Module 1

SHASHIKUMAR S
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Aerospace Engineering
Faculty of Engineering & Technology
Jain (Deemed-to-be) University
Revision of Theory of Elasticity

The property of solid materials to deform under the application of an external force and to regain their original
shape after the force is removed is referred to as its elasticity.

It is the branch of Solid Mechanics which deals with the stress and displacements in elastic solids produced by
external forces or changes in temperature.

Important concept in theory of elasticity

 External forces
 Stresses - (internal force)
 Deformations-strain and displacements

There are two kinds of external forces that act on the bodies
Body forces
 Gravitational forces
 Inertia forces(in motion)

Surface forces
 Pressure(in water, atmosphere)
 Contact forces .
Internal forces

Deformation: By deformation we mean the change of shape of a body

 Strain components completely define the deformation condition (or strain condition) at that point

 Displacement is the change of position, the displacement components in the x, y, z axes are denoted by u, v, w
respectively.

Basic assumptions in theory of elasticity

 The body is continuous
 The body is perfectly elastic
 The body is homogeneous
 The body is isotropic
 The displacements and strains are small
Many problems in elasticity may be treated by two dimensional or plane theory of elasticity.

The purpose of application of elasticity is to analyze the stress and displacements of elements
within in the elastic range.

There are two general types of problems involved

 Plane stress
 Plane strain
Plane stress condition can be visualized as thin plate with stresses acting along its plane. There is
no stress acting perpendicular to the plane and (∂/∂z) components in equations are zero.
Plane strain is a two-dimensional state of strain in which all the shape changes of a material
happen on a single plane.

The axes are usually chosen such that the x - y plane is the plane in which the strains are non-
zero

Non-zero strain components acting in the x – y plane

Applications of theory of elasticity
 In designing mechanical parts
 Stress calculations on beams
 Stress concentration factor
 By using strength of materials we cant predict the stress directly under a load or supports in a
simple beam where as theory of elasticity can predict the stresses.

 Generally factor of safety used for a mechanical members is 3 or 4.

 But in the design of precision parts where strength to weight ratio is minimum accuracy of
stress values is more important.
Revision of matrix algebra
Matrix Algebra.
Definition:
A matrix is a rectangular or square array of elements (usually numbers) arranged in rows and
columns.

There are other ways of showing a matrix:

The Order of a Matrix:
•The size and the shape of a matrix is given by its order, which is the multiplication of number of
rows and number of columns.

•In the previous examples the order of A is 3×2 and the order of B is 𝑚×𝑛.

•If 𝑚=𝑛 then the matrix is called a square matrix of order 𝑚 (𝑜𝑟 𝑛).
Types of Matrices
Matrix Multiplication:
The product of two matrices is another matrix
Two matrices A and B must be conformable for multiplication to be possible
i.e. the number of columns of A must equal the number of rows of B
Example.
A x B = C
(1x3) (3x1) (1x1)
B x A = Not possible!
(2x1) (4x2)
A x B = Not possible!
(6x2) (6x3)

Example A x B = C
(2x3) (3x2) (2x2)
Determinant of a Matrix
The determinant of a square matrix A is a scalar quantity denoted as det A.

The determinants of a (2 x 2) and a (3 x 3) matrix are given by the method co factors as follows:
For a 3 x 3 matrix:

 a11 a12 a13 

A  a21 a22 a23 
 a31 a32 a33 

The cofactors of the first row are:

a22 a23
c11   a22 a33  a23a32
a32 a33
a21 a23
c12    (a21a33  a23a31 )
a31 a33
a21 a22
c13   a21a32  a22 a31
a31 a32
The determinant of a matrix A is:

A  a11c11  a12c12  a11a22  a12 a21

Which by substituting for the cofactors in this case is:

A  a11 (a22 a33  a23a32 )  a12 (a21a33  a23a31 )  a13 (a21a32  a22 a31 )

Example:

 1 0 1
A   0 2 3
 1 0 1
Gauss Elimination Method
Fundamentals of FEM

As mentioned earlier, the finite element method is a very versatile numerical technique and is a
general purpose tool to solve any type of physical problems.

