University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T.

Haftka
18
Plane Beam Element: Nodal displacements
and nodal forces
Resists transverse shear force and in-plane bending
only
The corresponding displacements are transverse
displacement, v=v(x), and rotation, =(x).
The element, therefore, has two degrees of freedom
(d.o.f) at each node: (v
1
,
1
) and (v
2
,
2
)
L
M
1
M
2
x

1

2
v
1
v
2
F
1
F
2
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
19
Beam Elements
From Mechanics of Materials we can write the
deflection and end rotation of a cantilevered beam
as follows.

P
M
EI
PL
3
3
max
=
EI
PL
2
2
max
=
EI
ML
2
2
max
=
EI
ML
=
max

3
max
3
L
EI
P

=
L
EI
M
max

=
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
20
Stiffness matrix for a beam element
We use the physical description of the stiffness matrix terms to obtain
the stiffness matrix for a beam element

2
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
44 34 24 14
43 33 23 13
42 32 22 12
41 31 21 11
M
F
M
F
v
v
k k k k
k k k k
k k k k
k k k k

University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka

21
Beam Element Deformations
The first column of the stiffness matrix corresponds to the loads that
are required to produce a unit displacement of v
1
while all other
DOF are zero.

14
13
12
11
k
k
k
k
We need to satisfy B.C., v
1
=1 and
1
=0
1
2 3
2
21
3
11
1
= =
EI
L k
EI
L k
v
2
11 21
1
0
2
k L k L
EI EI
= + =
The other force and moment can be obtained from static equilibrium
equations
0
31 11
= + k k
0
11 41 21
= + L k k k
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
22
Deformations of Beam Element and
Corresponding Force Terms
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
23
Beam stiffness matrix
(pure bending)
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
24
Beam Stiffness Matrix
Bending, Extension and Shear Effects Included
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
25
Properties of Stiffness Matrix
Stiffness matrices are representation of physical
systems and hence posses some unique
properties.
These properties provide diagnostics to help you
debug your finite element model.
In mathematical terms we specify this by
requiring the matrix be positive definite.
This requires having
Non-negative diagonal terms
Symmetry
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
26
Why must you have non-negative diagonal
terms?
Let us say that for a global system we have assembled the
elements and generated the system of equations given by
In this system we assume a displacement field {D}, such that all but
one displacement is zero.
Substituting this into the equation above results in
| |{ } { } R D K =
i j D
j
= for , 0
i i ii
R D K =
Note: If K
ii
is not positive the displacement produced by the force
will not be in the opposite direction to the force. This is physically
unreasonable!!
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
27
Why symmetry?
Symmetry is often argued from the requirement that the
strain energy must be positive. (e.g. Generalized 3-D
Hookes law)
One of the derivatives of energy principles is the Betti-
Maxwell reciprocity theorem. (Very useful in structural
mechanics)
Betti-Maxwell Reciprocal theorem:
If two load sets act on a linearly elastic structure, work done by
the first set of loads in acting through the displacements
produced by the second set of loads is equal to the work done
by the second set of loads in acting through displacements
produced by the first set.
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
28
Example for Betti-Maxwell Reciprocal Theorem
P
1

21

11
1 2
P
2

22

12
1 2
For this system the Betti_Maxwell
Reciprocal theorem provides the condition
21 2 12 1
P P =
The displacement v and rotation of an
end loaded cantilever beam is given by
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
2 6 2
2 3 2
x
Lx
EI
P x Lx
EI
P
v
P
1
P
2
1 2
a
b
L=a+b
x
Using these we can write the displacements as
( )
( )
EI
b a P
EI
a P
EI
a P
b a
EI
a P
EI
b a P
2 3 3
3 2
6 3
2
2
3
2
12
3
2
22
2
1
21
3
1
11
+ = =
+ =
+
=


University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
29
Betti-Maxwell theorem applied to finite
element equations
The theorem is same as before, except now we use a system of equations
{ } { } { } { }
1 2 2 1
D R D R
T T
=
The terms above are scalar quantities (representing work done)
If we can expand the equations by substituting for the force vectors R
in terms of the stiffness matrix K and displacement vector D
| |{ } ( ) { } | |{ } ( ) { }
1 2 2 1
D K D K
T T
D D =
{ } | | { } { } | | { }
1 2 2 1
D K D K
T T T T
D D =
Since they are scalar terms the transpose should be the same
{ } | | { } { } | |{ } | | | | K K D K D K = =
T T T T
D D
2 1 2 1
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
30
Sparsity
Sparsity is a term used to quantify the number of zeros in a
stiffness matrix.
In very large models only a few nodes are connected to each
other. This creates a lot of zeros.
To economize storage (computer memory) commercial
programs often use different ways to avoid storing the zero
locations.
Node numbering in a FE model affects the topology of the
stiffness matrix
For a linear assembly of bar or beam elements you obtain a
banded matrix.
However for most 3-D complex structures the bandwidth
increases and can often result in a dense matrix.
We need to find a topology that favors storage and efficient
solving of the equation
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
31
Skyline of a Matrix
Due to symmetry only terms on the diagonal and above need to be stored.
Skyline of a matrix encloses the uppermost nonzero coefficients in each
column
The coefficients are then stored in a one-dimensional array.
The array that describes the profile of the matrix is needed to develop a 1-D
storage for the stiffness matrix
Zeros under the skyline need to be stored as they will become filled in the
solution process
1
2
3
4
k
1
k
2
k
3
k
4
x
y
u
1
v
1
u
2
v
2
u
3
v
3
u
4
v
4
1
2
3
4
k
1
k
2
k
3
k
4
x
y
u
1
v
1
u
1
v
1
u
2
v
2
u
2
v
2
u
3
v
3
u
3
v
3
u
4
v
4
u
4
v
4

4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
88 68
68 66 65 62 61
56 55 53 52 51
44 42
35 33
26 25 24 22 21
16 15 12 11
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0 0
x
x
x
x
x
x
y
x
f
f
f
f
f
f
f
f
v
u
v
u
v
u
v
u
K K
K K K K K
K K K K K
K K
K K
K K K K K
K K K K
University of Florida EML5526 Finite Element Analysis R.T. Haftka
32
Profile of a matrix
The auxiliary array that describes the skyline is
| | 3 0 6 5 3 1 2 1

4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
88 68
68 66 65 62 61
56 55 53 52 51
44 42
35 33
26 25 24 22 21
16 15 12 11
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0 0
x
x
x
x
x
x
y
x
f
f
f
f
f
f
f
f
v
u
v
u
v
u
v
u
K K
K K K K K
K K K K K
K K
K K
K K K K K
K K K K
The sum of the entries is the profile description is the number of coefficients
that must be stored and is referred to as the profile of the matrix
The profile for the above case is 21
Note: See textbook example in Figure 2.8-1 on how you can change the profile