Introduction to FEM (MEng 5171)

Chapter Three

Analysis of Truss Structures

by FEM

2019/16 Academic Year

Andebet T.
IoT
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 Introduction
• A truss is an engineering structure consisting of straight
members connected at their ends by means of bolts, rivets,
pins, or welding. The members found in trusses may
consist of steel or aluminum tubes, wooden struts, metal
bars, angles, and channels.
• Trusses offer practical solutions to many structural
problems in engineering, such as power transmission
towers, bridges, and roofs of buildings. A plane truss is
defined as a truss whose members lie in a single plane.
The forces acting on such a truss must also lie in this
plane. Members of a truss are generally considered to be
two-force members. This term means that internal forces
act in equal and opposite directions along the members, as
shown in Figure below.
truss element acts like 1-d spring
l >> transverse dimensions
pinned connection to other members (only axial loading).
usually constant cross section and modulus of elasticity
• In the analysis that follows, it is assumed that the members
are connected together by smooth pins and by a ball-and-
socket joint in three-dimensional trusses. Moreover, it can
be shown that as long as the center lines of the joining
members intersect at a common point, trusses with bolted or
welded joints may be treated as having smooth pins (no
bending).
• Another important assumption deals with the way loads are
applied. All loads must be applied at the joints. This
assumption is true for most situations because trusses are
designed in a manner such that the majority of the load is
applied at the joints. Usually, the weights of members are
negligible compared to those of the applied loads.
 FINITE ELEMENT FORMUL TION
• In general, two frames of reference will be required to
describe truss problems: a global coordinate system and a
local frame of reference.
• We choose a fixed global coordinate system, XY
• (1) to represent the location of each joint (node) and to keep
track of the orientation of each member (element), using
angles such as q;
• (2) to apply the constraints and the applied loads in terms of
their respective global components; and
• (3) to represent the solution-that is, the displacement of
each joint in global directions.
• We will also need a local, or an elemental, coordinate
system to describe the two-force member behavior of
individual members (elements).
 The global displacements
are related to the local
displacements according
to the equations

FIGURE 2.5 Relationship between local and global coordinates.

• Where

{U} and { u} represent the displacements of nodes i and j with

respect to the global XY and the local xy frame of references,
respectively. [T) is the transformation matrix that allows for
the transfer of local deformations to their respective global
values.
In a similar way, the local and global forces may be related
according to the equations
• keep in mind that the displacements and the forces
in the local y-direction are zero. This fact is simply
because under the two-force assumption, the
members can only be stretched or shortened along
their longitudinal axis (local x-axis).
The local internal forces and displacements are
related through the stiffness matrix
• After substituting for {f} and {u} in terms of {F}
and {U}, we have

Eq. (1)

• where [T]-1 is the inverse of the transformation

matrix [T] and is

• Multiplying both sides of Eq. (1) by [T] and simplifying, we obtain:

Eq. (2)
Substituting for values of the [T], [K), [T]-1, and {U} matrices in
Eq. (2) and multiplying gives:

Eq. (3)

Equations (3) express the relationship between the applied

forces, the element stiffness matrix [K](e) and the global
deflection of the nodes of an arbitrary element.
The stiffness matrix [K](e) for any member (element) of the
truss is
 u Structure equation is [k] {D} = {F}
– [k] = structure stiffness matrix
– {D} = nodal displacement vector
– {F} = applied load vector

s = DB{u i u j } note u i = u i cos( q) + v i sin( q)

ìui ü
={c s} í ý
îvi þ
ìui ü ìui ü
ïv ï ïv ï
é -1 1 ùì c s 0 0 üï iï E ï iï
s=E ê ú í ý í u ý = {- c -s c s} í u ý
ëL L û î0 0 c s þ ï j ï L ï jï
ïv j ï ïv j ï
î þ î þ
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 2
C o o r d in a t e C o o r d in a te
E le m e n t i- n o d e Le ng th
j- n o d e C
x y x y s
1 0 0 L c o s 4 5 L s in 4 5 L c o s4 5 s in 4 5
1 2

