ME63FiniteElementAnalysis

2Markquestionandanswers
UNIT1
FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION OF BOUNDARY VALUE

1. Namethevariationalmethods.
1. Ritzmethod
2. RayleighRitzmethod
2. Nametheweightedresidualmethods.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Pointcollocationmethod
Subdomaincollocationmethod
Leastsquaresmethod
Galerkins method.

3. WhatisRaleighRitzmethod?
RayleighRitzmethodisanintegralmethodwhichisusefulforsolvingcomplex
structuralproblems,encounteredinfiniteelementanalysis.Thismethodispossibleonly
ifasuitablefunctionalisavailable.
4.Whatismeantbydiscretizationandassembly?
Theartofsubdividingthestructureintoaconvenientnumberofsmallercomponents
isknownasdiscretisation.
Thesmallercomponentsareputtogetherandthisprocessofcombiningallthe
elementstogetherisknownasassemblage.
5.Whatisaspectsratio?
Aspect ratio is the ratio of the largest dimension of the element to the smallest
dimensionoftheelement.Inmanycases,iftheaspectratioincreasestheinaccuracyof
thesolutionincreases.Theaspectratioshouldbeclosetounityasforaspossible.
6.Whatismeantbyfiniteelementanalysis?

Finiteelementmethodsisanumericalmethodforsolvingproblemsofengineeringand
mathematicalphysics.
Inthismethod,insteadofsolvingtheproblemfortheentirebodyinoneoperation,
weformulateequationsforeachelementandcombinethemtoobtainthesolutionfor
thewholebody.
7.Whatarethetypesofboundarycondition?
Therearetwotypesofboundarycondition.Theyare:
1. Primaryboundarycondition
2. Secondaryboundarycondition
8.Whatarethemethodsgenerallyassociatedwiththefiniteelementanalysis?
ForcemethodandDisplacementorstiffnessmethodarethetwomethods.
9.Expalinforcemethod.
Inforcemethod,internalforcesareconsideredasunknownsoftheproblem.In
displacementorstiffnessmethod,thedisplacementsareconsideredasunknownsofthe
problem.Amongthetwomethods,displacementmethodisdesirable.
10.Whypolynomialtypeofinterpolationfunctionsaremostlyusedduetothefollowing
reasons:
1. Itiseasytoformulateandcomputerizethefiniteelementequations
2. Itiseasytoperformdifferentiationorintegration
3. Theaccuracyoftheresultscanbeimprovedbyincreasingtheorder
ofthepolynomial.
11. Whatare h and p versions of finite element method?
In h version, the order of the polynomial approximation for all elements is kept constant
andthenumberofelementsincreased.
In p version the numberofelementsismaintainedconstantandtheorderofpolynomial
approximationofelementisincreased.

12.NameanyfourFEAsoftwares.
1.Ansys

2.NASTRAN

3.COSMOS

4.NISA

13.Differentiatebetweenglobalandlocalaxes.
Localaxesareestablishedinanelement,theychangewithchangeinorientationof
theelement.Thedirectiondiffersfromelementtoelement.
Globalaxesaredefinedfortheentiresystem.Theyhavethesamedirectionforallthe
elementseventhoughtheelementsaredifferentlyoriented.
.

UNIT2
ONE DIMENSIONAL FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

1.Whatarethetypesloadingactingonastructure?
Therearethreetypeofloadingactingonastructure.Theyare,
1. Bodyforce(f)
2. Tractionforce(T)
3. Pointload(P)
2. Definebodyforce.
Abodyforceisdistributedforceactingoneveryelementalvolumeofthe
body.Unit:forceperunitvolume
3.Definetractionforce.
Tractionforceisdefinedasdistributedforceactingonthesurfaceofthe
body.Unit:Forceperunitarea
Examples:Frictionalresistance,viscous
4.Whatisapointload?
Pointloadisloadactingataparticularpointwhichcausesdisplacement.
5.Whatarethebasicstepsinvolvedinthefiniteelementmodeling.
Finiteelementmodelingconsistsofthefollowing:
1. Discretisationofthestructure
2. Numberingofthenodes.
6.Whataretheclassificationsofthecoordinates?

