Library of Finite Elements

The finite elements available in Aladdin 1.0 are:

[ 2D Beam-Column Element ] [ 3D Beam-Column Element ] [ Plane Stress - Plane Strain Element ]
[ DKQ Plate Element ] [ Shell Element with Drilling D.O.F. ]

Aladdin 2.0 also supports:

[ 2D Fiber Element ] [ 3D Fiber Element ]

Note : For complete details on the elements in Aladdin 1.0, download Technical Report TR 95-74. A detailed description of the fiber elements can be found in Wane-Jang's Ph.D. dissertation.


2D BEAM-COLUMN ELEMENT

Figure 1 shows the two dimensional 2-node frame (or beam/column) element.

Figure 1 : Two Dimensional Beam-Column Element

Displacements at each node are modeled with two translational, and one rotational, degree of freedom.

This element may be used for the modeling of linear elastic materials.

Section Properties and Material Properties

The section properties are; Moment of inertia "Izz" and cross-section area -- alternatively, the cross section are is computed from the section width (or bf) times the depth. The material properties are Young's modulus "E", Poisson's ratio "nu", and density "rho."

The element type is FRAME_2D.

Example

   end1 = 4*floorno + bayno;
   end2 = end1 + 1;

   AddElmt( elmtno, [ end1 , end2 ], "mybeam");

   ....... input code removed ........

   ElementAttr("floorbeam") { type     = "FRAME_2D";
                              section  = "mysection2";
                              material = "mymaterial";
                            }

   SectionAttr("floorsection2") { Izz      = 1600.3 in^4;
                                  Iyy      = 66.2   in^4;
                                  depth    = 21.0     in;
                                  width    = 8.25     in;
                                  area     = 21.46  in^2;
                                }

   MaterialAttr("floormaterial") { density = 0.1024E-5 lb/in^3;
                                   poisson = 0.25;
                                   yield   = 36.0   ksi;
                                   E       = 29000  ksi;
                                 }

Note : The density may be omitted when a default I-beam section is referenced from the AISC sections header file section.h.


3D BEAM-COLUMN ELEMENT

Figure 2 shows the three dimensional 2-node frame (or beam/column) element.

Figure 2 : Three-Dimensional Beam-Column Element

Displacements at each node are modeled with three translational, and three rotational, degrees of freedom.

This element may be used for the modeling of linear elastic materials.

Section Properties and Material Properties

The section properties include moments of inertia "Izz" and "Iyy," and the cross-section "area". The cross-section area may also be computed from the section "depth" times its "width" (or "bf"). The torsional constant and radius of gyration are defined by parameters "J" and "rT", respectively. The material properites are Young's modulus "E", Poisson's ratio "nu", and the density "rho".

The element type is FRAME_3D.

Example

   elmtno = 0;
   while(elmtno < 4) {
         elmtno = elmtno + 1;
         AddElmt( elmtno, [elmtno, elmtno + 1], "floorelmt");
   }

   ....... code deleted .... 

   ElementAttr("floorelmt") { type     = "FRAME_3D";
                              section  = "mysection";
                              material = "mymaterial";
                            }

   SectionAttr("floorsection") { Izz     = 13824 in^4;
                                 Iyy     =  3456 in^4;
                                 area    =   288 in^2;
                                 depth   =    24 in;
                                 width   =    12 in;
                               }

   MaterialAttr("floormaterial") { .... same as for FRAME_2D example .... }

Note : The density may be omitted when a default I-beam section is referenced from the AISC sections header file section.h.


PLANE STRESS - PLANE STRAIN ELEMENT

Figure 3 shows the two dimensional 4-node plane stress/plane strain element.

Figure 3 : Plane Stress-Plane Strain Element

May be used to model linear elastic materials.

Section Properties and Material Properties

Young's modulus "E", Poisson's ratio "nu", Density rho for dynamic analyses; No section properties are needed.

The element type is PLANE_STRESS (or PLANE_STRAIN).

