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FEM 1l2

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Manander SIngh
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35 views15 pages

FEM 1l2

Uploaded by

Manander SIngh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Basic Approach of FEM

• Consider a plate with a hole as shown in Figure 1.1 for which we wish to find the
temperature distribution.
• It is straight forward to write a heat balance equation for each point in the plate.
The finite element method (FEM), or finite element analysis (FEA), is based on the
idea of building a complicated object with simple blocks or dividing a complicated
object into small and manageable pieces. Application of this simple idea can be found
everywhere in everyday life, as well as in engineering.
Examples:
• Lego (kids’ play)
• Buildings
• Approximation of the area of a circle:
Fundamental Concept of FEM
• A continuous field of a certain domain having infinite degrees of
freedom is approximated by a set of piecewise continuous models
with a number of finite regions called elements. The number of
unknowns defined as nodes are determined using a given relationship
i.e.{F}=[K]*{d}.
Fundamental Concept of FEM
• Red line-Continuous field over
the entire domain.
• Blue line-Finite number of linear
approximations with the finite
number of elements
General Steps
1) Discretize the domain
a) Divide domain into finite elements using appropriate
element types (1-D, 2-D, 3-D, or Axisymmetric)
2) Select a Displacement Function
a) Define a function within each element using the nodal
values
3) Define the Strain/Displacement and Stress/strain
Relationships
4) Derive the Element Stiffness Matrix and Equations
a)Derive the equations within each element
General Steps
5) Assemble the Element Equations to Obtain the Global or Total
Equations and Introduce Boundary Conditions
a)Add element equations by method of superposition to obtain global
equation
6) Solve for the Unknown Degrees of Freedom (i.e primary unknowns)
7) Solve for the Element Strains and Stresses
8) Interpret the Results
ADVANTAGES OF FEA

1. The physical properties, which complex for any closed bound solution, can be
analyzed by this method.
2. It can take care of any geometry (may be regular or irregular).
3. It can take care of any boundary conditions.
4. Material anisotropy and non-homogeneity can be catered without much difficulty.
5. It can take care of any type of loading conditions.
6. This method is superior to other approximate methods like Galerkin and Rayleigh-
Ritz methods.
7. In this method approximations are confined to small sub domains.
8. In this method, the admissible functions are valid over the simple domain and have
nothing to do with boundary, however simple or complex it may be.
9. Enable to computer programming.
DISADVANTAGES OF FEA

1. Computational time involved in the solution of the problem is high.


3. Proper engineering judgment is to be exercised to interpret results.
4. It requires large computer memory and computational time to obtain intend results.
5. There are certain categories of problems where other methods are more effective, e.g., fluid
problems having boundaries at infinity are better treated by the boundary element method.
6. For some problems, there may be a considerable amount of input data. Errors may creep up in
their preparation and the results thus obtained may also appear to be acceptable which indicates
deceptive state of affairs. It is always desirable to make a visual check of the input data.
7. In the FEM, many problems lead to round-off errors. Computer works with a limited number
of digits and solving the problem with restricted number of digits may not yield the desired
degree of accuracy or it may give total erroneous results in some cases. For many problems the
increase in the number of digits for the purpose of calculation improves the accuracy.
GENERAL PROCEDURE OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

The following steps are involved in the finite element analysis.

1. Discretization of the structure/continuum.


2. Choosing appropriate displacement function.
3. Strain-displacement matrix [B]
4. Stress-Strain matrix [D]
5. Development of element stiffness matrix.
6. Development of Load vector
7. Solution for the unknown displacements
8. Computation of the element strains and stresses/stress resultants from the nodal displacement

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