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 ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURAL MEMBERS
BY FINITE DIFFERENCE METHOD

Guided by: Presented by:

Prof. Santosh Kumar Das
Assistant Professor
Civil Engineering Department
Jadavpur University, Kolkata
Durgesh Pratap Singh
B.E. Civil Engineering
4th year 1st Semester
Roll No. – 001810401195
Jadavpur University, Kolkata
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 Introduction

 In structural analysis most of the problems involve the differential

equation of the ordinary type that are required for the determination
of moments, shear force, deflection etc. in beam and buckling of
column.

 Direct values are possible in cases where the load distribution,

sectional properties and boundary conditions are easily represented.

 Finite difference method is applicable for complex problems having

complex loading, boundary condition (like simply supported, fixed
support, hinged support, roller support, etc.) and varying section. 3
 A beam with varying load

Irregular loading conditions

 Finite difference method are discretization's used for solving

differential equation. The value of a function for any intermediate
value of the independent variable is determined. At each nodal point,
differential equation can be applied and a set of simultaneous
equations are developed. These equation can be solved by using
boundary condition. 4
 A finite difference is a mathematical expression of the form
f (x + b) − f (x + a). If a finite difference is divided by b − a, one gets a
difference quotient. The approximation of derivatives by finite
differences plays a central role in finite difference methods for
the numerical solution of differential equations, especially boundary
value problems.

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 Theory and Equations
Finite difference method are a class of numerical techniques for solving
differential equations by approximating the derivatives with finite
differences.

Finite difference method converts Ordinary Differential equations (ODE) or

Partial Differential Equations (PDE), which may be linear or non-linear, into a
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system of linear equations that can be solved by simple algebraic techniques
easily.

The function y=f(x),BUSINESS

where y is known as entry and x is called argument.
• Here the value of argument ‘x’ at equal intervals are :
xo , xo + h , xo + 2h , xo + 3h ...................................... x o + nh
• Corresponding value of y are ,
f(x0 ) , f(x0 + h), f(x0 + 2h), f(x0 +3h)...................f(x0 + nh) 6
The derivative of a function f at the point x is defined as the limit of a
difference quotient:

In other words, the difference quotient f(x+h)-f(x) is an approximation of the

h
derivative , and this approximation gets better as h gets smaller.

This has been derived using the Taylor’s Polynomial equation.

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We have three choices to approximate the first derivative of f(x) at x = a.
These are:

1. Forward difference:

2. Backward difference:

3.Central difference:

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We will use the central differences in this project work for the analysis
of different problems. The central finite difference equation for
different order of differential equations are as follows:

• First order differential equation :

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• Second -order differential equation:
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• Third-order differential equation:

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• Fourth-order differential equation:

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Using the above equations and the boundary conditions present in the
problems, we will analyse the problem for different number of nodes and
compare the result for all the cases.
As we know,

Here, M = Moment at any section

h = Distance interval at any point
y = Deflection at any section
n = Nodal point
E = Modulus of Elasticity
I = Second Moment of Inertia
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We will use this equation further for all the calculation in case of beam
problems for different number of nodal points.

 The error in a method's solution is defined as the difference between

the approximation and the exact analytical solution. The two sources of
error in finite difference methods are round-off error, the loss of
precision due to computer rounding of decimal quantities,
and truncation error or discretization error, the difference between
the exact solution of the original differential equation and the exact
quantity assuming perfect arithmetic (that is, assuming no round-off).

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 Problems

Problem 1: A cantilever beam of length L supports a concentrated load P at the

free end as shown in the figure below. Estimate the deflection of beam using
finite difference method.
P

Solution: (i) Considering 3 nodal point.

P

0
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Assuming an imaginary nodal point 0 towards left
of support,
h = L/2.
Drawing the BMD for the beam,

At fixed support, B.M. = -PL (-ve sign to indicate hogging)

For all other points, B.M.= -Px
(x=Distance of point from free end)
Drawing (M/EI) diagram,

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• Applying initial boundary condition,
Let y0, y1, y2 & y3 be the deflection at the nodal points 0, 1, 2 and 3
respectively.
As Nodal point 1 is fixed, y1=0 & y0 = y2 (by symmetry)
Now applying finite difference equation to each node,

At node 1: ( i = 1,y1 = 0 and y0 = y2 )

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At node 2: ( i = 2)

 For 3 nodal points,

Deflection of the cantilever beam at free end is (in the downward

direction).

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(ii) Considering 5 nodal points.

 For 5 nodal points,

Deflection at the free end of the cantilever beam is
( in downward direction)

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 Problem 2: Determine the deflection under the concentrated load P acting
at the centre of the simply supported beam of span L shown in the figure
below using finite difference method.(Assume EI=Constant)

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Solution: (i) Considering 3 nodal point

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 For 3 nodal points,
Deflection of simply supported beam at the mid-span under the concentrated
load is (in downward direction).

(ii) Considering 5 nodal point.

P

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 For 5 nodal points,
Deflection of simply supported beam at the mid-span under the
concentrated load is (in downward direction).

Problem 3: A cantilever beam of span ‘L’ with constant moment of inertia

carries a concentrated load ‘P’ at the centre of the beam as shown in the
figure below. Estimate the deflection of the beam at the mid-span using
finite difference method.

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 (i)Considering 5 nodal points.
 For 5 nodal points,
Deflection at the mid-span of fixed
span under the concentrated load is
(in downward direction).
(ii)Considering 7 nodal points
 For 7 nodal points,
Deflection at the mid-span of
fixed span under the
concentrated load is (in
downward direction).
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Problem 4: A cantilever beam of span ‘L’ with constant moment of inertia,
carries a UDL of intensity W KN/m throughout the span as shown in the figure
below. Estimate the deflection of beam at the free end using finite difference
method.

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(i)Considering 3 nodal point
 For 3 nodal points,
Deflection of the cantilever beam
at free end with uniformly
distributed load over the whole
span is (in the downward
direction).
(ii)Considering 5 nodal point
 For 5 nodal points,
Deflection of the cantilever beam
at free end with uniformly
distributed load over the whole
span is
( in downward direction)
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Problem 5: A simply supported beam of span ‘L’ with constant moment of
inertia, carries a UDL of intensity W KN/m throughout the span as shown
in the figure below. Estimate the deflection of beam at the mid-span using
finite difference method.

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(i)Considering 5 nodal points. (ii)Consdering 7 nodal points

4
−7 𝑊 𝐿
4
−5 𝑊 𝐿
4 − 1103 𝑊 𝐿
𝑦 2= 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦 1 =𝑦 3= 𝑦 3=
512 𝐸𝐼 512 𝐸𝐼 8275 𝐸𝐼

 For 5 nodal points,  For 7 nodal points,

Deflection at the mid span of
the simply-supported beam due
to UDL throughout the span is
(in downward direction)
Deflection at the mid span of
the simply-supported beam due
to UDL throughout the span is
(in downward direction)
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 Conclusion
The following conclusions can be made from all the problems solved above:

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From the above table, we can see that as the number of nodes is increasing
(i.e. value of h is reducing), error in the result is decreasing.
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 References
1. Introductory Methods of Numerical Analysis by S. S. Sastry

2. Computer Oriented Numerical Methods by V Rajaraman

3. NPTEL YouTube Lectures on Finite Difference Method

4. YouTube Lectures on Finite Difference Method by Santosh Nawale

5. YouTube Lectures on Finite Difference Method by Rajesh

Rajguru

6. Finite difference Method by Wikipedia

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THANKS

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