NM960

Finite Element Analysis of

Floating Structures
Lecturer : Dr. Erkan OTERKUS (erkan.oterkus@strath.ac.uk)
Asistant : Adnan KEFAL (adnan.kefal@strath.ac.uk)
Date : October 2014

Example - 1
Consider a steel bar of uniform cross section
whose upper end is supported such that it is
fixed from translational motion. The mass
density, elastic modulus, and Poisson's ratio
of steel are ro = 0.284 lb/in^3, E = 30x10^6
psi, and v = 0.3, respectively. The radius and
length of the bar are assumed to be r = 2 in
and l = 20 in, respectively, and the
gravitational acceleration is g = 386.2205
in/sec^2. The goal is to find the elongation of
the bar at the lower end due to its own
weight. The positive y-direction is the
opposite direction of the gravitational
acceleration, as shown.

Example - 1
E

u L

x
L

P
A

P E L

A
L

PL
L
EA

L 20, E 30 106 ,
ro 0.284, r 2, g 386.2205
A 22 =12.566
V 12.566 20 251.327
m 0.284 251.327=71.377
386.2205 71.377
P
13783.63
2
13783.63 20
3
L

0.731

10
30 106 12.566
13783.63

1096.9 (tension)
12.566

Example - 2
y
3

El#2 P2

P1
El#1
2
45o
1

L : 20*cos(45) m
E : 210e9 Pa
A : 1 m^2
P1 : 7500 kN
P2 : 1500 kN

The length of bars 12 and 23 are equal (L)

E: Youngs modulus
A: Cross sectional area of each bar
Solve for
(1) d2x and d2y
(2) Stresses in each bar
Solution
Step 1: Node element connectivity table
ELEMENT
1
2

Node 1
1

Node 2
2

Table of nodal coordinates

Node

Lcos45 = 10 m

Lsin45 = 10 m

2Lsin45 = 20 m

Table of direction cosines

ELEMENT
Length

x2 x1
y y
m 2 1
length
length

cos45

sin45

-cos45

sin45

Step 2: Stiffness matrix of each element in global coordinates

with global numbering
d1x d1y d2x d2y
Stiffness matrix of element 1

1
1

l
lm l
lm
1 1 1 1

lm
m

lm

m
EA
EA

L l
lm l
lm
2L 1 1 1 1

lm
m
lm m

1 1 1 1
Stiffness matrix of element 2
2

(1)

( 2)

d2x d2y d3x d3y

1 1 1
1

1
1
EA 1 1

1
1
2L 1 1

1 1 1
1

d2x
d2y
d3x
d3y

d1x
d1y
d2x
d2y

Step 3: Assemble the global stiffness matrix

1 1 1 1 0 0
1 1 1 1 0 0

EA 1 1 2 0 1 1
K

2L 1 1 0 2 1 1
0 0 1 1 1 1

0 0 1 1 1 1
The final set of equations is

Kd F

Step 4: Incorporate boundary conditions

0
0

d2 x
d

d
2y
0

14.85 109

Hence reduced set of equations to solve for

unknown displacements at node 2

EA 2
2L
0

0 d 2 x P1

2 d 2 y P2

d 2 x 7.5 106
0

9
6
14.85 10 d 2 y 1.5 10

Step 5: Solve for unknown displacements

P1 L
d2 x
EA
0.50508mm

d
2 y P2 L 0.10102mm

EA

Step 6: Obtain stresses in the elements

For element #1:
E 1
(1)
L 2

1
2

1
2

d1x
d
1 1y

2 d2 x
d 2 y

P1 P2
E

(d 2 x d 2 y )
6.36MPa
2L
A 2

0
0

For element #2:

(2)

E 1

L 2

d2 x
d
1 2y

2 d3 x
d3 y

P P
E
(d 2 x d 2 y ) 1 2 4.24MPa
2L
A 2