2-D FEM

Week 11

Instructors
O.O Adewumi & O.A Fakinlede
 Contents
3
Introduction
Discretization 4

Model 2D Equation 5

Steps to FEM 7

2D Discretization 8
Weighted Integral Formulation 9

Boundary Conditions 13

Weak Form 14

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 Introduction

Application of the FEM to 2-D problems comes with special difficulties.

• Equations are now PDEs

• Geometry are bounded by curves and have to be approximated.
• Approximation of the domain create discretization errors
• This adds to the usual errors resulting from the approximation of the solution
over the domain.

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 Discretization

Common domain discretization for 2-D domains:

• Triangular elements
• Rectangular
• Quadrilateral
• Isoparametric
There can also be a mixture of two or more of these. An analyst gains experience by
working through these combinations and learns the issuers of efficiency, accuracy and
resource usage.
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 Model 2D Equation
General Equation to solve:

𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
− 𝑎11 + 𝑎12 − 𝑎21 + 𝑎22 + 𝑎00 − 𝑓 𝑥, 𝑦 = 0
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

The equation is a second-order partial differential equation governing a single variable

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 Model 2D Equation
Special cases:

• Laplace Equation: −div 𝑘 grad 𝑢(𝑥, 𝑦) = 0

• Poisson Equation:−div 𝑘 grad 𝑢(𝑥, 𝑦) = 𝑓 𝑥, 𝑦
𝜕𝑢
• Diffusion Equation:−div 𝑘 grad 𝑢(𝑥, 𝑦) =
𝜕𝑥
𝜕2 𝑢
• Wave Equation:−div 𝑘 grad 𝑢 𝑥, 𝑦 =
𝜕𝑡 2

Mathematica has a rich documentation on how to solve

these types of equations as shown in the figure
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 Steps to the FEM

• Discretization of the solution domain into a collection of Finite Elements.

• Weighted Integral Formulation of the problem (Partial Differential Equation).
• Derivation of the Element interpolation function for each chosen element type.
• Development of Element Model Using the Weak form.
• Assembly of elements into the global system
• Imposition of the Essential and Natural Boundary conditions
• Solution of the equations
• Post-Processing.

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 2D Discretization
Discretization of the solution domain into a collection of Finite Elements

• Four possible shapes as already mentioned: Triangular, Rectangular, Quadrilateral and

Isoparametric. The shapes are chosen as simple geometrical elements that can be uniquely
defined by a set of points – nodes. Additional nodes may be selected inside the elements.

• Select the Interpolation Functions.

• Density of elements, location and the transition elements where different kinds are chosen.

• Density of nodes.
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 Weighted Integral Formulation

Standard procedure of finding the weak form was developed when we looked at
the 1-D FEM process. It is as follows:

𝜕 𝜕
𝑤 − 𝐹1 − 𝐹2 + 𝑎00 𝑢 − 𝑓 𝑥, 𝑦 𝑑𝑥𝑑𝑦 = 0
Ω𝑒 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
Where
𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
𝐹1 = 𝑎11 + 𝑎12 , 𝐹2 = 𝑎21 + 𝑎22
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

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 Weighted Integral Formulation
Recall the 2-D version of the Gauss Divergence Theorem (Refer to Slide 3.14) given that 𝐧 is the
outwardly-drawn normal to the region 𝛺 bounded by Γ is

𝜓 grad 𝜙 𝑑𝐴 = 𝜙𝜓 𝐧 𝑑𝑠 − 𝜙 grad 𝜓 𝑑𝐴.

Ω Ω

We can break this, in Cartesian coordinates, to its two components:

𝜕𝜙 𝜕𝜓
𝜓 𝑑𝐴 = 𝜙𝜓 𝑛𝑥 𝑑𝑠 − 𝜙 𝑑𝐴
Ω 𝜕𝑥 Ω 𝜕𝑥
𝜕𝜙 𝜕𝜓
𝜓 𝑑𝐴 = 𝜙𝜓 𝑛𝑦 𝑑𝑠 − 𝜙 𝑑𝐴
Ω 𝜕𝑦 Ω 𝜕𝑦

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 Weighted Integral Formulation
So that,

