UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON

OFF CAMPUS DIVISION

STUDY WORLD LANKA CAMPUS

B.ENG (HONS) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

EXAMINATION SEMESTER 1 - 2021/2022

FINITE ELEMENT & DIFFERENCE SOLUTIONS

MODULE NO: AME6016

Date: 6th February 2022 Time: 10:00am – 12.30 pm

Date: 13th March 2022 Time: Starting time 10:00 am (24 hours)

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES: There are Five questions.

• Open-book online exam Answer Four questions.
• Submission: Turnitin course
submission link by the deadline. All questions carry equal marks.

• Tutors will be conducting and recording
an online video conferencing viva about
the answers submitted after the
deadline of the e- Assessment as part
of the assessment.
The tutors will advise you in due
course when this will take place.
Marks for parts of questions are shown
in brackets.
Electronic calculators may be used
provided that data and program storage
memory is cleared prior to the
examination.

Formula Sheet is attached in

the APPENDIX at the end of the paper
 Page 2 of 9
UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON
OFF CAMPUS DIVISION
STUDY WORLD LANKA CAMPUS
B.ENG (HONS) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
EXAMINATION SEMESTER 1 – 2021/2022
FINITE ELEMENT & DIFFERENCE SOLUTIONS
MODULE NO: AME6016

Q1 (a) Figure Q1(a) depicts a system of three linearly elastic springs supporting three
equal weights W suspended in a vertical plane. Treating the springs as finite
elements, determine the vertical displacement of each weight.

Figure Q1(a)
. (10 marks)
Figure Q1(b) represents a system of four spring elements. The vertical members
at nodes 2 and 3 are to be considered rigid.

Figure Q1(b)
i) Apply Castigliano’s first theorem to obtain the system stiffness matrix.
. (5 marks)
ii) Solve for the displacements and the reaction force at node 1 if k1 = 4N/mm,
k2 = 6N/mm, k3 = 3N/mm, F2 = -30N, F3 = 0N, F4 = 50N.
. (10 marks)
Total 25 marks

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UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON
OFF CAMPUS DIVISION
STUDY WORLD LANKA CAMPUS
B.ENG (HONS) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
EXAMINATION SEMESTER 1 – 2021/2022
FINITE ELEMENT & DIFFERENCE SOLUTIONS
MODULE NO: AME6016

Q2 (a) The cross-sectional area of each member of the truss shown in Figure Q2 (a) is
A = 400 mm2 and E = 200 GPa.

Figure Q2(a)
i) Determine the vertical displacement of joint C if a 4kN force is applied to the
truss at C.
(10 marks)
ii) If no loads act on the truss, what would be the vertical displacement of joint
C if member AB were 5 mm too short?
` (5 marks)
(b) Determine the slope θ at point B of the steel beam shown in Figure Q2 (b). Take
E = 200 GPa, I = 60 x 106 mm4 .

Figure Q2(b)
(10 marks)

Total 25 marks

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UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON
OFF CAMPUS DIVISION
STUDY WORLD LANKA CAMPUS
B.ENG (HONS) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
EXAMINATION SEMESTER 1 – 2021/2022
FINITE ELEMENT & DIFFERENCE SOLUTIONS
MODULE NO: AME6016

Q3 The deflection “y” in a simply supported beam (refer Figure Q3) with a uniform load
and a tensile axial load “T” is given by following governing equation.
d2 y Ty qx (L-x)
- =
dx2 EI 2EI
Where
x - Location along the beam (mm)
T - Tension applied (N)
E - Young’s modulus of elasticity of the beam (Mpa)
I - Second moment of area (mm4 )
q - Uniform loading intensity (N/mm)
L - Length of beam (mm)

T T
x

Figure Q4
Given,
6
T= 32000N, q= 950 N/mm, L= 1800mm, E= 210 Gpa, and I= 50 x 10 mm4 ,

(a) Find the deflection of the beam at x= 1200mm. Use a step size of Δx = 600mm
and approximate the derivatives by central divided difference approximation.

(20 marks)
(b) Find the relative true error in the calculation of y (1200).

