FINITE ELEMENT METHOD MODULE 1

INTRODUCTION:
A finite element method (abbreviated as FEM) is a numerical technique to obtain an approximate solution to a class of problems governed by elliptic partial differential equation. Such Problems are called as boundary value problems as they consist of a partial differential equation and the boundary conditions. The finite element method converts the elliptic partial differential equation into a set of algebraic equations which are easy to solve. The initial value problems which consists of a parabolic or hyperbolic differential equation and the initial conditions (beside the boundary conditions) cannot be completely solved by the finite element method. The parabolic or hyperbolic differential equations contain the time as one of the independent variables. To convert the time or temporal derivatives into algebraic expressions, another numerical technique like the finite difference method (FDM) is required.Thus,to solve an initial value problem, one needs both the finite element method as well as the finite difference method where the spatial derivatives are converted into algebraic expressions by FEM and the temporal derivatives are converted into algebraic equations by FEM HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT The words "finite element method" were first used by Clough in his paper in the Proceedings of 2 nd ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineering) conference on Electronic Computation in 1960. Clough extended the matrix method of structural analysis, used essentially for frame-like structures, to two-dimensional continuum domains by dividing the domain into triangular elements and obtaining the stiffness matrices of these elements from the strain energy expressions by assuming a linear variation for the displacements over the element. Clough called this method as the finite element method because the domain was divided into elements of finite size. (An element of infinitesimal size is used when a physical statement of some balance law needs to be converted into a mathematical equation, usually a differential equation) Argyris, around the same time, developed similar technique in Germany . But, the idea of dividing the domain into a number of finite elements for the purpose of structural analysis is older. It was first used by Courant in 1943 while solving the problem of the torsion of noncircular shafts. Courant used the integral form of the balance law, namely the expression for the total potential energy instead of the differential form (i.e., the equilibrium equation). He divided the shaft cross-section into triangular elements and assumed a linear variation for the primary variable (i.e., the stress function) over the domain. The unknown constants in the linear variation

were obtained by minimizing the total potential energy expression. The Courant's technique is called as applied mathematician's version of FEM where as that of Clough and Argyris is called as engineer's version of FEM. From 1960 to 1975, the FEM was developed in the following directions : (1) FEM was extended from a static, small deformation, elastic problems to

dynamic (i.e., vibration and transient) problems, small deformation fracture, contact and elastic -plastic problems, non-structural problems like fluid flow and heat transfer problems.

(2) In structural problems, the integral form of the balance law namely the total potential energy expression is used to develop the finite element equations. For solving non-structural problems like the fluid flow and heat transfer problems, the integral form of the balance law was developed using the weighted residual method. (3) FEM packages like NASTRAN, ANSYS, and ABAQUS etc. were developed. The large deformation (i.e., geometrically non-linear) structural problems, where the domain changes significantly, were solved by FEM only around 1976 using the updated Lagrangian formulation. This technique was soon extended to other problems containing geometric nonlinearity :

dynamic problems, fracture problems, contact problems, elastic-plastic (i.e., materially non-linear) problems.

Some new FEM packages for analyzing large deformation problems like LS-DYNA, DEFORM etc. were developed around this time. Further, the module for analyzing large deformation problems was incorporated in existing FEM packages like NASTRAN, ANSYS, ABAQUS etc.

Basic Steps The finite element method involves the following steps.

First, the governing differential equation of the problem is converted into an integral form. These are two techniques to achieve this : (i) Variational Technique and (ii) Weighted Residual Technique. In variational technique, the calculus of variation is used to obtain the integral form corresponding to the given differential equation. This integral needs to be minimized to obtain the solution of the problem. For structural mechanics problems, the integral form turns out to be the expression for the total potential energy of the structure. In weighted residual technique, the integral form is constructed as a weighted integral of the governing differential equation where the weight functions are known and arbitrary except that they satisfy certain boundary conditions. To reduce the continuity requirement of the solution, this integral form is often modified using the divergence theorem. This integral form is set to zero to obtain the solution of the problem. For structural mechanics problems, if the weight function is considered as the virtual displacement, then the integral form becomes the expression of the virtual work of the structure. In the second step, the domain of the problem is divided into a number of parts, called as elements. For one-dimensional (1-D) problems, the elements are nothing but line segments having only length and no shape. For problems of higher dimensions, the elements have both the shape and size. For two-dimensional (2D) or axi-symmetric problems, the elements used are triangles, rectangles and quadrilateral having straight or curved boundaries. Curved sided elements are good choice when the domain boundary is curved. For three-dimensional (3-D) problems, the shapes used are tetrahedron and parallelepiped having straight or curved surfaces. Division of the domain into elements is called a mesh. In this step, over a typical element, a suitable approximation is chosen for the primary variable of the problem using interpolation functions (also called as shape functions) and the unknown values of the primary variable at some pre-selected points of the element, called as the nodes. Usually polynomials are chosen as the shape functions. For 1-D elements, there are at least 2 nodes placed at the end-points. Additional nodes are placed in the interior of the element. For 2-D and 3-D elements, the nodes are placed at the vertices (minimum 3 nodes for triangles, minimum 4 nodes for rectangles, quadrilaterals and tetrahedral and minimum 8 nodes for parallelepiped shaped elements). Additional nodes are placed either on the boundaries or in the interior. The values of the primary variable at the nodes are called as the degrees of freedom.

