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Hayat
Sunday, February 28, 2021 View my complete profile

How to select an Element Type in performing FE analysis? Blog Archive

An element is fundamental building block of a finite element model and its proper selection plays March 2021 (4)
a pivotal role in analyzing the problem on hand. In this article, I would explain the types of February 2021 (3)
elements and their properties that will help you to make a better selection for your FE analysis.

Properties of Elements Labels

An element represent a subdomain of engineering problem. The vertices of elements are called
Approximate Solution
nodes. Sometimes, extra nodes are also located inside elements. These nodes serves following
CAE
purpose:
Coordinate Transformation
Element Geometry Degrees of Freedom
The geometry of elements can be defined by proper placement of its nodes. They can Discretization
have 1D, 2D or 3D dimensions. The number of nodes increases with increase in the Discretization Error
element dimensionality thus require more computational resource. Element Assembly
Element Assignment
In structural applications, the 1D structure elements are better suited for FE modeling of
Element Connectivety Table
long prismatic sections like rod, pipe, beam etc. where length dimension is significantly
Element Geometry
larger than the cross-section dimensions. For plan stress or strain problems of shell and
Element Model
plates etc., where length and width dimensions are much larger than thickness, 2D
structural elements can better for FE idealization. The 3D structural elements are generally element Response
use to analysis the structures where all three dimensions of are comparable or there is Element Type
need to investigate in detail complex 3D state of stress or strain. Exact Solution
FEA
FEM
Load & BCs
Meshing
Modelling Error
Numerical Error
Postprocess
Preprocess
Solution
Source of Errors

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Figure 1. Geometry of 1D, 2D and 3D structural elements

It is interesting to note that there are some special elements which have no dimensionality
like lumped spring, point mass, contact elements etc. Such elements are used in an
abstract way during FE modelling, so be ready face this reality.

Element Response
The response of elements is governed the attributes of its nodes. The nodal attributes are
the unknown primary or state variables in the FE model that are computed at nodes, that’s
why, these are called nodal displacements or nodal degrees of freedom (dofs), and are
represented with {u}. There is one-to-one correspondence between the nodal dofs {u} and
associated nodal forces {f}, and this defines the constitutive relationship at the element
level i.e. {f} = [K]{u}, and the element response is dictated by this constitutive model
working behind it.

In nutshell, the element response is expressed in terms of its dofs which are calculated
during analysis. For structural elements, the dofs are displacement and rotations at each
node, for thermal elements, the dof is temperature.
Selecting of a Right Type
When you want to build a FE model, you should use your engineering knowledge and judgement
to identify the key variables that govern its behaviors. Say, you want to do a coupled thermal-
stress analysis of a product. The geometry of product is such that all its dimensions are
comparable. For this case, a 3D element would better idealize its geometry. Next, requirement
would be to make sure that the selected 3D elements have relevant dofs that can capture the
required coupled thermal-stress interaction i.e. temperature dof in addition to displacement
degree of freedom to capture the coupled thermal-stress interaction.

Never trust your memory, always consult manuals of a commercial software packages to find
appropriate element types for your FE model. The manuals not only list in detail the attributes of
elements, its applications and limitations, and its formulation but also provides guidelines and
example problems.

About the Author: Dr. Khazar Hayat is a professional engineer with almost 15+ year of
experience in research, design, analysis and development of products made of fiber reinforced
plastics composites (FRPCs). Currently, he is working as an Associate Professor at Mechanical
Engineering Department, The University of Lahore, Pakistan, can be reaching by emailing at
khazarhayat@gmail.com.

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Labels: Degrees of Freedom, Element Geometry, element Response, Element Type, FEA

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