CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Introduction to Finite Element Method

1.1 Basic Concept of Finite Element Method I
1.2 General Description of Finite Element Method
1.2.1 Finite element Technique in Structure Analysis
1.2.2 Finite element Technique in Heat Conduction
1.2.3 Conclusion 10
1.3 Engineering Applications of Finite Element Analysis
1.4 Principle of Virtual Work
1.4.1 Principle of Virtual work
1.4.2 Principle of Virtual Displacements (PVD)
1.4.3 Virtual Work as the 'Weak form' of Equilibrium Equations for Analysis of Solids
or Fluids
Chapter 2 General Procedure of Finite Element Method
2.1 Interpolation Functions
2.2 Strain-Displacement Relations
2.3 Stress - Stress Relations (Constitutive Relations)
2.4 Principle of Virtual Displacements
2.5 Stiffness Matrices
2.5.1 Element Stiffness Matrix 23
2.5.2 Global Stiffness Matrix
2.6 Equivalent Nodal Force Vectors 29
2.6.1 Element Equivalent Nodal Force Vector
2.6.2 Global Equivalent Nodal Force Vector
2.7 Imposition of Boundary Condition
2.8 Example Problem for All Subsequent Computations
2.9 Area Coordinates
2.10 Higher - Order Triangular Elements
2.10.1 Interpolation Functions
2.10.2 Strain-Displacement Relations
2.10.3 Stress - Strain Relations
2.10.4 Element Stiffness Matrix
2.10.5 Evaluation of Equivalent Nodal Point Forces

Chapter 3 Formulation of Isoparametric Finite Element Matrices

3.1 Isoparametric Concepts
3.2 Interpolation Functions in Finite Element Method 67
3.2.1 The Pascal Triangle
3.2.2 Lagrange polynomials
3.3 Family of Isoparametric Elements
3.3.1 Lagrange Polynomials in Dimensionless Form
3.3.2 Family of Two - Diniensional Isoparametric Elements

3.4 Forinulation of Isoparamatric Finite Element Matrices for Plane Elasticity

3.4.1 Interpolation Functions 80
3.4.2 Strain - Displacement Transformation Matrix
3.4.3 Constitutive Relations 93
3.4.4 Element Stiffness Matrix 94
3.4.5 Element Load Vector 99
3.4.6 Degeneration of 4 - Node to 3 - Node Two Dimensional Element 109

Chapter 4 Analysis of Solids of Revolution 115

4.1 Interpolation Functions 116 4.2 Strain-Displacement Relations 118 4.3
Stress - Strain Relations 119 4.4 Forinulation of Stiffness Matrices 122
4.4.1 Element Stiffness Matrix
4.4.2 Global Stiffness Matrix 123 4.5 Equivalent Nodal Force Vector 124
4.5.1 Element Equivalent Nodal Force Vector
124 4.5.2 Global Equivalent Nodal Force Vector 4.6 Numerical Example 133
Chapter 5 Analysis of Three - Dimensional Problems 135
5.1 Convergence 135
5.1.1 Convergence Requirements for Interpolation Functions 135
5.1.2 Interpolation Functions for Tetrahedron Elements 138 5.1.3 Interpolation
Functions for Three-Dimensional Brick Elements 142
5.1.4 A Comment on Convergence for 3D Curved Elements 149 5.2 Formulation of
Three - Dimensional Isoparametric Element Matrices 150
5.2.1 Interpolation Functions 151 5.2.2 Strain - Displacement Transformation Matrix
153 5.2.3 Constitutive Relations 156 5.2.4 Element Stiffness Matrix 157
5.2.5 Element Load Vector 160 5.3 Formulation and Calculation of
Tetrahedron Element Matrices 165
5.3.1 Displacement Functions 166 5.3.2 Strain - Displacement Transformation
Matrix 166 5.3.3 Constitutive Relations 167 5.3.4 Element Stiffness Matrix 168 5.3.5
Element Load Vector 169 5.3.6 Degeneration of 8- Node Brick Element to
Tetrahedral Element
172 5.4 Numerical Example 175 Chapter 6 Finite Element Analysis for Plates
and Shells 178
6.1 Theories in Plate and Shell Analyses 178 6.2 Plate Elements 180
6.2.1 Mindlin Plate Element 180
6.2.2 Formulation of Mindlin Laminated Element Matrices 189 6.3 Shell
Elements 204
:

