Finite element method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Finite element method - Essay Example The different results may also be as a result of giving a poor aspect ratio for the plate elements. However, under normal circumstances, no matter the software program used, the approximate results should always be similar. It is clear that when using a single 8-node quadrilateral plate element in Ansys, the maximum bending stress that can be attained in the process is exactly similar to and the same as the beam theory and the maximum deflection is below 5.7% of the theoretical deflection. In Strand 7, the real maximum bending stress for a single 8-node quadrilateral element is 45.5% that is less than the theoretical bending stress while the deflection is 24.4% below the theoretical deflection. When 10 plate elements are used, Ansys and Strand 7 will have to match the theoretical stress and the deflection of the same. The other plate elements; that is the 4-node quadrilateral plate elements, 6-node triangle plate elements, and 3 node triangle plate elements often give the same approximate stresses and deflections when the two different software programs are used. This shows consistency in the results that the software programs give for those measures. When working towards the results for the 4 node quadrilaterals, the two software programs will require an approximate number of about 150 elements in order to match the theoretical values. As for the 6 node triangles, only 16 elements are needed for the two software programs. On the other hand, for 3 node triangles plate elements, the maximum bending stress is below 1% of the theoretical bending stress and the deflection stress and the deflection is 4.7% less than the theoretical deflection even when 2000 are fed to the two software programs. Aspect ratio refers to the ratio of the length of the side that is the shortest to the side that is the longest. The best element shape is a square that has an aspect ratio of 1 and the poorest element shape has an aspect ratio of less than