MANE 4240 & CIVL 4240

Introduction to Finite Elements

Prof. Suvranu De

Introduction
 Info
Instructor:
Professor Suvranu De
email: des@rpi.edu
JEC room: 2049
Tel: 6351
Office hours: T/F 2:00 pm-3:00 pm

Course website:
http://www.rpi.edu/~des/IFEA2014Fall.html
 Info
TA:
Kartik Josyula
email: josyuk@rpi.edu
JEC room: CII 9219
Office hours: M: 5-6pm, R:3:30-4:30pm
 Course texts and references
Course text (for HW problems and reading
assignments):
Title: A First Course in the Finite Element Method
Author: Daryl Logan
Edition: Fifth
Publisher: Cengage Learning
ISBN: 0-534-55298-6

Relevant reference:

Finite Element Procedures, K. J. Bathe, Prentice Hall

A First Course in Finite Elements, J. Fish and T. Belytschko

Lecture notes posted on the course website

 Course grades
Grades will be based on:
1. Home works (15 %).
2. Mini project (10 %) to be handed in by 17th October.
3. Major course project (25 %)to be handed in by
December 5th (by noon)
4. Two in-class exams (2x25%) on 10th October, 5th
December
1) Form (mini and major) project groups of two by 12th September.
2) All write ups that you present MUST contain
your name and RIN
3) There will be reading quizzes (announced AS WELL AS
unannounced) on a regular basis and points from these quizzes
will be added on to the homework
4) Project grades will be allotted to the group and NOT individually.
 Collaboration / academic integrity
1. Students are encouraged to collaborate in the solution
of HW problems, but submit independent solutions that
are NOT copies of each other. Funny solutions (that
appear similar/same) will be given zero credit.
Softwares may be used to verify the HW solutions. But
submission of software solution will result in zero
credit.
2. Groups of 2 for the projects
(no two projects to be the same/similar)
A single grade will be assigned to the group and not
to the individuals.
 Homeworks (15%)
1. Be as detailed and explicit as possible. For full
credit Do NOT omit steps.
2. Only neatly written homeworks will be graded
3. Late homeworks will NOT be accepted.
4. Two lowest grades will be dropped (except HW
#1).
5. Solutions will be posted on the course website
 Mini project (10%)

1. Download the miniproject from the course website.

2. You will need to learn the commercial software
package ABAQUS (tutorial available at course
website + in-class tutorial).
3. Submit a project report by 17th October
 Mini project (10%)..contd.

Project report:
1. Must be typed (Text font Times 11pt with single
spacing)
2. Must be no more than 5 pages (with figures).Must
include the following sections:
Problem statement
Analysis (with appropriate figures)
Results and discussion
3. Attach an appendix containing the program
printouts for the different cases you run.
 Major project (25 %)

In this project you will be required to

Choose an engineering system
Develop a simple mathematical model for the
system
Develop the finite element model
Solve the problem using ABAQUS or any other
FEM code (you may write one you if you choose to)
Discuss whether the mathematical model you
chose gives you physically meaningful results. If
not, revise your model and perform analysis to
improve your results.
 Major project (25 %)..contd.

Logistics:
Submit 1-page project proposal latest by 26th
September (in class). The earlier the better.
Projects will go on a first come first served basis.
Proceed to work on the project ONLY after it is
approved by the course instructor.
Submit a one-page progress report on November
4th (this will count as 10% of your project grade)
Submit a project report (typed) by noon of 5th
December to the instructor.
 Major project (25 %)..contd.
Project report:
1. Must be professional (Text font Times 11pt with
single spacing)
2. Must include the following sections:
Introduction
Problem statement
Analysis
Results and Discussions
You must also burn the MS Word version of your
project report on a CD with your group number,
names, and project title written on it and submit it
together with the project report.
 Major project (25 %)..contd.

Project examples:
(two sample project reports from previous year are
provided)
1. Analysis of a rocker arm
2. Analysis of a bicycle crank-pedal assembly
3. Design and analysis of a "portable stair climber"
4. Analysis of a gear train
5.Gear tooth stress in a wind- up clock
6. Analysis of a gear box assembly
7. Analysis of an artificial knee
8. Forces acting on the elbow joint
9. Analysis of a soft tissue tumor system
10. Finite element analysis of a skateboard truck
 Major project (25 %)..contd.

