Lecture 3

Institute of Structural Engineering
Chapter 3
Variational Formulation &
the Galerkin Method
Method of Finite Elements I
Page 1
Todays Lecture Contents:

Introduction
Dierential formulation
Principle of Virtual Work
Variational formulations
Approximative methods
The Galerkin Approach
Page 2
Page 3
The dierential form of physical processes

Physical processes are governed by laws (equations) most probably
expressed in a dierential form:

The axially loaded bar equation:
The isotropic slab equation:
The Laplace equation in two

dimensions:
(e.g. the heat conduction problem)
Page 4

Focus: The axially loaded bar example.
Consider a bar loaded with constant end load R. Strength of Materials Approach

R
f(x)
L-x
Given: Length L, Section Area A, Young's modulus E

Find: stresses and deformations.

Assumptions:
The cross-section of the bar does not change after loading.
The material is linear elastic, isotropic, and homogeneous.
The load is centric.
End-eects are not of interest to us.
Equilibrium equation
R
f ( x) = R ( x ) =
A
Constitutive equation (Hookes Law)
( x)
R
E
AE
Kinematics equation
( x) =
( x) =
(x)
x
( x) =
Rx
AE
Page 5

Consider and innitesimal element of the bar:

The Dierential Approach

Equilibrium equation
d
=0 A
=0
dx
x0 x
A = A( + ) A lim
!
Constitutive equation (Hookes Law)

= E
Kinematics equation
du
=
dx
Given: Length L, Section Area A, Young's modulus E

Find: stresses and deformations.

Assumptions:
The cross-section of the bar does not change after loading.
The material is linear elastic, isotropic, and homogeneous.
The load is centric.
End-eects are not of interest to us.
d 2u
AE 2 = 0
Strong Form
dx
Boundary Conditions (BC)
u(0) = 0
Essential BC
( L) = 0
AE
du
=R
dx x= L
Natural BC
Page 6


R

d 2u
AE 2 = 0
dx
u(0) = 0
AE
du
=R
dx x= L
Strong Form
Essential BC
Natural BC
Denition
The strong form of a physical process is the well posed
set of the underlying dierential equation with the
accompanying boundary conditions
Page 7


R

d 2u
AE 2 = 0
dx
u(0) = 0
AE
du
=R
dx x= L
Strong Form
Essential BC
Natural BC
vThis is a homogeneous 2nd order ODE with known solution:

Analytical Solution:
du(x)
u(x) = uh = C1x + C2 & (x) =
= C1 = const!
dx
Page 8



d 2u
AE 2 = 0
dx
u(0) = 0
AE
du
=R
dx x= L
Strong Form
Essential BC
Natural BC
C1 ,C2
To fully dene the solution (i.e., to evaluate the values of parameters )
we have to use the given boundary conditions (BC):
u(0)=0
u(x) = uh = C1x + C2 du
R
dx
u( x) =
Rx
AE
x= L
EA
C2 = 0
C1 =
R
EA
v Same as in the mechanical approach!
The Strong form 2D case

A generic expression of the two-dimensional strong form is:

and a generic expression of the accompanying set of boundary conditions:

: Essential or Dirichlet BCs

: Natural or von Neumann BCs

Disadvantages
The analytical solution in such equations is
i. In many cases dicult to be evaluated
ii. In most cases CANNOT be evaluated at all. Why?
Complex geometries
Complex loading and boundary conditions
Page 9
Page 10
Deriving the Strong form 3D case
su : supported area with prescribed displacements U su

s f : surface with prescribed forces f
f B : body forces (per unit volume)
U : displacement vector
: strain tensor (vector)
: stress tensor (vector)

sf
Page 11

Kinematic Relations
= LU
U
U = V ,
L=
, T = xx yy zz 2 xy 2 yz 2 xz
Page 12

Strain Compatibility Saint Venant principle
L1 = 0
2
y 2
2
2
z
L1 = 2

yz
2
x 2
2
2
xy
2
z 2
2
y 2
2
2
yz
2
x 2
xz
2
x 2
2
xz
zy
xy
2
xy
2
z 2
xz
2
xz
2
xy
2
2
y
yz
Page 13

Equilibrium Equations
L2 + f B = 0
Body loads:
T = xx yy zz xy yz zx , L 2 =LT
Surface loads:
on s f we have f
sf
=0
l 0 0 m 0 n
where N = 0 m 0 l n 0
0 0 n 0 m l
l, m and n are cosines of the angles between the normal on the

surface and X, Y and Z
Page 14

Constitutive Law
= C
C is elasticity matrix and depends on material properties E and
(modulus of elasticity and Poissons ratio)
=C
Page 15
Dierential Formulation
Summary - General Form 3D case:
Boundary problem of the linear theory of elasticity: dierential

equations and boundary conditions
15 unknowns: 6 stress components, 6 strain components and 3

displacement components
3 equilibrium equations, 6 relationships between displacements and

strains, material law (6 equations)
Together with boundary conditions, the state of stress and

deformation is completely dened
Page 16
Principle of Virtual Work

The principle of virtual displacements: the virtual work of a system of
equilibrium forces vanishes on compatible virtual displacements; the

virtual displacements are taken in the form of variations of the real
displacements
Equilibrium is a consequence of vanishing of a virtual work
Internal Virtual Work
External Virtual Work
T
T B
dV
=
U
f dV + U
Sf
SfT
f f dS + U iT R iC
S
Stresses in equilibrium with applied loads

