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Compu ng S ness of Linear Elas c

Structures: Part 1
Supra k Da a (h ps://www.comsol.com/blogs/author/supra k-da a/)
April 3, 2014
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Today, we will introduce the concept of structural s ness and nd out how we can
compute the s ness of a linear elas c structure subjected only to mechanical loading. In
par cular, we will explore how it can be computed and interpreted in di erent modeling
space dimensions (0D and 1D) and which factors a ect the s ness of a structure.

What Is Structural S ness?

As an external force tries to deform an elas c body, the body resists the force. This
resistance is referred to as s ness. We o en casually use this term as a material property,
whereas in reality, it could be a property of various geometric and material parameters. We
will explore these cases here.

Before we dive in, we need to de ne s ness mathema cally. Let’s assume that a force, F0,
ac ng on a body deforms it by an amount, u0. If we require a small force, ΔF, to deform the
body by an in nitesimally small amount, Δu, then the ra o of these two quan es would
give us the s ness of the body at the opera ng point denoted by the state variables F0
and u0.

This is the de ni on of linearized s ness, which can, in general, be used on both linear and
nonlinear force versus displacement curves. The force-displacement rela onship and
linearized s ness can be mathema cally expressed using the following equa ons,
respec vely:

A typical force vs. displacement curve for a linear elas c structure.

An Example Problem
When modeling various types of structural systems, one of the goals of the analysis could
be to come up with an e ec ve value of s ness and interpret its scope based on how we
compute it from the structural problem at hand. The s ness, in general, can be a func on
of material proper es, material orienta on, geometric dimensions, loading direc ons, type
of constraint, and choice of spa al region, where loads and constraints are applied.
For illustra on purposes, we will use a steel beam of length L = 1 m, width b = 0.2 m, and
thickness t = 0.1 m. The face of the beam that is parallel to the yz-plane and located at x =
0 is rigidly xed (i.e., zero displacements in x-, y-, and z-direc ons). The face that is parallel
to the yz-plane and located at x = L has a uniformly distributed force ac ng on it. All other
faces of the beam are unconstrained and unloaded. Consequently, they are free to deform.

A solid beam of length L, width b, and thickness t, with its sides oriented along the x-, y-, and z-
direc ons of a Cartesian coordinate system.

We will compute the s ness of this beam both analy cally and using COMSOL
Mul physics, comparing the solu ons obtained from these two methods.

Exploring Modeling Space Dimensions

When star ng to model a structure, one of the cri cal choices that we need to make is
deciding on how much detail we are really interested in. In other words, we need to
determine if we can lump the en re structure as a single point in space or if we need to
resolve it in one, two, or even three dimensions to get more details of spa al varia on in
certain quan es of interest. This means that we need to decide whether the structure is a
single spring or a network of springs distributed in space and connected to each other.

To do so, we should try to answer the following ques ons — and possibly several others
depending on what the modeling objec ve is:
Is there any spa al inhomogeneity in the material proper es?
Is there any spa al inhomogeneity in the applied force?
Do the geometric dimensions of the structure vary irregularly in certain direc ons?
Are there any planes of symmetry that we can iden fy based on the symmetry in the
modeling geometry, applied loads, and expected solu on pro le?
Are there any localized e ects, such as around holes or corners, that we are interested
in?
Can we neglect the stresses or strains in certain direc ons?

S ness in 0D Models
We will start by looking at a 0D model of the beam where all e ects related to loading,
deforma on, and material response are lumped into a single point in space and the en re
beam is modeled as a single spring.
A 0D representa on of the beam using a lumped s ness, k, with a force, F, ac ng on it that
produces a displacement, u. In this case, a 0D model is also a single degree of freedom (SDOF)
representa on of the beam.

Assuming that steel behaves as a Hookean solid

(h p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooke%27s_law) (i.e., stress is linearly propor onal to strain
below the yield strength), we can write out the stress-strain rela onship using the Young’s
modulus, E, of the material as .

Using a simplis c de ni on where stress is equal to force per unit cross-sec on area,
, where , and strain is equal to the ra o of deforma on to the original
length, , and combining these, we get . This gives us a linear
force versus displacement rela onship, such that the s ness is independent of the
opera ng point as well as any spa al varia on in force, displacement, and material
proper es.

Hence, we can express the axial s ness of the beam for this 0D model with the following
equa on:

Assuming the Young’s modulus of steel is 200 GPa, we nd that the axial s ness of the
beam is k = 4×109 N/m.

