Numerical integration, or quadrature, is essential for material nonlinear finite element formulations. Gauss, Gauss-Lobatto, or a plastic hinge approach is all you need for frame elements. And for fiber sections, midpoint integration gets the job done. Besides some highly specialized cases, there's no need to use other types of numerical integration in nonlinear structural analysis. … Continue reading Heavy as a Chebyshev
Tag: Numerical integration
Nonlinear Elements, Elastic Sections
There's very little reason to use the elasticBeamColumn element in OpenSees. Using nonlinear elements, particularly the forceBeamColumn element, with elastic sections is just as good, if not better for many reasons. Not only do force-based elements with elastic sections make the transition to material nonlinearity easy, they also facilitate debugging your model. Another reason I … Continue reading Nonlinear Elements, Elastic Sections
Integration Points with Negative Weight
A colleague in Eastchester once told me that faculty have three, maybe four, good ideas over their career. In other words, a faculty member could have over a hundred papers, but there's only three or four underlying concepts. Perhaps it was "two, maybe three", but you get the point. Playing with integration points and weights, … Continue reading Integration Points with Negative Weight
Behind the Elastic Interior
If VH1 expanded its list of the top one hit wonders of the 2000s to include journal articles in structural engineering, Scott and Fenves (2006) would be right up there with James Blunt and Gnarls Barkley. Actually, Google Scholar puts the article up there with some pretty nice company. Like all journal articles, there's something … Continue reading Behind the Elastic Interior