Thecoordinatesaregenerallyclassifiedas,
1. Globalcocoordinates
2. LocalCoordinates
3. Naturalcoordinates
7. Whatisnaturalcoordinates?
Anaturalcoordinatesystemisusedtodefineanypointinsidetheelementbyasetof
dimensionlessnumbers,whosemagnitudeneverexceedsunity.Thissystemisuseful
inassemblingofstiffnessmatrices.
8.Defineshapefunction.
Infiniteelementmethod,fieldvariableswithinanelementaregenerallyexpressedbythe
followingapproximaterelation:
(x,y)=N1(x,y)1+N2(x,y)2+N3(x,y)3where1234arethevaluesof
thefieldvariableatthenodesandN1N2N3N4areinterpolationfunction.N1N2N3
N4arecalledshapefunctionsbecausetheyareusedtoexpressthegeometryorshapeof
theelement.
9.Whatarethecharacteristicsofshapefunction?
Thecharacteristicsoftheshapefunctionsarefollows:
1. Theshapefunctionhasunitvalueatonenodalpointandzerovalue
attheothernodes.
2. Thesumoftheshapefunctionisequaltoone.
10. Whypolynomialsaregenerallyusedasshapefunction?
Polynomialsaregenerallyusedasshapefunctionsduetothefollowingreasons:
1. Differentiationandintegrationofpolynomialsarequiteeasy.
2. Theaccuracyoftheresultscanbeimprovedbyincreasingtheorder
ofthepolynomial.
3. Itiseasytoformulateandcomputerizethefiniteelementequations.
11. Givetheexpressionforelementstiffnessmatrix.
Stiffnessmatrix[K]=
[B]T[D][B]dv
v

Where,

[B]matrixisastraindisplacementmatrix
[D] matrixisstress,strainrelationshipmatrix

12. Writedowntheexpressionofstiffnessmatrixforonedimensionalelementbar
element.
Stiffnessmatrix[K]=

Where,

AE

l 1
1
Aistheareaofthebarelement
E is the youngs modulus of the bar element
Listhelengthofthebarelement

13.Statethepropertiesofastiffnessmatrix.
Thepropertiesofthestiffnessmatrix[K]are,

1. Itisasymmetricmatrix
2. Thesumoftheelementsinanycolumnmustbeequaltozero.
3. Itisanunstableelement,sothedeterminantisequaltozero.
4.
14. Writedownthegeneralfiniteelementequation.
Generalfiniteelementequationis,
{F}=[K]{u}
Where,
{F}isaforcevector
[K]isthestiffnessmatrix{u}
isthedegreesoffreedom
15.statetheassumptionsmadeinthecaseoftrusselement.
Thefollowingassumptionsaremadeinthecaseoftrusselement,
1. Allthemembersarepinjointed.
2. Thetrussisloadedonlyatthejoints
3. Theselfweightofthemembersareneglectedunlessstated.
4.
16. Writedowntheexpressionofstiffnessmatrixforatrusselement.
l2
lm
A E
e e
Stiffnessmatrix,[K]=
l2
l
e

lm

Where,

Aisthearea
E is the youngs modulus

lm

l2

L,maredirectioncosines
lm

m2
lm

lm
l2

m2
lm

m2

lm

m2

Leisthelengthoftheelment

17.WritedowntheexpressionofshapefunctionNanddisplacementuforone
dimensionalbarelement.
Forondimensionalbarelement,
Displacementfunction,u=N1u1+N2u2
lx
l

Where,Shapefunction,N1=

x
N2=

18.Statetheprincipleofminimumpotentialenergy.
Thetotalpotentialenergyofanelasticbodyisdefinedasthesumoftotalstrain
energyUandthepotentialenergyoftheexternalforces,(W)
19.Distinguishbetweenessentialboundaryconditionandnaturalboundary
condition.Therearetwotypeofboundaryconditions.Theyare,
1.Primaryboundarycondition(or)essentialboundarycondition:
Theboundaryconditionwhichintermsofthefieldvariablesisknownas
primaryboundarycondition
2.Secondaryboundaryconditionornaturalboundarycondition:
Theboundaryconditionswhichareinthedifferentialformoffieldvariablesis
knownassecondaryboundarycondition.
20.Whatarethedifferencebetweenboundaryvalueproblemandinitialvalue
problem?