In COMSOL Mul physics, you can model the 0D case using the Global ODEs and DAEs
interface (for me-dependent simula ons) or by simply se ng up Parameters or Variables in
a 0D space dimension model.

Screenshot of the Parameters table in the COMSOL so ware.

S ness in 1D Models
In reality, we know that the beam is xed at one end, while the force is being applied at the
other. Hence, the deforma on or displacement (u) is not the same at each cross sec on
along the length. In order to incorporate this e ect, we would need to create at least a 1D
model.

Compu ng Axial S ness

A 1D representa on of the beam, obtained using the balance of sta c axial forces in the body.

A 1D model would require us to solve for the axial force balance equa on on a 1D domain
that represents the beam in order to nd out the axial displacement (u) as a func on of the
x-coordinate that de nes the 1D space. The axial force balance equa on (ignoring any
bending or torsional moment) can be wri en as:

with the boundary condi ons at the two ends as at and

(Hooke’s law) at .

Combining all of this, we get , where x is the distance from the xed end of

the beam and u(x) is the displacement along the length of the beam. The 1D model
represents an in nite number of springs connected to each other in series
(h p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_and_parallel_springs). This allows us to get more
detailed informa on on spa al varia on in displacement, stresses, and strains in the beam.
However, it also translates to the idea that each of these springs has its own s ness.
Assuming that the Young’s modulus and cross-sec on area do not vary along the length of
the beam, if we discre ze the beam into n-number of springs in series, in our case, the
s ness of each spring (ki) will be .

However, if we want to relate the 1D model with the 0D model, we have to imagine that
the en re beam is being approximated by a single spring. Therefore, the equivalent
s ness in 1D would be the ra o of the maximum axial displacement and the axial force at
the loca on where the force is being applied. In this case, u would be maximum at x = L
where its value would be . This gives us the equivalent single-spring
s ness of the 1D beam as:

This indicates that for the given modeling parameters, the solu on (k = 4×109 N/m) of the
1D model tends to be that of the 0D model when evaluated at x = L.

Compu ng Bending S ness

An addi onal advantage of moving over to a 1D model is that we can now explore the
e ect of loading direc on. Although we restrict ourselves in a 1D space, we can compute
the out-of-plane displacements v and w, respec vely, along the “invisible” y- and z-
direc ons when a force acts on the beam along these direc ons. Note that based on the
chosen boundary condi ons (clamped-free beam), the displacement components v and w
would vary as a func on of the x-coordinate.

A 1D representa on of the beam, obtained using the balance of bending moment in the body.

Inves ga ng this scenario would also mean that we would have to introduce addi onal
s ness terms that would correlate the bending force with the out-of-plane displacements.
This would require us to solve the following moment-balance equa on:

with the boundary condi ons

at ; and

and at ; and

In these equa ons, we have used the displacement (w) along the z-direc on for
representa onal purposes. The same idea holds true for the displacement (v) along the y-
direc on as well. Assuming that the deforma on is much smaller than the size of the beam,
these expressions can be physically interpreted as follows.
The rst deriva ve of the out-of-plane displacement with respect to the x-coordinate
represents the slope; the second deriva ve represents the curvature; and the third
deriva ve is propor onal to the shear force. In these equa ons, the term I denotes the
second area moment of iner a (h p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_moment_of_area) and
is a func on of the direc on about which the beam bends. For bending about the y-axis
(i.e., force ac ng along the z-direc on), we can express it as:

For bending about the z-axis (i.e., force ac ng along the y-direc on), we can express it as:

Combining all of this, we get:

Therefore, the equivalent bending s ness in 1D would be the ra o of the maximum out-
of-plane displacement and the bending load at the loca on where the force is being
applied. In this case, both v and w would be maximum at x = L when a force is applied there
along the y- and z-direc ons, respec vely. This gives us two possible equivalent single-
spring bending s nesses of the 1D beam depending on the loading direc on.

The force and displacement along the y-direc on can be correlated using the s ness

. The force and displacement along the z-direc on can be correlated using

the s ness . For the given modeling parameters, kyy = 4×107 N/m and kzz =

1×107 N/m.

Compu ng S ness in COMSOL Mul physics

In COMSOL Mul physics, you can set up the 1D model by rst choosing a 2D or 3D space
dimension and then using either the Truss or the Beam interface.

