INTRODUCTION

The finite element method (FEM) is a numerical method for solving problems of
engineering and mathematical physics. It is also referred to as finite element
analysis (FEA). Typical problem areas of interest include structural analysis, heat
transfer, fluid flow, mass transport, and electromagnetic potential. The analytical solution of
these problems generally require the solution to boundary value problems for partial
differential equations. The finite element method formulation of the problem results in a
system of algebraic equations. The method yields approximate values of the unknowns at
discrete number of points over the domain.To solve the problem, it subdivides a large
problem into smaller, simpler parts that are called finite elements. The simple equations that
model these finite elements are then assembled into a larger system of equations that models
the entire problem. FEM then uses variational methods from the calculus of variations to
approximate a solution by minimizing an associated error function.The description of the
laws of physics for space- and time-dependent problems are usually expressed in terms
of partial differential equations (PDEs). For the vast majority of geometries and problems,
these PDEs cannot be solved with analytical methods. Instead, an approximation of the
equations can be constructed, typically based upon different types of discretizations. These
discretization methods approximate the PDEs with numerical model equations, which can
be solved using numerical methods. The solution to the numerical model equations are, in
turn, an approximation of the real solution to the PDEs. The finite element method (FEM)
is used to compute such approximations.

Basic concepts:
The subdivision of a whole domain into simpler parts has several advantages:
Accurate representation of complex geometry
Inclusion of dissimilar material properties
Easy representation of the total solution
Capture of local effects.
A typical work out of the method involves (1) dividing the domain of the problem into a
collection of subdomains, with each subdomain represented by a set of element equations to
the original problem, followed by (2) systematically recombining all sets of element
equations into a global system of equations for the final calculation. The global system of
equations has known solution techniques, and can be calculated from the initial values of the
original problem to obtain a numerical answer.
In the first step above, the element equations are simple equations that locally approximate
the original complex equations to be studied, where the original equations are often partial
differential equations (PDE). To explain the approximation in this process, FEM is
commonly introduced as a special case of Galerkin method. The process, in mathematical
language, is to construct an integral of the inner product of the residual and the weight
functions and set the integral to zero. In simple terms, it is a procedure that minimizes the
error of approximation by fitting trial functions into the PDE. The residual is the error caused
by the trial functions, and the weight functions are polynomial approximation functions that
project the residual. The process eliminates all the spatial derivatives from the PDE, thus
approximating the PDE locally with
a set of algebraic equations for steady state problems,
a set of ordinary differential equations for transient problems.
These equation sets are the element equations. They are linear if the underlying PDE is
linear, and vice versa. Algebraic equation sets that arise in the steady state problems are
solved using numerical linear algebra methods, while ordinary differential equation sets that
arise in the transient problems are solved by numerical integration using standard techniques
such as Euler's method or the Runge-Kutta method.
In step (2) above, a global system of equations is generated from the element equations
through a transformation of coordinates from the subdomains' local nodes to the domain's
global nodes. This spatial transformation includes appropriate orientation adjustments as
applied in relation to the reference coordinate system. The process is often carried out by
FEM software using coordinate data generated from the subdomains.
FEM is best understood from its practical application, known as finite element analysis
(FEA). FEA as applied in engineering is a computational tool for performing engineering
analysis. It includes the use of mesh generation techniques for dividing a complex
problem into small elements, as well as the use of software program coded with FEM
algorithm. In applying FEA, the complex problem is usually a physical system with the
underlying physics such as the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation, the heat equation, or
the Navier-Stokes equations expressed in either PDE or integral equations, while the divided
small elements of the complex problem represent different areas in the physical system.
FEA is a good choice for analyzing problems over complicated domains (like cars and oil
pipelines), when the domain changes (as during a solid-state reaction with a moving
boundary), when the desired precision varies over the entire domain, or when the solution
lacks smoothness. FEA simulations provide a valuable resource as they remove multiple
instances of creation and testing of hard prototypes for various high-fidelity situations. For
instance, in a frontal crash simulation it is possible to increase prediction accuracy in
"important" areas like the front of the car and reduce it in its rear (thus reducing cost of the
simulation). Another example would be in numerical weather prediction, where it is more
important to have accurate predictions over developing highly nonlinear phenomena (such
as tropical cyclones in the atmosphere, or eddies in the ocean) rather than relatively calm
areas.

