AN INTRODUCTION TO THE

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

J.P. PONTHOT
Aerospace & Mechanical Laboratory/LTAS-MN2L
1
University of Liège, Belgium
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Mechanics without Finite Elements is

like Rock’n Roll without Electricity

Juan C. SIMO

2
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

What Pierre Kroll thinks about my course (at least in 2011):

"E pur si muove " (and yet it moves), Galileo Galilei

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

CHAPTER 1:

INTRODUCTION TO THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

CURRENT APPLICATIONS OF THE FINITE

ELEMENTS IN MECHANICS
(Solids and Fluids)

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Where the Course Fits:

Numerical Method in Mechanics
Computational Mechanics
The field of Mechanics cam be divided into 3 major areas:

Theoretical
Mechanics Applied
Computational

N.B. Mechanics is the branch of Physics concerned with the behavior of

bodies (movement and deformation) when submitted to forces
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Computational Mechanics

Branches of Computational Mechanics can be distinguished according to the

physical focus of attention

Nano and Micromechanics

Continuum Mechanics:
Computational Solids and Structures
Mechanics Fluids
Multiphysics

Systems
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Computational Solid and Structural Mechanics

A convenient subdivision of problems in Computational Solid and Structural

Mechanics (CSM) is:

Statics
Computational
Solid and Structural
Mechanics (CSM)
Dynamics
(“Theory of Vibrations”)
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Computational Solid Mechanics (CSM)

A further subdivision of problems in CSM Statics is

Linear (the topic of this course)

(ELASTICITY AND SMALL STRAINS)

CSM Statics Nonlinear

•Material (“Advanced Solid Mechanics”)
•Geometry (“Large deformations of solids”)
•Contact (“Large deformations of solids”)
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

PDE- Partial Differential Equations

BC- Boundary Conditions
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

CONTINUUM MECHANICS

Local Partial Differential Equations (PDE) & Boundary conditions

(BC) describing:

•KINEMATICS
•CONSERVATION LAWS PDE.
•MATERIAL BEHAVIOR
•LOADS
•SUPPORTS BC

Infinite number of Degree Of Freedom (DOF)

Almost impossible to solve analytically for arbitrary shapes

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

MATHEMATICAL DISCRETE MODEL

Numerical approach (Computational Mechanics) 

Discrete approach

Algebraic equations

Finite number of DOF

PDE are solved approximately

Virtual analysis
FEM (Finite Element Method) is a toolkit
for such a numerical approach 12
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

MATHEMATICAL MODEL DEFINITION

Traditional definition
Scaled fabricated version of a physical system
(think of a car or a train model)

Simulation oriented definition

A model is a symbolic device built to simulate and predict
aspects of behavior of a system

Virtual analysis

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
Based on classical Mechanics of Materials (MoM)
IDEALIZATION
Limited to simple concepts, bar, trusses, beam, plate,
shell…
Limited combinations of structural concepts

COMPUTATION
“exact” solutions (but very simplified models…)

LIMITATIONS ADVANTAGES
Quasi-static cases Generality
Small displacements “formulas”
Elasticity (isotropic) Feeling for a designer
Mechanics of materials
(MoM)
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 STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

Based on classical Mechanics of Materials (MoM)

PRE-COMPUTER AGE

(BUT STILL VERY USEFUL FOR PRE-DESIGN !!!!)

If current FEM solutions differs from MoM

by an order of magnitude
(or even a factor 2!!),
FEM is most probably wrong!
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
COMPLEXITY ARISES FROM:
•Complex geometrical shapes
•Complex material behavior
•Complex loading
•Boundary conditions (contact,…)
•Coupling with other phenomena (multiphysics)
•Design criteria

PRESENT CAD* SOFTWARE AREAS HELP ONLY IN

HANDLING THE GEOMETRICAL ASPECTS

IDEALIZATION
16
*CAD = Computer Aided design
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

THE IDEALIZATION PROCESS FOR A SIMPLE STRUCTURE

IDEALIZING
=
SIMPLIFYING!

Discrete unknowns= nodal displacements 17

 An introduction to Finite Element Method

THE DISCRETIZATION PROCESS

LOADS : Assumed to be known

BAR ELEMENT : Behavior to be determined
REACTIONS : To be determined
JOINTS OR NODES : Discrete unknowns = nodal displacements
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

COMPUTATIONAL SOLID MECHANICS

For the numerical simulation on the computer we must now
chose a spatial discretization method (transform PDE to
algebraic equations):
Finite Element Method (FEM)
Finite Difference Method (FDM)
Boundary Element Method (BEM)
Discrete Element Method (DEM)
Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM)
Finite Volume Method (FVM)
Spectral Method
Mesh-free or Meshless Method (EFG…)
eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM)
Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) 19
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

WHAT IS A FINITE ELEMENT?

Tries to build an approximate (convergent) solution to the problem
Archimedes’ problem (circa 250 B.C.) rectification of
the circle as limit of inscribed regular polygons

Structure Idealization Element level

(approximations) (n elements) 20
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

MODEL PROBLEM
The basic idea is to divide the body (structure) into “finite elements”
(often called elements) of simple shapes -Think of a LEGO game –
connected by ”nodes” and try to obtain an approximate solution.
First step is to generate a Mesh or Grid that approximates the geometry

The process of making mesh = MESH GENERATION

CAD is most helpful in mesh generation! (However the link between CAD and FEM is still a bottleneck)
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

BASIC IDEAS OF FEM (1)

(Sometimes there are exceptions!)
Initial model is based on Continuum mechanics and is a set of
PDE +BC (e.g. heat conduction or equilibrium equation)

The body is divided into finite ( infinitesimal) elements of

simple shape (e.g. quads or triangles in 2D, tetrahedron or
hexahedron in 3D)

The vertices of the elements are called the nodes (this is not an
absolute rule).

The loads (heat fluxes) are applied at the nodes and we will try
to determine displacements (temperatures) at the nodes.
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

BASIC IDEAS OF FEM (2)

A field quantity such as temperature T (but it can also be the
displacement vector…) is interpolated by a polynomial over an
element (this is of course another approximation!!)

Values of the field at the nodes are called nodal values. They
become the basic unknowns or DOF (Degree of Freedom) of
the problem. Thus, there is now a finite number of DOF.
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

BASIC IDEAS OF FEM (3)

The elements are connected by nodes which insure that
the temperature or displacement field (still unknown!) is
continuous from one element to the adjacent one.

Finite Element = small piece of structure

Adjacent elements share the DOF at connecting nodes

• Now, if we can determine nodal values for T or u , the field is

easily interpolated anywhere inside the element (polynomial
24
interpolation!!)
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Some examples of meshes:

When joined together elements can fill spaces
of almost arbitrary complexity

a) Blade of an aerospace engine

c) Drilling tool (Rocca, Sarrate & Huerta)
21
b) Woven fabric in a composite material (Boisse et al.)
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Automatic meshers become more and more powerful:

Mesh of Romain Boman generated from a picture thanks to our mesher GEN4.
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

BASIC IDEAS OF FEM (3)

FEM provides a systematic methodology to evaluate T at the nodes by
transforming the initial PDE equations (infinite number of unknowns) to a
finite set of simultaneous algebraic equations (finite number of unknown, the
nodal values) formally written

Kq=g
where
1. q is an unknown vector containing all nodal temperatures
(dimension = number of DOF = NDOF)
1. K is the heat conductivity matrix (material and geometry dependent!)
2. g is the “action” vector resulting from imposed heat sources and fluxes

Accurate solutions (i.e. evaluation of K-1 )

 thousands of nodes are generally needed  COMPUTER !!
(1O6 DOFs  common 109  special applications)
27
 THE KIND OF RESULTS YOU CAN OBTAIN

28 .)
Temperature field in a pump (Courtesy of Samtech S.A
 THE KIND OF RESULTS YOU CAN OBTAIN
Front view Back view

Temperature field in a rocket engine (Courtesy of Samtech S.A

25
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS
The system of simultaneous NDOF algebraic equations

K q = g  q = K -1g
will play a central role all along this course. In general

1. K reflects the discretized properties of the media (geometry and material

properties). It is sometimes tedious to obtain, but it has to be defined.
2. g is the “action” vector describing the “generalized loads”. In this course,
we will assume that the loads are known.
3. q is a vector containing the NDOF nodal unknowns.

