ME5702

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
EXAMINATION FOR
(Semester 1 : 2009-2010)
ME5702 FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS
NOV/DEC 2009 - Time Allowed: 2.5 Hours
Max Marks : 50
___________________________________________________________________________

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES:
1.

This examination paper contains FIVE (5) questions and comprises SIX (6) printed
pages.

2.

Answer All FIVE (5) questions.

3.

The marks for each question is indicated below it.

4.

This is an OPEN CLASS-NOTES EXAMINATION. NO TEXT BOOKS ARE

ALLOWED.

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ME5702

Question 1
Give brief answers to the following :
(a)

Write down the expression for the potential energy for a 3D linear elastic body with
no initial stresses and strains and identify the various terms. State the theorem of
minimum potential energy.

(b)

Explain why the stiffness matrix has a banded structure if the node numbers are
assigned in certain ways. How is the half-bandwidth obtained ?

(c)

Why is the Gauss quadrature method preferred to the Newton-Cotes method for
numerical integration in finite element analysis?

(d)

Compare the advantages / disadvantages of the penalty method and Lagrange

multiplier method in introducing constraint equations.

(e)

For the isoparametric mapping shown in Fig.1, find the natural coordinates (, ) of
point P if its (x,y) coordinates are (3.8, 2.6).

(3, 4)
3

2
1

2 (6, 2)

1
(1, 1)
3

Fig.1
(10 marks)

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ME5702

Question 2
The functional associated with a boundary value problem is given by :

a x b y c x y dA
A

where A represents the domain (2D). In the above expression, (x,y) is the fundamental
unknown and a, b, c are specified functions of (x, y). The boundary condition is s on
boundary B.
(a)

Obtain the Euler-Lagrange differential equation associated with the above functional.

(b)

Derive a 2D finite element formulation for this problem using the given functional .
You should give general expressions for [K]e and {f}e.
(12 marks)

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ME5702

Question 3
In a steady-state heat conduction analysis, the mesh shown in Fig.2(a) is employed. The
temperature of node 4 is specified as 4 = 5. A typical element shown in Fig.2(b) has the
heat conductivity matrix [Ke] and nodal heat supply vector {fe} (with respect to the local
node
numbering of Fig.2(b)) of :
2 2 0

[ K ] 2 3 2
0 2 2
e

2

; { f } 3
2

e

Obtain the 44 assembled finite element matrix equation corresponding to the unknowns 1,
2 , 3 and 5 . DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SOLVE THIS EQUATION.

1
1
1
2

1
2

5
4

Fig.2(a)

Fig.2(b)
(8 marks)

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ME5702

Question 4
The radial displacement ur at the inner surface of a hollow circular cylinder (r = a) shown in
Fig.3 is prescribed as a given constant c. It is modelled with plane strain elements having two
DOFs ux and uy per node.
(a)

Write down the constraint equation corresponding to a typical node I on the inner
surface (see Fig.3).

(b)

What will be the modification to the assembled [K] matrix and force vector {f} if this
constraint equation is implemented by the penalty method ?

(c)

What will be the modification to the assembled [K] matrix and force vector {f} if this
constraint equation is implemented by the Lagrange multiplier method ?
(8 marks)

x
b

Fig.3

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ME5702

Question 5
Consider a simply-supported beam of length L carrying a uniformly-distributed load of
(constant) intensity p0 / length. The governing differential equation for the transverse
deflection of the beam is given by

EI

d 4
po 0
dx 4

where EI is the flexural rigidity of the beam (constant). The BCs are

d 2
0 at x = 0
dx 2

and x = L. Assume an approximate solution as:

a1 sin

x
L

a2 sin

2 x
L

where a1 and a2 are unknown constants.

(a)

Write expressions for interior residual and boundary residuals.

(b)

Using point collocation with sampling points at x = L/3 and 2L/3, obtain a1 and a2.

(c)

Obtain a1 and a2 by Galerkin method.

(d)

Compare the solutions obtained in (b) and (c) with the exact solution at x=L/2 which
p L4
is given by 0.01302 0 .
EI
(12 marks)

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