Virtual strains corresponding to virtual displacements
Page 17
Principle of Complementary Virtual Work

The principle of virtual forces: virtual work of
equilibrium variations of the stresses and the forces on

the strains and displacements vanishes; the stress eld
considered is a statically admissible eld of variation
Equilibrium is assumed to hold a priori and the
compatibility of deformations is a consequence of

vanishing of a virtual work
Both principles do not depend on a constitutive law
Variational Formulation
Based on the principle of stationarity of a functional,
which is usually potential or complementary energy

Two classes of boundary conditions: essential
(geometric) and natural (force) boundary conditions
Scalar quantities (energies, potentials) are considered
rather than vector quantities
Page 18
Page 19
Principle of Minimum
Total Potential Energy
Conservation of energy: Work = change in potential,
kinetic and thermal energy
For elastic problems (linear and non-linear) a special case

of the Principle of Virtual Work Principle of minimum
total potential energy can be applied
U is the stress potential: ij = U / ij
1 T
U = C dv
2
v
W = f Udv + f Uds
Sf
BT
Page 20
Principle of Minimum
Total Potential Energy
Total potential energy is a sum of strain energy and
potential of loads P = U W
This equation, which gives P as a function of deformation
components, together with compatibility relations within
the solid and geometric boundary conditions, denes the
so called Lagrange functional
Applying the variation we invoke the stationary condition
of the functional
P

dP = dU dW = 0

Page 21
Variational Formulation
By utilizing the variational formulation, it is possible to
obtain a formulation of the problem, which is of lower

complexity than the original dierential form (strong
form).
This is also known as the weak form, which however can
also be a_ained by following an alternate path (see
Galerkin formulation).
For approximate solutions, a larger class of trial functions
than in the dierential formulation can be employed; for
example, the trial functions need not satisfy the natural
boundary conditions because these boundary conditions
are implicitly contained in the functional this is
extensively used in MFE.
Approximative Methods
Instead of trying to nd the exact solution of the continuous
system, i.e., of the strong form, try to derive an estimate of what
the solution should be at specic points within the system.

The procedure of reducing the physical process to its discrete
counterpart is the discretisation process.

Page 22
Page 23
Approximative Methods
Variational Methods
Weighted Residual Methods
approximation is based on the

start with an estimate of the the solution and
minimization of a functional, as those
demand that its weighted average error is
defined in the earlier slides.
minimized
Rayleigh-Ritz Method
The Galerkin Method

The Least Square Method
The Collocation Method
The Subdomain Method
Pseudo-spectral Methods
Page 24

Focus: The axially loaded bar with distributed load example.

ax
d 2u
AE 2 = ax
dx
u(0) = 0
x
AE
du
=0
dx x= L
Strong Form
Essential BC
Natural BC
C1 ,C2
To fully dene the solution (i.e., to evaluate the values of parameters )
we have to use the given boundary conditions (BC):
u(x) = uh + u p = C1x + C2
aL2
ax 3
u( x) =
x
2EA
6EA
C2 = 0
ax
u(0)=0
2
du
R
aL
6EA dx = EA
C1 =
x= L
2EA
Page 25


ax
aL2
ax 3
u( x) =
x
2EA
6EA
x
2.5
2.5
1.5
1.5
1
0.5
0.5
0
0
0.5
Length (m)
1.5
0.5
1
Length (m)
1.5
Page 26


ax
R
and its corresponding strong form:
Given an arbitrary weighting function w

that satises the essential conditions and
additionally:
If
then,
d 2u
AE 2 = ax
Strong Form
dx
Boundary Conditions (BC)
u(0) = 0
Essential BC
( L) = 0
AE
du
=0
dx x= L
Natural BC


ax
Multiplying the strong form by w and integrating over L:

Integrating equation I by parts the following relation is derived:
Page 27


ax
R
Elaborating a li_le bit more on the relation:
Page 28
Page 29


ax
Elaborating a li_le bit more on the relation:

why?
why?
Therefore, the weak form of the problem is dened as

Find
such that:
Observe that the weak form involves derivatives of a lesser order than the
original strong form.
Page 30

Weighted Residual Methods start with
an estimate of the solution and
demand that its weighted average
error is minimized:
The Galerkin Method
The Least Square Method
The Collocation Method
The Subdomain Method
Boris Grigoryevich Galerkin (1871-1945)
mathematician/ engineer
Pseudo-spectral Methods
Page 31
The Galerkin Method

