PROCEDURE OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

The following steps are involved in the finite element analysis.

1. Discretization of the structure/continuum.

2. Choosing appropriate displacement function.
3. Strain-displacement matrix [B]
4. Stress-Strain matrix [D]
5. Development of element stiffness matrix
6. Development of Load vector
7. Solution for the unknown displacements
8. Computation of the element strains and stresses/stress resultants from the nodal displacement
 Development of element stiffness matrix

Stiffness Matrix:
Element stiffness matrix can be developed using the following formulae:

• The element stiffness matrices of individual elements are to be assembled through a proper
numbering system so as to reduce the size of the structure stiffness matrix.

• The element stiffness matrices are to be assembled by superposing the nodal components of
stiffnesses of elements at each and every node.
 Development of Load vector

Load Vector:

Load vector of an element subjected to initial stress, strain, surface loads, body loads, and
concentrated loads is
 Solution for the unknown displacements

Solution of the final set of simultaneous equations:

• The structure stiffness matrix is to be modified to impose boundary conditions

that allows prescribed degrees of freedom to be either zero or nonzero.

• Structural equations [K] {D} = {Q} can be solved by making use of algorithms
available for the solution of simultaneous equations.

• Finally, unknown nodal displacements are computed.

 Computation of the element strains and stresses/stress resultants
from the nodal displacement

Stress Computation:

• After solving nodal displacements, all nodal degrees of freedom of the structure are
known.

• Finally, stresses are computed from strains in individual elements by using the following
equations.