(5 marks)
Total 25 marks
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UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON
OFF CAMPUS DIVISION
STUDY WORLD LANKA CAMPUS
B.ENG (HONS) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
EXAMINATION SEMESTER 1 – 2021/2022
FINITE ELEMENT & DIFFERENCE SOLUTIONS
MODULE NO: AME6016

Q4 Consider the element shown in figure Q4. The material is steel, which has an elastic
modulus of 200 Gpa and a Poisson's ratio of 0.25. The thickness may be assumed to
be 25mm. (constant).

Figure Q4
i) Determine strain- nodal displacement matrix.
(10 marks)
ii) Determine the material property matrix.
(5 marks)
iii) Determine the element stiffness matrixes for elements 1 and 2.
(10 marks)
Total 25 marks

Q5 (a) Compare the characteristics of finite element and finite difference methods.
(3 marks)
(b) Sketch four types of elements used in FEA.
(2 marks)
(c) Briefly explain the importance of mesh refinement and mention two mesh
refinement techniques used in FEA.
(4 marks)

Question 5 continues over the page

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 Page 6 of 9
UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON
OFF CAMPUS DIVISION
STUDY WORLD LANKA CAMPUS
B.ENG (HONS) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
EXAMINATION SEMESTER 1 – 2021/2022
FINITE ELEMENT & DIFFERENCE SOLUTIONS
MODULE NO: AME6016

Question 5 continued ….

(d) Discuss the steps of conducting FEA.

(6 marks)
(e) Discuss the importance of FEM with reference to the automobile industry.
(10 marks)
Total 25 marks

END OF QUESTIONS

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UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON
OFF CAMPUS DIVISION
STUDY WORLD LANKA CAMPUS
B.ENG (HONS) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
EXAMINATION SEMESTER 1 – 2021/2022
FINITE ELEMENT & DIFFERENCE SOLUTIONS
MODULE NO: AME6016

FORMULAE SHEET

Area of a triangle ijk

1 xi yi
1
𝐴= det [ 1 xj yj ]
2
1 xk yk

The strain- nodal displacement matrix B

m21 0 m22 0 m23 0

B= [ 0 m31 ⋮ 0 m32 ⋮ 0 m33 ]
m31 m21 m32 m22 m33 m23

Where;

m11 =( xj yk -xk yi ) / 2A m12 =( xk yi -xi yk ) / 2A m13 =( xi yj -xj yi ) / 2A

m21 =( yj -yk ) / 2A m22 =( yk -yi ) / 2A m23 =( yi -yj ) / 2A

m31 =( xk -xi ) / 2A m32 =( xi -xk ) / 2A m33 =( xj -xi ) / 2A

Material property matrix D

1 μ 0
E μ 1 0
D= [ ]
1-μ2 1-μ
0 0
2
Element stiffness matrix

Ke =BT DBtA

Where ; t- thickness , A- area

Bending stress

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UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON
OFF CAMPUS DIVISION
STUDY WORLD LANKA CAMPUS
B.ENG (HONS) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
EXAMINATION SEMESTER 1 – 2021/2022
FINITE ELEMENT & DIFFERENCE SOLUTIONS
MODULE NO: AME6016
My
σ=
I

Dynamics

(-ω2 [m]+ [K]) {u}=0

Finite Element Notation for 2D Beams with 2 Nodes and 4 DOF

Element Consistent Mass Matrix

156 22L 54 -13L

ρAL 4L2 13L -3L2
[m]e = [ ]
420 156 -22L
4L2

Element Stiffness Matrix

12 6L -12 6L
EI 4L2 -6L 2L2
[K]e = [ ]
L3 12 -6L
4L2
1-D Beam Deflection Equation

𝑑2𝑦
𝐸𝐼 = 𝑀(𝑥)
𝑑𝑥 2

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UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON
OFF CAMPUS DIVISION
STUDY WORLD LANKA CAMPUS
B.ENG (HONS) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
EXAMINATION SEMESTER 1 – 2021/2022
FINITE ELEMENT & DIFFERENCE SOLUTIONS
MODULE NO: AME6016
Element nodal force vector

As a result of the distributed lateral loading p.

pL/2
e pL2 /2
fp =
pL/2
[ -pL2 /2 ]

As a result of shear forces and moments.

-V(xi )
e
-M(xi )
fVM = V(xj )
[ M(xj ) ]

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