Here, we will show you how to use the Beam interface in the 3D space dimension to
compute both the axial and the bending s ness. The 1D structure will be modeled as an
Euler-Bernoulli beam
(h p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler%E2%80%93Bernoulli_beam_theory). The COMSOL
so ware also allows you to use the Timoshenko beam theory
(h p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timoshenko_beam_theory), which would be more appropriate
for the accurate 1D modeling of low aspect ra o structures.

Here is the work ow for obtaining the s ness from the 1D model:
A snapshot of the 1D model made using the Beam interface. Variables are de ned to evaluate
the axial s ness (kxx) and bending s ness (kyy and kzz). An Average Coupling Operator is used
to evaluate the displacements at the point x = L. The with() operator is used to fetch the
solu on from the di erent load cases that the model is solved for.

A snapshot of the boundary condi ons used in the Beam interface. The Point Load branch is
assigned to the point located at x = L.

In this model, we use a force (point load) of F0 = 1×104 N. As long as you do not
incorporate any nonlinear e ects in your model, you can use an arbitrary magnitude of the
load. If there are nonlineari es, then it is important to use the correct lineariza on point.
Such cases will be discussed in a future blog post.
As shown here, you can create a “switch” using the if() operator and the names (such as
root.group.lg1 ) associated with the Load Groups, such that only one component of the
force vector can be made nonzero at a me when you are solving the same model for
several load cases.

A snapshot of the Study se ngs illustra ng how the load cases are set up to ac vate only one
component of the force vector at a me. A Global Evalua on is used to print the values of kxx,
kyy, and kzz. The COMSOL so ware solu ons match the analy cal solu ons exactly.

The approach shown here for evalua ng the s ness components is applicable as long as
we do not expect any coupling between extension and bending, (i.e., when the s ness
matrix is diagonal). We will present a more general computa onal approach in Part 2 of this
blog series.

Next, we can solve the same model using the Timoshenko beam theory. As expected, this
would yield the exact same result for the axial s ness (kxx = 4×109 N/m), but the
transverse s ness will be smaller than what we obtained from the Euler-Bernoulli theory.
The shear deforma on taken into account when using the Timoshenko beam theory will,
through the shear modulus (h p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shear_modulus), have a slight
dependence on Poisson’s ra o, so we need to incorporate that in the material data as well.

Poisson’s ra o kxx[N/m] kyy[N/m] kzz[N/m]

ν=0 4×109 3.91×107 9.94×106

ν = 0.3 4×109 3.88×107 9.92×106

Concluding Thoughts
Here, you have seen both analy cal and COMSOL solu ons to compu ng s ness of
linear elas c structures in 0D and 1D. Next up, we will talk about 2D and 3D cases.
Editor’s note: We published a follow-up blog post on this topic on 4/4/14. Read Part 2
(h ps://www.comsol.com/blogs/compu ng-s ness-linear-elas c-structures-part-2/) to learn
how to compute the s ness of linear elas c structures in 2D and 3D.

Categories

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Newer Post
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Comments

Badri Suhaini February 5, 2016 6:57 pm

Hi, thank you for wri ng this blog. I have a ques on.

Is s ness the same as elas city matrix?

I have been trying to obtain the elas city matrix of PMMA from the internet but I could
not obtain it. I realized that the only way for me to obtain it is by calcula ng it using
COMSOL. But I just want to know is this blog talking about elas city matrix since it is
s ness?

Regards,
Badri

Daniel Burt March 11, 2016 11:52 am

Hi Badri,

The elas city matrix as far as I know de nes the e ec ve Young’s Modulus in various
direc ons for an an-isotropic crystal so essen ally yes but only for anisotropic materials.

Ahmed Mohamed February 1, 2017 6:35 pm

How can I put the real number of s ness constant to a membrane?

 Caty Fairclough February 7, 2017 9:35 am

Hi Ahmed,

Thank you for your comment and interest in this blog post! For ques ons related to
your modeling, please contact our support team.
Online support center: h ps://www.comsol.com/support
(h ps://www.comsol.com/support)
Email: support@comsol.com (mailto:support@comsol.com)

Best,
Caty

vikash kumar February 10, 2017 6:51 am

hi
i am doing uniaxial compression test simula on of polymer (ABS material ). i want stress
v/s strain graph of the above . can anyone help me in nding out?

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