Some element types used in
industry FEA and their
limitations
Mir Aamir Abbas
Solid elements
• Solid elements (3D)
Tetrahedral mesh Hexahedral mesh
The solid elements can
model any type of This is a sample of a random
deformation. mesh of quadratic Hexahedral
elements.
This is a sample of a random
mesh of quadratic tetrahedral
elements. Hexahedral element
Pentahedral element
Tetrahedral Element Elements with linear
shape function do not
have a mid-side node
while those with
quadratic shape functions
have one per element
edge.
Some uses of solid elements.
• Often the mesh includes all three types of solid elements. Solid
elements are the most common type of elements used. They are used
in all domains.
• Usually when tetrahedral elements are used, usually only higher-
order tetras are used.
• When Hexas are used usually linear Hexas are used.
• The solid elements find their uses in all domains as they can be used
to model any structure.
Shell Elements
• Shell elements
Quadrilateral (also called Quads) Triangular (Also called as Trias)
A random mesh of
Elements with linear Tria elements with
A random mesh of shape function do not quadratic shape
Quad elements have a mid-side node function.
with quadratic while quadratic elements
shape function. have one.
1. If the structure is thin and we assume that the shell has no normal stress perpendicular to its surface, then, shell
elements can be used.
2. While the stresses normal to the surface are zero stresses normal to the surface need not be zero.
3. Shell element results are not valid at regions where the shell thickness changes abruptly. They should also not be used
to evaluate the effect of strain perpendicular to the shell element surface.
Some uses of shell elements
• Shell elements are widely used to
model thin structures in the industry
Ex. alternator Mounting brackets,
sheet metal parts, etc in automotives.,
fuselage in aerospace, transformer
tanks in electrical products, towers
and floor panels in wind turbines,
chasis and floor panels in locomotives,
etc.
• It is also widely used for modelling
fibre reinforced thin structures like
GFRP and CFRP in meso-mechanical
modelling.
A transformer tank meshed with shell elements.
Beam Elements
• Beam elements
Undeformed shape
Deformed shape
For thin and slender structures like bars, if we can assume that the bar section is rigid then we can use beam elements
to model the deformation due to both lateral and axial loads.
Beam elements cannot model stresses and strains in:
1. Locations of abrupt change in section.
2. Location of application of loads.
3. Locations of application of constraints.
Plane stress, plane strain and axisymmetric
elements
• The plane stress, plane strain and axisymmetric elements are 2D
elements that look similar to shell elements but the entire mesh will
be in a single plane.
Some uses of Plane stress, plane strain and
axisymmetric elements
• The plane stress, plane strain and axisymmetric elements are used for
calculating the displacements in aeroengines and pressure vessels,
etc. for some load cases.
Some uses of beam elements.
• The beam elements are commonly used to model the bolts in various
structures.
• They are also used in reduced order modelling (ROM) of different
structures.
Rod/Bar Elements
• Rod elements
Deformed shape
Undeformed shape
The rod or bar elements have the same limitations as the beam elements but they can model only axial deformations.
Some uses of bar elements.
• They are used for modelling trusses.
• Bar/rod elements are used to model bearing loads.
RBE2
• These are used to model rigid connections.
• The most common use is the modelling of bolt heads connection to
the hole after creating washer split.
• It is also used for applying remote constraints.
RBE3
• This element type is used for attaching mass elements to surfaces of
other bodies.
• This is also used for applying remote forces without adding stiffness
to the structure.
Mass element
• This element is used to model the mass of objects whose stiffness is
not a concern for the particular simulation but whose mass is
important for us.
Points to note.
• Shell and solid elements are often used together in a model.
• There are other element types like C-Bush elements, singularity
elements, contact elements, etc.
• In general, linear trias for shells and linear tetrahedras for solid
models are not preferred.
• For thin structures, shells are preferred.
END