Example

    ElementAttr("pipe") { type     = "PLANE_STRAIN";
                          section  = "pipesection";
                          material = "pipematerial"; }

    SectionAttr("pipesection") { depth = 30 cm;
                                 width = 30 cm; }

    MaterialAttr("pipematerial") { poisson = 1/3;
                                   yield   = 36000;
                                   E       = 200 GPa; }


DKQ PLATE ELEMENT

Figure 4 shows a four node discrete kirchoff quadrilateral (DKQ) plate element.

Figure 4 : Plate Finite Element

Each node has three degrees of freedom -- two rotations, and a lateral displacement.

Section Properties and Material Properties

The section property is plate "thickness". The material properties include Young's modulus "E", and Poisson's ratio "nu".

The element type is DKT_PLATE.

Example

   connect = [ 1, 2, 3, 4];
   AddElmt( elmtno, connect, "name_of_elmt_attr");

   ...... input statements removed .....

   ElementAttr("name_of_elmt_attr") { type     = "DKT_PLATE";
                                      section  = "mysection";
                                      material = "ELASTIC";
                                      map ldof [1,2,3] to gdof [2, 4, 6];
                                    }

   SectionAttr("mysection") { thickness = 2.0 in; }

   MaterialAttr("ELASTIC")  { density = 150 lb/ft^3;
                              poisson = 0.3;
                              yield   = 36000;
                              E       = 29000 psi;

Some working notes:

  1. The plate orientation must be in x-z plane having y-axis perpendicular to the plate surface.

  2. The mapping command "map ldof [1,2,3] to gdof [2,4,6]" is also necessary, but in the absence of x-z plane orientation, this mapping is not working. So, orientation of the plate in conjunction with mapping must be specified.

  3. To avoid singular stiffness matrices, you will need to fix the 1,3,5 (global) degrees of freedom for all nodes not along the perimeter of the plate.

  4. Currently, this element does not have a mass matrix.

Note: This element was transformed from FORTRAN to C in the early 1990s by one of my graduate students. If somebody would like to check this work (i.e., check that both versions give identical numerical results). please let me know and I'll get you the appropriate source code.


SHELL ELEMENT WITH DRILLING D.O.F.

Figure 5 shows the four node flat shell element with six degrees of freedom per node.

Figure 5 : Flat Shell Element with Drilling D.O.F.

The theoretical formulation of this shell finite element, and numerical examples of its performance may be found in the masters thesis of Lanheng Jin.

This element may be used for modeling of linear elastic materials.

Section Properties and Material Properties

The section attribute is "thickness" alone. The material properties are Young's modulus "E", Poisson's ratio "nu", and Density "rho" (for dynamic analyses). The element has two modeling parameters "ialpha" and "pen".

The element type is SHELL_4NQ.

Example

   AddElmt( elmtno+1, [ a+1, b+1, b+2, a+2 ], "bridgegirder" );

   ..... input code removed .....

   ElementAttr("bridgegirder") { type     = "SHELL_4NQ";
                                 section  = "girder_flange";
                                 material = "STEEL3";
                               }

   SectionAttr( "girder_flange" ) { thickness = 1.100 in; }

Note : STEEL3 is a material property predefined in material.h, and loaded into the ALADDIN database during the program's startup procedure.

Currently, this element does not have a mass matrix.


2D FIBER ELEMENT

The fiber element has the same degrees of freedom as the traditional plane frame element.

Figure 6 : 2D Fiber Element

FIBER_2D is the element type name for a two dimensional 2-node fiber element with homogeneous shear properties.

FIBER_2DS is the element type name for a two dimensional 2-node fiber element constructed from fibers having more than one shear property.

Material Properties

The element material properties are defined for the whole element. The material properties include Poisson's ratio "nu" (the default value is 0.3), and "density". The material properties in element type FIBER_2D also include the shear modulus "G", tangent shear modulus "Gt", and shear yield stress "shear_yield". Note that "G", "Gt" and "shear_yield" represent the shear properties for the whole element. Young's modulus "E", tangent Young's modulus "Et" and yield stress "fy" are not defined here -- they will be defined in the fiber attribute instead.

Constituitive Relations

The nonlinear constitutive relations of the overall element cross-section are derived by integration of the nonlinear stress-strain relations of the individual fibers. Each fiber follows a uniaxial stress-strain relation for a particular material. Complex nonlinear section behavior can occur even if the individual fibers are modeled with nonlinear stress-strain relations in the uniaxial direction alone.

