FEAElementTypes

Elementsfallintofourmajorcategories:2Dlineelements,2Dplanarelements,and
3Dsolidelementswhichareallusedtodefinegeometryandspecialelementsusedto
applyboundaryconditions.Forexamplespecialelementsmightincludegapelements
tospecifyagapbetweentwopiecesofgeometry.Springelementsareusedtoapplya
specificspringconstantataspecifiednodeorsetofnodes.Rigidelementsareusedto
definearigidconnectiontoorinamodel.Thefiguresbelowshownodesinredand
theelementintranslucentblueexceptforthebeamelementwhichisbrightblue.The
mostcommongeometryelementsareshowbelow.MostFEAtoolssupportadditional
elementtypesaswellassomewhatdifferentimplementationsofeventhesecommon
elements.

TrussElement(2DLine)

Trusselementsarelongandslender,
have2nodes,andcanbeoriented
anywherein3Dspace.Truss
elementstransmitforceaxiallyonly
andare3DOFelementswhichallow
translationonlyandnotrotation.
Trussesarenormallyusedtomodel
towers,bridges,andbuildings.A
constantcrosssectionareais
assumedandtheyareusedforlinear
elasticstructuralanalysis.

BeamElement(2DLine)

Beamelementsarelongandslender,
havethreenodes,andcanbe
orientedanywherein3Dspace.
Beamelementsare6DOFelements
allowingbothtranslationandrotation
ateachendnode.Thatisthe
primarydifferencebetweenbeam
andtrusselements.TheIJnodes
defineelementgeometry,theKnode
definesthecrosssectional
orientation.Thisishowyou
differentiatebetweenthestrongand
weakaxisofbendingforabeam.A
constantcrosssectionareais
assumed.Intheimage,thebeam
shapeisshownonlyforvisualization,
theelementisthedarkbluerod.The
IJaxisrunsfromtheneartofar
node.Kisshownverticallyabovethe
Inodeorcouldbehorizontallytothe
rightofI.
2DElement(2DPlanar)

2DElementsare3or4node
elementswithonly2DOF,YandZ
translation,andarenormallycreated
intheYZplane.Theyareusedfor
PlaneStressorPlaneStrain
analyses.Commonapplications
includeaxisymmetricbodiesof
revolutionsuchasmissileradomes,
radialseals,etc.andlongsections
withconstantcrosssectionalarea
suchasadam.PlaneStressimplies
nostressnormaltothecrosssection
definedstrainisallowedsuitable
tomodelthe2Dcrosssectionofa
bodyofrevolution.PlaneStrain
impliesnostrainnormaltothecross
sectiondefinedstressisallowed
suitabletomodelthe2Dcross
sectionofalongdam.
MembraneElement(2DPlanar)

MembraneElementsare3or4node
2Delementsthatcanbeoriented
anywherein3Dspace.Theycanbe
usedtomodelthinmembranelike
materialslikefabric,thinmetal
shells,etc.Theseelementswillnot
supportortransmitamomentload
orstressnormaltothesurface.They
supportonlytranslationalDOFnot
rotationalandinplaneloading.The
thicknessofthemembranemustbe
smallrelativetoitslengthorwidth.
Membranethicknessisdefinedasa
fixedparameterwhichcanbevaried.
Thegeometryisdrawnatthe
midplanewithzerothicknessshown,
similartoaplateelement.
PlateElement(2DPlanar)
Plateelementsare3or4node2D
planarelementsthatcanbeoriented
anywherein3Dspace.Theyare
typicallyusedtomodelstructures
comprisedofshellssuchaspressure
vessels,automobilebodies,ship
hulls,andaircraftfuselages.
Generallyathickerwallthanfora
membraneelementbutabout1/10
thelengthorwidth.Alltranslational
DOFaresupportedaswellas
rotationalDOFthatarenotoutof
plane.Thatisrotationaboutthe
normaltotheelementsurfaceisnot
allowed.Platethicknessisdefinedas
afixedparameterwhichcanbe
varied.Thegeometryisdrawnatthe
midplanewithzerothicknessshown.

3DTetrahedraElement,4
Nodes(3DSolid)

Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
alltetrahedra,allbricks,oramixture
ofbothwithsomeautomaticmesh
generators.

3DTetrahedraElement,5
Nodes,Pyramid(3DSolid)

Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
alltetrahedra,allbricks,oramixture
ofbothwithsomeautomaticmesh
generators.

3DTetrahedraElement,6
Nodes,Wedge(3DSolid)

Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
alltetrahedra,allbricks,oramixture
ofbothwithsomeautomaticmesh
generators.

3DTetrahedraElementwith
MidsideNodes,15Nodes,
Wedge(3DSolid)

Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
 alltetrahedra,allbricks,oramixture
ofbothwithmostautomaticmesh
generators.

3DBrickElement,8Nodes(3D
Solid)

Brickortetrahedraelementsmay
have4,5,6,7,8,15,or20nodes
andsupportonlytranslationalDOF.
Theyarenormallyusedtomodel
solidobjectsforwhichplateelements
arenotappropriate.Youcanusually
specifyeitheralltetrahedra,all
bricks,oramixtureofbothwith
someautomaticmeshgenerators.
Thisisthemostcommon,and
frequentlytheonlyelementtype
supportedbyautomaticmesh
generators.Bricksworkquitewellfor
any"blocky"structureswhichare
typicalofmachined,cast,orforged
fabricatedparts.Structuraland
thermalbricksexistsothesame
modelgeometrycanbeusedforboth
theinitialsteadystateheattransfer
andsubsequentthermalstress
computations.Brickscomputestress
throughthethicknessofapart.
3DBrickElementwithMidside
Nodes,20Nodes(3DSolid)

Seedefinitionaboveforthe8node
brick.Midsidenodescanbeincluded
ifdesired,alsosomeFEAtools
includeanadditional21stnodeat
thecentroidofthebrickwhichcan
beusefulincomputationquality
comparisons.

Copyright20062014byDeepSoft,LLC,AllRightsReserved