ABSTRACT
Discretization of a physical domain into finite elements is for linking nodal degrees of freedom to polynomial interpolation functions such that an approximate solution to the original problem can be found. This chapter explains how to solve partial differential equations (PDEs) of a common mathematical type for different engineering problems defined over slender structures or domains. It presents two examples, a mechanical (or vector) problem and a heat (or scalar) problem, to provide better understanding of how global matrix equations are developed and solved by imposing proper boundary conditions. The chapter also illustrates the procedures used to develop the weak-form PDE and finite element method formulation.
