Group-A

(Multiple choice questions)

1. Choose the correct alternatives for any ten of the following

110 = 10

i.Assembled stiffness matrix after applying boundary conditions is NOT

(a) Square, (b) symmetric, (c) banded, (d) singular.
Answer: (d)
ii. Determinant of assembled stiffness matrix after applying boundary conditions is
(a) < 0, (b) = 0, (c) > 0, (d) depends on the problem.
Answer: (c)
iii. A 1 D structural element is a
(a) Truss element, (b) beam element, (c) pipe element, (d) all of them.
Answer: (d)
iv. A bar is modeled as 1 D element only if its
(a) Area of cross section is small, (b) moment of inertia is small, (c) length is very large
compare to cross section dimension, (d) all the above.
Answer: (a)
v. Stress across any 1 D element is assumed to be constant
(a) True for beam element, (b) true for truss element, (c) true for pipe element, (d) true for all 1
D elements.
Answer: (b)
vi. Complete polynomial is ______ important, compared to symmetry of displacement
polynomial w.r.t. coordinate directions
(a) equally, (b) more, (c) less, (d) unrelated.
Answer: (c)
vii. A triangular element with cubic displacement function requires ____ nodes to represent the
complete and symmetric polynomial
(a) 3, (b) 6, (c) 9, (d) 10.
Answer: (d)
viii. Number of displacement polynomials used for an element depends on
(a)No. of nodes/element (b) No. of DOF/node (c)No.of DOF/element (d) type of element.
Answer: (a)

ix. An element with no internal nodes is classified as

(a) serendipity element (b) Hermite element (c) Lagrange element (d) Laplace element.
Answer: (a)
x. A 3 - D dam is usually modeled with
(a) 2-D plane stress elements

(b) 3-D solid elements (c) 2-D plane strain elements (d) 3-D shell

elements.
Answer: (c)
xi. When fewer nodes are used to define the geometry than are used to define the displacement,
the element is called __ element
(a) sub-parametric (b) iso-parametric (c) super-parametric (d) complex.
Answer: (a)
xii. Shape functions for a triangular plane stress element are also called
(a) r-s coordinates (b) volume coordinates (c) area coordinates (d) x-y coordinates.
Answer: (c)

Group-B
(Short answer type questions)
Answer any three of the following

35 = 15

2. Derive the shape function for a Linear Strain Triangle element.

3. Derive the shape functions for a two noded bar element using
(i) Cartesian coordinate system, (ii) Local coordinate system ranging from 1 to zero. (iii) Local
coordinate system with range -1 to 1.

4. For the following differential equation and stated boundary conditions, obtain a one-term
solution using Galerkins method of weighted residuals and the specified trial function. Also
compare the one-term solution to the exact solution.

dy 2
+ y =4 x 0 x 1
dx
y ( 0 )=0, y (1 )=0
N 1 ( x )=x 2 (1x )
5. Use the Lagrange polynomial to determine the interpolation functions for the five node line
element with nodal co-ordinates as follows: x1=2, x2=2.25, x3= 2.5, x4=2.75, x5=3.

6. Evaluate the integral using Gaussian quadrature

1

( r 2 +2rs + s2 ) drds
1 1

Group-C
(Long answer type questions)
Answer any three questions

315 = 45

7. Derive the strain-displacement matrix for four noded plane strain element using iso-parametic
formulation.

15

8. Find the displacement at nodes and induced stresses in each element for the two bar truss
supported by a spring shown in Figure 1. Both bars have E=210Gpa and circular area of crosssection of d=0.02m. First and second bar have length of 5m and 10m respectively. The spring
stiffness k=2000 kN/m. Take =300. Show the system is equilibrium in both directions.

15

Fig. 1
9. Derive the finite element formulation for beam element using Galerkins method.

15

10. Figure 2 depicts a tapered elastic bar subjected to an applied tensile load P at one end and
attached to a fixed support at the other end. The cross-sectional area varies linearly from A0 at
the fixed support at x = 0 to A0/2 at x = L. Calculate the displacement of the end of the bar (a)
by modeling the bar as a single element having cross-sectional area equal to the area of the
actual bar at its midpoint along the length, (b) using two bar elements of equal length and
similarly evaluating the area at the midpoint of each. Also calculate the stresses in both the
cases. Plot two graphs to show the variation in displacement and stress for both cases.
15

Fig. 2
11. (a) Derive the shape functions for three noded triangular element.

(b)Given the triangular plane stress element shown in figure 3, determine the nodal forces
equivalent to the distributed loads shown via the method of work equivalence method.
Element thickness is 0.2 m and it is uniform. Co-ordinate dimensions in the figure are given
in metre scale.

10

Fig. 3