While it is difficult to quote a date of the invention of the finite element method, the
method originated from the need to solve complex elasticity and structural analysis problems
in civil and aeronautical engineering. Its development can be traced back to the work by A.
Hrennikoff and R. Courant in the early 1940s. Another pioneer was Ioannis Argyris. In the
USSR, the introduction of the practical application of the method is usually connected with
name of Leonard Oganesyan.In China, in the later 1950s and early 1960s, based on the
computations of dam constructions, K. Feng proposed a systematic numerical method for
solving partial differential equations. The method was called the finite difference method
based on variation principle, which was another independent invention of the finite element
method. Although the approaches used by these pioneers are different, they share one
essential characteristic: mesh discretization of a continuous domain into a set of discrete sub-
domains, usually called elements.
Hrennikoff's work discretizes the domain by using a lattice analogy, while Courant's
approach divides the domain into finite triangular subregions to solve second
order elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs) that arise from the problem of torsion of
a cylinder. Courant's contribution was evolutionary, drawing on a large body of earlier results
for PDEs developed by Rayleigh, Ritz, and Galerkin.
The finite element method obtained its real impetus in the 1960s and 1970s by the
developments of J. H. Argyris with co-workers at the University of Stuttgart, R. W.
Clough with co-workers at UC Berkeley, O. C. Zienkiewicz with co-workers Ernest
Hinton, Bruce Ironsand others at the University of Swansea, Philippe G. Ciarlet at the
University of Paris 6 and Richard Gallagher with co-workers at Cornell University. Further
impetus was provided in these years by available open source finite element software
programs. NASA sponsored the original version of NASTRAN, and UC Berkeley made the
finite element program SAP IVwidely available. In Norway the ship classification society
Det Norske Veritas (now DNV GL) developed Sesam in 1969 for use in analysis of ships.A
rigorous mathematical basis to the finite element method was provided in 1973 with the
publication by Strangand Fix.The method has since been generalized for the numerical
modeling of physical systems in a wide variety of engineering disciplines,
e.g., electromagnetism, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics.

THE ASSUMED-MODES METHOD

The Assumed mode method (AMM) and Finite element method (FEM) were used.
Their results were compared to investigate the coupled shaft-torsion, disk-transverse, and
blade-bending vibrations in a flexible-disk rotor system. The blades were grouped with a
spring. The flexible-disk rotor system was divided into three modes of coupled vibrations:
Shaft-disk-blade, disk-blade, and blade-blade. Two new modes of coupled vibrations were
introduced, namely, lacing wires-blade and lacing wires-disk-blade. The patterns of change
of the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the system were discussed. The results showed
the following: first, mode shapes and natural frequencies varied, and the results of the AMM
and FEM differed; second, numerical calculation results showed three influencing factors on
natural frequencies, namely, the lacing wire constant, the lacing wire location, and the
flexible disk; lastly, the flexible disk could affect the stability of the system as reflected in the
effect of the rotational speed.
An assumed mode method and finite element method investigation of the coupled... | Request
PDF. Available from:
This investigation is related to the natural vibration analysis of bottom and vertical plate
structures in contact with fluid using the assumed mode method. The procedure can consider
thick plates and stiffened panels, where the Mindlin theory is adopted for a plate and
Timoshenko beam theory for the stiffeners. The eigenvalue problem is formulated using
Lagrange's equation of motion and taking into account potential and kinetic energies of a
plate structure and fluid kinetic energy, respectively. Potential flow theory assumptions are
adopted for the fluid and the effect of free surface waves is ignored. From the boundary
conditions for the fluid and structure the fluid velocity potential is derived and it is utilized
for the calculation of added mass using the assumed modes. Based on the developed
theoretical background, the in-house software is developed and applied to the vibration
analyses of plates and stiffened panels in contact with fluid with different domain sizes and
various sets of boundary conditions. Comparisons with FEM-BEM numerical results show
high accuracy of the proposed procedure.
Vibration of bottom and vertical rectangular plates and stiffened panels in contact with an
ideal and irrotational fluid, and having length a and width b is considered, Figure 1. The plate
structure part is assumed to be elastic, while the other parts of the rectangular domain are
treated as the rigid ones. Furthermore, the surface waves and hydrostatic pressure effects are
neglected in this study. Lagrange's equation can be applied to formulate the eigenvalue
problem.

Consider the forced vibrations of a longitudinal bar of Figure 11.1. The displacement u is
a function of the spatial coordinate x and time t, u(x, t). Let u1(x), u2(x), . . . , un(x) be a
set of n linearly independent functions that are at least first-order differentiable and satisfy
all of the system’s geometric boundary conditions. An approximate solution is assumed as:

The assumed modes method approximates the solution to the forced vibrations of a
continuous system with n degrees of freedom. The generalized coordinates for the ndegree-
of-freedom model are the coefficient functions w1(t), w2(t), . . . ,wn(t). Quadraticforms of
the kinetic and potential energies in terms of the generalized coordinates havebeen obtained.
Use of Lagrange’s equations, as applied in Section 7.4 to linear systems withquadratic energy
forms, leads to differential equations of the form.

where the elements of the mass matrix Mare the coefficient . the elementsof the stiffness
matrix K are the coefficient, and the elements ofthe force vector F are the generalized forces.
If scalar product notationis used.
Approximations to the n lowest natural frequencies are obtained as the squareroots of the
eigenvalues of M-1K. The corresponding mode shape vectors are used into approximate the
mode shapes for these frequencies. An approximationto the forced response is obtained .

