ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a brief introduction intended for those readers who have not had a formal course or prior knowledge about the finite element method. It provides an introduction to ANSYS Mechanical APDL is presented to familiarize the reader with the typical procedures used for finite element modeling using commercial software. The element unknown parameters correspond to displacements at the element nodes. Since a node must have the same displacement on both adjacent elements, the value is unique. Many commercial programs exist with finite element analysis capabilities for different engineering disciplines. The model geometry is obtained specifying all nodes, their position, and the element connectivity. All elements need material properties, but structural elements need additional parameters that vary with the type of element. These parameters result from analytical integration of the three-dimensional governing equations while formulating the element. The element interpolation functions are used to compute the equivalent forces vector due to distributed loads.