The fiber element that we have incorporated into Aladdin 2.0 has a bi-linear stress-strain relationship in uniaxial stress, and follows the kinematic hardening rule shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7 : Stress-Strain Relationship for Fiber Element

The precise stress-strain relations are defined by three criteria:

  1. Yield criterion : Yielding begins when "sigma" reaches "sigma_y" in either tension or compression.

  2. Flow rule : If the material has yielded,
        d_sigma = E_t depsilon
    

    That is, if the material has yet to yield or is unloading, then sigma = E * depsilon.

  3. Kinematic hardening rule : While reloading the response will be elastic until it reaches the previous unloading point, which is point "B" in Figure 7. While loading is reversed, the yielding reappears at sigma_B - 2.sigma_y, which means that there is a total 2.sigma_y elastic stress range.

Section Properties

The element section properties are defined for the whole element. The section properties include the element's total cross-section area, "area" ("area" may be computed from the section "depth" times its "width" or "bf"). The "shear_factor" for shear effect in the element is 1.2 by default. In order to calculate a mass matrix for dynamic analysis, either "unit_weight" in the section properties, or "density" in the material properties must be supplied. The fiber element supports only lumped mass matrix.

Fiber Attributes

FiberCoordinate includes y-coordinate of each fiber in the element cross section. FiberMaterialAttr includes the Young's modulus, tangent Young's modulus, and yield stress.

Example

Let's now consider the two-dimensional cross section shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8 : Modeling a 2D Fiber Element

The Aladdin statements needed to model the four fiber elements in Figure 7 are:

   AddElmt( 1, [1,2], "elmt_attr" );

   /* Define element attribute */

   ElementAttr("elmt_attr"){ type     = "FIBER_2D";
                             section  = "sec_name";
                             material = "mat_name";
                             fiber    = "fib_name";  }

   /* Define section properties */

   SectionAttr("sec_name") { area = b*h;
                             width = b; depth = h;
                             unit_weight = 1 N/m;  }

   /* Define material properties */

   MaterialAttr("mat_name"){ poisson = nu;  G = G;  shear_yield = fv; }

   /* Element is modeled with 4 fibers and equally meshed. */

   no_of_fiber = 4;

   fiber_coord = [ 3/8*h, 1/8*h, -1/8*h, -3/8*h ];
   fiber_area  = [ b*h/4, b*h/4,  b*h/4,  b*h/4 ];

   /* Element is composed of two materials. */

   fiber_attr = [ E1,   E2;
                  Et1,  Et2;
                  fy1,  fy2 ];
 
   /* Fiber No.1 and No.2 are material 1 */
   /* Fiber No.3 and No.4 are material 2 */

   fiber_map = [ 1, 1, 2, 2 ];

   /* Define Fiber Attribute */

   FiberAttr( no_of_fiber, "fib_name" ) { FiberMaterialAttr = fiber_attr;
                                          FiberCoordinate   = fiber_coord;
                                          FiberArea         = fiber_area;
                                          FiberMaterialMap  = fiber_map;  }

2D FIBER ELEMENT WITH MULTIPLE SHEAR PROPERTIES

FIBER_2DS is the element type name for a two dimensional 2-node fiber element constructed from fibers having more than one shear property.

The section properties and material properties are the same as FIBER_2D. One exception is that there is now no need to define shear properties in material properties, since they will be defined in FiberMaterialAttr matrix.

Fiber Attribute

FiberMaterialAttr of FIBER_2DS includes the Young's modulus, tangent Young's modulus, yield stress, shear modulus, tangent shear modulus, and shear yield stress.

Example

Here is an example of an element composed of two materials each having their own shear properties:

    fiber_attr = [ E1,   E2;
                   Et1,  Et2;
                   fy1,  fy2;
                   G1,   G2;
                   Gt1,  Gt2;
                   fv1,  fv2 ];


3D FIBER ELEMENT

The three-dimensional fiber element has the same degrees of freedom as the traditional space frame element.

