CHAPTER 3

Stiffness Matrix Method

3-1- DEFINITION
The stiffness method is a method of analysis, where the main unknowns
are the displacements of joints. These unknowns are determined from
equilibrium. The method can be used for determination of displacements
and internal forces due to
 external loads,
 environmental changes (temperature and shrinkage), and
 support movement.

The stiffness method is applicable to skeletal structures (beams, plane and

space frames and trusses, and grids), and continuum structures (plates,
shells, and three dimensional solids).
(Question: what is the difference between skeletal and non-skeletal
structures (continuum structures)?)

The steps of this method are:

1- Modeling
 Model the structure with a number of members and
joints,
 Define types of members and connections,
 Identify the relevant unknown components of joint displacements.

2- Load vector
 For each member determine the member fixed end
forces (which are the reactions due to loads if all the
relevant joint displacements were prevented).

3- Stiffness matrix
 For each member determine the member end forces
due to joint displacements (i.e. member stiffness
equations).

4- Equilibrium equations
 Write the equations of equilibrium of all joints (under
the forces in steps 2 and 3, and joint loads).

5- Solving equilibrium equation

  Solve equilibrium eq. to determine joints
displacements.

6- Internal forces
 Use the resulting joint displacements to determine the
total member end forces.
The above steps can be illustrated by the following example:

EXAMPLE
Determine the displacements 3t
and member end forces in the 2t/m
shown frame due to the
given loads.
3.00

2.00 6.00

STEP 1: Modeling.
D2

D3 D1 D4
2
2 3

1
STEP 2: Load vector
6 2t/m 6
Fixed-end forces {F}
0 0

6 6

STEP 3: Stiffness matrix

Stiffness relations [K]

STEP 4: Equilibrium {F} = [K] {D}

STEP 5: Equations solution Get {D}
STEP 6: Internal forces Q, N, and M

3-2- STEP 1: MODELING

a- Numbering

Organization of the solution requires numbering the members, joints, and

forces and displacements components. Several numbering schemes are
possible. Choice of the most appropriate scheme depends on several
considerations including the method of assembling and solving equations
of equilibrium (banded matrix methods, frontal method, etc.). When
banded matrix methods are used for solving equilibrium equations,
members may be numbered in any convenient order, but
joints should be numbered in such an order that
the maximum difference between the numbers of the two joints of each
member is as small as possible. For example, the numbering in Fig. Is
more appropriate than that in Fig.

The unknown displacement components are usually numbered in a

certain sequence (for example in plane frame; x, y, and rotation) starting
at joint 1 and proceeding in ascending order through the joints. These
displacement components are called degrees of freedom.
b- Degrees of Freedoms

Several models of skeletal structures may be used depending on the

nature of the structure and the loads. Common skeletal models include
space frames, space trusses, plane frames, plane trusses, beams, and grids.

* In space frames, each joint has six degrees of freedom: three

translations (in X, Y, and Z directions) and three rotations (about X, Y,
and Z axes).

* In space trusses, all member ends are assumed to have hinged

connections, i.e. three degrees of freedom at each joint (rotation about X,
Y, and Z axes).

* In plane frames, a joint has three degrees of freedom since it has two
translations and one rotation.

* In plane trusses, a joint has two degrees of freedom (the translation

only) since rotation are not considered.

* In beams, axial and transverse forces and displacements are uncoupled,

and separate analyses may be carried out for axial effects and transverse
effects.

* In grids, in-plane displacements are not considered; therefore, also

rotations about an axis normal to the plane of the grid are not considered.
Thus, a grid joint has only three degrees of freedom (an out-of-plane
translation, and two rotations about in-plane axes).
 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6 7 18 19
5
6 4 5 8 17 20
7 4 9 16 21
1 3 3 10 15 22
2 2 11 14 23
1 12 13 24

2 3 6 7 10 11 14 15 18 19

1 4 5 8 9 12 13 16 17 20

21 22 23 24
5
3 6 17 18 19 20
2 13 14 15 16
1 7 9 10 11 12
4 5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4

c- Local and Global Axes

The axes which are convenient in dealing with members individually are
called local (member) axes, but the axes which are convenient in dealing
with the structure as a whole are called global (structure) axes.
Displacement and force components may be expressed using one of the
previous two systems.