GENERAL METHODS
THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

General Method

What is general method?

General method or generalized finite element method (GFEM) uses local spaces consisting of
functions, not necessarily polynomials, that reflect the available information on the unknown
solution and thus ensure good local approximation. Then a partition of unity is used to
“bond” these spaces together to form the approximating subspace. The effectiveness of
GFEM has been shown when applied to problems with domains having complicated
boundaries, problems with micro-scales, and problems with boundary layers.

Partition of Unity-In mathematics, a partition of unity of a topological spaceX is a set R of

continuous functions from X to the unit interval [0,1] such that for every point, ,

 there is a neighbourhood of x where all but a finite number of the functions of R are
0, and

 the sum of all the function values at x is 1, i.e., .

A partition of unity of a circle with four functions. The circle is unrolled to a line segment
(the bottom solid line) for graphing purposes. The dashed line on top is the sum of the
functions in the partition.

Partitions of unity are useful because they often allow one to extend local constructions to the
whole space. They are also important in the interpolation of data, in signal processing, and
the theory of spline functions.

the generalized method of moments (GMM) is a generic method for estimating parameters
in statistical models. Usually it is applied in the context of semiparametric models, where the
parameter of interest is finite-dimensional, whereas the full shape of the data's distribution
function may not be known, and therefore maximum likelihood estimation is not applicable.

The method requires that a certain number of moment conditions were specified for the
model. These moment conditions are functions of the model parameters and the data, such
that their expectation is zero at the parameters' true values. The GMM method then
minimizes a certain norm of the sample averages of the moment conditions.

The GMM estimators are known to be consistent, asymptotically normal, and efficient in the
class of all estimators that do not use any extra information aside from that contained in the
moment conditions.

Description

Suppose the available data consists of T observations {Yt } t = 1,...,T, where each observation Yt
is an n-dimensional multivariate random variable. We assume that the data come from a
certain statistical model, defined up to an unknown parameterθ∈ Θ. The goal of the
estimation problem is to find the “true” value of this parameter, θ0, or at least a reasonably
close estimate.

A general assumption of GMM is that the data Yt be generated by a weakly

stationaryergodicstochastic process. (The case of independent and identically distributed (iid)
variables Yt is a special case of this condition.)

In order to apply GMM, we need to have "moment conditions", that is, we need to know a
vector-valued functiong(Y,θ) such that

where E denotes expectation, and Yt is a generic observation. Moreover, the function m(θ)
must differ from zero for θ ≠ θ0, otherwise the parameter θ will not be point-identified.

The basic idea behind GMM is to replace the theoretical expected value E[⋅] with its
empirical analog—sample average:

and then to minimize the norm of this expression with respect to θ. The minimizing value of
θ is our estimate for θ0.

By the law of large numbers, for large values of T, and thus we expect

that The generalized method of moments looks for a number which

would make as close to zero as possible. Mathematically, this is equivalent to
minimizing a certain norm of (norm of m, denoted as ||m||, measures the distance
between m and zero). The properties of the resulting estimator will depend on the particular
choice of the norm function, and therefore the theory of GMM considers an entire family of
norms, defined as

where W is a positive-definite weighting matrix, and denotes transposition. In

practice, the weighting matrix W is computed based on the available data set, which
will be denoted as . Thus, the GMM estimator can be written as

Under suitable conditions this estimator is consistent, asymptotically normal, and with right

choice of weighting matrix also asymptotically efficient.

Properties

Consistency
Consistency is a statistical property of an estimator stating that, having a sufficient number of
observations, the estimator will converge in probability to the true value of parameter:

Sufficient conditions for a GMM estimator to be consistent are as follows:

1. where W is a positive semi-definite matrix,

2. only for
3. The set of possible parameters is compact,
4. is continuous at each θ with probability one,
5.

The second condition here (so-called Global identification condition) is often particularly
hard to verify. There exist simpler necessary but not sufficient conditions, which may be used
to detect non-identification problem:

 Order condition. The dimension of moment function m(θ) should be at least as large
as the dimension of parameter vector θ.
 Local identification. If g(Y,θ) is continuously differentiable in a neighborhood of

, then matrix must have full column rank.

