ASEN 5367 Course Outline

Course Announcement for Spring 2006

ASEN 5367 Advanced Finite Element Methods
A continuation of Introduction to Finite Element Methods (IFEM: ASEN 5007) that covers more advanced
FEM applications to linear static problems in structural mechanics. In particular: axisymmetric solids, 3D
solids, plates and shells, special elements and mesh generation. First offered in Spring 1990, taught every
2-3 years. Last offering: Spring 2003. Intended for doctoral students who plan to use nite elements in
their research, as well as master students who want to learn more about computational mechanics.
Emphasis will be given to modern formulations of high-performance nite elements, especially for plates
and shells, as opposed to the more conventional displacement formulation covered in IFEM. The course
begins with a overview of variational formulations useful for FEM.
Instructor: Carlos A. Felippa
Ofce/Phone: AE 187, 492-6547
Ofce hrs: TBA
Textbook: No required books. Notes and reading material will are posted at web site:
http://caswww.colorado.edu/courses.d/AFEM.d/Home.html
(which will be updated during the course)
Time/Place: Tu-Th 5-6:15, ECCR 110
Credit Units: 3
Prerequisites: A rst graduate-level course in nite elements, such as IFEM; ability to use a computer
algebra system such as Mathematica or Maple for course work (Maple is available
as a toolbox of Matlab), some knowledge of PDEs and continuum mechanics. Prior
knowledge of variational calculus not required because it is taught in Part I.
Course Work: Homework assignments, 2 midterm exams (in class or take-home), team term project.
No nal exam. See back page for grading weights.
Audit policy: Students are not allowed to audit course beyond nal add date. Those wishing to skip
coursework should register for no-credit (NC) before that date.
Term project: carried out from early April by teams of 2-4 students (1 person teams allowed but discouraged).
Project subject proposed and chosen with consent of instructor; often relates to team members own MS or
PhD thesis. Teams present 30 progress review during last 2 weeks of classes; project report due during
nal exam week. If the project involves programming for numerical work, any language with computational
capabilities (Matlab, Mathematica, C++, Java, etc) is acceptable.

Outline (Subject to Revision in IIV)

I. Review of Advanced Variational Methods.
Variational formulation of high-performance elements. Hybrid and mixed variational principles.
II. Three-Dimensional Finite Elements.
Axisymmetric iso-P elements. Solid elements: bricks, wedges, tetrahedra. Innite elements.
III. High Performance Element Formulations.
The free formulation. The assumed natural strain (ANS) formulation and its variants. The patch test. Variational crimes.
Templates.
IV. Beams, Plates and Shells.
C 1 and C beams. Kirchhoff plate bending elements. Reissner-Mindlin (C ) plate bending elements. Facet and quadrilateral
shell elements. Treatment of junctures. Transition elements.
V. Miscellaneous and Special Topics.
Mesh generation, error estimation, adaptive model renement, singularity elements (if time permits). Discussion and review of
term projects with presentations by students.

OVER
 ASEN 5367 Course Outline

GRADING WEIGHTS
Homework 30%, bottom grade dropped. Two midterm quizes (in class or take-home) 40%, @ 20% each.
Final project 30%. No nal exam. Part of the term project grading based on presentation.
HOMEWORK
Normally one assignment will be made per week, announced and web-posted by Thursdays class. (The
assignment may be announced on Tuesday if there is no class on Thursday.) They are due the following
Thursday at the beginning of the class. Homeworks will be normally graded and returned the following
week. Solutions are posted on the web site. No homework is assigned the week before midterms.
You are encouraged to discuss the approach to homework assignments with other students in the course as
well as the instructor.
GROUP HOMEWORK IS ENCOURAGED. The group may contain 2 or 3 students. Homework done
as a group will be graded as a group. Submit only one solution per group, with everybodys name on it.
Individual homework, however, is allowed.
EXAMS
There will be two individual midterm exams during the semester. If given in class, they are open book.
Midterms are usually take-home, in which case the exam is handed out on Tuesday and due the next class.
Examination material will be noted in the last HW assignment returned before the test.
There is no nal exam. It is replaced by a term project. Groups of 2-3 students are encouraged for the
project. Often they are the same as the homework group, but may be different. Rules for the project will be
handed out by late March, right after Spring Break.
COMPUTER WORK
Some of the course involves hands-on computer assignments. The preferred language for computer exercises
is Mathematica version 4.0 or higher, with a Notebook front end. Source les for computer work will be
posted on the web site, from which they can be downloaded. Students preferring Maple or Matlab may
convert those scripts to the other language (for analytical work in Matlab the symbolic toolbox is required).
Term projects that involve computer work can be done in any language, or using existing commercial or
university codes such as FEAP or ABAQUS if students have access to such packages in their computer labs.
COURSE MATERIAL, WEB SITE, ANNOUNCEMENTS
All course material is available on the Web at
http://caswww.colorado.edu/courses.d/AFEM.d/Home.html
Click on the appropriate entry. Most material is in PDF (Portable Document Format). You will need a PDF
plug-in, for example PDFviewer to browse and print PDF les. HW assignments will also be posted on the
Web, linked from the course home page. Please be sure to scan the web site periodically for postings.
No material will be distributed in class except Exams.
Important. The Web site for AFEM was rst constructed in Spring 1998 and partly redone in 2000 and
2003. Most of the material will be revised and updated during the present offering. Therefore, download
only material identied by an asterisk (*) at the beginning of the link to those les.
Quick Announcements. Will be broadcast by e-mail.