The relation between the components in the two systems of axes is

expressed in matrix form which called transformation matrix [T].
 Y Y End 2
( X2,Y2,Z2)
End 2
( X2,Y2) End 1
Z
( X1,Y1,Z1)
Length =L
X

End 1 Y
( X1,Y1)

X X

Plane or grid member Space member

Z
a) Geometry
g g l l
f5 d5 f5 d5
g g l l
f4 d4 f4 d4
g g l l
g g f6 d6 f6 d6
f2 d2 l l
f2 d2
g g Global Local
f1 d1
g g l l l l
f3 d3 f1 d1 f3 d3

b) Plane frame member

g g l l
f4 d4 f4 d4
g g l l
f3 d3 f3 d3

g g
f2 d2 l l
f2 d2
g g Global Local
f1 d1
l l
f1 d1

c) Plane truss member

Global and local force and displacement components

 In the case of plane frame, if the components of member
end forces in global direction are:

{ f g }  { f1g f 2g f 3g f 4g f 5g f 6g }

and the corresponding components in local directions are:

{ f l }  { f1l f 2l f 3l f 4l f 5l f 6l }

as shown in Fig. , then;

{ f g }  [T ] { f l }

where;
c s 0 0 0 0
s c 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 0
[T ] 
0 0 0 c s 0
0 0 0 s c 0
0 0 0 0 0 1

in which; c = cos θ = (X2 – X1) / L , and

s = sin θ = (Y2 – Y1) / L
where (X1 , Y1) and (X2 , Y2) are the coordinates of the joints at the start
and the end of member respectively with respect to global axes, and L is
the length of the member.

Similarly, the relation between the displacement components in global

directions {dg} and the displacement components in local directions {d l}
for the joints of plane frame members is:

{d g }  [T ] { d l }
where [T] as defined above.

 In the case of plane trusses, each of {fg}, {fl}, {dg}, and

{dl} has only four elements and the transformation matrix
reduces to:
 c s 0 0
s c 0 0
[T ] 
0 0 c s
0 0 s c

 In the case of grids, the transformation matrix is:

1 0 0 0 0 0
0 s c 0 0 0
0 c s 0 0 0
[T ] 
0 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 0 0 s c
0 0 0 0 c s

 In the case of space frames, each joint has six degrees

of freedom then the transformation matrix is:

t*   
 t *
 
[T ] 
  t* 
   t*

where

[Ø] = [0]3*3 , and

lx ly lz
[t ]  m x
*
my mz
nx ny nz

where (lx, mx, nx), (ly, my, ny), and (lz, mz, nz) are the direction cosines of
the local axes x, y, and z with respect to the global axes X, Y, and Z.

 In the case of space trusses, all member ends are

hinged. Therefore the transformation matrix is:
 lx * * 0 0 0
mx * * 0 0 0
nx * * 0 0 0
[T ] 
0 0 0 lx * *
0 0 0 mx * *
0 0 0 nx * *

where the asterisks refer to unneeded elements, and (l x, mx, nx) are the
direction cosines which given by:

lx = (X2 – X1) / L, mx = (Y2 – Y1) / L, and nx = (Z2 – Z1) / L

3-2- STEP 2: LOAD VECTOR (MEMBER FIXED-END FORCES)

Member fixed-end forces means the reactions at the ends of members due
to loads, environmental changes, or support movement, when all the
unknown displacements at member end joints are prevented. These
reactions can be determined by classical methods such as column analogy
or consistent deformations.

Components of fixed-end forces in local directions may be arranged in a

vector { f ml } , which is called member load vector in local directions. The
corresponding components in global directions may be arranged in a
vector { f mg } which is called member load vector in global directions, and
can be determined from the transformation relation

{ f mg } = [T] { f ml }

Fig. Shows some cases of member fixed-end forces.

2 2
WL /12 WL /12 PL/8 PL/8
Wt/m P

L L
WL/2 WL/2 P/2 P/2
 Wt/m Wt/m
2 2 2 2
WL /30 WL /20 5WL /96 5WL /96

L
0.167 WL 0.333 WL L

WL/4 WL/4
2 2 2 2
WL WL WL WL
( ) ( )
20 30 20 30
L L

2 2 2 2
2PL/9 2PL/9 P.a.b /L P.b.a /L
P P P

L a b
Pb/L Pa/L
P P

2 2 2 2
P.a.b P.b.a P.a.b P.b.a
( ) ( )
L2 L2 L2 L2
L L

M/4 M M/4

L
1.5 M / L 1.5 M / L
 (1) (2)
P1
W

P1

P2 P2

(3) (4)
P1

W
P3

P2
W

(5)
3-3- STEP 3: STIFFNESS MATRIX (MEMBER END FORCES DUE TO
JOINT DISPLACEMENTS)
Displacements of joints cause member end displacements and hence
member deformations and internal forces between joints and member
ends. These member end forces depend on the type of connection
between joints and member end.