In practice applied econometricians often simply assume that global identification holds,
without actually proving it.[2]:2127

Asymptotic normality

Asymptotic normality is a useful property, as it allows us to construct confidence bands for

the estimator, and conduct different tests. Before we can make a statement about the
asymptotic distribution of the GMM estimator, we need to define two auxiliary matrices:

Then under conditions 1–6 listed below, the GMM estimator will be asymptotically normal
with limiting distribution:

Conditions:

1. is consistent (see previous section),

2. The set of possible parameters is compact,

3. is continuously differentiable in some neighborhood N of with probability

one,
4.
5.
6. the matrix is nonsingular.

Efficiency

So far we have said nothing about the choice of matrix W, except that it must be positive
semi-definite. In fact any such matrix will produce a consistent and asymptotically normal
GMM estimator, the only difference will be in the asymptotic variance of that estimator. It
can be shown that taking

will result in the most efficient estimator in the class of all asymptotically normal estimators.
Efficiency in this case means that such an estimator will have the smallest possible variance
(we say that matrix A is smaller than matrix B if B–A is positive semi-definite).

In this case the formula for the asymptotic distribution of the GMM estimator simplifies to

The proof that such a choice of weighting matrix is indeed optimal is often adopted with
slight modifications when establishing efficiency of other estimators. As a rule of thumb, a
weighting matrix is optimal whenever it makes the “sandwich formula” for variance collapse
into a simpler expression.

Proof. We will consider the difference between asymptotic variance with

arbitrary W and asymptotic variance with . If we can factor this difference into a
symmetric product of the form CC' for some matrix C, then it will guarantee that this
difference is nonnegative-definite, and thus will be optimal by definition.

where we introduced matrices A and B in order to slightly simplify notation; I is an

identity matrix. We can see that matrix B here is symmetric and idempotent: .
This means I−B is symmetric and idempotent as well: . Thus
we can continue to factor the previous expression as

Implementation

One difficulty with implementing the outlined method is that we cannot take W = Ω−1
because, by the definition of matrix Ω, we need to know the value of θ0 in order to compute
this matrix, and θ0 is precisely the quantity we do not know and are trying to estimate in the
first place. In the case of Yt being iid we can estimate W as

Several approaches exist to deal with this issue, the first one being the most popular:
  Two-step feasible GMM:
o Step 1: Take W = I (the identity matrix) or some other positive-definite
matrix, and compute preliminary GMM estimate . This estimator is
consistent for θ0, although not efficient.
o Step 2: converges in probability to Ω−1 and therefore if we compute

with this weighting matrix, the estimator will be asymptotically efficient.

 Iterated GMM. Essentially the same procedure as 2-step GMM, except that the

matrix is recalculated several times. That is, the estimate obtained in step 2 is
used to calculate the weighting matrix for step 3, and so on until some convergence
criterion is met.

Asymptotically no improvement can be achieved through such iterations, although

certain Monte-Carlo experiments suggest that finite-sample properties of this
estimator are slightly better.[

THE BAR ELEMENT

What is a bar?

A long rigid piece of wood, metal, or similar material, typically used as an

obstruction, fastening, or weapon, a counter in a pub.

Trusses: Engineering structures that are composed only of two-force members. e.g., bridges,
roof supports

Actual trusses: Airy structures composed of slender members (I-beams, channels, angles,
bars etc) joined together at their ends by welding, riveted connections or large bolts and pins.

It refers to the bar component which is a one dimensional component characterized in

one measurement. The bar component has two ends and it transmits only axial force. The bar
element has many properties such as area, moment of inertia, material, and principle axis Y
and Z shear area.
Bar element, to be simple, is used in formulation (defining the problem and solution
procedure) of axial elements (usually trusses), who sustain/take on only axial load (What is
axial load?). For this we have only one axis of loading, hence the formulation becomes easy,
since there is only one direction to take care of. The most simple element used in this is one
with 2 nodes, and simple linear shape function to represent deformation within that element

Truss/Bar Element (2D Line)

Truss elements are long and slender, have 2 nodes, and can be oriented anywhere in 3D
space. Truss elements transmit force axially only and are 3 DOF elements which allow
translation only and not rotation. Trusses are normally used to model towers, bridges, and
buildings. A constant cross section area is assumed and they are used for linear elastic
structural analysis.
 BAR elements are best for doubly symmetrical sections with load applied along
centroidal planes, as they are not capable of accounting for bending or twisting or warping of
the sections due to axial or transverse loads. This is only possible with BEAM elements.

Ideal trusses:

Assumptions

• Ideal truss members are connected only at their ends.

• Ideal truss members are connected by frictionless pins (no moments)
• The truss structure is loaded only at the pins
• Weights of the members are neglected

THE FINITE ELEMENTS METHOD

The beam Elements

1. What is beam?

A beam or bar is a long, slender structural member generally subjected to transverse

loading that produces significant bending effects (transverse displacement rotation).

