Φ8( 1, 1,-1)

Φ7( 1, 1, 1)
Φ5(-1, 1,-1)

Φ6(-1, 1, 1)
Φ4( 1,-1,-1)

Φ1(-1,-1,-1) Φ3( 1,-1, 1)

Φ2(-1,-1, 1)

Assume that the global coordinates and natural coordinates for the hexahedral element shown above is
related by these equations.

𝑥 = 𝑎1 + 𝑎2 η + 𝑎3 μ + 𝑎4 𝜍 + 𝑎5 𝜂𝜇 + 𝑎6 𝜇𝜍 + 𝑎7 𝜍𝜂 + 𝑎8 𝜂𝜇𝜍 E1

𝑦 = 𝑎9 + 𝑎10 η + 𝑎11 μ + 𝑎12 𝜍 + 𝑎13 𝜂𝜇 + 𝑎14 𝜇𝜍 + 𝑎15 𝜍𝜂 + 𝑎16 𝜂𝜇𝜍 E2

𝑧 = 𝑎17 + 𝑎18 η + 𝑎19 μ + 𝑎20 𝜍 + 𝑎21 𝜂𝜇 + 𝑎22 𝜇𝜍 + 𝑎23 𝜍𝜂 + 𝑎24 𝜂𝜇𝜍 E3

To obtain the shape function required in our FEM analysis, the values for ai must be found. By substituting
the natural coordinates in equations E1, E2, and E3, we’ll arrive with a system of linear equations. One of
these equations is shown in E4.

𝑥1 = 𝑎1 − 𝑎2 − 𝑎3 − 𝑎4 + 𝑎5 + 𝑎6 + 𝑎7 − 𝑎8 E4

The system of linear equations can be resolved into these matrix equations.
𝑥1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 1 −1 𝑎1
𝑥2 1 −1 −1 1 1 −1 −1 1 𝑎2
𝑥3 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 1 −1 𝑎3
𝑥4 1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 −1 1 𝑎4
𝑥5 = 1 −1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 𝑎5 E5
𝑥6 1 −1 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 𝑎6
𝑥7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 𝑎7
{𝑥8 } [1 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 −1 𝑎8 }
] {
 𝑦1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 1 −1 𝑎9
𝑦2 1 −1 −1 1 1 −1 −1 1 𝑎10
𝑦3 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 1 −1 𝑎11
𝑦4 1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 −1 1 𝑎12
𝑦5 = 1 −1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 𝑎13 E6
𝑦6 1 −1 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 𝑎14
𝑦7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 𝑎15
{𝑦8 } [1 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 −1] {𝑎16 }
𝑧1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 1 −1 𝑎17
𝑧2 1 −1 −1 1 1 −1 −1 1 𝑎18
𝑧3 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 1 −1 𝑎19
𝑧4 1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 −1 1 𝑎20
𝑧5 = 1 −1 1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 𝑎21 E7
𝑧6 1 −1 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 𝑎22
𝑧7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 𝑎23
{𝑧8 } [1 1 1 −1 1 −1 −1 −1] {𝑎24 }
Solving for the values of ai by obtaining the inverse of the 8 x 8 matrix will lead a function of x,y and z in
terms of natural coordinates. This is shown in E8. The other matrices for the other direction can be
obtained in a similar manner.
𝑎1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 𝑥1
𝑎2 −1 −1 1 1 −1 −1 1 1 𝑥2
𝑎3 −1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 1 1 𝑥3
𝑎4 1 −1 1 1 −1 −1 1 1 −1 𝑥4
𝑎5 = 8 1 1 −1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 𝑥5
𝑎6 1 −1 −1 1 −1 1 1 −1 𝑥6
𝑎7 1 −1 1 −1 1 −1 1 −1 𝑥7
{𝑎8 } [−1 1 −1 1 1 −1 1 −1] {𝑥8 }
The shape functions can be obtained by grouping the terms after substituting the values obtained in E8
into E1. An example is shown in E9.
1
𝑥 = 8 [(𝑥1 + 𝑥2 + 𝑥3 + 𝑥4 + 𝑥5 + 𝑥6 + 𝑥7 + 𝑥8 ) + (−𝑥1 − 𝑥2 + 𝑥3 + 𝑥4 − 𝑥5 − 𝑥6 + 𝑥7 + 𝑥8 )η + … +
(−𝑥1 + 𝑥2 − 𝑥3 + 𝑥4 + 𝑥5 − 𝑥6 + 𝑥7 − 𝑥8 )𝜂𝜇𝜍]
1 1 1
𝑥 = (1 − 𝜂)(1 − 𝜇)(1 − 𝜍)𝑥1 + (1 − 𝜂)(1 − 𝜇)(1 + 𝜍)𝑥2 + … + (1 + 𝜂)(1 + 𝜇)(1 − 𝜍)𝑥8
8 8 8
The final equation in E9 can be condensed into the following equation (E10).
8
1
𝑥 = ∑(1 + 𝜂𝜂𝑖 )(1 + 𝜇𝜇𝑖 )(1 + 𝜍𝜍𝑖 )𝑥𝑖
8
𝑖=1