To get the exact solution, the expression for the primary variable must contain a complete set of polynomials (i.e., infinite terms) or if it contains only the finite number of terms, then the number

of elements must be infinite. In either case, it results into an infinite set of algebraic equations. To make the problem tractable, only a finite number of elements and an expression with only finite number of terms are used. Then, we get only an approximate solution. (Therefore, the expression for the primary variable chosen to obtain an approximate solution is called an approximation). The accuracy of the approximate solution, however, can be improved either by increasing the number of terms in the approximation or the number of elements.

In the fourth step, the approximation for the primary variable is substituted into the integral form. If the integral form is of variational type, it is minimized to get the algebraic equations for the unknown nodal values of the primary variable. If the integral form is of the weighted residual type, it is set to zero to obtain the algebraic equations. In each case, the algebraic equations are obtained element wise first (called as the element equations) and then they are assembled over all the elements to obtain the algebraic equations for the whole domain (called as the global equations). In this step, the algebraic equations are modified to take care of the boundary conditions on the primary variable. The modified algebraic equations are solved to find the nodal values of the primary variable. In the last step, the post-processing of the solution is done. That is, first the secondary variables of the problem are calculated from the solution. Then, the nodal values of the primary and secondary variables are used to construct their graphical variation over the domain either in the form of graphs (for 1-D problems) or 2-D/3-D contours as the case may be.

Advantages of the finite element method over other numerical methods are as follows:

The method can be used for any irregular-shaped domain and all types of boundary conditions. Domains consisting of more than one material can be easily analyzed. Accuracy of the solution can be improved either by proper refinement of the mesh or by choosing approximation of higher degree polynomials. The algebraic equations can be easily generated and solved on a computer. In fact, a general purpose code can be developed for the analysis of a large class of problems.

Objectives of the Course The objectives of the course are as follows:

To develop the finite element formulation for a model one-dimensional problem like axially loaded bar for the case of simplest approximation (i.e., linear approximation).

To discuss the possible refinements of the simplest approximation. To develop the frame work of a finite element code to solve the one- dimensional problem. To extend the finite element formulation to other one-dimensional problems like the beam problem. To develop the two-dimensional finite element formulation for a model 2-D problem like 2-D steady-state heat conduction problem. LECTURE 2: INTERGRAL FORMULATION In this lecture, integral formulations of a boundary value problem are developed. There are two types of integral formulations: Weak or Weighted residual formulation and s Vibrational formulation

In finite element method, the solution of a boundary value problem is obtained by using one of these two integral formulations. When it is difficult to solve the differential equation of a boundary value problem, this method provides an alternative way to obtain the solution. But, usually, it is an approximate solution.

Model Boundary Value Problem To illustrate the development of integral formulations, the following model boundary value problem is considered. It represents the axial extension (or compression) of a bar shown in Fig. 2.1.

Figure 2.1

The bar has a variable area of cross-section which is denoted by the function A(x). The length of the bar is L. The Young's modules of the bar material is E . The bar is fixed at the end x = 0. The forces acting on the bar are (i) a distributed force f(x), which varies with x and (ii) a point force P at the end x = L . The axial displacement of a cross-section at x, denoted by u(x), is governed by the following boundary value problem consisting of a differential equation (DE) and two boundary conditions (BC): DE: BC: (i) u = 0 (ii) EA(x) 0<x<L at x=0 at x=L (2.1a) (2.1b) (2.1c)

The differential equation represents the equilibrium of a small element of the bar expressed in terms of the displacement using the stress-strain and strain-displacement relations. The boundary condition (2.1b) is a geometric or kinematic boundary condition. Since, it is a condition on the primary variable u(x), it is called as Dirichlet boundary condition. The second boundary condition (condition 1c) is a force boundary condition, or a condition on the secondary variable (i.e., axial force). Since, it is a condition on a derivative of the primary variable; it is called as the Neumann boundary condition.