216
6.3.1 Geometric Definition of an Element 206 6.3.2 Displacement Field 208 6.3.3
Definition of Strains 211 6.3.4 Definition of Stresses and Elasticity Matrix 213
6.3.5 Element Properties and Necessary Transformation
6.3.6 Some Remarks on Stress Representation 219 Chapter 7 Heat Transfer 220
7.1 Basic Equations of Field Problems 220 7.2 The Variational Formulation. 221 7.3
Heat Transfer Problems 225
7.3.1 One - Dimensional Heat Transfer 226 7.3.2 Two - Dimensional Heat
Transfer
cat Transfer 251 7.3.3 Three - Dimensional Heat Transfer 274 7.3.4 Unsteady State

Heat Transfer Problems 282 7.3.5 Heat Transfer Problems with Radiation 290
Chapter 1 Introduction to Finite Element
Method
The Finite Element Method (FEM) is a numerical method which can be used for the
accurate solution of complex engineering problems. The finite element
method was first developed in 1956 for the analysis of aircraft structural
problems. Thereafter, within the past decades, the potentialities of the
method for the solution of different types of applied science and
engineering problems were recognized. Over years, the finite element
technique has been so well established that today it is considered to be
one of the best methods for solving a wide variety of practical problems
efficiently. One of the main reasons for the popularity of the method
in different fields of engineering is that once a general computer program
is established, it can be used for the solution of any problem simply by
changing the input data. At present the Finite Element Method is
developed into a key indispensable technology in the modelling and
simulation of various engineering systems. In the development of an
advanced engineering system, engineers have to go through a very
rigorous process of modelling, simulation, visualization, analysis,
designing, prototyping, testing, and finally, fabrication/construction. As
such, techniques related to modelling and simulation in a rapid and
effective way play an increasingly important role in building
advanced engineering systems, and therefore the application of the
FEM has multiplied rapidly. The teaching materials provides unified and
detailed description on the FEM for engineers and university students to
solve primarily linear problems governed by the field equations in
engineering, with the main focus on structural mechanics and heat
transfer. The aim of it is to provide the necessary concepts, theories and
modelling and computation techniques of the FEM for readers to be able
to use a commercial FEM package comfortably to solve engineering
problems in a systematic manner. It is attempted to give details of
development of each of the techniques and ideas from basic principles.
New concepts are illustrated with simple examples wherever possible. The
general philosophy is to make all the topics insightful but simple,
informative but concise, and theoretical but applicable.

1.1 Basic Concept of Finite Element Method

As mentioned above, the finite element method by now has become the inost
powerful and versatile tool of analysis and is applicable to wide range problems. The basic
idea of the finite element method is really quite simple, and may be visualized as
doing two entirely separate things:
(1) A structure is divided (hypothetically) into finite elements, which are so small !
that the shape of a field (such as displacement, stress or temperature
field) can
then be approximated without too much danger, leaving only the
magnitude to be found. The 'shapes' may be polynomials,
trigonometric functions and so on, as we shall see.

All the individual elements have to be assembled together in such a way that
the field quantities are continuous in some fashion across element
interfaces, the
internal ones are in equilibrium with each other and the applied loads,
and the
prescribed boundary conditions are satisfied.

