MECE 663: Theory and Applications of the

Finite Element Method

Winter 2012

Course Introduction

Marc Secanell
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Introduction

• Lecture room and time:

time
– T,Th @ 11:00 AM – 12:20 PM
– MECE 3-1
• Instructor:
Instructor
– Marc Secanell
• Office:
Office
– MECE 4-31F (4th floor)
• Office Hours:
Hours
– Wednesdays 2:00-5:00pm or by appointment

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Your Instructor

• Education:
– B.Eng., Mechatronics Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona,
2002.
– M.A.Sc. Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Canada, 2004
– Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Canada, 2008
• Research:
– 2008-2009, Assistant Research Officer, National Research Council, Institute for Fuel
Cell Innovation
– 2009-Present, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta, Department of Mechanical
Engineering,
• Teaching:
– UVic, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• MECE – Engineering Fundamentals x2
– UofA, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• ENGM 401 – Financial Management for Engineers x1
• MECE 463 – Thermo-Fluid Systems Design x3
• MECE 260 – Mechanical Design I x1
• MECE 645 – Kinetics and Transport Processes in Electrochemical Systems x1
• MECE 443 – Energy Conversion x 1

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 Your Instructor: Why do I teach finite
elements?

• Research during the past seven years:

– Development of an in-house finite element solver for analysis of polymer
electrolyte fuel cells
• Develop the governing equations of the fuel cell, i.e. a system of nonlinear PDEs
• Develop a weak formulation for the system of equations
• Develop an approximate solution space for each solution variable
• Develop an in-house mesh generator for the geometries of interest
• Develop a finite element discretization of the system of PDEs
• Selected appropriate linear solvers to solve the resulting system of algebraic
equations (~ 250,000 equations)
• Solve the problem using linear elements, quadratic elements and mixed
formulations
• Develop error estimators and adaptive refinement schemes for solving the problem
• Develop of post-processing algorithms to evaluate quantities of interest such as
current density

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Your Instructor: Why do I teach finite
elements?

FEM

[ ][ ] [ ]
k 11 ... k 1N u1 f1
... k ii ... ... = ...
k N1 ... k NN u N fN
Course description


Description:
– Introduction of the basic theory and applications of the finite element
method. Applications will focus on linear partial differential equations in
solid mechanics, fluid mechanics and thermal science.

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Course description


At the end of this course, you will be able to
– Obtain the weighted-residual and variational (weak) formulations of a
mathematical model given by a set of partial differential equations
– Obtain appropriate interpolation functions to obtain an approximate
solution for the problem in a finite element space
– Solve linear, second-order differential equations in one dimension using
the finite element method
– Solve linear, second-order differential equations in two dimensions using
the finite element method
– Implement your own finite element programs using the OpenSource
deal.II library

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Course roadmap

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Course applications

• Why do you care about learning the finite element method?

– The finite element method can be used to solve any problem
described by a partial differential equation (PDE)
– Examples of FEM applications are:
• Thermal analysis of fuel cells, batteries, and other energy
devices
• Analysis of stress/strain in solid mechanics (automotive,
aerospace,...)
• Analysis of electromagnetic fields in electrical machines
• Analysis of fluid flow problems in aerospace, energy (flow in
porous media)
• Analysis of multi-physics problems
– MEMS, fuel cells, actuators
Course applications: Solid mechanics

• Solid mechanics problems

– Elasticity eq.
• Compression of a cylinder
• Vehicle crash simulation

Example of a vehicle crash simulation using FEM

Deal.ii step-18 – Transient simulation of a cylinder under compression. Time steps 2 (left), 8 (middle) and 10 (right) shown
 Course applications: Fluid mechanics

• Fluid mechanics problems

– Stokes flow
– Diffusion problem
– Advection-diffusion problems
– Flow in porous media
Step 20 deal.ii – x-velocity distribution in
a porous media with random
permeability

Re=100

Re=500

Simulation of advection-diffusion in a micro-capillary Simulation of a backward facing step

Course applications: Multi-physics

• Fluid-structure interaction problems

– Stokes flow equations
– Elasticity equation

Step 46 deal.ii – Fluid-structure

interaction problem
 Course applications: Fuel cells

FEM Initial Design

ANODE CATHODE

Information (and tutorial) about the code can be found here:

http://www.mece.ualberta.ca/groups/energysystemsdesign/FCST/html/index.html
Who should be interested in taking this
course?

