COMPARATIVE STUDY ON USE TRIANGULAR AND RECTANGULAR FINITE ELEMENTS IN ANALYSIS OF DEEP BEAM

The classification of computational solid mechanics (CSM) for static analysis is based on discretization method by which the continuum mathematical model is discretized in space. Being one of the numerical methods, Finite Element Method (FEM) has the advantage of retaining the physical characteristics of the problem throughout the process of its solution. The domain of interest is represented as an assembly of finite elements and the approximating functions are determined in terms of nodal values of a physical field. Several approaches can be used to transform the physical formulation of the problem to its finite element discrete analogue. For all the methods available, the method used in discretizing the continuum contributes substantially to the degree of accuracy of the results. In this study, triangular and rectangular finite element models were used in a comparative study to determine the nodal displacements in the numerical analysis of a deep beam. The results of the analysis show that the use of rectangular elements yielded results that are closer to the exact solutions than the triangular element model.