The first part of the finite element process is fundamental and involves choosing the
correct and appropriate types of elements and describing and evaluating
their properties. Although modern finite element systems do protect users from
having to evaluate element properties, it does help to be able to
understand and exercise judgment when modeling the structure, and spotting
wrong answers due to using inadequate elements. It also helps to understand
the pedigree of elements when deciding whose finite element system to try!
The second part of the process is the assembly of the elements and then
solving the complete structure and so on. The proprietary system will do
this of course, but again it pays to know what is involved since sometimes
this process breaks down, or it simply becomes an inefficient process
because the structure has been described inconveniently. The finite
element method represents an approximate solution of a boundary - value
problem described by a differential equation, and all the fundamental
concepts required for the numerical solution of differential equations
are considered. The equations governing engineering phenomena are
usually derived from equilibrium equations and constitutive equations.
The suitable structure discretization into elements, including the type, size
and arrangement of elements, governs the accuracy of results.

1.2 General Description of Finite Element

Method

1.2.1 Finite Element Technique in Structure

Analysis
 In structure analysis, finite element discretization techniques are usually
arranged by one of three approaches:
→ The displacement
method > The force
method
> The mixed method

The displacement method is normally used in engineering application, that is,

determine the displacement field firstly then find strain and stress fields.

:Assumpti
ons

Equil
ibriU
m
→
Stress
-Strain
Law
Com
patibil
ity
Fig. 1.1 The route of structure analysis

Structural analysis can be summarized in the schematics of Figure

1.1, in which
1 Assume the nature of displacements or/and stresses
2 Establish the relationship between applied forces and stresses
3 Establish the relationship between displacements and strains
4 Establish the relationship between stresses and strains
The route followed in the displacement method is 1-3 4 2--). For the
numerical solution of a structural or continuum problem it is basically necessary
to establish and solve algebraic equations that govern the response of
the system. Using the finite element method, it becomes possible to
establish and solve the governing equations for complex problems in a
very effective way. The displacement - based finite element method can
be regarded an extension of the displacement method of analysis, which
had been used for many years in the analysis of beam and truss
structures. The basic steps in the analysis of a beam and truss structure
using the displacement method of analysis are:
(1) Idealize the total structure as an assemblage of beam and truss
elements that are
interconnected at the structural joints.
(2) Identify the unknown joint displacements that completely define the
displacement
response of the structural idealization.
(3) Establish force balance equations corresponding to the unknown joint
displacements and solve these equations.
(4) With the beam and truss element end - displacements known, calculate the
internal element stress distributions.
(5) Interpret the displacements and stresses predicted by the solution of the
structural
idealization when considering the assumptions used. In practical analysis and
design the most important steps of the complete analysis are the proper
idealization of the actual problem, as performed in step (1), and the
correct interpretation of the results in step (5).
The above analysis steps can be demonstrated to some degree in the
following example.
Example 1.1: The piping system shown in Fig.1.2 must be able to carry a large
transverse load P when applied accidentally to the flange
connecting the small and large diameter pipes. "Analyze this problem."
The study of this problem may require a number of analyses in which the local
kinematic behavior of the pipe intersection is properly modeled,
the nonlinear material and geometric behaviors are taken into account,
the characteristics of the applied load are modeled accurately, and so on. In
such a study, it is usually most expedient to start with a simple analysis in which
gross assumptions are made and then work towards a more refined model.
 Assume that in a first analysis we primarily want to calculate the
transverse displacement at the flange when the transverse load is applied
slowly. In this case it is reasonable to model the structure as an
assemblage of beam, truss, and spring elements and perform a
static analysis.

1.
zi

0.52

n) [iiping syNTET

Element 2
...
S
Element !
Element 3
Nadet
Node 3
BE

Node 2
0.50L

Node 42
----
-
-
----2--
Element 4

(h) Klomenis and nodal points

T

(exclobal degrees ofrecilo

fuerant structure
ROMOTORECE

Fig. 1.2 Piping system and idealization (1) Element

Stiffness Matrices According to the mechanics of materials
approach, the stiffness matrices of truss and beam elements can be
obtained. (a)Truss Element (Fig. 1.3(a))

kır kızEA 1 -1]

(1.1) kai kya L -1 1]
S
in which E is the Young's modulus of material, A is the cross sectional area
of a truss element, and kif i, j = 1,2 denote the stiffness
coefficients. In fact, k, is the
USCU--GOL..

axial force developed at joint i when joint j is displaced

through a unit distance.
EA

-
..