Theory Consider the general case of a
dierential equation:
Try an approximate solution to the
equation of the following form
where are test functions (input) and

are unknown quantities that we need
to evaluate. The solution must satisfy
the boundary conditions.
Since is an approximation, substituting
it in the initial equation will result in
an error:
Example The axially loaded bar:
Choose the following approximation
Demand that the approximation

satises the essential conditions:
The approximation error in this case is:
The Galerkin Method

Assumption 1: The weighted average error of the approximation should
be zero
Page 32
Page 33
The Galerkin Method

be zero
But thats the Weak
Form!!!!!
Therefore once again integration by parts leads to
Page 34
The Galerkin Method

be zero
But thats the Weak
Form!!!!!
Therefore once again integration by parts leads to
Assumption 2: The weight function is approximated using the same

scheme as for the solution
Remember that the
weight function must
also satisfy the BCs
Substituting the approximations for both and in the weak form,
The Galerkin Method

The following relation is retrieved:
where:
Page 35
The Galerkin Method

Performing the integration, the following relations are established:
Page 36
Page 37
Or in matrix form:
The Galerkin Method
thats a linear system of equations:
and thats of course the exact solution. Why?
Page 38
The Galerkin Method

Now lets try the following approximation:
Which again needs to satisfy the natural BCs, therefore:

The weight function assumes the same form:
Substituting now into the weak form:
w2
L2
EAu2 x ( ax ) dx = 0 u2 =
3EA
Wasnt that much easier? But.is it correct?

Page 39
The Galerkin Method

Strong Form
Galerkin-Cubic order
Galerkin-Linear
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0
0.5
1
Length (m)
1.5
Page 40
The Galerkin Method
We saw in the previous example that the Galerkin method is based on the approximation
of the strong form solution using a set of basis functions. These are by denition
absolutely accurate at the boundaries of the problem. So, why not increase the
boundaries?
element: 1
1
element: 2
2

Instead of seeking the solution of a single bar we chose to divide it into three
interconnected and not overlapping elements
Page 41
The Galerkin Method

element: 1
1
element: 2
2
Page 42
The Galerkin Method

1
Page 43
The Galerkin Method

The weak form of a continuous problem was derived in a
systematic way:
This part involves only the
solution approximation
This part only involves the

essential boundary
conditions a.k.a. loading
Page 44
The Galerkin Method

And then an approximation was dened for the displacement eld, for example
Vector of
degrees of
freedom
Displacement
eld
Shape Function
Matrix
The weak form also involves the rst derivative of the approximation
Strain eld
Strain Displacement
Matrix
Page 45
The Galerkin Method

Therefore if we return to the weak form :
and set:
The following FUNDAMENTAL FEM expression is derived
or even be]er
Why??
Page 46
The Galerkin Method
EA has to do only with material and cross-sectional

properties
We call
The Finite Element stiness Matrix
f E is a function of {d}
Material Nonlinearity
f [B] is a function of {d}
Geometrical Nonlinearity

Lecture 3

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Institute of Structural Engineering

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Todays Lecture Contents:

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

The dierential form of physical processes

The isotropic slab equation:

The Laplace equation in two

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

The dierential form of physical processes

Given: Length L, Section Area A, Young's modulus E

Institute of Structural Engineering

The dierential form of physical processes

The Dierential Approach

Constitutive equation (Hookes Law)

Given: Length L, Section Area A, Young's modulus E

Institute of Structural Engineering

The dierential form of physical processes

The Dierential Approach

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

The dierential form of physical processes

The Dierential Approach

vThis is a homogeneous 2nd order ODE with known solution:

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

The dierential form of physical processes

The Dierential Approach

v Same as in the mechanical approach!

Institute of Structural Engineering

The Strong form 2D case

and a generic expression of the accompanying set of boundary conditions:

: Natural or von Neumann BCs

Institute of Structural Engineering

Deriving the Strong form 3D case

su : supported area with prescribed displacements U su

: stress tensor (vector)

Institute of Structural Engineering

Deriving the Strong form 3D case

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Deriving the Strong form 3D case

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Deriving the Strong form 3D case

l, m and n are cosines of the angles between the normal on the

Institute of Structural Engineering

Deriving the Strong form 3D case

Institute of Structural Engineering

Boundary problem of the linear theory of elasticity: dierential

15 unknowns: 6 stress components, 6 strain components and 3

3 equilibrium equations, 6 relationships between displacements and

Together with boundary conditions, the state of stress and

Method of Finite Elements I

Institute of Structural Engineering

Principle of Virtual Work

equilibrium forces vanishes on compatible virtual displacements; the

External Virtual Work

Stresses in equilibrium with applied loads

Institute of Structural Engineering

Principle of Complementary Virtual Work