Project grade will depend on

1.Originality of the idea

2.Techniques used
3.Critical discussion
 uniform loading
Approximate method
Geometric model
Fixed boundary

Element Node
Finite element Element
Cantilever plate
model Mesh
in plane strain
Discretization

Node
Problem: Obtain the
stresses/strains in the
plate
 Course content

1. Direct Stiffness approach for springs

2. Bar elements and truss analysis
3. Introduction to boundary value problems: strong form, principle of
minimum potential energy and principle of virtual work.
4. Displacement-based finite element formulation in 1D: formation of
stiffness matrix and load vector, numerical integration.
5. Displacement-based finite element formulation in 2D: formation of
stiffness matrix and load vector for CST and quadrilateral elements.
6. Discussion on issues in practical FEM modeling
7. Convergence of finite element results
8. Higher order elements
9. Isoparametric formulation
10. Numerical integration in 2D
11. Solution of linear algebraic equations
 For next class

Please read Appendix A of Logan for reading

quiz next class (10 pts on Hw 1)
Linear Algebra Recap
(at the IEA level)
M M
3x4M
M
1
3
1
3
2M
M
2
1
1
2
21
3
2
3
1
4
2
3
4
What is a matrix?
A rectangular array of numbers (we will concentrate on
real numbers). A nxm matrix has n rows and m
columns

First Second Third Fourth

column column column column
Row number
Column number
First row
Second row
Third row
 a12a321a34
What is a vector?

A vector is an array of n numbers

A row vector of length n is a 1xn matrix

A column vector of length m is a mx1 matrix

 03x4I3x
Special matrices

101
0 0
Zero matrix: A matrix all of whose entries are zero

Identity matrix: A square matrix which has 1 s on the

diagonal and zeros everywhere else.
 A
A


B

1
92

d
30

a 4
7
5
,9B
a
d
g
3eh
,g
1b 2
0 b
e

h
c
c
f
i
4
,
f1i5
7
.
Matrix operations

Equality of matrices

If A and B are two matrices of the same size,

then they are equal if each and every entry of one
matrix equals the corresponding entry of the other.
 C
A

A
9


1
B
3 2

0 4
B
7

1
5
0
51
4
67

1
3
1
0
6
Matrix operations

Addition of two
matrices

If A and B are two matrices of the same size,

then the sum of the matrices is a matrix C=A+B whose
entries are the sums of the corresponding entries of A
and B
 A0CABC
A B A
Matrix operations
Addition of of matrices

Properties of matrix addition:

Properties

1. Matrix addition is commutative (order of

addition does not matter)

2. Matrix addition is associative

3. Addition of the zero matrix

 c
A
A


1

3
2
9
70
Matrix operations

2
4

0
7
5
61
2c
35
3 Multiplication by a
scalar

If A is a matrix and c is a scalar, then the product cA is a

matrix whose entries are obtained by multiplying each of
the entries of A by c
 c
A
A


1

3

9 2
4
-A
c
0
7


3
5
90
1 2
Matrix operations

1

4
15
7
Multiplication by a
scalar
Special case

If A is a matrix and c =-1 is a scalar, then the product

(-1)A =-A is a matrix whose entries are obtained by
multiplying each of the entries of A by -1
 N
C
A
o


1
te2
A
h
30

a
9
B4
B
7

5
t
2
1
A
8
0


-
0 7
a
n
1
6
1
d
03
1

-A
0
6
-A
Matrix operations

Subtraction

If A and B are two square matrices of the same

size, then A-B is defined as the sum A+(-1)B
 A


9
307
1
24
Special

A
T
operations

1
3
2
09
5 475
1 Transpose

If A is a mxn matrix, then the transpose of A is

the nxm matrix whose first column is the first
row of A, whose second column is the second
column of A and so on.