a- Force-Displacement Relation in Local Directions

 In the case of plane truss member shown in Fig. , let

the joints undergo displacements whose components in
local directions are d 1l , d 2l , d 3l , and d 4l . The lateral
displacements can occur without deformation (small
displacements and hinged connections). On the other hand,
the axial displacements d 1l and d 3l result in an elongation
( d 3l - d 1l ) and hence tension N = ( d 3l - d 1l ) EA / L.
The corresponding forces from joints to member ends are:
f dl1 = -N = ( d 3l - d 1l ) EA / L
f dl 2 = f dl 4 = 0
f dl3 = N = ( d 3l - d 1l ) EA / L
or in matrix form;
{ f dl } = [ k l ] { d l }
where
1 0 1 0
0 0 0 0
[ kl ] 
1 0 1 0
0 0 0 0
The matrix [ k l ] is known as the member stiffness matrix in local
directions. It can be noticed that the elements of the i th column of [ k l ]
are the forces { f dl } when d il = 1 while all other components of { d l } are
zeros. This observation is usually used as a convenient basis for deriving
the matrix [ k l ] for members of different types.

Consider a plane frame member with fixed ends as shown in Fig. . To

derive elements of the first column of [ k l ] , let d 1l = 1 while all other
components of { d l } are zeros. The corresponding end forces are the
elements of the first column of [ k l ] , and these elements are:
(EA/L) { 1 0 0 -1 0 0 }T
Elements of the second column of [ k l ] are the forces correspond to d 2l =
1, while all other components of { d l } are zeros. Then the elements of the
second column of [ k l ] are:
(6EI/L2) { 0 2/L 1 0 -2/L 1 }T
Note that these forces can be determined using the method of consistent
deformations. Similarly the components of the third, fourth, fifth, and
sixth columns can be determined and the complete stiffness matrix of the
member in local axes directions is:
EA / L 0 0  EA / L 0 0
0 12 EI / L3 2
6 EI / L 0  12 EI / L 3
6 EI / L2
0 6 EI / L2 4 EI / L 0  6 EI / L2 2 EI / L
[k ]
l

 EA / L 0 0 EA / L 0 0
0  12 EI / L 3
 6 EI / L 2
0 12 EI / L3
 6 EI / L2
0 6 EI / L2 2 EI / L 0  6 EI / L2 4 EI / L
It may be observed that each column of [ k l ] represent a set of forces in
equilibrium. It may also be observed that the matrix [ k l ] is symmetric,
i.e. k ijl  k lji . These two observations may be used for deriving some
elements of [ k l ] .
 P1 D
3
D
W1 D 4
P2 2 2
Fixed 2 3

1
W2
D
1 1
Hinged

Structure and loads Members, joints and degrees

of freedom (D.O.F.)
global position
1 0 0 2 3 4 numbers 2 3 4 0 0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 local column numbers

1 1 2 1
0 2 3 2
0 3 4 3

2 4 0 4
3 5 0 5
4 6 0 6

1 2
g g
K local row numbers K

Member stiffness matrices

1 1 2 1
0 2 3 2
0 3 4 3
2 4 0 4
3 5 0 5
4 6 0 6
1 2
g g
fm fm

Member load vectors

1 2 3 4
g1 g1 g1 g1 g1
1 k11 k14 k15 k16 D1 0 - fm1
2 g1
k41
g1 g2 g1
k44+k11 k45+k12 k46+k13
g2 g1 g2
D2 3 -
g1
fm4 - fm1
g2

=
3 g1 g2
g1 g1 g2 g1 g2 g1 g2
k51 k54+k21 k55+k22 k56+k23 D3 -5 - fm5 - f m2
4 g1
k61
g1 g2 g1
k64+k31 k65+k32 k66+k33
g2 g1 g2
D4 0 -
g1
fm6 - fm3
g2

Equilibrium equations

Example for assembly of equilibrium equations

To find the overall stiffness matrix
 =1 2 2 4EI/L 2EI/L
6EI/L 6EI/L

=1 =1
EA/L EA/L

3 3 2 2
12EI/L 12EI/L 6EI/L 6EI/L

 EA / L   0   0 
 0   3   2 
   12 EI / L   6 EI / L 
 0   6 EI / L2   4 EI / L 
     
 EA / L   0   0 
 0   12 EI / L3   6 EI / L2 
     
 0   6 EI / L 
2
 2 EI / L 

= 1 6EI/L
2
6EI/L
2 2EI/L 4EI/L
=1
=1
EA/L EA/L

3 3 2 2
12EI/L 12EI/L 6EI/L 6EI/L

 EA / L   0   0 
 0   3  2 
   12 EI / L   6 EI / L 
 0    6 EI / L2   2 EI / L 
     
 EA / L   0   0 
 0   12 EI / L3   6 EI / L2 
     
 0    6 EI / L   4 EI / L 
2

EA / L 0 0  EA / L 0 0
0 12 EI / L3 6 EI / L2 0  12 EI / L3 6 EI / L2
0 6 EI / L2 4 EI / L 0  6 EI / L2 2 EI / L
[k ]l

 EA / L 0 0 EA / L 0 0
0  12 EI / L 3
 6 EI / L 2
0 12 EI / L 3
 6 EI / L2
0 6 EI / L2 2 EI / L 0  6 EI / L2 4 EI / L
 =1 2
3EI/L
3EI/L
=1
EA/L EA/L =1