• This course is for those students that...

– are curious to know how the finite element method works and how it is
implemented in state-of-the-art software
– need to solve a novel problem and need to develop their own FEM solver
– have a background (and interest) in numerical analysis and programming
• This course is NOT for those students that...
– are mainly interested in using a commercial package, i.e. ANSYS,
ABACUS, to solve their problem
– have never programmed (in C/C++)
• Important note:
– The project in this course will require you to develop your own program in
C++ and to compile the programs using the GNU GCC compiler.
– Familiarity with the C/C++ programming language
– Familiarity with the GNU GCC compiler and Makefiles

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Textbook

• Textbook
– Lecture notes will be posted on eClass
– J.N. Reddy, An Introduction to the Finite Element Method, 3rd edition,
McGraw-Hill, 2006 (ISBN-13: 978-0072466850)
• Available at the University of Alberta Bookstore.

• Additional Reading (strictly optional, not required):

– E.B. Becker, G.F. Carey, and J.T. Oden, Finite Elements: An Introduction,
Vol. 1, Prentice-Hall, 1981 (Available at the U of A library).
– T. Hugues, The finite element method: linear static and dynamic finite
element analysis, Dover, 2000.
– A. Ern and J.-L. Guermond, Theory and Practice of Finite Elements,
Springer-Verlag, 2004.

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Marking Scheme

• Marking Scheme:
– Assignments (4): 20%
– Project: 20%
– Midterm Exam: 20%
– Final Exam: 40%
Your total numerical score will be converted to a letter grade by comparing it to the class
range of total numerical scores.
• Assignments:
– They will consist of a set of problems
– Submit assignments by midnight on the due date (see assignment)
– Drop the assignments in the MECE 663 mailbox (MECE building, 4th floor)
– Late assignments will be penalized (25% of the total mark per day) note

• Examinations:
– Close book. Non-programmable calculators allowed
– One page, double-sided, home made formula sheet
– Any necessary tables will be provided in the exam

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Project: Overview

• The aim of the project is to give you the opportunity to implement your
own finite element program.
• The project will consist of developing a two-dimensional boundary value
problem using the finite element method. Several applications will be
available:
– Thermal problem
– Fluid flow problem
– Elasticity problem
• The projects are individual projects
– You will be required to sign a statement of this sort: “Please affirm that you
neither gave nor received help in completing this project by signing and dating below.
Your signature is your declaration that you neither gave nor received help in this
project.”

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Project: Why deal.ii?

• In order to reduce the amount of work required to implement the solver, and
give you exposure to how a large-scale FEM package is structured, you will use
the finite element library deal.ii (http://www.dealii.org/) to develop your solver.
• Why deal.ii?
– The deal.ii FEM libraries provide an implementation of several: a) finite
element approximations, b) quadrature formulas, and, c) linear solvers.
Therefore, you will be able to experiment with a variety of finite element
concepts instead of one single type of element
– The software contains many examples to guide you on how to use the
program
• See http://www.dealii.org/7.1.0/doxygen/tutorial/index.html).
• My recommendation is to start by reading steps 1 to 4 (solve a single
PDE) and step 8 (solve a system of PDEs).

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Project: Why deal.ii?

• Why deal.ii?
– The deal.ii libraries provide the TOOLS to solve any physical problem that
can be analyzed using PDEs, i.e. it is not application specific such as
ANSYS, FLUENT, ...
– The deal.ii libraries can solve problems in 1D, 2D and 3D
– The deal.ii libraries can be used to develop parallel computing codes, i.e.
simulations that run in multiple processors
– The deal.ii libraries have won several awards for their organization, i.e. they
will give you an example on how large scale scientific codes should be
programmed
– The deal.ii libraries are used worldwide to solve a variety of FEM problems
and they interact with many of the state-of-the art numerical tools developed
at National laboratories in Canada, US and Europe among other places
– The deal.ii libraries are FREE, i.e. you will learn a set of tools that you can
use for the rest of your life without having to spend $50K/year in licenses

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Project: Why C/C++?