Fig. 1.3 Degrees of freedom of elements

(a) a truss element; (b) a beam element (b)Beam Element
(Fig.1.3(b))

[ 12 6 12 67

K2 K22 K 3 K4 _ EI
k3 k34 L
S01981
(1.2)

Sym.
in which El is the flexural stiffness of a beam and k, i, j = 1,4
denote the

coefficients in stiffness matrix. In fact, ki is the force (or couple)

developed along

the ith degree of freedom of the beam when the jth degree of freedom of it is
displaced (or rotated) through a unit distance (or angle). (2) Structural
Idealization The model chosen is shown in Fig.1.2(b). The structural
idealization consists of two beams, one truss, and a spring element. For the
 analysis of this idealization we first evaluate the element stiffness matrices that
correspond to the global structural degrees of freedom shown in Fig. 1.2(c). For
the beam, spring and truss elements, respectively, from Eqs. (1.1) and
(1.2), we have in this case
[U. U, U, ]-global
displacements
126 1261 |ΙΙ Ι

U
[
U
,
[
12
U
s
1
2
1
2

[KL
= E
1
6
2
 8
Sy
m.
1
2
1
2

[0
6]
[Us U]
[K] =k
[u]
[KI" - EA
2 21
;
where the
superscript on
K
indicates the element number, ky is
spring stiffness,

and the global degrees of freedom that correspond to the element stiffnesses are written
next to the matrices. It should be noted that in this example the
element matrices are independent of direction cosines since the
centerlines of the elements are aligned with the global axes. If the local
axis of an element would not be in the direction of a global axis, the local
element stiffness matrix would have to be transformed to obtain the
 required global element stiffness matrix. (3) Direct Stiffness Method
The summation process to obtain the total structure stiffness matrix by direct
summation of the element stiffness matrices is referred to as the direct stiffness
method.
The stiffness matrix of the complete element assemblage is effectively obtained
from the stiffness matrices of the individual elements using the direct
stiffness method.

In this procedure the structure stiffness matrix [K] is calculated

by direct addition

(1.3
)
of the element stiffness
matrices, i.e.,

[K]={[K]" where the summation includes all

elements. To perform the summation, each element
matrix [K] is written as a matrix [K] of the same
order as the stiffness matrix

[K], where all entries in [K]" are zero, except

those which correspond to an
element degree of freedom. For example, for elements 2
and 4 we have
To 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
To 0 0000 0 12 12 12 12 il
0 000 0 0

0000 2 8 0; [K" = 54 0000

2 0 -2 12 12
0

[Kl”
=4
 T
I
SV/1
2.

sy111
.

Therefore, the stiffness matrix of the

structure is

[ U U U U Us
V
o
U
n

8
El
[K]
=
12 El 2
EA
12E
/

16
E
Sym.

In above equations, the global degrees of freedom of the system are written next
to the stiffness matrix. (4) Equilibrium Equations for the System The
equilibrium equations for the system can be written as
[K]{8}=
{F}
(1.
 4)

where {8} is a vector of the system global

displacements and {F} is a vector of forces acting into
the direction of the structure global displacements:
{8}" =[U, V, " Ur]; {F}" = [R, R. R,] (5) Boundary
Conditions Before solving for the displacements of the structure, we
need to impose the boundary conditions that U, = 0 and
U, = 0. This means that we may consider only
five equations in five unknown displacements; i.e.,
[K]{5}={
F}
(1.
5)

where [K] is obtained by eliminating from [K] the first

and seventh rows and
mean
e may

OWS

columns,
i.e.,

24E
I
GE
T
12
ET

8
 EL

14€! GEL 2€1 0 0

|
241_GEI 12€I12I [x]=|
201 121 BEL
12E1 4
25A
12€
16E
1+
k.
syn.

an
d

{E}" =[U, U, U. Uz U.] {F}" = [0 -P 0 0 0] The

solution of Eq. (1.5) gives the structure displacements and therefore
the element nodal point displacements. The element nodal forces are
obtained by multiplying the element stiffness matrices [K] by the
element nodal displacements. As an example,
for element 2, we
have

=K12

If the forces at any section of an element are required, we can evaluate them from
the element end - forces by use of simple statics (Mechanics of
Materials). Considering the analysis results it should be recognized,
however, that although the structural idealization in Fig.1.2 (b) was
analyzed accurately, the displacements and the stresses are only a
prediction of the response of the actual physical structure.
Surely this prediction can only be accurate if the model used was appropriate,
and in practice a specific model is in general adequate to predict certain
quantities, but inadequate to predict others. For instance, in this analysis the
required transverse displacement under the applied load is quite likely predicted
accurately using the idealization in Fig. 1.2 (b) (provided the load is applied
slowly enough, the stresses are small enough not to cause yielding and so
on), but the stresses directly under the load are probably predicted very
inaccurately. Indeed, a different and more refined finite element model
would need to be used in order to calculate accurately the stresses at the
pipe intersections. From above example, some important ingredients of the
displacement method of analysis and the finite element method can be
demonstrated as follows:
1 The basic process is that the complete structure is idealized as an assemblage
of
individual structural elements. 2 The element stiffness matrices corresponding to
the global degrees of freedom of the structural idealization are calculated and the
total stiffness matrix is formed by
the addition of the element stiffness matrices. 3 The solution of the
equilibrium equations of the assemblage of elements yields the
element displacements, which are then used to calculate the element stresses.
Finally, the element displacements and stresses must be interpreted as an
estimate of the actual structural behavior.

1.2.2 Finite Element Technique in Heat Conduction

To illustrate the general description of finite element method in heat transfer, a

simple one - dimensional thermal element is introduced here. The simplest
one-dimensional element for heat transfer problems is a thermal rod, as shown
in Fig. 1.4 (a). The unknown variable at each of the two nodes is temperature T.
Fourier's Law states that the heat flow rate q through the rod is proportional to
the temperature gradient dT in the direction of conduction.
That is
dT
q=-KA
(1.6)
where y is the heat flow rate (the quantity of heat crossing a unit area per unit
time in the x - direction), K is the material thermal conductivity and A is the
conducting cross-sectional area.

T; Insulation T;

(a) a thermal rod

DIE

(b) the equivalent finito olonsont

Fig. 1.4 (a) One - dimensional thermal rod; (b) equivalent finite element
For the finite element of length L in Fig. 1.4 (b), if a linear variation of
temperature is assumed along the length of the rod then

dT T;-T, T, -T,
(1.7) dx x; -x; for calculation of the heat flow from node i. In other
words,

Similarly it is clear that

9, = - *4(1, -7,) 9,- - KA (T. -T.)
These two equations can be stored most conveniently in matrix form as

59) KA1 -1][71

Il-i ili
(1.8)

Equation (1.8) is the element equilibrium equation for the one - dimensional
thermal rod. When more than one element is considered, the element stiffness
(or conductance) matrices are assembled to give the global stiffness matrix,
in the same way as the stiffness matrices of the pin - jointed bar elements
were assembled. As a result the system equations are derived, and are of the
form

{q} =[K]{T}
(1.9)

where [K] is the global stiffness matrix, equal to

[K]", the sum of the element

matrices; {9} is the vector of nodal heat flows, and {T} is the vector of
unknown

nodal temperatures.
A simple example now demonstrates the principles. Example 1.2: Consider the
thermal distribution through the composite wall shown in . Fig.1.5 (a), which
is composed of a layer of insulation sandwiched between two brick walls.
(0)

200 "C
20 "C
Brick K-80 X 10 Wimm "C
Brick X-80 X 10 W/mm °C

10 min
5 mm
10 mm

16)

1
(1)
2
21 3
13)

