04-Bar Elements Linear Static Analysis PDF

Bar Elements
Linear Static Analysis

By
S. Ziaei Rad
I. Linear Static Analysis
 Most structural analysis problems can be treated as
linear static problems, based on the following
assumptions
 Small deformations (loading pattern is not changed due to the
deformed shape)
 Elastic materials (no plasticity or failures)
 Static loads (the load is applied to the structure in a slow or
steady fashion) Linear analysis can provide most of the
information about
the behavior of a structure, and can be a good
approximation for
many analyses. It is also the bases of nonlinear analysis in
most
of the cases.
II. Bar Element
Consider a uniform prismatic bar:
Strain-displacement relation:
(1)
Stiffness Matrix - Direct
Method
Stress-strain relation:
Assuming that the displacement u is varying linearly along the

axis of the bar, i.e.,
we have
where
Method
We also have
where
Thus,
where is the stiffness of the bar.
The bar is acting like a spring in this case and we conclude

that element stiffness matrix is
Method
or
This can be verified by considering the equilibrium of the

force at the two nodes.
Element equilibrium equation is
Method
Degree of Freedom (dof)
Number of components of the displacement vector at a

node.
For 1-D bar element: one dof at each node.
Physical Meaning of the Coefficients in k
The jth column of k (here j = 1 or 2) represents the forces

applied to the bar to maintain a deformed shape with unit
displacement at node j and zero displacement at the other nod
Example 2.1
Problem: Find the stresses in the two bar assembly which is
loaded with force P, and constrained at the two ends,
as shown in the figure.
Example 2.1: Solution
Solution: Use two 1-D bar elements.
Element Element 2,
1,
Imagine a frictionless pin at node 2, which connects the two

elements. We can assemble the global FE equation as follows,
Load and boundary conditions (BC) are,
FE equation becomes,
Deleting the 1st row and column, and the 3 rd row and column,
we obtain,

and
Stress in element 1 is Stress in element 2 is
This indicates that bar 1 is in This indicates that bar 2 is in

Tension. compression.
Notes about bar elements
• In this case, the calculated stresses in elements 1 and 2
are exact within the linear theory for 1-D bar structures.
It will not help if we further divide element 1 or 2 into
smaller finite elements.
•For tapered bars, averaged values of the cross-sectional

areas should be used for the elements.
•We need to find the displacements first in order to find

the stresses, since we are using the displacement based
FEM.
Example 2.2
Problem: Determine the support reaction forces at the two ends
of the bar shown above, given the following,
Example 2.2
Solution:
We first check to see if or not the contact of the bar with
the wall on the right will occur. To do this, we imagine the
wall
on the right is removed and calculate the displacement at
the
right end,
Thus, contact occurs. The global FE equation is found to be,

Example 2.2
The load and boundary conditions are,
FE equation becomes,
The 2nd equation gives,

Example 2.2
that is,
Solving this, we obtain

Example 2.2
To calculate the support reaction forces, we apply the 1st
and 3rd equations in the global FE equation.
The 1st equation gives,
and the 3rd equation gives,

Stiffness Matrix – Another Approach
We derive the same stiffness matrix for the bar
using a formal approach which can be applied to
many other more complicated situations.
Define two linear shape functions as follows
Shape Function
o
r
now
where B is the element strain-displacement matrix, which is

Stress can be written as

Consider the strain energy stored in the bar
The work done by the two nodal forces is
For conservative system, we state that

which gives
or where (**)
element stiffness matrix

Expression (**) is a general result which can be used for the construction
of other types of elements. This expression can also be derived using
other more rigorous approaches, such as the Principle of Minimum
Potential Energy, or the Galerkin’s Method.
Now, we evaluate stiffness for the bar element
which is the same as we derived using the direct method.

Note that, the strain energy in the element can be
written as

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What are the assumptions of linear static analysis?

What are the assumptions of linear static analysis?

What is the strain-displacement relation for a bar element?

What is the strain-displacement relation for a bar element?

Bar Elements

Linear Static Analysis

Assuming that the displacement u is varying linearly along the

where is the stiffness of the bar.

The bar is acting like a spring in this case and we conclude

This can be verified by considering the equilibrium of the

Number of components of the displacement vector at a

Physical Meaning of the Coefficients in k

The jth column of k (here j = 1 or 2) represents the forces

Imagine a frictionless pin at node 2, which connects the two

Stress in element 1 is Stress in element 2 is

This indicates that bar 1 is in This indicates that bar 2 is in

•For tapered bars, averaged values of the cross-sectional

•We need to find the displacements first in order to find

Thus, contact occurs. The global FE equation is found to be,

The 2nd equation gives,

Solving this, we obtain

and the 3rd equation gives,

where B is the element strain-displacement matrix, which is

Stress can be written as

The work done by the two nodal forces is

For conservative system, we state that

element stiffness matrix

which is the same as we derived using the direct method.

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