Weak or Weighted Residual Formulation

Consider a function u ( x ), defined over the interval [0, L ], which satisfies both the boundary conditions (2.1b) and (2.1c) but otherwise arbitrary. In general, such a function will not satisfy the differential equation (2.1a). It means, when u ( x ) is substituted in the left hand side of equation (2.1a), it will not be equal to f ( x ). In this case, the difference is called as residue or error and is denoted by R ( x ). Thus, (2.2) In Weighted Residual Formulation, an approximate solution to the problem (2.1a, 2.1b and 2.1c) is obtained by minimizing the 'weighted' residue or the product of the residue R(x) and certain weight function, denoted by w(x). The weight function is chosen to be an arbitrary function except that it is required to satisfy the following conditions:

1. At the boundary where u is specified, w must be zero. Thus, in the present problem, w = 0 at x = 0. 2. At the boundary, where the derivative of u is specified, w must be unconstrained. Thus in the present problem, w is unconstrained at x = L . 3. The function w should be smooth enough for the integral of the weighted residue to be finite. A collection of all the functions, which satisfy the above conditions, is called as a set or class of admissible functions. Thus, the weight function must belong to the class of admissible functions. One common way of minimizing the residue R(x) is to set the integral of the product of R(x) and w(x) to zero for any admissible function w(x). Thus, an approximate solution to the problem (1a,1b,1c) is obtained from the following equation:

(2.3)

or,

(2.4)

for any w belonging to the class of admissible functions. To relax the smoothness requirements on the choice of the approximate function u(x), the left side of equation (2.4) is usually integrated by parts. This makes the expression symmetric in u and w . By carrying out the integration by parts, equation (2.4) becomes

(2.5a)

Since w is zero at x = 0, the last term is zero. Further, u satisfies the boundary condition (2.1c). Then EA ( (2.5a) becomes: ) at x = L becomes equal to P . With these simplifications, equation

(2.5b)

This is called as the weighted residual integral. This is the integral form used in the weighted

Residual Formulation. Now the condition 3 of the class of the admissible functions can be made explicit. For all the integrals of equation (2.5b) to be finite, every point of the interval (0, L ). It means with only finite discontinuities. must be finite at must be piecewise continuous on (0, L )

Expression (2.5b) is also called as the Weak Formulation of the boundary value problem (2.1a), (2.1b) and (2.1c) because the solution given by the formulation is required to satisfy weaker smoothness conditions compared to that of the solution of the original boundary value problem. Depending on the choice of w , various special forms of the weighted residual method exist. They are : (i) Galerkin Method, (ii) Petrov Galerkin Method and (iii) Least Square Method. If the condition of smoothness on w (i.e. the 3rd condition) is relaxed, two more special forms emerge: (i) Sub-domain Method and (ii) Collocation Method. In this lecture, only the Galerkin version of the weighted residual method will be developed. For the details of other version, see the book by Huebener..

Virtual Work Formulation Physical interpretation of equation (2.5b) exists if w is interpreted as a virtual displacement. The concept of a virtual displacement can be defined as follows. Note that, because of the forces acting on the bar, it will have some real displacement. Even though it is unknown, a typical real displacement can be represented by a solid curve shown in Fig. 2.2. Now imagine that the bar undergoes some additional small displacement, which is not real but imaginary. Such a displacement is called as virtual displacement and is denoted by the symbol . The dotted line of Fig. 2.2 represents the graph of . Thus is a function which represents a virtual small change in the value of u(x) at every point of the interval [0, L ].

Fig 2.2 We assume that satisfies the same admissibility requirements as that of w . Thus,

1. The virtual displacement must be zero at the boundary where u is zero. Thus, in the present problem, = 0 at x = 0

2. The virtual displacement must be unconstrained at the boundary where the derivative of u is specified. Thus, in the present problem, is unconstrained at x = L 3. The virtual displacement must be smooth enough for an integral of the product of R(x) and to be finite. After the integration by parts, this integral involves the derivative of . Thus, in the present problem, interval [0, L]. Thus, the virtual displacement from which w is chosen. If w is set equal must be finite at every point of the

is chosen from the same class of admissible functions

to, equation (2.5b) becomes (2.6)

Extension of a bar is a one-dimensional problem. Therefore, u is independent of the other two coordinates y and z . Further, all the stress components other than particular, and are zero. Thus, (2.7a) are zero. In

(2.7b)

Further, dV=A dx (2.8)

(2.9)

Note that each term in equation (2.9) is an expression of the virtual work. The left side of equation (2.9) represents the virtual work done by the internal forces. The first term on the right side of equation (2.9) represents the virtual work done by the distributed external force f(x). The second term on the right side of the equation (2.9) represents the virtual work done by the point external force P. Together; the right side of equation (2.9) represents the total virtual work of the external forces. What equation (2.9) represents is that: for the residue to be zero (or for u to be a solution of the boundary value problem 2.1a, 2.1b and 2.1c in some sense), the total virtual work must be zero or the virtual work done by the internal forces must be equal to the virtual work done by the external forces. If the symbol in the expression is interpreted as an operator somewhat similar to the differential operator d, equation (2.9) can be transformed to an extremization problem of a quantity called as functional. This gives the second integral form of the boundary value problem. Before it is formulated, it is first necessary to discuss the idea of a functional and its extremum. This is discussed in the next section.

