ABSTRACT
It is known that finite difference methods are not very good at handling irregularly shaped domains. The finite element method can overcome this disadvantage. It is arguably that the most robust and popular method for solving differential equations is the finite element method (FEM), which was first conceived by Courant [17], who used a group of triangular elements to study the St. Venant torsion problem. Then engineers independently re-invented the method in the early 1950s. The early contributions are attributed to Argyris [5], and Turner, Clough, Martin and Topp [42], etc. The term “finite element” was proposed by Clough [16]. Today, FEMs have become the mainstream numerical methods for solving all kinds of PDEs as evidenced by the wide use of many advanced commercial packages.
