FEAElementTypes

Elementsfallintofourmajorcategories:2Dlineelements,2Dplanarelements,and
3Dsolidelementswhichareallusedtodefinegeometryandspecialelementsusedto
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elementtypesaswellassomewhatdifferentimplementationsofeventhesecommon
elements.

TrussElement(2DLine)

Trusselementsarelongandslender,
have2nodes,andcanbeoriented
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elementstransmitforceaxiallyonly
andare3DOFelementswhichallow
translationonlyandnotrotation.
Trussesarenormallyusedtomodel
towers,bridges,andbuildings.A
constantcrosssectionareais
assumedandtheyareusedforlinear
elasticstructuralanalysis.

BeamElement(2DLine)

Beamelementsarelongandslender,
havethreenodes,andcanbe
orientedanywherein3Dspace.
Beamelementsare6DOFelements
allowingbothtranslationandrotation
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primarydifferencebetweenbeam
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defineelementgeometry,theKnode
definesthecrosssectional
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differentiatebetweenthestrongand
weakaxisofbendingforabeam.A
constantcrosssectionareais
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shapeisshownonlyforvisualization,
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IJaxisrunsfromtheneartofar
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Inodeorcouldbehorizontallytothe
rightofI.
2DElement(2DPlanar)

2DElementsare3or4node
elementswithonly2DOF,YandZ
translation,andarenormallycreated
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PlaneStressorPlaneStrain
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includeaxisymmetricbodiesof
revolutionsuchasmissileradomes,
radialseals,[Link]
withconstantcrosssectionalarea
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nostressnormaltothecrosssection
definedstrainisallowedsuitable
tomodelthe2Dcrosssectionofa
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impliesnostrainnormaltothecross
sectiondefinedstressisallowed
suitabletomodelthe2Dcross
sectionofalongdam.
MembraneElement(2DPlanar)

MembraneElementsare3or4node
2Delementsthatcanbeoriented
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usedtomodelthinmembranelike
materialslikefabric,thinmetal
shells,[Link]
supportortransmitamomentload
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supportonlytranslationalDOFnot
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thicknessofthemembranemustbe
smallrelativetoitslengthorwidth.
Membranethicknessisdefinedasa
fixedparameterwhichcanbevaried.
Thegeometryisdrawnatthe
midplanewithzerothicknessshown,
similartoaplateelement.
PlateElement(2DPlanar)
Plateelementsare3or4node2D
planarelementsthatcanbeoriented
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typicallyusedtomodelstructures
comprisedofshellssuchaspressure
vessels,automobilebodies,ship
hulls,andaircraftfuselages.
Generallyathickerwallthanfora
membraneelementbutabout1/10
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DOFaresupportedaswellas
rotationalDOFthatarenotoutof
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normaltotheelementsurfaceisnot
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afixedparameterwhichcanbe
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midplanewithzerothicknessshown.

3DTetrahedraElement,4
Nodes(3DSolid)

Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
alltetrahedra,allbricks,oramixture
ofbothwithsomeautomaticmesh
generators.

3DTetrahedraElement,5
Nodes,Pyramid(3DSolid)

Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
alltetrahedra,allbricks,oramixture
ofbothwithsomeautomaticmesh
generators.

3DTetrahedraElement,6
Nodes,Wedge(3DSolid)

Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
alltetrahedra,allbricks,oramixture
ofbothwithsomeautomaticmesh
generators.

3DTetrahedraElementwith
MidsideNodes,15Nodes,
Wedge(3DSolid)

Seedefinitionbelowforthe8node
brick,youcanusuallyspecifyeither
 alltetrahedra,allbricks,oramixture
ofbothwithmostautomaticmesh
generators.

3DBrickElement,8Nodes(3D
Solid)

Brickortetrahedraelementsmay
have4,5,6,7,8,15,or20nodes
andsupportonlytranslationalDOF.
Theyarenormallyusedtomodel
solidobjectsforwhichplateelements
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specifyeitheralltetrahedra,all
bricks,oramixtureofbothwith
someautomaticmeshgenerators.
Thisisthemostcommon,and
frequentlytheonlyelementtype
supportedbyautomaticmesh
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any"blocky"structureswhichare
typicalofmachined,cast,orforged
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thermalbricksexistsothesame
modelgeometrycanbeusedforboth
theinitialsteadystateheattransfer
andsubsequentthermalstress
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throughthethicknessofapart.
3DBrickElementwithMidside
Nodes,20Nodes(3DSolid)

Seedefinitionaboveforthe8node
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ifdesired,alsosomeFEAtools
includeanadditional21stnodeat
thecentroidofthebrickwhichcan
beusefulincomputationquality
comparisons.

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