Fig. 1.5 Analysis of heat flow through a composite wall

(a) cross-section through wall; (b) finite element representation This can be
treated as a one-dimensional problem, and can be modeled with just
three elements as in Fig.1.5 (b).
 From Eq. (1.8), assuming a unit cross-sectional
area for each element,
[K] - 80x10[-71-8<10°C4 ']%.c [x] =
"90"[_!1'-02-10642%

x10-3 W/

* = 10 (-1 1]***"° 1-1 1]%°C The

global stiffness matrix is found by summing these equations
to give

[ 8.0 -8.0 0 0
-8.0 8.0+0.2 -0.2 0 [K]= -0.2 0.2
+8.0 -8.0
Lo 0 -8.0 8.0] Therefore the full set of
system equations with the boundary conditions applied,
i.e., T, = 200°C and Ta = 20°C, becomes

[ 8.0
-8.
0 0 0 7(200) Q] 10-3-8.0 8.2 -
0.2 0 | 7 | " O -0.2 8.2
-8.017; (jos
Lo 0 -8.0 8.0 ]20[2]
whe
re
and le are the heats applied at nodes 1 and 4 to
maintain the

temperatures at 200°C and 20°C. Solution of

 the second and third equations in Eq.
(a) gives
T2 = 195.71°C and
T3 = 24.29°C
Calculation of the applied heat flows by the first and fourth equations
then predicts

Q =-Q= 34.32x10-' watts (per

mm?)
Since the variation of the temperature through the wall thickness is linear, these
finite element results agree exactly with those calculated theoretically.

1.2.3
Conclusion

This section introduces very simple finite elements, and uses them to analyze
two sample problems. But the examples are complete,
and clearly demonstrate the steps of solution involved in a
typical finite element analysis, namely:

(a) system idealization: pre – processing of the model, i.e. discretization of the
problem into selected element types;
(b) element equilibrium: calculation of the element matrices and vectors;
(c) element assemblage: assembly of the element matrices and vectors to
give the global (or system) equations;
(d) boundary conditions: incorporation of the boundary conditions into the global
equations;
(e) solution of response: solution of the equations to find the unknown nodal
values of
field variable and using the element equilibrium requirements to calculate the
response of each element.

Note that some of the sample problems may be analyzed exactly by the finite
element models, but in practice this is most unlikely to occur. It is
rare for a finite element model to represent the unknown field
 precisely, and the results will therefore invariably only approximate the
true solution. As the number and complexity of the elements increase, so
the approximation should improve and eventually converge to the answer.
The skill in finite element modeling comes in developing a sufficiently
accurate and representative but economical model of the problem.

1.3 Engineering Applications of Finite Element Analysis In recent years the finite
element method has been applied widely to non-structural problems, and
the formulation is now mainly based on variational principles or weighted
residual procedures. Many important problems in engineering are
governed by the field equations, and can be conveniently and easily
analyzed by finite element method. The most common of these are heat
transfer, torsion of shafts, irrotational flow, groundwater seepage,
electrostatic and magneto static fields. Table 1.1 lists some of the areas
where the method is applied to equilibrium problem.
Table 1.1 Typical equilibrium problems suitable for analysis by the finite element
method
Are
a
Typical Application
Aerospace Engineering
Stress analysis of aircraft frames, wings, missile and
spacecraft components; thermal analysis of gas
turbine blades, heat exchangers
Automotive Engineering
Stress analysis of crankshaft, cylinder block, connecting rods, chassis; thermal
analysis of pistons; lubrication of
big - end bearings

Biomedical Engineering
Stress analysis of bones, hip replacements, teeth and heart
Civil Engineering
Stress analysis of dams, retaining walls, excavations, soil
mechanics
Electrical Engineering
Steady state thermal analysis of integrated circuit boards
Hydraulic Engineering
Analysis of water seepage and flow under dams; aquifer
 analysis
Mechanical Engineering
General one, two - and three - dimensional and
axisymmetric stress analyses of components;
stress analysis of shafts, gears and pressure
vessels; crack
propagation
Nuclear Engineering
Stress analysis of reactor vessels and structures; thermal
analysis of reactor components
Structural Engineering Static analysis of electricity pylons, girders and bridges

Steady state or equilibrium analyses are the most common use of the finite
element method. For elasticity problems, a body under equilibrium
and its distortion can be predicted.
conditions can be analyzed
From the calculated values of displacement, it is then possible
to derive the strains and stresses experienced by the body. Thermal
analyses are also frequently performed by the method; the temperature distribution
and heat flow through a body can be predicted for a wide variety of boundary conditions.