The shape function for the x coordinates is then given by Ni that has the form shown in (E11).
8
1
𝑁𝑖 = ∑(1 + 𝜂𝜂𝑖 )(1 + 𝜇𝜇𝑖 )(1 + 𝜍𝜍𝑖 )
8
𝑖=1
Doing the similar approach for the other equations would yield the same equation for the shape
function in (E11). This can also be extended to functions for nodal displacement as shown in E12.
8
1
𝑢 = ∑(1 + 𝜂𝜂𝑖 )(1 + 𝜇𝜇𝑖 )(1 + 𝜍𝜍𝑖 )𝑢𝑖
8
𝑖=1
8
1
𝑤 = ∑(1 + 𝜂𝜂𝑖 )(1 + 𝜇𝜇𝑖 )(1 + 𝜍𝜍𝑖 )𝑤𝑖
8
𝑖=1
8
1
𝑧 = ∑(1 + 𝜂𝜂𝑖 )(1 + 𝜇𝜇𝑖 )(1 + 𝜍𝜍𝑖 )𝑧𝑖
8
𝑖=1

After obtaining the shape function for the hexahedral element, the next requirement for performing the
FEM analysis is to relate the strain vector with the nodal displacement vector. This matrix is designated
as the [B] matrix. The derivation starts by recalling the definition of strain in terms of displacement (E13)
𝜕
𝜕𝑥
0 0
𝜕
𝜀𝑥 0 0
𝜕𝑦
𝜀𝑦 𝜕
𝜀𝑧 0 0 𝑢
𝜕𝑧
2𝜀𝑥𝑦 = 𝜕 𝜕 {𝑣 } E13
0 𝑤
2𝜀𝑦𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥
𝜕 𝜕
{ 2𝜀𝑥𝑧 } 0
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦
𝜕 𝜕
[ 𝜕𝑧 0 𝜕𝑥 ]