Functional Functional is an operator, which operates on a function and returns a number. In other words, functional is a function which is defined over a set of functions and whose range is a set of numbers. The set of functions which constitute the domain of a functional is usually required to satisfy certain conditions on smoothness and/or on the values at the end - points of the interval. Such a set is called as a set or a class of admissible functions. As an illustration of a functional, consider a set of functions u(x) which are functions of a single variable x for 0 x L, which have the value zero at x = 0 and which possess a continuous first derivative at all points of the interval [0, L]. Then, examples of functional are:

(2.10)

(2.11)

(a(x) is a function), (b(x) is a function), (c is a number). In each of the above examples, the operator

known

(2.12)

known

(2.13)

known

(2.14)

takes a function u(x) and returns a

number either by integrating a quantity depending on u, and some known functions or by evaluating u at some point of the interval. The integrand may involve higher derivatives of u or some functions of u like logarithmic, trigonometric, exponential etc or the power of u, its derivatives or its function. In classical books, a functional is often written as: (2.15) where (2.16) However, this case does not include a type of functional defined by equation (2.14). The branch of calculus, which deals with the operations performed on functionals, is called as the variational calculus. Some ideas from the variational calculus need to be discussed next.

Variation and Extremum of a Functional

Consider a set of admissible functions on which a functional is defined. If one of the admissibility conditions is u= 0 at x = 0, then a typical function from this set can be represented as shown in Fig. 2.3(a).

Figure 2.3 (a)

Figure 2.3 (b)

A small change in the argument of I is called as variation (or first variation) of u and is denoted by u. It is defined as a small change in the value of u at every point of the u is a function of x over the interval [0, L]. Since u is u u interval [0, L]. Note that

constrained at x = 0, no change is expected in u at x = 0. Therefore, the variation takes the value zero at the end-point of the interval where u is specified. The function is shown in Fig. 2.3(b). Since the value of as u= where = a small number and = an arbitrary function of x which satisfies the condition = 0 at x = 0.

u is small everywhere, it is often expressed

(2.17)

This small change in the argument of I induces a change in the value of I. It is called as the variation (or first variation) of I and is denoted by . To find the expressions of or , we consider the value of the functional at the argument I( get ) is a function of for given u and . Expanding . Note that about = 0, we

(2.18)

The quantity

represents the variation

. Thus, (2.19)

= The

= functional I is said to be extremum (minimum or

maximum)

when or the condition

is zero. The corresponding extremizing function u is found from

(2.20) for every function functions. such that = 0 at x = 0 and belongs to the set of admissible

While deriving the variational integral form from equation (2.6), some properties of the variational operator are needed. They are stated next. Note that is an operator operator similar to the differential operator d operating on usual functions. So, the

obeys certain properties of d operator like the product rule etc. Further, operator commutes with d operator, integral operator etc. the relevant properties needed in the derivation are: (i) (ii) (iii) , (iv) , (v) , (vi) , (2.25) (2.26) , , (f is known function or a constant), (2.21) (2.22) (2.23)

(2.24)

(vii)

(2.27)

VARIATIONAL FORMULATION
Note that while deriving equation (2.6), it has been assumed that the function u satisfies both the boundary conditions (2.1b) and (2.1c). Additionally, if it is assumed that u also satisfies the differential equation (thereby making u the solution of the boundary value problem (2.1a), (2.1b) and (2.1c), equation (2.6) becomes:

Now, applying the properties of the variational operator

, the first term becomes:

(Property iii)

(Property i)

(Property ii)

(Property iv) Similarly, the second term becomes

(Property ii) , , (Property iv) Finally, the last terms becomes , , (Property ii) (Property iv) Substitution of equations (2.29-2.31) into equation (2.28) leads to

Using property (vi), this becomes (2.32) where (2.33) Thus, we have proved the following result. The solution u of the boundary value problem (2.1a), (2.1b) and (2.1c) extremizes the functional I given by equation (2.33). The functional I is called the variational functional of the boundary value problem (2.1a), (2.1b) and (2.1c). Note that the functional (2.33) provides an integral form of the boundary value problem. The integral needs to be extremized to obtain the solution of the boundary value problem. This formulation is called as the Variational Formulation . Since it is derived from the virtual work formulation (equation 2.6), it is equivalent to the principle of virtual work. Like equation (2.6), this formulation also has a physical interpretation. Note that the quality I (expression 2.33) represents the total potential energy of the bar. Therefore, the variational formulation states the following principle. The solution of the boundary value problem (2.1a), (2.1b), and (2.1c) extremises the total potential energy of the bar. This is called as thePrincipal of the Stationary Value of the Total Potential Energy .