1.4 Principle of Virtual Work The relationship between the nodal forces and nodal
displacements can be derived directly through the various energy theorems such as the
principle of virtual work.

1.4.1 Principle of Virtual work

The principle of virtual work relates to two distinct and separate systems in which
the first is a set of forces in equilibrium and the second a set of geometrically
compatible deformation. The principle states that for any system in equilibrium,
the external virtual work must be equal to the internal virtual work, i.e.,
W = SU
(1.10) in which SW and SU denote the external virtual work and the internal
virtual work, respectively. The principle of virtual work involves 'virtual work
which simply the product of force times displacement and is not related to
the real work done by forces moving over displacements. The
consequences of this improbable axiom are then found to be the equations
of equilibrium or compatibility. Thus, Eq. (1.10) can be simply expressed as
TETTE

Pa = 1, cedy
(1.11) where P and o represent the external forces and internal stresses,
respectively (system in equilibrium), and A and ε represent the displacements
and strains, respectively (geometrically compatible deformations). It should
be noted that, in practice, one of the system always relates to a real or
actual structure in which some sort of solution is required, while the other is an
imaginary or virtual system.

1.4.2 Principle of Virtual Displacements (PVD)

The principle of virtual displacements simply equates internal work to

external work using the products of real forces and virtual displacements. That
virtual displacements a real system of forces
is, in the theorem of
and stresses is coupled to a virtual system of displacements and
strains. Using Eq. (1.11), we have
(real external forces)(virtual displacements) = (real
stresses)(virtual strains)dy (1.12)

Note that above virtual displacements and virtual strains are arbitrary and
not related to either the actual displacements or to the forces
producing them.
1.4.3 Virtual Work as the Weak form' of Equilibrium Equations for
Analysis of Solids or Fluids
The partial differential system equations developed in mechanics are
strong forms of the governing system of equations for solids or
fluids. The strong form, in contrast to a weak form, requires
strong continuity on the dependent field variables (such as the
displacements u, v and w etc.). Whatever functions that define these
field variables have to be differentiable up to the order of the partial
differential equations that exist in the strong form of the system
equations. Obtaining the exact solution for a strong form of the
system equation is usually very difficult for practical engineering
problems. The finite difference method can be used to solve system
equations of the strong form to obtain an approximated solution.
However, the method usually works well for problems with simple and
regular geometry and boundary conditions. A weak form of the system
equations is usually created using one of the following widely used
methods:
• Energy principles (see, e.g. Washizu, 1974; Reddy, 1984)
• Weighted residual methods (see, e.g. Crandall, 1956; Finlayson and
Scriven, 1966;
Finlayson, 1972; Ziekiewicz and Taylor, 2000) The energy principle
can be categorized as a special form of the variational principle which
is particularly suited for problems of the mechanics of solids and
structures.
The integral statement necessary for formulation in terms of the
finite element approximation is supplied via the principle of virtual
work, which is assumed to be so basic as not to merit proof.
Indeed, to many this is so, and virtual work principle is considered
as a statement of mechanics more fundamental than the
traditional equilibrium conditions of Newton's laws of motion. It has
been shown that the virtual work statement is precisely the weak form
of equilibrium equations and it valid for non-linear as well as linear
stress - strain relations. Thus, in the displacement - based finite
element method, the principle of virtual displacements delivers the
equilibrium equations, which can be used to calculate the
displacements caused by variety of loading.

Problem Set 1 1.1 Calculate the deflection and rotation under the load in
the statically indeterminate
beam shown in Fig. 1.
5 KN
W
E - 200 x 10' MPa
1.4 x 10 m
WW
SIIN
VO

m
ofe 2 m_

Fig.1
Answer: v, = -0.007037m,
0,= -0.00352 rad