What is a beam elements?

A beam element is one of the most capable and versatile elements in the finite element method. It is
very commonly used in the aerospace stress analysis industry and also in many other industries such
as marine, automotive, civil engineering structures etc. In aircraft cabin interiors however, in most
cases a bar element is sufficient to get you the loads you need. To keep it simple to understand beam
and bar elements, let us limit the discussion to symmetric and un-symmetric metallic beams, closed
and open sections.

2. Simple beam theory.

Assumptions: (A)member cross section is constant.

(B)cross section dimension < overall length. (L/ t>10)

(C) linear variation of stress and strain.(Small deformation theory)

w(x)
 
t
M
M
V V
  Beam under distributed load

v : lateral displacement
 : slape or rotation
V : Shear force (transverse )
M : bending moment
w( x) : distributed loading ( force / length)

Equilibrium equation of a differential element of the beam.

w(x)

M+dM
M
V V+dV

 Differential beam element

Force epuilibrium    Fy  0
V  (V  dV )  w( x)dx  0 or dV   w( x)
dx
moment epuilibrium   M A  0
M  dM  M  Vdx  (wdx)  dx  0 or dM  V
2 dx
 d   w( x)
2M

dx2

dv

Curvature of the beam for small slope dx is given by

M d 2v
1
k   2
 EI dx
r: radius of deflected curve.

E: modulus of elasticity.

I: principal moment of inertia about Z-axis

2 2 2
d M d d
 2  2 ( EI v2 )  w( x)
dx dx dx
For constant EI and only nodal forces and moments, equation becomes

d 4v
EI  4  0
dx
Solution of displacement v(x) is of cubic polynomial function of x

v( x)  a1 x 3  a2 x 2  a3 x  a4

3. Beam element stiffness formulation. (Direct equilibrium approach)

(1) Beam element (No axial effects are considered.)

vi , v j : nodal displacements
i , j : nodal rotation
F : shear force
M : bending moment

Sign convection of the beam element:

M ,  : positive , counterclockwise
F , v : positiv , positive y direction
Simple beam theory sign convection for positive shear forces and moments.

M M
V V
 (2) Assume displacement function (Without distributing loading, w(x)=0)

v( x)  a1 x3  a2 x 2  a3 x  a4

( A) 4 total D.O.Fs (vi , i , v j ,  j )

4
( B) satisfy basic beam D.E. ( EI d v4  0)
dx

(C) satisty the conditions of displacement & slope continuity at nodes.

Express n(x) as a function of nodal displacements as follows.

v(0)  vi  a4
dv(0)
 i  a3
dx
v( L)  v j  a1 L3  a2 L2  a3 L  a4
dv( L)
   3a1 L2  2a2 L  a3
dx j

 v( x)   23 (vi  v j )  12 (i   j ) x 3   32 (vi  v j )  1 (i   j ) x 2  i x  vi

 L L   L L 
 vi 
In matrix form, we have  
 i
v  N d   N1 , N 2 , N 3 , N 4   
v j 

 j 


 
N1  13 2 x 3  3x 2 L  L3 , N 2  13 x 3 L  2 x 2 L2  xL3
L L
 
 
N 3  13  2 x 3  3x 2 L , N 4  13 Lx3  L2 x 2
L L
 

(3) Element stiffness Matrix and Equations

N1 , N 2 , N 3 , N 4 : shape functions for a beam element.
Relationships between moment, force and displacement from elementary beam theory are

d 2v
M  EI 2
dx
Using the nodal and beam theory sign convections for shear forces and bending moments, we
obtain

 d 3v(0) 
 EI dx3 
 Fi   V   2 
d v ( 0)
M      EI 
 i   M   2 
f         dx

F
  
j  V   EI d 3
v ( L ) 
M j   M   dx  3

 d v( L) 
2

 EI 
 dx2 

Beam element Beam theory

Use the following equations into above equation.

v  N d 
  2  3 
dv  d  N  d , d 2 v  d  N  d , d 3v  d  N  d 
dx dx dx2 dx2 dx3 dx3
d 2  N  1
dx2

 3 (12 x  6 L), (6 Lx  4 L2 ), (12 x  6 L), (6 Lx  2 L2 )
L

3 
d  N  1
 3 12,6 L,12,6 L
dx3 L

Hence, the beam element equation relating nodal forces and nodal displacements is given as

 Fi   12 6 L  12 6 L   vi 
M    
 i  EI  6 L 4 L
2
6L 2 L2  i 
  3  
F
  j L   12  6 L 12  6 L  v j 
   2 
   j 
2
M
  j  6 L 2 L 6 L 4 L 

or  f   k d

Where [k] is the element stiffness matrix for a beam element with neglected axial effects.
4. Example: P
EI Constant

