WESTERN UNIVERSITY - FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

CEE3384b FINITE ELEMENT METHODS IN ENGINEERING

ASSIGNMENT # 2

DUE: 12:30 pm Monday, February 4th, 2013, Locker # 69

Problem #1

Consider the uni-axial element (bar element) shown in Fig.2. The element has a constant cross
sectional area A e  750mm 2 and a modulus of elasticity E  2 x105 MPa . The element is
subjected to a quadratic axial load T(s) which is given by the relation: T (s)  1500(1  s 2 ) N / mm ,
where s is the local coordinates of the element as defined on page 3-2 in the lecture notes.
(a) Find the element load vector due to the applied load.
(b) Assume that u1  0.40mm and u2  0.50mm , where u 1 and u 2 are the axial displacements of
nodes 1 and 2, respectively as shown in Fig.2, determine the strain energy in the element
and the displacement at point P.

1500
T ( s)  1500(1  s 2 )
N/mm

s T(s)
1 2
X,u
u1 P u2

x1=300m XP=400 X2=600m

m mm m
Fig. 1

Problem # 2
S=0
S=-1
S=1
u1 u2
A1 A2
Le

Fig.2

Evaluate the stiffness matrix for the bar element having a linearly variable cross sectional area
and a constant Modulus of Elasticity E as shown in Fig.2.
Problem #3

The bar shown in Figure 3 is subjected to the two following axial point loads: P is acting
at point 2, and 2P is acting at point 3 (where P=200 kN). The bar is fixed at point 1 and is
connected to a spring at point 3 with a spring constant K=250000 N/mm. The bar has a
modulus of elasticity E  2 x105 MPa . The bar is modeled using two bar elements (each
has two nodes).
Using the finite element method,
(a) Determine the displacement at points 2 and 3
(b) The stress distribution along the length of the bar.
(c) Do you consider this stress distribution is exact? Why?