In the variational formulation, solution of the boundary value problem is obtained by extremizing the corresponding functional. While doing so, a set of admissible functions is chosen. The conditions which the extremizing function u is supposed to satisfy are similar to the conditions which the weight function w is expected to satisfy. These conditions are

1. The function u must satisfy the geometric or kinematic boundary conditions (equation 1b). Thus u = 0 atx = 0. Further, the variation u must be 0 at this point. 2. The function u and its variation u must be unconstrained where the force boundary condition is specified. Thus, u and d u are unconstrained at x = L. 3. The function u must be smooth enough to make the functional I finite. Thus, u must be such that du/dx is finite at every point of the interval (0, L). If our starting point is the integral form given by the variational functional (2.33), rather than the differential form given by the boundary value problem (2.1a), (2.1b) and (2.1c), then it can be shown that the function u which extremizes the functional I (equation 2.33) actually satisfies the differential equation (2.1a). Thus, equation (2.1a) is called the Euler Equation of the functional I (equation 2.33). While extremizing the functional, the set of admissible functions is assumed to satisfy the geometric (or kinematic) boundary condition (equation 2.1b). Thus, equation (2.1b) is called as the Essential Boundary Condition. The condition at the other boundary (equation 2.1c) appears naturally while extremizing the functional I. Therefore, equation (2.1c) is called as the Natural Boundary Condition.

Euler Equation and Natural Boundary Condition To derive the Euler equation corresponding to the functional I (2.33), we proceed as follows. Let u be an admissible function which extremizes the functional. Then u satisfies the condition that its value is zero at x = 0. Since v is equal to , at x = 0. Note that the extremization condition (2.20) involves the expression for the functional I at . Using expression (2.33), we get

(2.34)

Expanding the square term and separating the terms in the powers of

, we get:

(2.35) . Since, the first term on the right side of equation (2.35) is nothing but I(u), we get

(2.36)

Taking the limit as

, we get

(2.37)

Since the function u extremizes the functional I,

I = 0 . Therefore, we get

(2.38)

for every which satisfies the condition solution of above equation.

= 0 at x = 0. The extremizing function u is the

To simplify the above equation, the first term is integrated by parts. Then, equation (2.38) becomes

(2.39)

Since =0 at x = 0, the second term of equation (2.39) is zero. Combining the remaining two boundary terms and also the integral terms, we get

(2.40)

Note that the above equation must be zero for a set of infinite functions

which satisfy the

condition = 0 at x= 0 but otherwise are arbitrary. Let us first choose the following subset of this set, namely, the set of functions which are also zero at x = L. For such functions ( = 0 at x = L), equation (2.40) becomes

(2.41)

Note that, equation (2.41) is true for every which is zero at x = 0 and L but otherwise is arbitrary. There are still infinite numbers of such functions. The only way in which equation (2.41) can be satisfied for such an infinite set of functions is that its integrand must be zero at every point of the interval [0, L]. In other words, the extremizing function u must satisfy the differential equation: (2.42) which is same as equation (2.1a). Combining equations (2.40) and (2.41), the condition satisfied by u reduces to (2.43) Since, this condition is also true for an infinite number of functions, namely, a set of functions which satisfy the condition = 0 at x = 0 but otherwise are arbitrary, the only solution of equation (2.43) is (2.44)

at x = L. This condition is same as the boundary condition (2.1c).

What we have shown is as follows. An admissible function u (i.e. a function u that satisfies the condition u = 0 at x = 0) which extremizes the functional I (expression 2.33) satisfies the DE (2.1a) (Called as the Euler equation) and the BC (2.1c) (called as the natural boundary condition).

Bilinear and Quadratic Forms

The two integral formulations discussed above, namely (2.5b) or (2.6) and (2.33) can be expressed conveniently if the following notation is introduced. For any two functions g(x) and h(x) defined over the interval [0, L], we define

Linear Form : (2.45)

Bilinear Form : (2.46)

Quadratic Form : (2.47) Here, L is the length of the bar, f is the distributed force acting on the bar, P is the point force acting on the bar at the end x = L, E is the Young's modulus of the bar and A is the area of the cross-section of the bar. If u is the axial displacement and w is the weight function, then the integral formulation (2.5b) is obtained by replacing the functions g and h by u and w and equating the expressions (2.45) and (2.46), Thus, the weak or weighted residual formulation is given by B(u,w)=F(w) (2.48)

Further, if h is replaced by the virtual displacement rather than by w, then we get the integral form (2.6) corresponding to the virtual work formulation: (2.49) If the quadratic form (2.47) is used instead of the bilinear form (2.46), then the integral form (2.33) corresponding to the variational formulation is expressed as (2.50) Note that the form (2.50) represents an expression, which needs to be extremized to get the solution. On the other hand, the forms (2.48) or (2.49) represent equations, which need to be solved to get the solution.