The most important advantage is that FEM is well suited for problem with complex geometries,
because no special difficulties are encountered when the physical domain has a complex
geometry.

The other important advantage is that it is easier to write general purpose computer codes for
FEM formulations.

Three different approaches are being used when formulating an FEM problem. They are:

1. Direct Approach
2. Variational Approach
3. Weighted Residual Method
1. Direct Approach
The direct approach is related to the “direct stiffness method” of structural analysis and it is the easiest to
understand when meeting FEM for the first time.

The main advantage of this approach is that you can get a feel of basic techniques and the essential concept
involved in the FEM formulation without using much of mathematics.

However, by direct approach we can solve only simple problems.

2. Variational Approach
In variational approach the physical problem has to be restated using some variational principle such as principle of
minimum potential energy.

The total potential energy 𝜋 of an elastic body, is defined as the sum of total strain energy (U) and the work
potential: 𝜋 = Strain energy + Work potential
(U) (WP)
3. Weighted Residual Method
Weighted residual method (WRM) is a class of method used to obtain the approximate solution to the differential
equations of the form
L(φ ) + f = 0

In WRM, we directly work on differential equation of the problem without relying on any variational principle.
1. Direct Approach to Finite Element Method

• The first step in this approach is to replace the system under consideration by an equivalent
idealized system consisting of individual elements.

• These elements are assumed to be connected to each other at specified points called nodes.

• Once the elements in the system have been defined, one can use direct physical reasoning to
establish the element equations in terms of pertinent variables.

• In the next step, the individual element equations are combined to form the equations for the
complete system and solve the system of equations for the unknown nodal variables.

• Since the fundamental idea of the discretization of the system (solution region) comes from
structural analysis.
1. Linear Spring System

One of the most elementary systems that we can examine from an FEM point of view is the linear spring system.

Let us consider a system of two springs connected in series in x-direction. One of the ends of the spring is rigidly
attached to the wall, while the spring on the other end is free to move. Here forces, displacements, and spring
stiffness are the only parameters in the system. We define each spring to be an element. So, our system consists of
two elements and three nodes.

Linear springs in series

To determine the properties of an element, in this case the force-displacement equations, we isolate an element
and draw its free body diagram. For the isolated spring element, 𝐹𝑖 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑗 are nodal forces and 𝛿𝑖 and 𝛿𝑗 are the
nodal displacements. The field (unknown) variable in this case is the displacement.

An isolated spring element

Here we do not have to select an interpolation polynomial to represent the variation of the field
variable over the element, because an exact representation of force-displacement relation is
available.

By physical reasoning, we can establish an element equation.

Here, the simple Hook’s law gives the required force-displacement relation:
F=kδ
for a single spring fixed at one end, where k is the spring stiffness.

Returning to the isolated spring, we allow the element to adopt each independent mode of
displacement and apply the Hook’s law.
 Case (a): node j is fixed and node i deflects.

We have different cases here. In the first, it is assumed that only node i can deflect while the end
j is being fixed.
So, we have 𝐹𝑖𝑎 = 𝑘𝛿𝑖𝑎 .

Equilibrium of forces acting on the spring requires that 𝐹𝑖𝑎 +𝐹𝑗𝑎 = 0

𝐹𝑖𝑎 = −𝐹𝑗𝑎 = k𝛿𝑖

 Case (b): node i is fixed and node j deflects.

Now, we reverse the situation by fixing node i in its initial position and allowing node j to deflect under the action of
force 𝐹𝑗𝑏 .
So, we have 𝐹𝑗𝑏 = kδ𝑗𝑏

𝐹𝑖𝑏 + 𝐹𝑗𝑏 = 0

𝐹𝑖𝑏 = −𝐹𝑗𝑏 = −kδ𝑗

Thus, the total force at node 𝑖,
𝐹𝑖 = 𝐹𝑖𝑎 + 𝐹𝑖𝑏 = 𝑘𝛿𝑖 − 𝑘𝛿𝑗

the total force at node j

𝐹𝑗 = 𝐹𝑗𝑎 + 𝐹𝑗𝑏 = −𝑘𝛿𝑖 + 𝑘𝛿𝑗
 Deflection at Node i and node j .