A
Special

T
operations
Transpose

If A is a square matrix (mxm), it is called

symmetric if
 a
a
T
b

1

32;a
a 1b
bb

a
1
2
3 a3b
2b
Matrix operations Scalar (dot) product of
two vectors
If a and b are two vectors of the same size

The scalar (dot) product of a and b is a scalar

obtained by adding the products of
corresponding entries of the two vectors
Matrix operations Matrix multiplication

For a product to be defined, the number of columns

of A must be equal to the number of rows of B.

A B = AB
mxr rxn mxn
inside

outside
A
C
33xx2
1
3
B
9
A 2
0
1
Matrix operations

4
7
B
0
9
n
o
t
7
2
1

5


3i
c
e
84
3
x
2 3
0
1
2

1
3
3
Matrix multiplication

If A is a mxr matrix and B is a rxn matrix, then the

T
product C=AB is a mxn matrix whose entries are
obtained as follows. The entry corresponding to row i
and column j of C is the dot product of the vectors
formed by the row i of A and column j of B
 A
A
Bin
g
eral
Matrix operations
Multiplication of
matrices
Properties

Properties of matrix multiplication:

1. Matrix multiplication is noncommutative
(order of addition does matter)

It may be that the product AB exists but BA

does not (e.g. in the previous example
C=AB is a 3x2 matrix, but BA does not
exist)
Even if the product exists, the products AB
and BA are not generally the same
 BBATIBCCB

A
Matrix operations

A;TIABBACCAA0;0A0
3. Distributive law
Multiplication of
matrices
Properties

2. Matrix multiplication is associative

4. Multiplication by identity matrix

5. Multiplication by zero matrix

6.
 2. A
B
A
0
0
A
B
AC
Matrix operations

same size, and

Miscellaneous
properties

1. If A , B and C are square matrices of the

then
does not necessarily mean that
does not necessarily imply that
either A or B is zero
Inverse of a
matrix

A
A
BI Definition

If A is any square matrix and B is another

square matrix satisfying the conditions

Then
(a)The matrix A is called invertible, and
(b) the matrix B is the inverse of A and is
denoted as A-1.

The inverse of a matrix is unique

 A
B
C
(

A
I

)B
C
A
B
I
Inverse of a
matrix
Uniqueness

The inverse of a matrix is unique

Assume that B and C both are inverses of A

Hence a matrix cannot have two or more

inverses.
Inverse of a
matrix

kAAk1AA

1
-
1-1
Some properties

Property 1: If A is any invertible square

matrix the inverse of its inverse is the matrix A
itself

Property 2: If A is any invertible square

matrix and k is any scalar then
 PArBemultiBpyAngbotAhsBidesbyBBA
A
r-e1m
(P
A
B
)B Iu
AB
lB
t1A
Inverse of a
matrix

i
p
y
n
g

1
matrices then

1
1
1
b
o
t11A
h
1
s
i1d
e
s
b
y
A
1
-
1
-1
-1
Properties

Property 3: If A and B are invertible square

 A
Aa12;dae12t(A;deat1(A)a12a121
)
a 1
What is a determinant?
The determinant of a square matrix is a number
obtained in a specific manner from the matrix.

For a 1x1 matrix:

For a 2x2 matrix:

Product along red arrow minus product along blue arrow

 A
)5717358
det(A 1
Example 1

3
Consider the matrix
1
3
5
7
Notice (1) A matrix is an array of numbers
(2) A matrix is enclosed by square brackets

Notice (1) The determinant of a matrix is a number

(2) The symbol for the determinant of a matrix is
a pair of parallel lines
Computation of larger matrices is more difficult
A
d
e
t(A
a
a
)

1
1
2
3
1 32 a
a132a31
2 1
2
33
a123a12 a
1
2
3 1a1
3 2
2
a
1
3
a1321a32
2
3 a
a
1
1
2
2
3
1
3
2
Duplicate column method for 3x3 matrix
For ONLY a 3x3 matrix write down the first two
columns after the third column