LECTURE 3 RAYLEIGH RITZ METHOD Introduction In Ritz method, an approximate solution of a boundary value problem is obtained by using the corresponding integral formulation. An approximate form for the solution is assumed in terms of a series containing known functions and unknown coefficients. When this form is substituted in the integral formulation, we get a set of algebraic equations in terms of the unknown coefficients. Solution of the algebraic equations determines the coefficients. To get the exact solution, usually, an infinite series is needed. A finite series, normally, gives an approximate solution. However, when sufficiently large number of terms is chosen, the accuracy is reasonable for most engineering applications. In this lecture, Ritz method is developed for the problem of an axial extension of bar, which is described in section 2.1. The bar is shown in fig. 2.1 and equations (2.1a), (2.1b), and (2.1c) describe the DE and BC of the corresponding boundary value problem.

Ritz Method The variational functional I corresponding to the boundary value problem (2.1a), (2.1b) and (2.1c) is given by equation (2.32). The solution to the boundary value problem is obtained by extremizing the functional I, that is, by setting the first variation of I to zero. Using the expression (2.37) for I, substituting u/ for u and multiplying all the terms by , we get

(3.1)

Note that, using the above equation is equivalent to using the integral form corresponding to the virtual work formulation (equation 2.6) or the weighted residual (weak) formulation (equation 2.5b). While using the weighted residual formulations, however, one needs to choose an appropriate form for the weight function w also. This point is made clear in section 3.6 As stated in the introduction, in Ritz method, an approximate solution is assumed as a series of N terms of the following form : (3.2)

where are unknown coefficients and are a set of linearly independent functions of x defined over the interval [0,L]. The term "linear independence" means as follows. Consider a

linear combination of

involving scalar coefficients for x [0,L]

. If the only solution of the equation (3.3)

is that all the coefficient are trivially zero, i.e. for i = 0,1...N, then, the set of functions (3.4)

is said to be linearly independent over the interval [0,L]. The

functions are called as the basis functions . Here, the basis functions are defined over the whole bar, i.e. for the interval [0,L]. Thus, they are called as the global basis functions. Later on, in finite element formulation, the (local) basis functions will be defined over a part of the element, called as an element. When the weighted residual formulation is used, in general, the weight functions need not be the same as the basis functions. However, when both the sets are identical, this special case of the weighted residual formulation is called as the Galerkin formulation. This point is discussed in more details in section 3.6. Note that the function is required to satisfy the three admissibility conditions stated in . The

section 2.6. These conditions impose certain restrictions on the basis functions second condition implies that requires that the derivatives restriction on the functions form we get must be unconstrained at

. The third condition . The third

must be finite over the whole interval

is imposed by the first admissibility condition that the

(expression 3.2) must satisfy the Dirichlet boundary condition (equation 2.1b). Then

(3.5)

If we assume that all at x = 0

except

satisfy the condition (3.6)

then, from equation (3.5), we get

(3.7) Then, the series in expression (3.2) starts from i = 1 rather than form i = 0. Thus, (3.8)

where

are linearly independent and satisfy the condition (3.6).

Taking the variation of equation (3.2), we get

(property vii of section 2.5), (property ii of section 2.5). (3.9) (3.9)

Substituting the expression (3.9) for

in equation (1), we get

(3.10)

Note that, in the above expression, each of the coefficients

can be varied independently. That to be zero.

is, for given j, we can choose to be non zero and all the remaining Then, the above equation leads to the following set of equations:

(3.11)

Substituting the expression (3.8) for from i to j, we get

in equation (3.11) and changing the summation index

(3.12) ( )-

Now define the following quantities :

(3.13) (3.14)

Then, equation (3.12) becomes (3.15) In matrix form, this can be written as (3.16) Note that, if the functions vectors and are non-dimensional, then the dimensions of the

turn out to be that of the displacement and force respectively. Then, the becomes that of stiffness (i.e. force per unit length). Therefore, is called the displacement vector and is called

dimension of

as the stiffness matrix, vector. The matrix

is called as the force

has the following properties.

Expression (3.13) shows that (3.17)

Thus, the matrix

is symmetric.

Note that

(3.18)

Thus, (3.19)

for any non-trivial vector Therefore, Hence,

. is invertible or

is a positive definite matrix. This implies that

exists.

(3.20) Thus, Ritz method converts the differential equation of a boundary value problem into a set of algebraic equations using the corresponding integral form. Solution of the algebraic equations (equation 3.16) gives the coefficients of the assumed form of the solution (expression 3.8). Examples in the next section illustrate this procedure. These examples also show that, as the number of terms is increased, the solution becomes more accurate. It also illustrates that at the points of singularity in loading or geometric property (like A) or material property (like E), the accuracy is poor if only a few terms are chosen. Amongst the many sets of linearly independent functions available, the set of polynomials offers a very simple and easy choice as far as the mathematical operations of Ritz method are concerned. Therefore, we choose as the following set : (3.21) But, are supposed to satisfy the condition = 0 at x = 0. The first member of this set does not satisfy this condition. Therefore, we choose the set without the first function. Therefore (3.22)

Note that these functions conditions required to be

Example 1

satisfy all the constraints arising out of the three admissibility satisfied by.

