______________________Basics of the Finite Element Method Applied in Civil Engineering

CHAPTER 14
SUB-STRUCTURING AND MACRO-ELEMENTS
Sub-structuring is the procedure of creating macro-elements. A macroelement (sometimes also called super-element) is a group of merged regular
elements, being represented in the computers database as a matrix of its
own. The main reasons for using macro-elements are:
-

to reduce computing time for structures which contain repeated

geometrical patterns, especially in non-linear analyses; macroelements can be created for those regions which reveal linear
behaviour, thus the matrices should not be recalculated for every
equilibrium iteration;
to solve large problems with limited computer resources (in terms of
wave-front size or disk space requirements).

Sub-structuring is an important device in complex problems, where a

repetition of components occurs or when a certain region of the model has a
constant stiffness, while the rest of the structure exhibits nonlinear behavior
(which is handled by modifying the stiffness matrix in an iterative process,
as it will be shown later). The region with linear behavior can be described
by a macro-element.
The macro-element is in fact a complex element from which the internal
degrees of freedom are removed. The example shown in figure 14.1 gives an
idea of using macro-elements (or sub-structuring). The diaphragm wall is
made of eight macro-elements, all of the same kind. Once the stiffness
matrix KE of a macro-element is known, its values can be used for all the
identical macro-elements in the model.
If E are the DOF of the substructure (macro-element), the vector can be
subdivided into two parts: the DOF which are common with other elements
e called external DOF (associated to [] nodes in the figure) and the
internal DOF - which occur only inside the macro-element i (associated to
[] nodes in the figure).
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Chapter 14 Sub-structuring. Macro-elements____________________________________

e
i
detail

Macro - element

Fig. 14.1 Diaphragm wall meshed using macro-elements

External and internal DOF.

The objective is to retain only the external DOF for the solution phase, by
eliminating the internal DOF. This elimination process, called static
condensation, or simply condensation was explained before.
To minimize the functional EE corresponding to the macro-element, the
known expression is available:

E E
= K EE R E
E

with

nE

KE = k

(14.1)

where KE is the macro-element stiffness matrix and RE is the nodal forces

vector corresponding to its nodes.
As E can be subdivided and i are the DOF occurring inside the macroelement only, then:

E
E E
=
= 0
i
i

(14.2)

To carry out the condensation process, the assembled stiffness equations of

the macro-element are partitioned as follows:
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______________________Basics of the Finite Element Method Applied in Civil Engineering

E E
E E
K
E E e
= E = e = e
K ie
E E
0
i

K ei e R e

K i i R i

(14.3)

Note that KE and RE are assembled from matrices k and vectors r of the
regular finite elements building up the substructure. By a suitable
numbering, the partitioning can be achieved directly from the assembly.
From the second set of equations, the internal DOF can be written explicitly
K ii + K Teie R i = 0
1
i

i = K K + K R i
-1
i

T
ei e

(14.4)
(14.5)

which, by substituting, yield

E E
= K e K ei K i1K Tei e (R e + K ei K i1 R i ) = K e e R e
e

(14.6)

In this equation K *e and R *e are called the condensed stiffness matrix and
force vector respectively. From this point onward, the condensed macroelement may be considered for further operations as an individual element.
The assembly procedure of the global stiffness matrix and the load vector
follow, considering only the macro-elements boundary variables (the DOF
associated to nodes located on the macro-elements boundary). Thus, in the
solution process, a considerable computer effort is saved, due to its
repeatability.
The total potential energy of the system is divided as follows:
n

n'

E = E = Ee + E E ,

(14.7)

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Chapter 14 Sub-structuring. Macro-elements____________________________________

where n is the number of regular elements in the mesh and m the number of
elements involved in macro-elements assemblies (if any in the model). The
global stiffness matrix and the load vector can be written as
n'

K = k e + K e ;

n'

R = re + R e

(14.8)

leading to the reduced equation system

K=R

(14.9)

By solving the reduced equation system and performing a convenient

selection, based on local/global node numbering, the external DOF e are
calculated. Returning to the second set of equations in the partitioned form:

i = K i-1K Tei e + K i1R i

(14.10)

and, by reassembling:

E = e + i

(14.11)

Based on E the stresses within each original finite element can be

evaluated*.
Regarding the practical procedure, applying a substructure analysis involves
three distinct steps: the definition step, the solution step and the expansion
step.
In the definition step the regular elements are condensed into the macroelement, by choosing some master degrees of freedom in order to define the
interface between the macro-element and its surroundings (other elements,
macro-elements, boundary conditions, loads, etc). Most element types in the
computer codes element library can be used in order to compose macroelements. The only restriction refers to their linear behavior. Regarding the
material properties, they also should be linear.
* The feasibility of the condensation process hinges on the non-singularity of
Ki. This matrix is nonsingular if the macro-element is rank-sufficient and if
fixing the boundary DOF precludes all rigid body motions.
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______________________Basics of the Finite Element Method Applied in Civil Engineering

As for any other element in the mesh, the macro-element matrices should be
calculated, depending on the analysis type: the stiffness matrix, the mass
matrix, the specific heat matrix, the dumping matrix, etc.
To define the master (or external) DOF of a macro-element e the following
rules should be taken into account:
-

they must enable connections to all regular elements or other macroelements along its border;
they should define all the locations for constrains and concentrated
loads;
if the macro-element is used in a dynamic analysis, the defined
master DOF characterize its dynamic behavior.

The solution phase of the analysis is performed using the assembled model,
with regular elements and the defined macro-elements. The result of the
solution phase consists in all DOF values (displacements) of the regular
elements and in the master DOF of the macro-elements. Because no results
are available for the internal macro-element DOF, this solution is called
the reduced solution.
Based on the reduced solution, the internal DOF are calculated, using a so
called expansion step. If the model contains several macro-elements, an
expansion step should be performed for every macro element where inside
DOF are needed.
The sub-structuring method where each macro-element is generated
separately in an individual generation step and then all macro-elements are
assembled in the solution step is called bottom-up structuring. This method
is suitable for large models, merged from small macro-elements, in order to
prevent overrunning the computer memory.
For small models, the top-down structuring method can be used. An
advantage of this method is the possibility of assembling multiple macroelements in the postprocessing phase. To apply the top-down substructuring method the next steps should be followed:

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Chapter 14 Sub-structuring. Macro-elements____________________________________

to build the entire model of regular elements, including both macroelements and non macro-elements regions;
to perform the generation step for each macro-element, by selecting the
corresponding regular elements from the model;
to carry out the solution step;
to perform the expansion step by restoring the full model database and
then expanding each macro-element separately.

It is important to notice that, for some authors, substructures (or superelements) and macro-elements have not the same meaning. The main
conceptual distinction is that substructures are defined using the top-down
method, as parts of a complete structure, while macro-elements are built
using the bottom-up method from regular elements. Moreover, making the
difference, substructures (or super-elements) have to have a well defined
structural function in the model (a wing in an airplane model, a diaphragm
wall in a civil engineering structure, etc) while a macro-element can be
defined as a typical mesh unit or a sophisticated element build on regular
elements (as, for example, a beam element with a thin-walled cross section
made by assembling shell elements). Sometimes, special dedicated elements
build as macro-elements are already defined in the computer codes element
library.
Usually, FEA computer codes have two other powerful sub-structuring
features:
-

136

to create nested macro-elements, meaning that, when defining macroelements, previously defined macro-elements can be used as their
components;
to define prestressed substructures, namely that the stress state from a
previous structural solution may be included in the actual one, when
creating the stiffness matrix in the generation step.