12 6 L  12 6 L  Fi
 
4 L2  6 L 2 L2  Mi
K   K 
EI 
(1) ( 2)
 3
L  12  6 L  Fj
 
 4 L2  Mj

By direct stiffness method,the system eqn. For the beam is obtained as

 F1 y  12 6 L  12 6L 0 0   v1 
M    
 1  4 L2
 6 L 2 L2
0 0  1 
 F2 y  EI  12  12  6 L  6 L  12 6 L  v2 
  3   
M
 2 L  4 L2  4 L2  6 L 2 L2  2 
 F3 y   12  6 L  v3 
    
 M 3   4 L2  3 
Boundary conditions : v2  v3  3  0 , loads : F1 y   P, M1  0, M 2  0
Boundary conditions : v2  v3  3  0 , loads : F1 y   P, M1  0, M 2  0

 P  12 6 L  12 6L 0 0   v1 
 0    
   4 L2  6 L 2 L2 0 0  1 
 F2 y  EI  12  12  6 L  6 L  12 6 L   0 
  3   
 0  L  4 L2  4 L2  6 L 2 L2  2 
 F3 y   12  6 L   0 
    
 M 3   4 L2   0 

 P  12 6 L  12 6L 0 0   v1 
 0    
   4L 2
 6L 2L 2
0 0  1 
 F2 y  EI  12  12  6 L  6 L  12 6 L   0 
  3   
 0  L  4 L2  4 L2  6 L 2 L2  2 
 F3 y   12  6 L   0 
    
 M 3   4 L2   0 
 The final set of equations is
 P  12 6 L 6 L   v1 
  EI   
 0   3 6 L 4 L
2
2 L2  1 
 0  L 6 L 2 L2 8L2  2 
  

The transverse displacement at node 1 and rotations at node1 and 2 are

7 PL3 3PL2 PL2
v1   1  2 
12 EI 4 EI 4 EI

where the minus sign indicates that displacement at node

1 and the positive signs indicate counterclockwise rotations at node1 and 2.

By substituting the known global nodal displacements

and rotations into the system equation, we can determine the global nodal forces.
The resulting equations are  7 PL3 
 
 12 EI 2 
 F1 y  12 6 L  3 PL 
 12 6L 0 0 
M     4 EI 
 1  4 L2  6L 2 L2 0 0  
 F2 y  EI  12  12  6 L  6 L  12 6 L    0 
  3    2 
M 2  L  4 L2  4 L2  6 L 2 L2   PL 
 F3 y   12  6 L   4 EI 
    
 M 3   4 L2   0 
 
 0 
 

The global nodal forces and moments are

5 3 1
F1 y   P, M1  0, F2 y  P, M 2  0, F3   P, M 3  PL
2 2 2
 Local nodal force for each element (used for stress analysis of the entire structure)

Element 1 Element 2
 f1 y   v1    P   f2 y   v2   2 P 
3

m     0       PL 
 1  1  
   k (1)
      2
 
m
 K 
( 2 )  2  
  3 
 f2 y  v
 2  P   f3 y  v3   2 P 
 m2  2   PL   m3  3   PL 
 2 
Free body diagrams for element 1 and 2 are shown as follows.

P 3
P 3
2 P
2 PL
2
PL PL
P

According the results of the global nodal forces and moments, the free body diagram for the
whole beam is given as shown.

By using the beam theory sign conventions, the shear force V and bending moment M diagrams
are shown in the following figures.

M M
V V
Shear force diagram for the beam

3
V P
2
1 2 3
P

Bending moment diagram for the beam

PL
M
2
1 2 3

 PL
5. Distributed loading

Equivalent force system:

Replace the distributed load by concentrated nodal forces and moments tending to
have the same effect on the beam as the actual distributing load based on the concept
of fixed-end reactions from structural analysis theory.

Fixed-end reactions are those reactions at the ends of an element if the ends of the element are
assumed to be fixed.

