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One of the largest areas to utilize the direct stiffness method is the field of structural analysis where this method has been incorporated into modeling software. The software allows users to model a structure and, after the user defines the material properties of the elements, the program automatically generates element and global stiffness ...
Commercial computer software for structural analysis typically uses matrix finite-element analysis, which can be further classified into two main approaches: the displacement or stiffness method and the force or flexibility method. The stiffness method is the most popular by far thanks to its ease of implementation as well as of formulation for ...
The stiffness of a structural element of a given material is the product of the material's Young's modulus and the element's second moment of area. Stiffness is measured in force per unit length (newtons per millimetre or N/mm), and is equivalent to the 'force constant' in Hooke's Law .
Stiffness is the extent to which an object resists deformation in response to an applied force. [ 1 ] The complementary concept is flexibility or pliability: the more flexible an object is, the less stiff it is.
For these reasons, the matrix stiffness method is the method of choice for use in general purpose structural analysis software packages. On the other hand, for linear systems with a low degree of statical indeterminacy, the flexibility method has the advantage of being computationally less intensive.
The matrix method is a structural analysis method used as a fundamental principle in many applications in civil engineering. The method is carried out, using either a stiffness matrix or a flexibility matrix.
Otherwise methods such as virtual work, direct integration, Castigliano's method, Macaulay's method or the direct stiffness method are used. The deflection of beam elements is usually calculated on the basis of the Euler–Bernoulli beam equation while that of a plate or shell element is calculated using plate or shell theory.
The origin of finite method can be traced to the matrix analysis of structures [1] [2] where the concept of a displacement or stiffness matrix approach was introduced. Finite element concepts were developed based on engineering methods in 1950s.