Thesolutionofdifferentialequationobtainedforphysicalproblemswhich
satisfiessomespecifiedconditionsknownasboundaryconditions.

Ifthesolutionofdifferentialequationisobtainedtogetherwithinitialconditionsthenit
isknownasinitialvalueproblem.
Ifthesolutionofdifferentialequationisobtainedtogetherwithboundaryconditionsthen
itisknownasboundaryvalueproblem.

Unit3
TWO DIMENSIONAL FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

1.WhatisaCSTelement?
Threenoddedtriangularelementisknownasconstantstraintriangularelelment.Ithas
6unknowndegreesoffreedomcalledu1,v1,u2,v2,u3,v3.TheelementiscalledCST
becauseithasconstantstrainthroughoutit.
2.WhatisLSTelement?
SixnoddedtriangularelementisknownasLinearStrainTriangularelement.Ithas12
unknown displacement degrees of freedom. The displacement function for the
elementarequadraticinsteadoflinearasintheCST.
3.WhatisaQSTelement?
TennoddedtriangularelementisknownasQuadraticStrainTriangle.
4.Whatismeantbyplanestressanalysis?
Planestressisdefinedasastateofstressinwhichthenormalstress() and the shear
stress()directedperpendiculartotheplanearezero.
5.Defineplanestrain.
Planestrainisdefinedtobeastateofstraininwhichthestrainnormaltothexypalne
andtheshearstrainsareassumedtobezero.
6.WritethedisplacementfunctionforaCSTelement.
u
v
Displacementfunctionu=

u(x,y)
v(x,y)0

N1

0 N2
N1

0 N3

0 N2

1
1

0u 2

0 N

u3

whereN1

v
3

N2N3areshapefunctions.

7.WriteastraindisplacementmatrixforCSTelement.
StraindisplacementequationforCSTelementis,

[B]=

1
2A

0 q
1

0 q
2

0
3

q1 r2 q2 r3
A=Areaoftheelement
1

Where,

q1=y2y3

q2=y3y1

q3=y1y2

r1=x3x2

r2=x1x3

r3=x2x1

8.Writedownthestressstrainrelationshipmatrixforplanestresscondition.
Forplanestressproblems,stressstrainrelationshipmatrixis,

E
[D]=

1
12

0
1
0

Where, E = youngs modulus

= Poissons ratio
9. Write down the stressstrain relationship matrix for plane strain
condition.Forplanestrainproblems,stressstrainrelationshipmatrix
is,

[D]=

E
(1

(1)
0

)(12)

(1)

0
0

(12)
2
10.WritedownthestiffnessmatrixequationfortwodimensionalCSTelement.
0

Stiffnessmatrix[K]=BTDBAt
Where,[B]isthestraindisplacementmatrix
[D]isthestressstrainmatrixA
istheareaoftheelement
t isthethicknessoftheelement

11.Writedowntheexpressionfortheshapefunctionforaconstantareatriangular
element.
ForCSTelement,
Shapefunction,

N1
N2
N3

p1q1xr1y
2A
p2q2xr2y
2A
p3q3xr3y
2A

p1 x2y3x3y2

Where,

p2x3y1x1y3
p3x1y2x2y1

Unit4
DYNAMIC ANALYSIS USING FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

1.DefineQuasistaticresponse.
Whentheexcitationsarevaryingslowlywithtimethenitiscalledquasistaticresponse.
2 Give the Lagranges equations of motion.
The Lagranges equations of motion in the independent generalized coordinates q is
givenby,
d T
T
F

dt q
q q
3. Whataretheconditionsforaproblemtoaxisymmetric?
1. Theproblemdomainmustbesymmetricabouttheaxisofrotation.
2. Alltheboundaryconditionsmustbesymmetricabouttheaxisofrotation.
3. Allloadingconditionsmustbesymmetricabouttheaxisofrotation.