Consider a bar of uniform cross-section shown in Fig. 3.1. The distributed force acting on the bar is varying linearly with x. Thus, f(x)=x
(3.23)

Figure 3.1

We choose the following numerical values of various geometric, material and force parameters. EA = 1, L = 1, P =10. We choose a two-term approximation for the solution. Thus, (3.25) where the basis functions are chosen to be the polynomials : , . (3.26) (3.24)

Then, the derivatives of the basis functions are given by (3.27) Substituting the expressions (3.26) and values from equation (3.24), the expression for becomes

= (3.28)

= Substituting the expressions (3.23) and (3.26) and values from equation (3.24), the expression for {F} takes the form :

{F} =

(3.29)

Therefore, the matrix form of the algebraic equations (equation 3.16) becomes (3.30) The solution of this equation is given by (3.31) Therefore, the approximate solution (equation 3.25) becomes (3.32)

To study the improvement in the accuracy of the solution, we consider the 3-term approximation next. Thus, (3.33) where, (3.34) The derivatives are given by (3.35)

Substituting the expressions (3.35) and values from (3.24), the

matrix becomes

(3.36)

Further, using the expressions (3.23) and (3.34) and the values from equation (3.24), the vector {F} becomes

(3.37)

Then, the matrix form (equation 3.16) of the algebraic equations become

(3.38)

The solution of above equation is

(3.39)

Therefore, the approximate solution (equation 3.33) is given by (3.40) For comparison purpose, the exact solution is needed. It can be found as follows. Substituting the expression for f from equation (3.23) and the values of EA , L and P from equation (3.24), the boundary value problem (equations 2.1a, 21b and 21c) becomes 0 <x <1; BC : (ii) The solution of this problem is given by (3.42) Thus, it is seen that the 3-term approximation gives the exact solution. Substituting x =1 in equations (3.32) and (3.42), we get (3.43) (3.44) Thus, the 2-term solution, although not exact, gives the exact value of the maximum displacement at x = 0, at x = 1 (3.41a) (3.41b) (3.41c)

BC:

(i) u = 0 (ii) (iii)

at x = 0, at x = L,

(3.45b) (3.45c) (3.45d)

Integrating the weighted residue separately over the intervals (0,a) and (a,L) and carrying out the integration by parts we get (3.46) Note that, even though du/dx is discontinuous at x = 0, it is integrable over the whole interval (0, L ). The other functions like dw / dx , w, f,A and E are also integrable over the interval (0, L ). Therefore, we combine the integrals over the intervals (0, a ) and ( a , L ) into a single integral over the interval (0, L )) on both sides of equation (3.46). Then, equation (3.46) becomes:

(3.47) Note that w = 0 at x = 0. Therefore, the 2 nd term on the right side of equation (3.47) becomes zero. Further, the 3 rd and 4 th terms of equation (3.47) can be expressed in terms of P and F using the boundary conditions (3.45c) and (3.45d) respectively. Then, equation (3.47) takes the from : (3.48) This is the integral form used in weak or weighted residual formulation corresponding to the boundary value problem (3.45a), (3.45b), (3.45c) and (3.45d) shown in Fig. 3.2. If instead of a single point force in the interior, there are m number of point forces acting at the points (Fig. 3.3),

Figure 3.3 then the weak or weighted residual formulation takes the form: (3.49) The virtual work formulation of the boundary value problem (3.45a), (3.45b), (3.45c) and (3.45d) can be obtained by replacing the weight function w by the virtual displacement in equation (3.48):

(3.50) The virtual work formulation corresponding to the problem of fig 3.3 is obtained similarly. If we treat the symbol as the variational operator, and use its properties (equations 2.21-2.27), we get the variational functional (3.51) that needs to be extremized to get the solution of the boundary value problem (3.45a), (3.45b), (3.45c) and (3.45d). This is the integral form of the variational formulation . The form corresponding to the problem of fig 3.3 is obtained similarly. Using the definition of (equation 2.19 of Lecture 2), we get the following expression for corresponding to the expression (51) : (3.52)

Ritz Method Corresponding to a Point Force in the Interior of the Domain As, before, choose an N -term approximation to the solution u (equation 3.8) containing the unknown coefficients and the known function . The known functions must be

linearly independent and must satisfy the condition = 0 at x = 0. In Ritz method, the solution is obtained by extremising the variational functional I , i.e. by setting the first variation to zero. Substituting the expressions for u and its variation in the expression (3.52) for and setting it to zero, we get the same algebraic equations as before (equation 3.15). Further, the coefficient matrix 3.13) but the right side vector Thus, is given by (3.53) of these equations is the same as before (equation

contains an additional term compared to equation (3.14).

