Theminimumtotalpotentialenergyformulationisa
commonapproachingeneratingfiniteelementmodelsin
solidmechanics.
CairoUniversity FacultyofEngineering
CreditHoursSystem MechanicalDesignProgram Externalloadsappliedtoabodywillcausethebodyto
Fall2017 deform.Duringthedeformation,theworkdonebythe
externalforcesisstoredinthematerialintheformofstrain
energy.
Theprincipleofminimumpotentialenergystatesthatthe
MDPN363 FiniteElementAnalysis displacementfieldunderstableequilibriumconditions
shouldminimizethetotalpotentialenergy.
The Minimum Potential Energy Approach- Letusconsiderthestrainenergyinasolidmemberwhenit
Generalized 1 D Axially Loaded Members issubjectedtocentralforce.Later,wewillgeneralizethisto
generalizedloadingsin1Daxiallyloadedmembers.
Prof.Dr.Abdalla Wifi
However,theprincipleofminimumpotentialenergyis
generalandisappliedto2Dand3Dproblems.
Natural coordinates:
Force Terms: