Chapter 3 – Fundamentals for Finite Element Method

When using the finite element method (FEM) to solve mechanics problems governed by a set of partial differential equations, the problem domain is first discretized (in a proper manner) into a set of small elements. In each of these elements, the variation/profile/pattern of the displacements is assumed in simple forms to obtain element equations. The equations obtained for each element are then assembled together with adjoining elements to form the global finite element equation for the whole problem domain. Equations thus created for the global problem domain can be solved easily for the entire displacement field.