K & g are computed element by element (sometimes, it is easy, sometimes

not…) and then assembled into the structural system.
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

STRUCTURAL MECHANICS
Kq=g  q = K -1g

3 unknowns per nodes in 3D (2 in 2D):

the displacement components (ux, uy, uz)

1. K is the stiffness matrix that depends on the

geometry, the Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio
2. g is the load vector resulting both from volume loads
(self weight) and surface tractions.
3. q is the vector containing the nodal unknowns
(NDOF = 3 x number of nodes)
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

CONCEPTS-SUMMARY
FEM is a systematic way to approximate the solution of an infinite number of
PDE by transforming them into a finite number of algebraic equations

•FEM uses the concept of piecewise polynomial interpolation over a mesh

•By connecting elements together, the field quantities (displacement,
temperature…) become interpolated over the entire structure in a piecewise
continuous fashion.
•A set of simultaneous algebraic equations at the nodes has to be solved.

K q = g  simplest example

K = spring stiffness
g = applied load
q = end displacement 32
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

MODELING = SIMPLIFYING
Geometry, Material & Loads
Idealization

Actual structure Simplified CAD model

(holes, stiffeners & rivets) (Geometry and loads) 33
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

MODELING = SIMPLIFYING
Geometry, Material & Loads
Discretization

Idealized structure Discretized structure

CAD model Bar (8) & Membrane (6) elements
12 nodes, point loads
36 unknowns (nodal displacements)
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Alternatively, Beam (8) and Shell (6) elements could have been used
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

VERIFICATION & VALIDATION OF THE FEM MODEL

DOF=DEGREE OF FREEDOM
NB. Prototypes are still necessary, but they appear in the last stages of design
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

FEM TRIANGLE
P.D.E.

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

APPROXIMATION THEORY

VARIATIONAL METHODS
……..

SOFTWARE

MODELING

PHYSICAL PROBLEMS
COMPUTER
ENGINEERING “ART”
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
MATERIAL DESCRIPTION
ALGORITHMS
C.A.D. MATERIAL SCIENCE
…….. 36
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

ADVANTAGES OF THE FEM

Can readily handle very complex geometry:
-The heart and power of the FEM !!!

Can readily handle very complex material behavior

Can handle a wide variety of engineering problems

-Solid mechanics -Dynamics -Heat transfer
-Fluid Flow (CFD) -Electrostatic problems -Electromagnetic problems
-Biomechanics -Fluid Structure Interaction
-Multi physics (FSI)

Very general & powerful

Little limitations but the cost
(Manpower is the major expense)
Sound Commercial Software tools 37
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

ADVANTAGES OF THE FEM

Can handle complex restraints

-Statically indeterminate structures can be solved without pain!

Can handle complex loading

-Nodal loads (point loads)
-Element loads (pressure, thermal, inertial forces)
-Time or frequency dependent loading
-Contact & friction

Today: Millions of engineers use FEM worldwide

on a daily base. 38
DISADVANTAGES OF THE FEM

Fancy, colorful
contours can
be produced by
any model,
good or bad!!

Temperature field in a pump (Courtesy of Samtech S.A.)

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

DISADVANTAGES OF THE FEM

A general closed-form solution ( ), which would

permit one to examine system response to change in various
parameters, (i.e. sensitivity analysis) is not produced

ENGINEERING JUDGEMENT
STILL ESSENTIAL 40
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

DISADVANTAGES OF THE FEM

 Black Box Syndrome & Overconfidence
 CAD, FEM & Computers are ALL MIGHTY
What they produce is correct.

ENGINEERING JUDGEMENT STILL ESSENTIAL

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

DISADVANTAGES OF THE FEM

Hopefully under control!
The FEM obtains only ‘approximate’ solutions.
The FEM has ‘inherent’ errors:
Geometry is simplified
Material behavior is simplified
Field quantity is assumed to be a polynomial over an element.
This is not true in general.

Numerical techniques to obtain (Gauss quadrature) and invert K

finite number of digits ( round-off error)
ill conditioning 42
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

DISADVANTAGES OF THE FEM

Hopefully under control!
Mistakes by users can be fatal

•DATA HANDLING
•Use of inconsistent units (e.g. E=200 GPa, Force=100 lbs)
•Bad idealization / wrong assumptions (element type, BC’s…)
•Distorted, skewed or bad aspect ratio elements in the mesh
•Coarse mesh
•no solution verification

THE USER MAY PUSH THE PROGRAM BEYOND ITS

RANGE OF VALIDITY!
WEAK KNOWLEDGE OF THE METHOD!!

ENGINEERING JUDGEMENT REMAINS ESSENTIAL 43

 An introduction to Finite Element Method

DISADVANTAGES OF THE FEM

WEAK KNOWLEDGE OF THE METHOD AND
ITS LIMITATIONS CAN LEAD TO THIS!!

Collapse of a terminal at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport, 2004

ENGINEERING JUDGEMENT REMAINS ESSENTIAL

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE USER

Figure!!!

BC: Hinged supports

Load: Pressure pulse
Unknown: mid point displacement

Results obtained from ten reputable FEM Displacement (mm) versus time (ms)
codes and by users regarded as experts.*
*P. Symonds & T. Yu Counterintuitive behavior in problem of Elastic-Plastic beam Dynamics.
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ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vol 52, No 3, 1985, page 517-522
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

BASIC FEM MODELING RULES

•Use the simplest elements that will do the job

•Never, never, never use complicated or special elements unless you are
absolutely sure of what you are doing

•Use the coarsest mesh that will capture the dominant behavior of the
physical model, particularly in design situations

3 word summary: Keep It Simple

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FEM

•FEM was first developed in the 1950’s in the aerospace industry
•Major industrials involved: Boeing & Bell Aerospace (long time vanished) in the
USA; Rolls-Royce in the UK, Snecma & Aérospatiale in France

•Most of the academic community first view FEM very skeptically, some
prestigious journals refused to publish papers on FEM.

FEM was first seen as an engineering trick!

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FEM (2)

•In 1956 M.J. Turner, R.W. Clough , H.C. Martin and L.J. Topp* published one of
the first papers that laid out the major idea (work actually performed in 1953 and
presented at a conference in 1954):
-they established the procedure of the element formulation and assembly
-they did NOT use the term ‘Finite Element’

•Ray Clough was a Prof. at the Berkeley and worked at Boeing for summer job. In
1960, he wrote a paper** where he coined the term ‘Finite Element’

•In 1960, Argyris and Kelsey published a book*** which was a collection of their
papers published in 1954 and 1955.

•First book on FEM by Zienkiewicz in 1967

*Stiffness and deflection analysis of complex structures, J. Aeronaut. Sci., 23, 805-823, 1956.
** The Finite Element Method in Plane Stress Analysis, Proceedings of 2 nd ASCE Conference on Electronic
Computation, Pittsburgh, PA, September 8-9, 1960. 44
***Energy Theorems and Structural Analysis, Butterworths, London
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FEM (3)

John Argyris (Stuttgart) Ray W. Clough (Berkeley) Olgierd Zienkiewicz (Swansea)

Argyris or Clough, who’s the father of

the Finite Element Method?

45
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF FEM
•Subsequently (late 60’s), mathematicians (re)discovered a paper by COURANT
(1943)*, he used triangular elements to solve vibration problems. In this paper, he
wrote « We imagine a mesh of triangles covering the domain… »

many mathematicians have claimed that this was the original discovery of the
method.

•In 1973, FEM was provided a rigorous foundation (Strang & Fix, An Analysis of the
Finite Element Method, Prentice Hall)
Strang on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwgrAH-IMOk

•Mathematicians showed that (provided some conditions) for linear problems, finite
elements solutions converge to the exact solution of the PDE as the number of
elements is increased ( we also say that the mesh is refined)

Nowadays millions of engineers worldwide use the FEM to predict the behavior of
the structural, mechanical, thermal, material, electro-magnetical, biomechanical
and chemical systems! 50
*Variational methods for the solution of problems of equilibrium and vibrations. Bull. Am. Math. Soc., 42, 2165-86, 1943
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

FEM HAS PENETRATED MANY INDUTRIES

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

FEM HAS TRANFORMED THE ENGINEERING

WORKPLACE IN THE LAST 50 YAERS
•In the 1960s
-Drawing tables
-Simple Formulas (MoM)
-Prototypes were physically made and tested.

