TABLE OF CONTENTS Everybody nowadays knows what finite elements are: they are the methods for solving boundary value problems in which one divides the domain of the problem into little pieces over which the solution is approximated using polynomials. The little pieces are finite elements, and the polynomials are called shape functions J. T. Oden (1990).
I wanted to have a better name for the method because direct stiffness did not seem to convey the essence of the idea. That name is suitable to describe the procedure for assembly of discrete elements of any type, but it does not imply anything about stress analysis. So thinking of the work we had done at Boeing in comparing discrete element assembly results with finite different results, the name finite element method seemed to be appropriate it seems to have been a good choice because it has stood the test of time R. W. Clough (1994).
The limitations of the human mind are such that it cannot grasp the behavior of its complex surroundings and creations in one operation. Thus the process of subdividing all systems into their individual components or elements , whose behavior is readily understood, and then rebuilding the original system for such components to study its behavior is a natural way in which the engineer, the scientist, or even the economist proceeds O. C. Zienkiewicz and R. L. Taylor (1989).
The finite element method (FEM) is one of the most powerful tools in structural analysis. It can be successfully applied to...