• Why C/C++?
– Deal.ii is developed using C/C++
– Currently, most high performance computing codes are developed in C/C++
due to its ability to create fast, modular, reusable and easy to share
programs
– Examples:
• deal.ii (Heidelberg University, Texas A&M University, ...)
• OpenFOAM (OpenFOAM Foundation)
• The DAKOTA project (Sandia National Labs)
• PETSc - Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation
(Argonne National Labs)
• All these codes are OpenSource software under a GNU GPL license

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eClass / Moodle

• I will post on eClass:

– Course notes
• Filled
– Assignments (and
solutions)
– Project information

• You will also be able

to find:
– Assignments,
midterm and
project grades

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How to Get an A+ in This Course

• General suggestions:
– Come to every class
– Ask questions and be involved in in-class discussions
– Review lecture materials weekly
– Study the in-class and textbook examples
– Do all assignment problems (by yourself!)
– Come to every seminar
– Do not leave the project for the last minute

• Exam-writing tips:
– Do easy questions first
– Don’t rush
– Answer all questions
– Review your answers

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Inappropriate Academic Behaviour

• UofA Code of Student Behaviour provides details regarding

inappropriate academic behaviour:

• 30.3.2(2) Cheating
– 30.3.2(2)a No Student shall in the course of an examination or other
similar activity, obtain or attempt to obtain information from another
Student or other unauthorized source, give or attempt to give information
to another Student, or use, attempt to use or possess for the purposes of
use any unauthorized material.
– 30.3.2(2)b No Student shall represent or attempt to represent him or
herself as another or have or attempt to have himself or herself
represented by another in the taking of an examination, preparation of a
paper or other similar activity. See also misrepresentation in 30.3.6(4).

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Inappropriate Academic Behaviour (2)

• 30.3.2(2) Cheating (cont’d)

– 30.3.2(2)c No Student shall represent another’s substantial editorial or
compositional assistance on an assignment as the Student’s own work.
– 30.3.2(2)d No Student shall submit in any course or program of study,
without the written approval of the course Instructor, all or a substantial
portion of any academic writing, essay, thesis, research report, project,
assignment, presentation or poster for which credit has previously been
obtained by the Student or which has been or is being submitted by the
Student in another course or program of study in the University or
elsewhere.
– 30.3.2(2)e No Student shall submit in any course or program of study
any academic writing, essay, thesis, report, project, assignment,
presentation or poster containing a statement of fact known by the
Student to be false or a reference to a source the Student knows to
contain fabricated claims (unless acknowledged by the Student), or a
fabricated reference to a source.

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Inappropriate Academic Behaviour (3)

• 30.3.2(1) Plagiarism
– No Student shall submit the words, ideas, images or data of another
person as the Student’s own in any academic writing, essay, thesis,
project, assignment, presentation or poster in a course or program of
study.
• 30.3.6(4) Misrepresentation of Facts
– No Student shall misrepresent pertinent facts to any member of the
University community for the purpose of obtaining academic or other
advantage. See also 30.3.2(2) b, c, d and e.
• 30.3.6(5) Participation in an Offence
– No Student shall counsel or encourage or knowingly aid or assist, directly
or indirectly, another person in the commission of any offence under this
Code

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Inappropriate Academic Behaviour (4)

• The following sanctions given in 30.4.3 (2) and (3) of the Code are
commonly used for plagiarism, cheating and participating in an
offence:
– A mark of 0 on an assignment
– Reduction of a grade in a course
– A grade of F for a course.
– A remark on a transcript indicating Inappropriate Academic Behaviour (in
addition to sanctions above)
– Expulsion
– Suspension

• The following sanctions may be used in rare cases:

– Suspension of a degree already awarded
– Rescission of a degree already awarded

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Inappropriate Academic Behaviour (5)

• The procedure for dealing with Inappropriate Academic Behaviour is

also laid out by the Code:
– The instructor meets with the student to determine whether he/she feels
an offence has occurred
– The instructor submits written report to the Dean
– The Dean meets with the student to determine whether to lay charges
– The Discipline Officer conducts an investigation and decides upon
sanction

• Notes:
– The instructor has no discretion,
discretion and is required to report an offence
– The instructor is not allowed to issue sanctions directly
– The student is permitted to appeal the charges and/or the sanction

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