The function ∂u/∂x, ∂u/∂y, and ∂u/∂z can also be expressed as ∂[N]{ui}/∂x, ∂[N]{vi}/∂y, and ∂[N]{wi}/∂z.
For a hexahedral element that consists of 8 nodes with 3 degrees of freedom each, E13 can be expanded
to describe the whole element as shown in E13.1
𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁2
0 0 0 0 0
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥
𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁2 𝑢1
0 0 0 0 0
𝜀𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝑣1
𝜀𝑦 𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁2 𝜕𝑁8 𝑤1
𝜀𝑧 0 0 0 0 … 𝑢2
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧
2𝜀𝑥𝑦 = 𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁2 𝜕𝑁2 𝑣2
2𝜀𝑦𝑧 0 0 0 𝑤2
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥
{ 2𝜀𝑥𝑧 } 𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁2 𝜕𝑁2 𝜕𝑁8 …
0 0 {𝑤8 }
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁2 𝜕𝑁2 𝜕𝑁8
[ 𝜕𝑧 0 0
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 ]
{𝜀}(6×1) = [𝐵](6×24) {𝑑}(24×1)
Since [N] is a function of η, μ, and ς, to obtain the functions ∂u/∂x, ∂u/∂y, and ∂u/∂z, chain rule must be
used which gives us the following equation (E14) wherein the function f represents any function, whether
be it the u, v, and w displacement function.
𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑧
= + +
𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝜂
𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑧
= + +
𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝜇
𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑓 𝜕𝑧
= + +
𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝜍
The system of equation in E14 can be expressed in matrix form as E15 after substituting E12 and dropping
out the constants.
𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑁𝑖
𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝑥
𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑁𝑖
=
𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑁𝑖
{ 𝜕𝜍 } [ 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍] { 𝜕𝑧 }
Solving for ∂f/∂x, ∂f/∂y, and ∂f/∂z yields the following equations
𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂
|𝜕𝑁 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 |
𝑖
| 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇|
𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍
=
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂
|𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 |
|𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇|
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍
 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂
|𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑁 𝜕𝑧 |
𝑖
|𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇|
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍
=
𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂
|𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 |
|𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇|
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑁𝑖
𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂
|𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑁𝑖 |
|𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 |
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑁𝑖
𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍
=
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜂
|𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 |
|𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇|
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍
It should be noted that the matrix in the denominator is the Jacobian matrix [J] relating the physical
coordinates with the natural coordinates.

Evaluating E16 leads to the following equations.

𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧
|[𝐽]| = ( − )− ( − )+ ( − )
𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜇
𝜕𝑁𝑖 1 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
= [ ( − )− ( − )+ ( − )]
𝜕𝑥 |𝐽| 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜂
𝜕𝑁𝑖 1 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧
= [− ( − )+ ( − )− ( − )]
𝜕𝑦 |𝐽| 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜂
𝜕𝑁𝑖 1 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
= [ ( − )− ( − )+ ( − )]
𝜕𝑧 |𝐽| 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜍 𝜕𝜂 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜇 𝜕𝜂
Wherein
𝜕𝑁𝑖
= 𝑁𝑖,𝜂 = 𝜂𝑖 (1 + 𝜇𝜇𝑖 )(1 + 𝜍𝜍𝑖 )
𝜕𝜂
𝜕𝑁𝑖
= 𝑁𝑖,𝜇 = 𝜇𝑖 (1 + 𝜂𝜂𝑖 )(1 + 𝜍𝜍𝑖 )
𝜕𝜇
 𝜕𝑁𝑖
= 𝑁𝑖,𝜍 = 𝜍𝑖 (1 + 𝜇𝜇𝑖 )(1 + 𝜂𝜂𝑖 )
𝜕𝜍
𝑥𝑖,𝜂 = 𝑥𝑖 𝑁𝑖,𝜂

𝑦𝑖,𝜂 = 𝑦𝑖 𝑁𝑖,𝜂

𝑧𝑖,𝜂 = 𝑧𝑖 𝑁𝑖,𝜂

After the equations in E16 has been evaluated and substituted into the [B] matrix, it is now possible to
obtain the stiffness matrix of the hexahedral element [Ke]. Given that the constitutive matrix [D] for the
hexahedral element is given in E17, the stiffness matrix of the hexahedral element using 3 point gaussian
rule for numerical integration is shown in E18.
1−𝑣 𝑣 𝑣
𝑣 1−𝑣 𝑣
𝑣 𝑣 1−𝑣
1
𝐸 −𝑣
[𝐷] = 2
(1 + 𝑣)(1 − 2𝑣) 1
−𝑣
2
1
[ − 𝑣]
2
𝑛𝑔𝑝 𝑛𝑔𝑝 𝑛𝑔𝑝

𝐾 𝑒 = ∑ ∑ ∑ 𝑊𝑖 𝑊𝑗 𝑊𝑘 [𝐵]𝑇 [𝐷][𝐵]|[𝐽]|
𝑖=1 𝑗=1 𝑘=1