Figure 9 : 3D Fiber Element

FIBER_3D is the element type name for a three dimensional 2-node fiber element with homogeneous shear properties.

FIBER_3DS is the element type name for a three dimensional 2-node fiber element constructed from fibers having more than one shear property.

Section Properties and Material Properties

The section properties defined here are for the whole element, and include the element's total cross-section "area" ("area" may be computed from the section "depth" times its "width" or "bf"). The "shear_factor" for shear effect in the element is 1.2 by default. The torsional constant "J" has to be given in section properties. For dynamic analysis, in order to calculate mass matrix, "unit_weight" in section properties or "density" in material properties must be given. The fiber element supports only a lumped mass matrix.

The material properties are defined for the whole element, and include mass "density" and Poisson's ratio "nu" ("poisson" is 0.3 by default). The material properties in FIBER_3D also include the shear modulus "G", tangent shear modulus "Gt", and shear yield stress "shear_yield". Note that "G", "Gt" and "shear_yield" represent the shear properties for the whole element. Young's modulus "E", tangent Young's modulus "Et" and yield stress "fy" are not defined here -- they will be defined in fiber attribute instead.

Fiber Attributes

FiberCoordinate defines both y-coordinate and z-coordinate of each fiber in the element cross section. FiberMaterialAttr defines different material types of fibers, it includes the Young's modulus, tangent Young's modulus, and yield stress.

Example

Let's now consider the two-dimensional cross section shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10 : 3D Fiber Element

The Aladdin statements needed to construct this element are:

   AddElmt( 1, [1,2], "elmt_attr" );

   /* Define Element Attribute */

   ElementAttr("elmt_attr"){ type     = "FIBER_3D";
                             section  = "sec_name";
                             material = "mat_name";
                             fiber    = "fib_name";  }

   /* Define Section Properties */

   SectionAttr("sec_name") { area = b*h;
                             width = b; depth = h;
                             J = 0.2 m^4;
                             unit_weight = 1 N/m;  }

   /* Define Material Properties */

   MaterialAttr("mat_name"){ poisson = nu;  G = G;  shear_yield = fv; }

   /* Element is modeled with 8 fibers and equally meshed. */
   /*  (4 rows by 2 columns) of fibers per cross section   */

   no_of_fiber = 2*4;

   fiber_coord=[  b/4,  -b/4,   b/4,  -b/4,    b/4,   -b/4,    b/4,   -b/4];
                3/8*h, 3/8*h, 1/8*h, 1/8*h, -1/8*h, -1/8*h, -3/8*h, -3/8*h];
   fiber_area =[b*h/8, b*h/8, b*h/8, b*h/8,  b*h/8,  b*h/8,  b*h/8,  b*h/8];

   /* Element is composed of two materials. */

   fiber_attr = [ E1,   E2;
                  Et1,  Et2;
                  fy1,  fy2 ];
 
   /* Fiber No.1 to No.4 are material 1 */
   /* Fiber No.5 to No.8 are material 2 */

   fiber_map = [ 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2 ];

   /* Define Fiber Attribute */

   FiberAttr( no_of_fiber, "fib_name" ) { FiberMaterialAttr = fiber_attr;
                                          FiberCoordinate   = fiber_coord;
                                          FiberArea         = fiber_area;
                                          FiberMaterialMap  = fiber_map;  }

3D FIBER ELEMENT WITH DIFFERENT SHEAR PROPERTIES

FIBER_3DS is the element type name for a three dimensional 2-node fiber element constructed from fibers having more than one shear property.

The section properties and material properties are the same as FIBER_3D, except that there is no need to define shear properties in material properties; they will be defined in FiberMaterialAttr matrix.

Fiber Attributes

FiberMaterialAttr of FIBER_3DS includes the Young's modulus, tangent Young's modulus, yield stress, shear modulus, tangent shear modulus, and shear yield stress.

Example

Here is an example of an element composed of two materials having their own shear properties:

    fiber_attr = [ E1,   E2;
                   Et1,  Et2;
                   fy1,  fy2;
                   G1,   G2;
                   Gt1,  Gt2;
                   fv1,  fv2 ];


Developed in July 1996 by Mark Austin
Copyright © 1996-2000, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Maryland