Example 2 Consider a bar of uniform cross-section shown in Fig. 3.4. Besides the point force P acting at the end x =L , there is an additional point force F acting at the midpoint, i.e. at the point .

Figure 3.4 We choose the same numerical values of the parameters EA , L and P as in example 1. Those values are given by equation (3.24). We choose the value of force F as F = 20. (3.54)

First, we chose the two-term approximation for the solution which is the same as in example 1. It is given by equations (3.25) and (3.26). Since the value of EA and the expressions for , i = 1, 2 are the same as in example 1, the coefficient matrix is the same as before (equation 3.28). For the evaluation of the right side vector, we use expression (3.53). Since, there is no distributed force, i.e. f = 0, and the force F acts at the midpoint , i.e. , equation (3.53) becomes (3.55)

Substituting the expressions for 3.54 ), we get

(equation 3.26) and the values of P and F (equations 3.24 and

(3.56)

Now, the matrix form of the algebraic equations (equation 3.16) becomes (3.57) The solution of this equation is given by (3.58) Therefore, the approximate solution (equation 3.25) becomes (3.59) Next, we choose the three-term approximation for this solution given by equations (3.33) and (3.34). Then the coefficient matrix is given by equation (3.36). Substituting the expression for (equation 3.34) and the values of P and F (equations 3.24 and 3.54), the expression (3.55) for { F } becomes:

(3.60)

Now, the matrix form of the algebraic equations (equation 3.16) becomes

(3.61)

The solution of this equation is given by

(3.62)

Therefore, the approximate solution (equation 3.33) becomes (3.63) Thus, there is no improvement in the solution when the third term is added. For comparison purpose, we find the exact solution. Substituting , f = 0 and the values of EA , L, P and F (equations 3.24 and 3.54), the boundary value problem (equations 3.45a, 3.45b, 3.45c, 3.45d) becomes DE: BC: (ii) (iii) The solution of this problem is given by (3.65) 0 < x < 0.5, 0.5 < x <1; at x = 0, at x = 1, (3.64a) (3.64b) (3.64c) (3.64d)

The graphical representation of the three solutions 3.5

is shown in Fig.

Figure 3.5 Whereas the exact solution is piecewise linear, the approximate solution is quadratic over the whole domain. The maximum value of the displacement (i.e. u at x = 1) predicted by the approximate solution matches with the exact solution. However, the maximum error of the approximate solution is -8.33% which occurs at x = 0.5 (the point of application of F).

Weighted Residual Method

In this method, we use the integral form corresponding to the weighted residual formulation (equation 2.5b) while obtaining an approximate solution. We rearrange equation (2.5b) as follows :

(3.68)

|
As in the Ritz method, an approximate solution is assumed as a series of N terms involving the unknown coefficients and a set of linearly independent functions defined over the interval [0,L] :

(3.69)

The application of the Dirichlet boundary condition on

(equation 2.1b) to this expression leads to

(3.70) at

If we assume that all

except

satisfy the condition (3.71)

at then, from equation (3.70), we get

(3.72) Then, the expression (3.69) starts from i = 1 rather then from i = 0. Thus,

(3.73)

Substitution of this expression in equation (3.68) leads to :

(3.74)

To convert the above equation into a set of N algebraic equations in the unknown coefficients choose N weight functions as follows :

, we

for
Here, the functions

(3.75)

represent another set of linearly independent functions defined over the must satisfy the constraints arising out of the admissibility . These conditions are stated in section 2.2.

interval [0, L ]. Note that the functions conditions of the weight function

When the functions

are different from

, the corresponding weighted residual method is are the same

called as the Petrov-Galerkin Method. On the other hand, when the functions

as , then the method is called as the Galerkin Method. The next section describes the details of the Galerkin method.

Galerkin Method
In Galerkin method, we choose for Note that the constraints on . arising out of the admissibility conditions of must be zero at (3.76) are as follows. , (that is, at

The first admissibility condition requires that the functions the point of application of the Dirichlet boundary condition on

). Note that this constraint is should be unconstrained must be finite over the whole

identical to the condition (3.71). The second condition implies that at . The third condition requires that the derivative interval (0, L ). Substituting the expression (3.76) for

in equation (3.74), we get

for Now, define the following :

(3.77)

(3.78) , (3.79)

Then, equation (3.77) becomes

(3.80)

In matrix form, this can be written as : (3.81) Note that, we get the same set of algebraic equations as in the Ritz method (equations 3.13-3.16). Therefore, as in the Ritz method, the stiffness matrix is symmetric and positive definite.