Beam subjected to a distributed load Fixed-end reactions for the beam

Ex. Distributed load. equivalent force system

wL wL
2 2 wL2
wL2
12 12
 3wL 7wL
20 20
wL2
wL2
30
12

Example:

Consider the cantilever beam subjected to the uniform load w. Find the right-end
vertical displacement and rotation, and nodal forces.

wL wL
w 2 2 2 wL2
wL
M1 12 12
x

cantilever beam subjected to the uniform

loadw equivalent nodal force system for uniform load w

Solution:

One element is used to represent the whole beam. Based on the fixed-end reactions concept, the
equivalent nodal force system is given as the following figure.

wL wL
2 wL
2 2
wL2
12 wL2
12 M1e
wL2
M1 F1 F1e 12

The system equation for the beam is

 F1  12 6 L  12 6 L   1 
M    6 L 2 L2   
 1  EI  4 L2  1
    
 F2  L3  12  6 L   2 
M 2    2 
e  4 L2 

wL wL2
F2   , M2 
Applying the nodal forces 2 12 and the boundary conditions ,
we obtain
 wL 
 2  EI  12  6 L v2 
 wL2   3   
  L  6 L 4 L2  2 
 12 e

Solving the above equation for the displacements, we have

 2  L 2 L2 3L  wL 2  L3  wL 8 

   6 EI   2    
2   3L 6   wL 12  EI   w 6 

Therefore, the reaction forces F1e and M1e for the equivalent nodal force system are

 F1e  EI   12 6 L  v2 
  3  2  
M 1e  L  6 L 2 L  2 

  12 6 L    wL   wL 
 8   2 
 2   w   5wL2 
 6 L 2 L  
 
  
6  12 

Hence, the effective global nodal forces are

 F1e    wL / 2  12 6 L  12 6 L   0 
 M  5wL2 / 12  2 
 6L 2L  
    EI  4 L2 0 
F e   1e       
 F2e    wL / 2  L  12  6 L  wL / 8EI 
3 4

M 2e   wL2 / 12   
 4 L2   wL3 / 6 EI 

By comparing the two equivalent system given in the previous page, we have relationships
among the correct nodal forces, the effective nodal forces and the equivalent nodal forces.

wL wL2
F1   F1e M1   M 1e
2 12

The equivalent nodal forces are

  wL / 2 
 wL2 / 12
 
F 0  
  wL / 2 
 wL2 / 12

Thus, the correct global nodal forces

 wL 
wL2 / 2
F   F e  F 0   

 0 
 0 
Description

Uniaxial element with tension, compression, torsion, and bending capabilities. This element can
be tapered. You can specify different properties at each end of the beam.

Application

Used to model beam/frame structures.

Shape

Line, connecting two nodes. A third node can be specified to orient the element Y axis.

Element Coordinate System

The element X axis goes from the first node to the second. The element Y axis is perpendicular
to the element X axis. It points from the first node toward the orientation (or third) node. If you
use an orientation vector, the Y axis points from the first node in the direction of the orientation
vector. The element Z axis is determined from the cross product of the element X and Y axes.

Properties

Area, Moments of Inertia (I1, I2, I12), Torsional Constant, Shear Areas (Y, Z), Nonstructural
Mass/Length, Stress Recovery Locations, Neutral Axis Offsets (Nay, Naz, Nby and Nbz). If the
beam is tapered, you can specify different properties at each end of the element.

Additional Notes

You can specify Releases which remove the connection between selected element degrees of
freedom and the nodes.

Offset vectors defined on the Element move the neutral axis and shear center from the nodes.
Neutral Axis Offsets (Y,Z) defined on the Property card move the neutral axis away from the
shear center. If there are no Neutral Axis Offsets, the neutral axis and shear center are
coincident.

If there are no offsets,both the neutral axis and shear center lie directly between the nodes.

Stress Recovery Locations define positions in the elemental YZ plane (element cross-section)
where you want the analysis program to calculate stresses.

Specifying moments of inertia for Beam (and Bar) elements can sometimes be confusing. In
MSC/N4W, I1 is the moment of inertia about the elemental Z axis. It resists bending in the
outer Y fibers of the beam. It is the moment of inertia in plane 1. Similarly, I2 is the moment of
inertia about the elemental Y axis. If you are familiar with one of the analysis program
conventions, the following table may help you convert to MSC/N4W's convention.
Plane 2
(XY)
MSC/N4W I1 I2

MSC/pal & CDA/Sprint Iww Ivv

NASTRAN Izz Iyy Offset

B
ANSYS IZ1 IY1

STARDYNE I3 I2 Plane 1
(XY)
ALGOR, mTAB& SAP I3 I2
Third Node, Offset
ABAQUS I22 I11
or A
WECAN Izz Iyy Orientation
Vector
COSMOS Izz Iyy

STAAD IZ IY

Element coordinate system. ( orientation of a beam element)

Element X  axis : Always coincident with line between End A and End B.

Element X  Y plane : Deter min ed by vector V , which lies in X e  Ye plane.
 
Element Z  axis : Cross product X e  V .
Interpretation of Element Output.

．Bar element internal forces and moments.

