𝐸 and its inverse are

Basic elelments 2 / 15
 Stress-Strain Relations (2 of 2)

𝐸𝐸 1 𝜈𝜈 0 1⁄𝐸𝐸 −𝜈𝜈⁄𝐸𝐸 0
𝐸𝐸 = 𝜈𝜈 1 0 −1 = −𝜈𝜈 ⁄𝐸𝐸
𝐸𝐸 1⁄𝐸𝐸 0
1 − 𝜈𝜈 2 0 0 1 − 𝜈𝜈 ⁄2 0 0 1⁄𝐺𝐺
where 𝜈𝜈 is the Poisson’s ration and 𝐺𝐺 = 𝐸𝐸 ⁄2 1 + 𝜈𝜈 is the shear modulus.
Initial strains 𝜀𝜀0 may have various causes, including temperature change and swelling due to moisture or radiation. If
convenient, in order to account for initial defects from the simultaneous action of two or more sources, 𝜀𝜀0 and 𝜎𝜎0
can both appear in the stress-strain relation. If the material is isotropic and initial strains are produced by temperature
change 𝑇𝑇, then 𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥0 = 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦0 = 𝛼𝛼𝛼𝛼 and 𝛾𝛾𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥0 = 0, where 𝛼𝛼 is the coeddicient of thermal expansion, here assumed to be
independent of temperature. Temperature 𝑇𝑇 is measured relative to a reference temperature, perhaps room
temperature, at which the body may be regarded as free of stress.
In three dimensions, 𝐸𝐸 is a symmetric 6 by 6 array that relates stress 𝜎𝜎 = 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥 𝜎𝜎𝑦𝑦 𝜎𝜎𝑧𝑧 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝜏𝜏𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 𝜏𝜏𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 𝑇𝑇 and
strains 𝜀𝜀 = 𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦 𝜀𝜀𝑧𝑧 𝛾𝛾𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝛾𝛾𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 𝛾𝛾𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 𝑇𝑇 . For the case of isotropy and initial strains caused by temperature change
𝑇𝑇, nonzero entries in 𝐸𝐸 and 𝜀𝜀0 are 𝐸𝐸
𝑐𝑐 =
𝐸𝐸11 = 𝐸𝐸22 = 𝐸𝐸33 = 1 − 𝜈𝜈 𝑐𝑐 𝐸𝐸12 = 𝐸𝐸21 = 𝐸𝐸13 = 𝐸𝐸31 = 𝐸𝐸23 = 𝐸𝐸32 = 𝜈𝜈𝑐𝑐 1 + 𝜈𝜈 1 − 2𝜈𝜈
𝐸𝐸
𝐸𝐸44 = 𝐸𝐸55 = 𝐸𝐸66 = G 𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦0 = 𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥0 = 𝛼𝛼𝛼𝛼 𝐺𝐺 =
2 1 + 𝜈𝜈
Basic elelments 3 / 15
 Strain-Displacement Relations (1 of 2)
A displacement field describes how a body deforms as well as how it displaces. Strain-displacement relations extract
the strain field contained in a displacement field and play a prominent role in formulating commonly used elements.
To obtain formulas, we use engineering definitions of strain. Normal strain is change in length divided by original length;
shear strain is the amount of change in a right angle.

Deformations shown in figure provide formulas for strains 𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥 , 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦

and 𝛾𝛾𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 in the 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 plane. In general, 𝑥𝑥 −direction displacement 𝑢𝑢
and 𝑦𝑦 −direction displacement 𝑣𝑣 are functions of the coordinates
𝑢𝑢 = 𝑢𝑢 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦 and 𝑣𝑣 = 𝑣𝑣 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦 . Therefore we must use partial
derivatives. Doing so and letting Δ𝑥𝑥 and Δ𝑦𝑦 approach zero, we
obtain the two-dimensional strain-displacement relations
𝜕𝜕𝑢𝑢 𝜕𝜕𝑣𝑣 𝜕𝜕𝑢𝑢 𝜕𝜕𝑣𝑣 Subsequently it will be convenient to use a comma to denote
𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥 = 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦 = 𝛾𝛾𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = +
𝜕𝜕𝑥𝑥 𝜕𝜕𝑦𝑦 𝜕𝜕𝑦𝑦 𝜕𝜕𝑥𝑥 partial differentiation with respect to the subscript that follows.
𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥 = 𝑢𝑢,𝑥𝑥 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦 = 𝑣𝑣,𝑦𝑦 𝛾𝛾𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 𝑢𝑢,𝑦𝑦 + 𝑣𝑣,𝑥𝑥 With this notation we have
In three dimensions, displacements in coordinate directions 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦,
𝜀𝜀𝑧𝑧 = 𝑤𝑤,𝑧𝑧 𝛾𝛾𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = 𝑣𝑣,𝑧𝑧 + 𝑤𝑤,𝑦𝑦 𝛾𝛾𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 = 𝑤𝑤,𝑥𝑥 + 𝑢𝑢,𝑧𝑧 and 𝑧𝑧 are 𝑢𝑢 = 𝑢𝑢 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦, 𝑧𝑧 , 𝑣𝑣 = 𝑣𝑣 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦, 𝑧𝑧 and 𝑤𝑤 = 𝑤𝑤 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦, 𝑧𝑧 and the
previous equations are supplemented by
Basic elelments 4 / 15
 Strain-Displacement Relations (2 of 2)
In matrix operator format, for 2D and 3D cases respectively, the strain-displacement relations are
𝜕𝜕
0 0
𝜕𝜕𝑥𝑥
𝜕𝜕
0 0
𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥 𝜕𝜕𝑦𝑦
𝜕𝜕 0 𝜕𝜕
𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥 𝜕𝜕 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦
𝜕𝜕𝑥𝑥 0 0 𝑢𝑢
𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦 𝑢𝑢 𝜀𝜀𝑧𝑧 𝜕𝜕𝑧𝑧
= 0 𝜕𝜕𝑦𝑦 𝛾𝛾𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 𝜕𝜕 𝑣𝑣
𝑣𝑣 𝜕𝜕
𝛾𝛾𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕 0 𝑤𝑤
𝛾𝛾𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 𝜕𝜕𝑦𝑦 𝜕𝜕𝑥𝑥
𝜕𝜕𝑦𝑦 𝜕𝜕𝑥𝑥 𝛾𝛾𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧 𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕
0
𝜕𝜕𝑧𝑧 𝜕𝜕𝑦𝑦
𝜕𝜕 𝜕𝜕
0
𝜕𝜕𝑧𝑧 𝜕𝜕𝜕𝜕