•Now, FEM had led to tremendous reductions in design cycle time in many
industries
WHY?

•Exponential growth in the speed of computers

•Decline in the cost of computational resources

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

EVOLUTION OF THE SPEED OF COMPUTERS

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

EVOLUTION OF THE SPEED OF COMPUTERS

•Gordon Moore’s law ( a founder of Intel in the 1990s) ‘
‘ The speed of computers doubles every 18 months’
•1 billion times faster in 40 years!
•June 2018 top computer Summit/IBM, Oak Ridge National lab. 266 PetaFlops
•June 2020 top computer FUGAKU/Fujitsu, RIKEN, 415 PetaFlops (7.3 million cores)
•2020 : China & France to reach EXA flop (1012 Mflops)(USA: 2021) delayed…

Mflops= Million Floating point

operations per second
Exaflop = 1000 billions of Mflops
= (1 million) 2 Mflops
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

COMPUTER COST EVOLUTION

•1Mflops in 1968 = $8 000 000
•1Mflops in 2003 = $0.5
(I Tflops = $500 000)
•Value of currency has been divided by 7 (inflation)

In 35 years, cost of computer power has decreased by

a factor of 100 millions!!

Microsoft joke: if the automobile industry had made the same

progress, your car would cost less than 1 cent!

Automotive joke: True, but if computer industry would manufacture

cars, it would lock up several times a day, and you
would need to press ‘start’ to stop your engine!!
55
(Data according to Hughes-Belytschko Nonlinear FEM short course)
 An introduction to Finite Element Method
HARDWARE EVOLUTION: Hard-disk 5Mb in 1956

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

HARDWARE EVOLUTION: 1Gb in 1988 and in 2005

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

FEM IN THE 1970’s IN LIEGE

The Aerospace laboratory of the University of Liège started to

develop FEM software in the 70’s:

B. Fraeijs de Veubeke Guy Sander

SAMCEF Software
(Système d’Analyse des Milieux Continus par Eléments Finis) 58
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

FEM IN THE 1970’s IN LIEGE

The Aerospace laboratory of the University of Liège

started to develop FEM software in the 70’s:

SAMCEF Software
(Système d’Analyse des Milieux Continus par Eléments Finis)

Main pioneering industrial partners:

Snecma & Aérospatiale
(Now: SAFRAN & EADS)

Commercialized since 1986 by

SAMTECH S.A., a spin-off company of the University
250 Engineers in the group!
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An introduction to Finite Element Method

FEM IN THE 1970’s IN LIEGE

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FEM IN THE 1970’s IN LIEGE

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FEM IN THE 1970’s IN LIEGE

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FEM IN THE 1980’s IN LIEGE

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FEM IN THE 1980’s IN LIEGE

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FEM IN THE 1980’s IN LIEGE

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FEM IN THE 1980’s IN LIEGE

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FEM IN THE 1980’s IN LIEGE

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

CURRENT APPLICATIONS OF THE FINITE

ELEMENTS IN MECHANICS
(Solids and Fluids)

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An introduction to Finite Element Method

64
 Walloon Share in Civil Aircraft Parts

Source: Skywin, Aerospace cluster of Wallonia www.skywin.be 64

 SAMTECH software Applications in Aeronautics

Courtesy of D. Granville, Samtech S.A.

 SAMTECH software Applications in Space

Courtesy of D. Granville, Samtech S.A.

 SAMTECH software applications in Automotive Industry

Courtesy of D. Granville, Samtech S.A.

SAMTECH software applications in Machine Tool

Courtesy of D. Granville, Samtech S.A.

Samtech software applications in Design & Verification of
Wind Turbines

Courtesy of D. Granville, Samtech S.A.

 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Examples courtesy of SABCA S.A.