2 3 0 L co s4 5 -sin 4 5
2 L s in 4 5 2 L c o s 4 5 L s in 4 5

2 2
éc cs -c -csù x j - xi y j - yi
ê 2 2ú C= , m=
cs s -cs - s L L
[k ] = kê 2 ú
ê-c -cs c2 cs ú L= ( x j - x i ) + ( y j - yi )
2 2

ê 2 2 ú
ë-cs - s cs 29-Nov-17
s û 22
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Finite Element Modeling of Truss

u usually use existing codes to solve

problems
u user responsible for
– creating the model
– executing the program
– interpreting the results

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u arrangement of nodes and elements is
known as the mesh
u plan to make the mesh model the structure
as accurately as possible

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u for a truss
– each member is modeled as 1 truss element
– truss members or elements are connected at
nodes
– node connections behave like pin joints
– truss element behaves in exact agreement with
assumptions
– no need to divide a member into more than 1
element

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– such subdivision will cause execution to fail
» due to zero stiffness against lateral force at the node
connection where 2 members are in axial alignment

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u there is geometric symmetry
– often possible to reduce the size of problem by
using symmetry
– need loading symmetry as well

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u Fig. 3-5 and 3-6 show symmetric loads and
the reduced model
– need to impose extra conditions along the line
of symmetry
» displacement constraints: nodes along the line of
symmetry must always move along that line
» changed loads: the load at the line of symmetry is
split in two

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Computer input assistance

u a preprocessor is used to assist user input

u required inputs are
– data to locate nodes in space
– definition of elements by node numbers
– type of analysis to be done
– material properties
– displacement conditions
– applied loads

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u interactive preprocessors are preferable
– you can see each node as it is created
– elements are displayed as they are created
– symbols are given for displacement and load
conditions
– usually allow mesh generation by replication or
interpolation of an existing mesh
– allow inserting nodes along lines
– allow entering a grid by minimum and
maximum positions plus a grid spacing
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u truss element consists of 2 node numbers
that connect to form element
u other information for truss is
– modulus of elasticity
– cross sectional area
u data can form a material table
u assign element data by reference to the
table

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u boundary or displacement conditions are set
by selecting a node and setting its
displacement
U do not over constrain a structure by
prescribing zero displacements where there
is no physical support

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u loading conditions areset by selecting
nodes and specifying force or moment
components
U check model carefully at this point

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Analysis Step

u mostly transparent to user

u small truss models have enough accuracy
and performance for an accurate solution
u a large model has a large number of
elements and nodes

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u numerical solution may not be accurate if
there are full matrices
u get better accuracy if the nonzero terms are
close to the diagonal
– reduces the number of operations and round off
error (banded matrix)

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u inFE model, element or node numbering
can affect bandwidth
– good numbering pattern can minimize
bandwidth
– different methods based on node or element
numbering
– to minimize, plan numbering pattern so nodes
that connect through an element have their
equations assembled close together

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u InFig. 3-7, node numbers are considered,
X’s show nonzero terms

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u In Fig. 3-8, node numbers are considered

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u many programs have bandwidth or
wavefront minimizers available
u most programs will keep original
numbering for display but use the
minimized number scheme

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u numerical algorithms, numerical range of
the computer affect solution
u relative stiffness of members can influence
results
– problems when members of high and low
stiffness connect
– can exceed precision of computer
– physical situation is usually undesirable

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u Approximationerror for truss is zero
u Most common error messages (errors) come
from
– incorrect definition of elements
– incorrect application of displacement boundary
conditions

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– may get non-positive definite structure stiffness
matrix from not enough boundary conditions to
prevent rigid body motion
» two elements connect in-line Þ zero lateral
stiffness
» truss structure not kinematically stable (linkage)

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u next look at stress components
– in continua, stress components are related to
averaged quantities at the nodes
– trusses have a stress in each member (not easy
to plot)
u trussmodel is exact so it does not usually
need refinement

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Output Processing and Evaluation

u Get numerical results with input data

followed by all nodal displacements and
element stresses
u first graphic to look at is the deformed
shape of the structure
– nodal displacements are exaggerated to show
structure deformation
– check to ensure model behaves as expected

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