(1) plant 1

ye
M1a V1 M1b

Fx Fx xe
a b

(2)plant 2

GLOBAL MATRICES

As one of the methods of structural analysis, the direct stiffness method (DSM), also
known as the displacement method or matrix stiffness method, is particularly suited for
computer-automated analysis of complex structures including the statically indeterminate
type. It is a matrix method that makes use of the members' stiffness relations for computing
member forces and displacements in structures. The direct stiffness method is the most
common implementation of the finite element method (FEM). In applying the method, the
system must be modeled as a set of simpler, idealized elements interconnected at the nodes.
The material stiffness properties of these elements are then, through matrix mathematics,
compiled into a single matrix equation which governs the behaviour of the entire idealized
structure. The structure’s unknown displacements and forces can then be determined by
solving this equation. The direct stiffness method forms the basis for most commercial and
free source finite element software.
 The direct stiffness method originated in the field of aerospace. Researchers looked at
various approaches for analysis of complex airplane frames. These included elasticity theory,
energy principles in structural mechanics, flexibility method and matrix stiffness method. It
was through analysis of these methods that the direct stiffness method emerged as an
efficient method ideally suited for computer implementation.

After the evaluation of element stiffness matrix and element force vector for all the
elements, these quantities need to be " assembled " to get the global stiffness matrix and
global force vector. As stated at the end of section 6.2, this procedure has two steps:
Expansion of the element stiffness matrix and element force vector to the full size.
Addition of the expanded matrices and vectors over all the elements. At this stage, the second
term of the expression for (equation 6.8) also needs to be added.
Let us first discuss the first step. Note that equations (6.25) and (6.26) are the expressions for
the element stiffness matrix and the element force vector while equations
(6.21) and (6.22) are the expressions for their expanded versions and . When
we compare equations (6.25) with (6.21), we observe that (1,1) component of
occupies the position of the expanded matrix . This is because is the global
number of the local node 1 of the element k. Thus, the first step involves:
Choose the component , ,
Find the global number of the local nodes and of the element . Let they be and
respectively.
Then the component occupies the location in -th row and s -th column of the expanded
matrix . Thus, the component goes to the location in the expanded matrix.
Repeat the steps (i)-(iii) for the other values of and . The remaining components
of are made zero.
The first step can be expressed mathematically by introducing a matrix , called as
the connectivity matrix , which relates the local and global numbering systems. The number
of rows in the connectivity matrix is equal to the number of elements and the number of
columns is equal to the number of nodes per element. Thus, the row index of denotes the
element number and the column index of represents the local node number. The
elements of are the corresponding global node numbers. Thus, for the mesh of Fig. 6.1,
the connectivity matrix becomes

The first row of the connectivity matrix contains the global numbers of the first and second
local nodes of element 1. The global numbers corresponding to the first and second local
nodes of element 2 are written in the second row. Continuing in this way, the global numbers
of the first and second local nodes of element appear in the -th row. The last row
contains the global numbers associated with the first and second local nodes of the last,
i.e. -th element. The expression (6.34), in the index notation, can be expressed as
It means the global number of the local node of the element is obtained as the value
of the component of the connectivity matrix in -th row and -th column. As an example,
consider the case of = 3 and = 2. The expression (6.35) gives . This means 4
is the global number of the second local node of the element 3. This can be verified from Fig.
6.1.
Now, the first step of the assembly procedure can be expresses as follows. The expanded
matrix is obtained from the element stiffness matrix by the relation:

Similarly, to obtain the expanded vector from the element force vector , we use
the relation:

Thus, we use the following procedure:

Choose the component

Find the global number of the local node from the connectivity matrix. Let it be .

Then, the component goes to the location of the expanded matrix.

Repeat the steps (i)-(iii) for the other values of . The remaining components of are
made zero.
The second-step is straight-forward. After obtaining the expanded versions of the element
stiffness matrix and the element force vector for all the elements, they are added as follows

The matrix corresponds to the second term of equation (6.8). Note that, the only basis
function which is nonzero at is . Further, it's value at is 1. Thus

Therefore, the vector {P} can be written as

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DETERMINATE AND INDETERMINATE
STRUCTURES

S. No. Determinate Structures Indeterminate Structures

1 Equilibrium conditions are fully adequate Conditions of equilibrium are not

to analyse the structure. adequate to fully analyse the structure.

2 Bending moment or shear force at any Bending moment or shear force at any
section is independent of the material section depends upon the material
property of the structure. property.

3 The bending moment or shear force at any The bending moment or shear force at
section is independent of the cross-section any section depends upon the cross-
or moment of inertia. section or moment of inertia.

4 Temperature variations do not cause Temperature variations cause stresses.

stresses.

5 No stresses are caused due to lack of fit. Stresses are caused due to lack of fit.

6 Extra conditions like compatibility of Extra conditions like compatibility of

displacements are not required to analyse displacements are required to analyse
the structure. the structure along with the equilibrium
equations.