Fuselage parts

Main landing gear bay (Airbus A340)

Forward lower shell (Airbus A350) 70
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Examples courtesy of SABCA S.A. : MLGB A350

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Courtesy of Samtech S.A. Airbus A340

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Courtesy of Samtech S.A. Airbus A340

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Courtesy of Samtech S.A. Inflatable structure

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Courtesy of CENAERO

Turbulent Flow Around a Nose Landing Gear

CFD = Computational Fluid Dynamics
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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Courtesy of CENAERO

Nose Landing Gear Geometry

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Courtesy of CENAERO

Surface Mesh (800k nodes) 77

 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Courtesy of CENAERO

Surface Mesh (800k nodes) 78

 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Courtesy of CENAERO Volume Mesh (12M nodes)

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Courtesy of CENAERO
Volume Mesh (12M nodes)

16mm

8mm

12 BL
(∆=0.5 mm)
(12 layers,

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Courtesy of CENAERO

Instantaneous Vorticity Contours (12M)

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Courtesy of CENAERO
Instantaneous Vorticity Structures (12M)

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Finite element mesh generation for biomedical applications

Surface meshes

V. d’Otreppe, LTAS-MN2L
An introduction to Finite Element Method

FIRST CONCLUSIONS

&

WARNINGS

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

ESSENTIAL REMARKS
 FE Modeling techniques are mostly deterministic: all correct geometrically,
physical, material, parameters must be given (INPUT of the problem). They
are generally not known.
 Optimization and Sensitivity analysis can (should) be performed to cover
variations (uncertainties) on input data.
 CAD should be connected easily to FEM. It is still a bottleneck!
 Always adapt model to the details to want to capture. Keep your model as
simple as possible…. But not too simple!
 Be aware of the limitations of the methodology.

Engineering judgment is still necessary at the computer age!!

91
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

As proposed by the project As understood by the project As designed by the senior analysts As produced by the programmers As corrected by the Business
sponsor managers Consultants

As documented in the paperwork As installed at the user’s site What has been charged on the As technical support has been What the user actually needed.
invoice contracted

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

BOOKS FOR FEM

Books for Linear FEM

Basic level (reference) :

ZIENKIEWICS & TAYLOR

The Finite Element Method, Vols I, II & III
Butterworth-Heineman, 2000

A comprehensive upgrade of the 1977 edition. Primarily an encyclopaedic

reference work that provides a panoramic coverage of FEM, as well as a
comprehensive list of references. Not a textbook. More and more editions to
appear.

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

•J. FISH & T. BELYTSCHKO

A First Course in Finite Elements
Wiley, 2007

•BECKER A.A.
An introductory guide to Finite Element analysis
Professional Engineering Publishing, 2004

•COOK R.D.
Concepts and Applications of Finite Element Analysis – Second Edition
John Wiley and Sons, 1981

•COOK R.D., MALKUS D. and PLESHA M.E.

Concepts and Applications of Finite Element Analysis – Third Edition
John Wiley and Sons, 1989

•COOK R.D.
Finite Element Modeling for Stress Analysis 89
John Wiley and Sons, 1995
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

•THOMSON E.G.
Introduction to the Finite Element Method
John Wiley and Sons, 2005

•AKIN J.E.
Finite Element Analysis for Undergraduates
Academic Press, 1986

•FELIPPA C.A.
Introduction to Finite Element Method
Ebook !!!

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 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Intermediate level:

•HUGHES T.J.R.
The Finite Element Method
Prentice-Hall, 1987
Recently reprinted by Dover.
It requires substantial mathematical expertise on the part of the reader.

•BATHE K.J.
Finite Element Procedures
Prentice Hall, 1996

•MACNEAL R.H.
Finite Elements: their design and performance
Marcel Dekker, 1994 91
 An introduction to Finite Element Method

Mathematically oriented:

•STRANG & FIX

An analysis of the Finite Element Method
Prentice-Hall, 1973
Most readable mathematical treatment for non-mathematicians,
although outdated in several subjects.

Most fun (if you like British “humor”):

•IRONS & AHMAD
Techniques of Finite Elements
Ellis Horwood, 1986
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BOOKS FOR NONLINEAR FEM

•BELYTSCHKO T., LIU W.K. & MORAN B.

Nonlinear Finite Elements for Continua and Structures
Wiley, 2000

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