Sum of products along red arrow

minus sum of products along blue arrow

This technique works only for 3x3 matrices

 1012 1
A
2
4
Example

-
3 0
4
14 1
2 3 24
0
1
0 -8 8

Sum of red terms = 0 + 32 + 3 = 35

0 32 3

Sum of blue terms = 0 8 + 8 = 0

Determinant of matrix A= det(A) = 35 0 = 35
 27
8

324
0
Finding determinant using inspection
Special case. If two rows or two columns are
proportional (i.e. multiples of each other), then the
determinant of the matrix is zero

because rows 1 and 3 are proportional to each other

If the determinant of a matrix is zero, it is called a

singular matrix
A

M
12
a a a
a32131a2332
a213 2
M
12
3
1 1 21 3
2 2
3 a231C a
a
What is a cofactor?
Cofactor method

2
1
2
3
If A is a square matrix

The minor, Mij, of entry aij is the determinant of the submatrix

that remains after the ith row and jth column are deleted from A.
The cofactor of entry aij is Cij=(-1)(i+j) Mij
 A
21401-23 -M
3
-
124020414
- C
(31)(3)M
3
3
M4
What is a cofactor?

Sign of cofactor

Find the minor and cofactor of a33

Minor

Cofactor
 )A
1
iddeett((A
a
j)
1 n

Ca
1

C
ai2C
ai1C 2 j
na C
ainC
j n j
Cofactor method of obtaining the
determinant of a matrix
The determinant of a n x n matrix A can be computed by
multiplying ALL the entries in ANY row (or column) by
their cofactors and adding the resulting products. That is,
for each and

Cofactor expansion along the jth column

Cofactor expansion along the ith row

 Example: evaluate det(A) for:
1 0 2 -3

A= 3 4 0 1
det(A) = a11C11 +a12C12 + a13C13 +a14C14
-1 5 2 -2
0 1 1 3
4 0 1 3 0 1 3 4 1
det(A)=(1) 5 2 -2 - (0) -1 2 -2 +2 -1 5 -2
1 1 3 0 1 3 0 1 3
3 4 0
- (-3) -1 5 2 = (1)(35)-0+(2)(62)-(-3)(13)=198
0 1 1
 Example : evaluate

1 5 -3
det(A)= 2
1 0
2
By a cofactor along the third column
3 -1
det(A)=a13C13 +a23C23+a33C33

1 0 1 5 1 5
det(A)= -3* (-1)4 +2*(-1)5 +2*(-1)6
3 -1 3 -1 1 0

= det(A)= -3(-1-0)+2(-1)5(-1-15)+2(0-5)=25
Quadratic form

The scalar dkksquam

U d
vect
o
r
Tatrix
Is known as a quadratic form

If U>0: Matrix k is known as positive definite

If U0: Matrix k is known as positive semidefinite
 U


ddd
1(T1kk1dd212
Quadratic form

Let

Then
d 1 k1112d1d2)

k k
22k222d2kd212d2)1 2k12k1d2(21k112
k
Symmetric
matrix
1 2
 ddU

2
k

U
2
k
1
1
1
d
2
k

d
2
2
1d
k
d
1
2
2
2
Differentiation of quadratic form

2
Differentiate U wrt d1

Differentiate U wrt d2
 U
d

2kd12
U
d 2k12k12d12
Differentiation of quadratic form

Hence
Outline

Role of FEM simulation in Engineering

Design
Course Philosophy
 Role of simulation in design:
Boeing 777

Source: Boeing Web site (http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/gallery/images/commercial/).

Another success ..in failure:
Airbus A380

http://www.airbus.com/en/aircraftfamilies/a380/
Drag Force Analysis
of Aircraft

Question
What is the drag force distribution on the aircraft?
Solve
Navier-Stokes Partial Differential Equations.
Recent Developments
Multigrid Methods for Unstructured Grids
 San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge

Before the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge

After the earthquake

San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge

A finite element model to analyze the

bridge under seismic loads
Courtesy: ADINA R&D
Crush Analysis of
Ford Windstar

Question
What is the load-deformation relation?
Solve
Partial Differential Equations of Continuum Mechanics
Recent Developments
Meshless Methods, Iterative methods, Automatic Error Control
Engine Thermal
Analysis

Picture from
http://www.adina.com

Question
What is the temperature distribution in the engine block?
Solve
Poisson Partial Differential Equation.
Recent Developments
Fast Integral Equation Solvers, Monte-Carlo Methods
Electromagnetic
Analysis of Packages

Thanks to
Coventor
http://www.cov
entor.com

Solve
Maxwells Partial Differential Equations
Recent Developments
Fast Solvers for Integral Formulations
Micromachine Device
Performance Analysis

From www.memscap.com

Equations
Elastomechanics, Electrostatics, Stokes Flow.
Recent Developments
Fast Integral Equation Solvers, Matrix-Implicit Multi-level Newton
Methods for coupled domain problems.
 Radiation Therapy of
Lung Cancer

http://www.simulia.com/academics/research_lung.html
Virtual Surgery
 General scenario..

Engineering design

Physical Problem

Question regarding the problem

...how large are the deformations?
...how much is the heat transfer?

Mathematical model Assumptions regarding

Geometry
Governed by differential Kinematics
equations Material law
Loading
Boundary conditions
Etc.
 Example: A bracket

Engineering design Physical problem

Questions:
1. What is the bending moment at section AA?
2. What is the deflection at the pin?
Finite Element Procedures, K J Bathe

M W
2L
7
,atlodW
5
0
N
c
m

Example: A bracket

1
3W
(
L
E
I0r
)
W(
L
r
)
5
Engineering design

A
G
Mathematical model 1:

6
beam

Moment at section AA

Deflection at load

How reliable is this model?

How effective is this model?
.5
cm
3
NN
 Example: A bracket

Engineering design Mathematical model 2:

plane stress

Difficult to solve by hand!

 ..General scenario..

Engineering design

Physical Problem

Mathematical model
Governed by differential
equations

Numerical model
e.g., finite element
model
 ..General scenario..

Engineering design Finite element analysis

PREPROCESSING
1. Create a geometric model
2. Develop the finite element model

Solid model Finite element model

 ..General scenario..

Engineering design Finite element analysis

FEM analysis scheme

Step 1: Divide the problem domain into non

overlapping regions (elements) connected to
each other through special points (nodes)
Element
Node

Finite element model

 ..General scenario..

Engineering design Finite element analysis

FEM analysis scheme

Step 2: Describe the behavior of each element

Step 3: Describe the behavior of the entire body by

putting together the behavior of each of the
elements (this is a process known as assembly)
 ..General scenario..

Engineering design Finite element analysis

POSTPROCESSING

Compute moment at section AA

 ..General scenario..

Engineering design Finite element analysis

Preprocessing
Step 1

Step 2
Analysis
Step 3

Postprocessing
 Engineering design

Deflection at load

,atlodW
M 2
7
5
0
Nc
m
.6
4 Example: A bracket

Mathematical model 2:
plane stress
FEM solution to mathematical model 2 (plane stress)
Moment at section AA

Conclusion: With respect to the questions we posed, the

beam model is reliable if the required bending moment is to
be predicted within 1% and the deflection is to be predicted
within 20%. The beam model is also highly effective since it
can be solved easily (by hand).
What if we asked: what is the maximum stress in the bracket?
would the beam model be of any use?
 Example: A bracket

Engineering design Summary

1. The selection of the mathematical

model depends on the response to be
predicted.
2. The most effective mathematical model
is the one that delivers the answers to
the questions in reliable manner with
least effort.
3. The numerical solution is only as
accurate as the mathematical model.
 Example:
...GeneralAscenario
bracket
Modeling a physical
problem
Physical Problem Change
physical
problem

Mathematical Improve
Model mathematical
model

Numerical model

No!
Does answer
Refine analysis
make sense?

YES! Design improvements

Structural optimization
Happy
 Verification
Example:and
A bracket
validation
Modeling a physical
problem

Physical Problem
Validation
Mathematical
Model
Verification

Numerical model
 Critical assessment of the FEM
Reliability:
For a well-posed mathematical problem the numerical
technique should always, for a reasonable discretization,
give a reasonable solution which must converge to the
accurate solution as the discretization is refined.
e.g., use of reduced integration in FEM results in an
unreliable analysis procedure.

Robustness:
The performance of the numerical method should not be
unduly sensitive to the material data, the boundary
conditions, and the loading conditions used.
e.g., displacement based formulation for incompressible
problems in elasticity

Efficiency: