Chapter 9 - FEM for 3D Solid Elements

Abstract

A three-dimensional (3D) solid element can be considered to be the most general of all solid finite elements because the field variables are described fully in terms of all three physical coordinates: x, y, and z. A 3D solid can also have any arbitrary shape, material properties, and boundary conditions in space. As such, there are a total of six possible stress components, three normal and three shear, that need to be taken into consideration. Typically, a 3D solid element can be tetrahedron or hexahedron in shape with either flat or curved surfaces. Each node of the element will have three translational degrees of freedom (DOFs). The element can thus deform in all three directions in space.