𝜕𝐹1 𝜕𝑤
− 𝑤 𝑑𝐴 = − 𝑤𝐹1 𝑛𝑥 𝑑𝑠 + 𝐹1 𝑑𝐴
Ω 𝜕𝑥 Γ Ω 𝜕𝑥

Applying this, we can rewrite the weighted equations as,

𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑤
𝐹1 + 𝐹2 + 𝑎00 𝑤𝑢 − 𝑤𝑓 𝑑𝑥𝑑𝑦 − 𝑤𝐹1 𝑛𝑥 + 𝑤𝐹2 𝑛𝑦 𝑑𝑠 = 0
Ω𝑒 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝛤

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 Weighted Integral Formulation
𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
And after substituting 𝑎11 + 𝑎12 for 𝐹1 and 𝑎21 + 𝑎22 for 𝐹2 , we can write,
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
𝑎11 + 𝑎12 + 𝑎21 + 𝑎22 + 𝑎00 𝑤𝑢 − 𝑤𝑓 𝑑𝑥𝑑𝑦
Ω𝑒 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
− 𝑤 𝑎11 + 𝑎12 𝑛𝑥 + 𝑎21 + 𝑎22 𝑛𝑦 𝑑𝑠 = 0
𝛤 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

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 Boundary Conditions
From the above weak form, it is clear that the specification of the primary variable u on the
boundary constitutes an essential boundary condition. Furthermore, with no further ado, it is also
clear that the specification of the coefficient of the weighting function in the weak form, (the
secondary variable) that is,

𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
𝑞𝑛 ≡ 𝑎11 + 𝑎12 𝑛𝑥 + 𝑎21 + 𝑎22 𝑛𝑦
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

Constitutes the natural boundary condition.

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 Weak Form
So that the weak form is,

𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
𝑎11 + 𝑎12 + 𝑎21 + 𝑎22 + 𝑎00 𝑤𝑢 − 𝑤𝑓 𝑑𝑥𝑑𝑦
Ω𝑒 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
− 𝑤𝑞𝑛 𝑠 𝑑𝑠 = 0
𝛤
Which can be written as,
𝐵𝑒 𝑤, 𝑢 − 𝑙𝑒 (𝑤) = 0

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 Weak Form
So that,

𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
𝐵𝑒 𝑤, 𝑢 = 𝑎11 + 𝑎12 + 𝑎21 + 𝑎22 + 𝑎00 𝑤𝑢 𝑑𝑥𝑑𝑦
Ω𝑒 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

and

𝑙𝑒 𝑤 = 𝑤𝑓 𝑥, 𝑦 𝑑𝑥𝑑𝑦 + 𝑤𝑞𝑛 𝑠 𝑑𝑠
Ω𝑒 𝛤𝑒

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 Weak Form
𝐵𝑒 𝑤, 𝑢 − 𝑙 𝑒 (𝑤) = 0 is the variational problem. 𝐵𝑒 𝑤, 𝑢 is bilinear because it is linear in each of
its argument while 𝑙 𝑒 (𝑤) is linear.

If 𝑎12 = 𝑎21 , then 𝐵𝑒 𝑤, 𝑢 = 𝐵𝑒 𝑢, 𝑤 so that the kernel is symmetric.

We can view 𝑤 as the variation of the actual solution 𝑢 such that we can write the variational
problem as

𝐵𝑒 𝛿𝑢, 𝑢 = 𝑙 𝑒 (𝛿𝑢)

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 Bilinear and Linear Functionals
A functional 𝑙(𝑢) is said to be linear if and only if it satisfies the condition

𝑙 𝛼𝑢 + 𝛽𝑣 = 𝛼𝑙 𝑢 + 𝛽𝑙(𝑣)

A functional 𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣 is said to be bilinear if it is linear in its first and second argument 𝑢 and 𝑣 i.e.,

𝐵 𝛼𝑢1 + 𝛽𝑢2 , 𝑣 = 𝛼𝐵 𝑢1 , 𝑣 + 𝛽𝐵(𝑢2 , 𝑣)

𝐵 𝑢, 𝛼𝑣1 + 𝛽𝑣2 = 𝛼𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣1 + 𝛽𝐵(𝑢, 𝑣2 )

A bilinear functional is said to be symmetric in its arguments if

𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣 = 𝐵 𝑣, 𝑢
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 Bilinear and Linear Functionals

How do we create a variation, 𝛿𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣 in function 𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣 ?

An easy way to do this is as follows:

𝛿𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣 ≡ 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 + 𝛿𝑣 − 𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣

= 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 + 𝛿𝑣 − 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 + 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 − 𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣

= 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 + 𝛿𝑣 − 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 + 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 − 𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣

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 Bilinear and Linear Functionals
Can we interpret the first parentheses and observe that,

𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 + 𝛿𝑣 − 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣

Is simply a variation in the function caused by allowing only its second argument to vary. It
therefore makes sense to write,

𝐵 𝑢, 𝛿𝑣 ≡ 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 + 𝛿𝑣 − 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣

And with the same reasoning,

𝐵 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 ≡ 𝐵 𝑢 + 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣 − 𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣

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 Bilinear and Linear Functionals
This is why we can write
𝛿𝐵 𝑢, 𝑣 = 𝐵 𝑢, 𝛿𝑣 + 𝐵 𝛿𝑢, 𝑣

𝐵𝑒 𝑤, 𝑢 − 𝑙 𝑒 (𝑤) = 0𝑒 is the variational problem. 𝐵𝑒 𝑤, 𝑢 is bilinear because it is linear in each of

its argument while 𝑙 (𝑤) is linear.

If 𝑎12 = 𝑎21 , then 𝐵𝑒 𝑤, 𝑢 = 𝐵𝑒 𝑢, 𝑤 so that the kernel is symmetric.

We can view 𝑤 as the variation of the actual solution 𝑢 such that we can write the variational
problem as

𝐵𝑒 𝛿𝑢, 𝑢 = 𝑙 𝑒 (𝛿𝑢)

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 Weak Form
Because 𝐵𝑒 𝛿𝑢, 𝑢 is bilinear and symmetric and 𝑙 𝑒 (𝛿𝑢) is linear, we have

1
𝐵𝑒 𝛿𝑢, 𝑢 = 𝛿 𝐵𝑒 (𝑢, 𝑢) , 𝑙 𝑒 𝛿𝑢 = 𝛿 𝑙 𝑒 (𝑢)
2

What is the meaning of 𝛿𝐵(𝑢 , 𝑢)?

• It is a variation in 𝐵(𝑢 , 𝑢)
• And there are two ways of getting this variation.
• You can vary the first variable or the second: 𝐵(𝛿𝑢, 𝑢) or 𝐵(𝑢, 𝛿𝑢).

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 Weak Form
Now what happens if the function is bilinear and symmetric?
In that case, you have that, the total variation can be obtained by keeping one and varying the
other, or keeping the other and varying the one.

𝛿𝐵(𝑢, 𝑢) = 𝐵(𝛿𝑢, 𝑢) + 𝐵(𝑢, 𝛿𝑢)

But by symmetry assumptions, the two terms on the right are equal:

𝛿𝐵(𝑢, 𝑢) = 2𝐵(𝛿𝑢, 𝑢)
1
(𝛿𝑢, 𝑢) = 𝛿𝐵(𝑢, 𝑢)
2
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 Weak Form
Because 𝐵𝑒 𝛿𝑢, 𝑢 is bilinear and symmetric and 𝑙 𝑒 (𝛿𝑢) is linear, we have

1
𝐵𝑒 𝛿𝑢, 𝑢 = 𝛿 𝐵𝑒 (𝑢, 𝑢) , 𝑙 𝑒 𝛿𝑢 = 𝛿 𝑙 𝑒 (𝑢)
2

The functional associated with the variational problem 𝐵𝑒 𝑤, 𝑢 − 𝑙 𝑒 (𝑤) = 0 is

2 2
𝑒
1 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢
𝐽 𝑢 = 𝑎11 + 2𝑎12 + 𝑎22 + 𝑎00 𝑢2 𝑑𝑥𝑑𝑦 + 𝑢𝑓 𝑑𝑥𝑑𝑦 + 𝑢𝑞𝑛 𝑠 𝑑𝑠
2 Ω𝑒 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝛺𝑒 𝛤

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 Next Lecture
2-D FEM

• 2-D FEM Model

• 2-D Interpolation Functions

• Linear Interpolation for 2-D Element

• Evaluation of 2-D FEM Model

24

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