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FEM Week4 Spring24 25r

The document covers the fundamentals of Finite Element Method (FEM) in mechanical engineering, focusing on 1-D elements and various formulation methods including Direct Formulation, Variational Methods, and Weighted Residual Method. It emphasizes the Principle of Minimum Potential Energy and the use of shape functions for interpolating solutions between mesh nodes. Additionally, it discusses the importance of minimizing residuals in the Weighted Residual Method to achieve equilibrium in structural problems.

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ragnarreis344
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2 views45 pages

FEM Week4 Spring24 25r

The document covers the fundamentals of Finite Element Method (FEM) in mechanical engineering, focusing on 1-D elements and various formulation methods including Direct Formulation, Variational Methods, and Weighted Residual Method. It emphasizes the Principle of Minimum Potential Energy and the use of shape functions for interpolating solutions between mesh nodes. Additionally, it discusses the importance of minimizing residuals in the Weighted Residual Method to achieve equilibrium in structural problems.

Uploaded by

ragnarreis344
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FEM in Mechanical

Engineering
Week 4-5

1-D Elements
Content of today
• Finite Element Formulations:
• 1- Direct Formulation
• 2- Variational Methods
• 3- Weighted Residual Method
• Shape functions
• 1-D Axial Bar under Finite Element Formulation

• FEM Example
Image source: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-
62191-9_3
2- Variational Method:

The Variational Method (Energy Approach) is based on the idea that a


system naturally settles into a state that minimizes its total potential
energy. This is called the Principle of Minimum Potential Energy.
Features:
• Minimizes a specific functional (often an energy expression). In
structural mechanics, this functional frequently includes strain
energy.
• Leverages the principle of minimum potential energy, where a
structure in equilibrium minimizes its total potential energy (strain
energy + external work).
• Finding the solution that minimizes the functional leads to the
equilibrium state of the structure.
3- Weighted Residuals Method
If the physical formulation of the problem is described as a
differential equation, then the most popular solution method is
the Method of Weighted Residuals.
Method of Weighted Residuals (MWR): is an integral
approach in which we integrate the weighted residual of
the governing equation and obtain the weak formulation.

Weighted Residual Method:


• Minimizes the residual (difference between the governing equation and its
approximation) in some way. The governing equation might involve strain energy
indirectly, but it's not the central focus.
• Integrates the weighted residual of the governing equation to obtain a weak
formulation. This weak formulation allows for the use of various weighting
functions to solve the problem.
• Strain energy might appear within the governing equation used for the weighted
residual method, but it's not directly minimized to find the solution.
Example:
REVIEW of Structural
Problems
d is the derivative operator
AXIAL FINITE ELEMENTS
AXIAL FINITE ELEMENTS

SHAPE FUNCTIONS
Shape Function

• The shape function is the function which interpolates the solution


between the discrete values obtained at the mesh nodes. Therefore,
appropriate functions have to be used and low order polynomials are
typically chosen as shape functions.
• Generally, linear shape functions will be discussed.

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