2 2
3 3 3EI/L 3EI/L
3EI/L 3EI/L

 EA / L   0   0 
 0   3   2 
   3EI / L   3EI / L 
 0   3EI / L2   3EI / L 
     
 EA / L   0   0 
 0   3EI / L3   3EI / L2 
     
 0   0   0 

2
=1 3EI/L

=1
EA/L EA/L =1

3 3
3EI/L 3EI/L

 EA / L   0  0 
 0   3 0 
    3EI / L   
 0   3EI / L2  0 
     
 EA / L   0  0 
 0   3EI / L3  0 
     
 0   0  0

EA / L 0 0  EA / L 0 0
0 3EI / L 3
3EI / L 2
0  3EI / L 3
0
0 3EI / L 2
3EI / L 0  3EI / L 2
0
[ kl ] 
 EA / L 0 0 EA / L 0 0
0  3EI / L 3
 3EI / L 2
0 3EI / L 3
0
0 0 0 0 0 0
 2
=1 3EI/L 3EI/L

=1 =1

3 3 2 2
3EI/L 3EI/L 3EI/L 3EI/L

0   0   0 
0   3   2 
   3EI / L   3EI / L 
0   3EI / L2   3EI / L 
     
0   0   0 
0   3EI / L3   3EI / L2 
     
0  0   0 

2
=1 3EI/L
=1
EA/L EA/L =1

3 3
3EI/L 3EI/L

 EA / L   0  0 
 0   3 0 
    3EI / L   
 0   3EI / L2  0 
     
 EA / L   0  0 
 0   3EI / L3  0 
     
 0   0  0

0 0 0  EA / L 0 0
0 3EI / L 3
3EI / L 2
0  3EI / L 3
0
0 3EI / L 2
3EI / L 0  3EI / L 2
0
[ kl ] 
0 0 0 EA / L 0 0
0  3EI / L 3
 3EI / L 2
0 3EI / L 3
0
0 0 0 0 0 0
 =1

EA/L EA/L =1 =1

 EA / L  0  0 
 0  0  0 
     
 0  0  0 
     
 EA / L  0  0 
 0  0  0 
     
 0  0 0

=1

EA/L EA/L =1 =1

 EA / L  0  0 
 0  0  0 
     
 0  0  0 
     
 EA / L  0  0 
 0  0  0 
     
 0  0 0

EA / L 0 0  EA / L 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
[ kl ] 
 EA / L 0 0 EA / L 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0
3-4- STEP 4 : The Overall Equilibrium Equation

From the steps number 3 & 4 we can construct the overall equilibrium
equation as follow:

{ F } nx1 = [ K ] nxn * { D }nx1

Where: (n) the number of degree of freedom (DOF) which defined
from step no 1( modeling ).

3-5- STEP 5 : Solve The Equilibrium Equation

By using back Guss elimination we can solve the equilibrium

equation and find the overall global displacement { D }g
We can find the local displacement from the relation

{ D }l = [ T ]T * { D }g

Where [ T ] the transformation matrix for member

For plane truss member is:

c s 0 0
s c 0 0
[T ] 
0 0 c s
0 0 s c

For plane frame member is:

c s 0 0 0 0
s c 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 0
[T ] 
0 0 0 c s 0
0 0 0 s c 0
0 0 0 0 0 1
3-6- STEP 6 : Find The Internal Forces

For plane truss member:

EA
N    (d 3  d1 ) * cos   (d 4  d 2 ) * sin 
L
d4
d3

d2

For plane frame member:

d1

Dg1  D1 * cos  D2 * sin 

Dg2  D2 * cos  D1 * sin 

Dg3  D3

Dg 4  D4 * cos   D5 * sin 

Dg5  D5 * cos   D4 * sin 

Dg6  D6

EA
N1  N 2  ( Dg 4  Dg1 )
L

12 EI 12 EI
S1  S 2  ( Dg 2  Dg 5 )  ( Dg 6  Dg 3 )
L3 L2

6 EI 2 EI
M1  ( Dg 5  Dg 2 )  ( Dg 6  2 Dg 3 )
L2 L
 6 EI 2 EI
M2  ( Dg 2  Dg 5 )  ( Dg 3  2 Dg 6 )
L2 L