3.WhatisHRZLumpingscheme.
Theessentialideainthisschemeistosimplyuseonlydiagonalelementsoftheconsistent
massmatrixbuttoscaletheminsuchawaythattotalmassoftheelementispreserved.
4.Givetheconsistentmassmatrixforbarelement:
A2 1
e
m

61

4.GivetheconsistentmassmatrixforBeam
N1

N N

meA N

2
0

N N
3

dx

3
4

5.Statethemethodsofsolutiontoeigenvalueproblems.
Thereareessentiallythreegroupsofmethodsofsolutionofeigenvalueproblems.
i) Determinentbasedmethods
ii) Transformationbasedmethod
iii) Vectoriterationbasedmethod
6. Givethestiffnessmatrixequationforanaxisymmetrictriangularelement.
2rABTDB

r2r3

3
7.Whatarethewaysinwhichathreedimensionalproblemcanbereducedtoa
twodimensionalapproach.
1. PlaneStress:ondimensionistoosmallwhencomparedtoothertwo
dimensions.Example:Gearthicknessissmall
2. PlaneStrain:onedimensionistoolargewhencomparedtoothertwo
dimensions. Examples: Long Pipe (length is long compared to
diameter)

Unit5
APPLICATIONS IN HEAT TRANSFER & FLUID
MECHANICS

1.WhatisthepurposeofIsoparametricelements?
Itisdifficulttorepresentthecurvedboundariesbystraightedgesfiniteelements.A
largenumberoffiniteelementsmaybeusedtoobtainreasonableresemblancebetween
originalbodyandassemblage.Inordertoovercomethisdrawback,isoparametric
elementsareusedi.eforproblemsinvolvingcurvedboundaries,afamilyof
elementsknown as iso parametric elements areused.
2.Writedowntheelementlevelheattransferequationforbarelementwithheat
conduction.
1 1
/2
Q o
Tk
Q
q0
11
T
/2
k

k 1

3.WritedowntheequationfortheJcobianmatrixforfournoddedquadrilateralelement.
J

Jcobianmatrix,J

11

12

11

Where,

J12
J

21

22

1
4
1

1x1x

1x1x

4
1

1y1y

1x
1y

1x

1y
4

1y1x
1

1x
1y

1x

1y 4

Where,arenaturalcoordinates.
x1,x2,x3,x4,y1,y2,y3andy4areCartesiancoordinates.

22

4.Writedownthestiffnessmatrixequationforfournoddedisoparametric
quadrilateralelement.

Stiffnessmatrix,K

t11BTDB*J**

11

Where,tisthethicknessoftheelement
JisthedeterminantoftheJacobian.
,arenaturalcoordinates
MatrixBisstrainDisplacementmatrixandmatrixDistheatressstrain
relationshipmatrix
5.Writedowntheelementforcevectorequationforfournoddedquadrilateralelement.

Fx F

Forcevector,FeNT

WhereNistheshapefunction
Fx,Fyareforceonx,ydirectionrespectively.
6.WritedowntheGaussianquadratureexpressionfornumericalintegration.
Gaussianquadratureexpression,
1

fxxnwifxi

i1

Wherewiistheweightfunction
f(xi)isthevalueofthefunctionatpredeterminedsamplingpoints.
7.Definesuperparametricelement.
Ifthenumberofnodesfordefiningthegeometryismorethanthenumberofnodesused
fordefiningthedisplacementsisknownassuperparametricelement.
8.Whatismeantbysubparametricelement?
Ifthenumberofnodesusedfordefiningthegeometryislessthanthenumberofnodded
usedfordefiningthedisplacementsisknownassubparametricelement.
9.Whatismeantbyisoparametricelement?
Ifthenumberofnodesusedfordefiningthegeometryissameasnumberofnodes
usedfordefiningthedisplacementsthenitiscalledisoparametricelement.
10.Isbeamelementanisoparametricelement?

Beamelementisnotanisoparametricelementsincegeometryanddisplacementsare
definedbydifferentinterpolationfunctions.