and symbolically 𝜀𝜀 = 𝜕𝜕 𝑢𝑢

Basic elelments 5 / 15
 Compatibility
When a body is deformed without breaking, no cracks appear in stretching, no kinks appear in bending, and material
particles do not interpenetrate. Stated more elegantly, the compatibility condition requires that displacements be
continous and single-valued function of position.
Arbitrarily assumed expressions for 𝜀𝜀𝑥𝑥 , 𝜀𝜀𝑦𝑦 and 𝛾𝛾𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 may not satisfy the compatibility condition, but arbitrarily assumed
displacement fields are certain to satisfy it, provided they are single-valued and continous. One reason for the
widespread use of displacement-based finite elements, which uses assumed polynomials as displacement fields, is the
ease with which compatibility can be satisfied.

Equilibrium Equations
This figure show stresses that act on a differential element in a two-dimensional
problem. In rectangular Cartesian coordinates, we now develop equations stating that
the differential element is in equilibrium under forces applied to it. Forces come from
stresses on the sides and from body forces.
Body forces, 𝐹𝐹𝑥𝑥 and 𝐹𝐹𝑦𝑦 in 𝑥𝑥 and 𝑦𝑦 directions respectively, are defined as forces per unit
volume, positive when acting in positive coordinate directions. Body forces can be
produced by gravity, acceleration, a magnetic field and so on.

Basic elelments 6 / 15
 Equilibrium Equations
On each differential element of volume (𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡, where 𝑡𝑡 = thickness), 𝐹𝐹𝑥𝑥 and 𝐹𝐹𝑦𝑦 produce differential forces 𝐹𝐹𝑥𝑥 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
and 𝐹𝐹𝑦𝑦 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑. In general body forces and stresses are functions of the coordinates. Thus, for example, 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥,𝑥𝑥 is the rate of
change and 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥,𝑥𝑥 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 is the amount of change in 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥 over distance 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑. For uniform thickness 𝑡𝑡, static equilibrium of forces
in the 𝑥𝑥 direction requires that
−𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 − 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 + 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥 + 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥,𝑥𝑥 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 + 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 + 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥,𝑦𝑦 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 + 𝐹𝐹𝑥𝑥 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 0
There is a corresponding 𝑦𝑦 −direction equation of equilibrium. After simplification, the differential equations of
equilibrium for a plane (2D) problem are as follows. For reference, analogous equations for a solid (3D) problem are
also stated.
2D 3D
𝑥𝑥 −direction 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥,𝑥𝑥 + 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥,𝑦𝑦 + 𝐹𝐹𝑥𝑥 = 0 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥,𝑥𝑥 + 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥,𝑦𝑦 + 𝜏𝜏𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧,𝑧𝑧 + 𝐹𝐹𝑥𝑥 = 0

𝑦𝑦 −direction 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥,𝑥𝑥 + 𝜎𝜎𝑦𝑦,𝑦𝑦 + 𝐹𝐹𝑦𝑦 = 0 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥,𝑥𝑥 + 𝜎𝜎𝑦𝑦,𝑦𝑦 + 𝜏𝜏𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦,𝑧𝑧 + 𝐹𝐹𝑦𝑦 = 0

𝑧𝑧 −direction not used 𝜏𝜏𝑧𝑧𝑧𝑧,𝑥𝑥 + 𝜏𝜏𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦,𝑦𝑦 + 𝜎𝜎𝑧𝑧,𝑧𝑧 + 𝐹𝐹𝑧𝑧 = 0

Basic elelments 7 / 15
 Boundary Conditions
Boundary conditions include prescriptions of displacements or stresses on sides or surfaces of a body. For example, in
the plane problem presented in figure, the rigid support implies that 𝑢𝑢 = 𝑣𝑣 = 0 along the left side. Stress boundary
conditions prevail along the remaining sides: 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 0 and 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥 = −𝑝𝑝 along the top side, 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥 = 𝜏𝜏𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 = 0 along the right
side, and 𝜎𝜎𝑛𝑛 = 𝜏𝜏𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = 0 along the bottom side.

Other problems
The foregoing formulas of structural mechanics have counterparts in other areas, like acoustics, heat condution as well
as electricity and so on. Using the rules of the analogy, the same equations (and therfore the same computer program)
may be used for solving different problems.

Basic elelments 8 / 15