EME 401: INTRODUCTION

APPLIED
FINITE DR. NORWAHIDA YUSOFF &
DR. FEIZAL YUSOF

ELEMENT
COURSE OVERVIEW
■ Objective:
– To introduce advance finite element method (FEM) and to use commercial finite
element analysis (FEA) ANSYS code in engineering analysis effectively.
■ Synopsis:
– FEM (CW 40%)
■ Introduction to finite element method linear system and planes problems in structural
and heat transfer using direct stiffness method
– FEA (CW 60%)
■ Use ANSYS software for structural 2D and 3D, 1D heat transfer, thermal stress,
dynamic, and non-linear problems.
■ References:
■ Daryl Logan, A first course in finite element method 4th ed. 2011
■ Chandrupatla and Belegundu, Introduction to finite elements in engineering 4th ed.
2012
■ Stolarski, Nakastone and Yoshimoto, Engineering Analysis with Ansys Software, 2006
■ http://www.mece.ualberta.ca/tutorials/ansys
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week No. FEA (CW 60%) FEM (CW 40%) – Tentative Schedule
1 1st Meeting Introduction to the FEM
2 FEA 2 Stiffness Method
3 FEA 3 Analysis of Uniaxial Bars
4 FEA 4 Analysis of Frameworks
5 FEA 5 Analysis of Beam Elements – Quiz (10%)
6 FEA 6 Analysis of Continua
7 FEA 7 Heat transfer Problem
8 SEMESTER BREAK SEMESTER BREAK
9 Project Test (20%)
10 Project
11 Project
12 Project
13 Project
14 VIVA
15 VIVA
 OBJECTIVE

To understand the basic

principles of the FE method
 What & Why

Benefits
FE Principles

Applications
INTRODUCTION
■ FE has been around since 1950s for analysing structural parts
■ Industries that started the use of FE were the aerospace and nuclear
industries
– Why? Because safety of structure are critical
– Consequences of failure are very severe – labour and finance
■ Extensively used in automotive industry, telecommunications and
electronic packaging industries
– Benefits: design optimization can lead to additional benefits e.g.
vibration reduction, fuel economy, product sustainability etc.
■ The growth of FE usage is directly attributed to rapid advances in
computing technology
PRINCIPLES OF FE METHOD

■ If a truss of Fig 1(a) is being analysed, then it is straightforward exercise because it is formed from
discrete members – e.g. force can be determined using equilibrium equations as covered in basic statics
■ If the plate (Fig1(b)) of the same shape as the truss in Fig 1(1) is to be analysed, then this is not a
straightforward.
– It is a continuum, and the force path is not apparent, so it is not a simple mathematical analysis
■ Some people might say, we can approximate the plate problem to a truss problem
– Could be less accurate or might be seriously in error since it ignores the restraining effect which all
points in a continuum will experience and exert on neighbouring points.
PRINCIPLES OF FE METHOD

■ However, if a continuum was considered to be subdivided into a large number of

triangular panels as shown in Fig 1(c), it should be possible to develop a picture of
stress distribution in the whole plate by analysing each of the small panels
■ DISCRETIZATION – Basis of the FE method of stress analysis
PRINCIPLES OF FE METHOD

Types of element

■ The accuracy of the solutions depends on the number of elements – the more, the
greater the accuracy
■ However, although the analysis of each individual element is straightforward, the
analysis of a large number of elements becomes extremely tedious
■ For this reason, FE solutions are generally carried out on computers.
 APPLICATIONS OF THE FEM
■ Structural areas:
– Stress analysis
– Buckling
– Vibration analysis
■ Nonstructural problems:
– Heat transfer
– Fluid flow
– Distribution of electric or magnetic potential
■ Biomedical engineering problems – may include stress analysis
– Analyses of human spine, skull, tooth implant, heart, eye, etc.

Human pelvis
Swing casting for a backhoe frame

Temp distribution in the earth

ADVANTAGES OF THE FEM
■ Model irregular shaped bodies easily
■ Handle general load conditions without difficulty
■ Model bodies composed of several different materials because the element
equations are evaluated individually
■ Handle unlimited members and kinds of boundary conditions
■ Vary the size of the elements to make it possible to use small elements where
necessary
■ Alter the finite element model easily and cheaply
■ Include dynamic effects
■ Handle nonlinear behaviour existing with large deformations and nonlinear
materials
COMPUTER PROGRAMS FOR THE FEM
■ Includes:
– Preprocessing (build FE model, loads, and constraints)
– FEA solver (assemble and solve the set of algebraic equations)
– Postprocessing (sort and display the results)
■ Available commercial FEM programs:
– ALGOR
– Abaqus
– ANSYS
– COSMOS/M
– GT-STRUDL
– MARC
– MSC/NASTRAN
– PATRAN
– Pro/MECHANICA
FEEDBACK

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