Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0023454806 ISBN 13: 9780023454806

Publisher: Macmillan Pub Co, 1986

The basic concepts of the finite element method are presented in a clear and logical manner. The first chapter offers a brief discussion of matrix analysis of structures and is designed to establish a working knowledge of the matrix operations common to finite element solution procedures. The finite element method is then introduced as a discretized application of the Rayleigh-Ritz method using the energy functional of the uniaxial elasticity problem. The method's applicability to other physical problems is set forth with an introduction to variational calculus and the derivation of the functionals corresponding to the differential equations of these problems. Finally, the Galerkin weighted residual method is developed as an alternative technique.