Using matrix notation, both the above equations can be combined and written in compact form

where the square matrix [𝑘 𝑒 ] is known as the element stiffness matrix, column vector [𝛿 ] is the nodal displacement
vector, and the column vector [F] is the nodal force vector for the element.

Having derived the element equation for a single element, our next objective is to obtain an equation for complete
system.
 Combined case (a) and case (b).

First, 𝛿2 and 𝛿3 are set equal to zero, allowing only node ‘1’ to deflect. Considering the left spring, the laws of statics
gives

𝐹1 + 𝐹2 = 0

𝐹1 = −𝐹2 = 𝑘𝑎 𝛿1

Since 𝛿2 and 𝛿3 are specified as zero, no force can exists at node ‘3’. So, 𝐹3 = 0
Next, δ1 and δ3 are set equal to zero. In this case, continuity of displacement requires that both springs deflects by
the same amount; thus force at node ‘2’ consists of two components, 𝑘𝑎 δ2 and 𝑘𝑏 δ2 , Therefore,

Node 1 and node 3 fixed.

Finally, we set δ1 and δ2 equal to zero to obtain

Node 1 and node 2 fixed.

Applications of Finite element method

1. Structural Analysis :

 Structural Analysis consists of linear and non-linear models.

 Linear models use simple parameters and assume that the material is not plastically
deformed.

 Non-linear models consist of stressing the material past its elastic capabilities.

 The stresses in the material then vary with the amount of deformation.
2. Vibrational Analysis :

 It is used to test a material against random vibrations, shock, and impact.

 Each of these incidences may act on the natural vibrational frequency of the material which,
in turn, may cause resonance and subsequent failure.
3. Fatigue Analysis :

 Fatigue analysis helps designers to predict the life of a material or structure by showing the
effects of cyclic loading on the specimen.

 Such analysis can show the areas where crack propagation is most likely to occur.

 Failure due to fatigue may also show the damage tolerance of the material.
4. Heat Transfer Analysis :

Heat transfer analysis models the conductivity or thermal fluid dynamics of the material or
structure .

This may consist of a steady state or transient transfer.

Steady-state transfer refers to constant thermal properties in the material that yield linear heat
diffusion.
How FEM Help the Design Engineer?

The FEM offers many important advantages to the design engineer:

• Easily applied to complex, irregular-shaped objects composed of several different materials and
having complex boundary conditions.

• Applicable to steady-state, time dependent and eigenvalue problems.

• Applicable to linear and nonlinear problems.

• One method can solve a wide variety of problems, including problems in solid mechanics, fluid
mechanics, chemical reactions, electromagnetics, biomechanics, heat transfer and acoustics, to
name a few.
Phases of FEM:

 Pre–Processing:
Here a finite element mesh is developed to divide the given geometry into subdomains for
mathematical analysis and the material properties are applied and also the boundary conditions.

 Solution:
In this phase governing matrix equations are derived and the solution for the primary quantities
is generated.

 Post-Processing:
In the last phase, checking of the validity of the solution generated , examination of the values of
primary quantities such as displacement and stresses, errors involved is carried out.
Advantages Of FEA :

 Can readily handle complex geometry.

 Can handle complex analysis types like vibration ,heat transfer ,fluids etc.

 Can handle complex loading:

i. Node-based loading (point loads).
ii. Element-based loading (pressure, thermal, inertial forces).
iii. Time or frequency dependent loading.

 Can handle complex restraints: Indeterminate structures can be analysed.

 Can handle bodies comprised of nonhomogeneous materials: Can handle bodies comprised of
non-isotropic materials: Orthotropic & Anisotropic.

 Special material effects are handled such as temperature dependent properties, plasticity,
creep , swelling etc.
Disadvantages Of FEA :

 A specific numerical result is obtained for a specific problem.

 The FEM is applied to an approximation of the mathematical model of a system (the source
of so-called inherited errors).

 Experience and judgment are needed in order to construct a good finite element model.

 A powerful computer and reliable FEM software are essential.

 Input and output data may be large and tedious to prepare and interpret.

 Numerical errors such as the limitation of the number of significant digits, rounding off
occur very often.

 Fluid elements with boundaries at infinity can be computed and treated by using boundary
element method.