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ElementTypes

FEAElementTypes
Elementsfallintofourmajorcategories:2Dlineelements,2Dplanarelements,and
3Dsolidelementswhichareallusedtodefinegeometryandspecialelementsused
toapplyboundaryconditions.Forexamplespecialelementsmightincludegap
elementstospecifyagapbetweentwopiecesofgeometry.Springelementsareused
toapplyaspecificspringconstantataspecifiednodeorsetofnodes.Rigidelements
areusedtodefinearigidconnectiontoorinamodel.Thefiguresbelowshownodes
inredandtheelementintranslucentblueexceptforthebeamelementwhichis
brightblue.Themostcommongeometryelementsareshowbelow.MostFEAtools
supportadditionalelementtypesaswellassomewhatdifferentimplementationsof
eventhesecommonelements.

TrussElement(2DLine)
Trusselementsarelongand
slender,have2nodes,andcanbe
orientedanywherein3Dspace.
Trusselementstransmitforceaxially
onlyandare3DOFelementswhich
allowtranslationonlyandnot
rotation.Trussesarenormallyused
tomodeltowers,bridges,and
buildings.Aconstantcrosssection
areaisassumedandtheyareused
forlinearelasticstructuralanalysis.

BeamElement(2DLine)
Beamelementsarelongand
slender,havethreenodes,andcan
beorientedanywherein3Dspace.
Beamelementsare6DOFelements
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allowingbothtranslationand
rotationateachendnode.Thatis
theprimarydifferencebetween
beamandtrusselements.TheIJ
nodesdefineelementgeometry,the
Knodedefinesthecrosssectional
orientation.Thisishowyou
differentiatebetweenthestrongand
weakaxisofbendingforabeam.A
constantcrosssectionareais
assumed.Intheimage,thebeam
shapeisshownonlyfor
visualization,theelementisthedark
bluerod.TheIJaxisrunsfromthe
neartofarnode.Kisshown
verticallyabovetheInodeorcould
behorizontallytotherightofI.

2DElement(2DPlanar)
2DElementsare3or4node
elementswithonly2DOF,YandZ
translation,andarenormally
createdintheYZplane.Theyare
usedforPlaneStressorPlaneStrain
analyses.Commonapplications
includeaxisymmetricbodiesof
revolutionsuchasmissileradomes,
radialseals,etc.andlongsections
withconstantcrosssectionalarea
suchasadam.PlaneStressimplies
nostressnormaltothecrosssection
definedstrainisallowedsuitable
tomodelthe2Dcrosssectionofa
bodyofrevolution.PlaneStrain
impliesnostrainnormaltothecross
sectiondefinedstressisallowed
suitabletomodelthe2Dcross
sectionofalongdam.

MembraneElement(2DPlanar)
MembraneElementsare3or4node
2Delementsthatcanbeoriented
anywherein3Dspace.Theycanbe
usedtomodelthinmembranelike
materialslikefabric,thinmetal
shells,etc.Theseelementswillnot
supportortransmitamomentload
orstressnormaltothesurface.
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TheysupportonlytranslationalDOF
notrotationalandinplaneloading.
Thethicknessofthemembrane
mustbesmallrelativetoitslength
orwidth.Membranethicknessis
definedasafixedparameterwhich
canbevaried.Thegeometryis
drawnatthemidplanewithzero
thicknessshown,similartoaplate
element.

PlateElement(2DPlanar)
Plateelementsare3or4node2D
planarelementsthatcanbeoriented
anywherein3Dspace.Theyare
typicallyusedtomodelstructures
comprisedofshellssuchaspressure
vessels,automobilebodies,ship
hulls,andaircraftfuselages.
Generallyathickerwallthanfora
membraneelementbutabout1/10
thelengthorwidth.Alltranslational
DOFaresupportedaswellas
rotationalDOFthatarenotoutof
plane.Thatisrotationaboutthe
normaltotheelementsurfaceisnot
allowed.Platethicknessisdefinedas
afixedparameterwhichcanbe
varied.Thegeometryisdrawnat
themidplanewithzerothickness
shown.

3DTetrahedraElement,4
Nodes(3DSolid)
Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
alltetrahedra,allbricks,ora
mixtureofbothwithsomeautomatic
meshgenerators.

3DTetrahedraElement,5
Nodes,Pyramid(3DSolid)
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Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
alltetrahedra,allbricks,ora
mixtureofbothwithsomeautomatic
meshgenerators.

3DTetrahedraElement,6
Nodes,Wedge(3DSolid)
Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
alltetrahedra,allbricks,ora
mixtureofbothwithsomeautomatic
meshgenerators.

3DTetrahedraElementwith
MidsideNodes,15Nodes,
Wedge(3DSolid)
Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
alltetrahedra,allbricks,ora
mixtureofbothwithmostautomatic
meshgenerators.

3DBrickElement,8Nodes(3D
Solid)
Brickortetrahedraelementsmay
have4,5,6,7,8,15,or20nodes
andsupportonlytranslationalDOF.
Theyarenormallyusedtomodel
solidobjectsforwhichplate
elementsarenotappropriate.You
canusuallyspecifyeitherall
tetrahedra,allbricks,oramixture
ofbothwithsomeautomaticmesh
generators.Thisisthemost
common,andfrequentlytheonly
elementtypesupportedby
automaticmeshgenerators.Bricks
workquitewellforany"blocky"
structureswhicharetypicalof
machined,cast,orforgedfabricated
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parts.Structuralandthermalbricks
existsothesamemodelgeometry
canbeusedforboththeinitial
steadystateheattransferand
subsequentthermalstress
computations.Brickscomputestress
throughthethicknessofapart.

3DBrickElementwithMidside
Nodes,20Nodes(3DSolid)
Seedefinitionaboveforthe8node
brick.Midsidenodescanbeincluded
ifdesired,alsosomeFEAtools
includeanadditional21stnodeat
thecentroidofthebrickwhichcan
beusefulincomputationquality
comparisons.

Copyright20062014byDeepSoft,LLC,AllRightsReserved

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