FINITE ELEMENT MODELING AND COMPUTATIONS IN THE FIELD OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Finite Element (FE) calculations – a paradigm shift It is no exaggeration to say that FE calcula...

Emmanuel Ferrier is the president of the AFGC Scientific and Technical Council. He shares with us...

Recommendations and Advice Content – The authors This collaborative work elaborated by professio...

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A short and broad introduction of the Recommendations and Advice Civil engineering construction ...

Chapter A. Introduction When performing a FE calculation of a structure, the modeling assumption...

A1. A general formulation for linear elastic calculations The two main formulations for linear c...

A2. The dimensionality of the model It is very important to simplify the full-size problem to mo...

A3. Choosing the finite elements Choosing the element is an important step. The goal is to selec...

A4. Interaction between the structure and its environment Taking into account the interactions b...

A5. Estimation of the quality of the approximated numerical solution The difference between the ...

Chapter B. Dynamics For many applications such as seismic calculations, collisions, vibrations… ...

B1. Analysis based on a modal search A reminder of the concept of simple oscillator – Concept of...

B2. Analysis based on a direct temporal integration  Schemes of integration Main Principles: T...

B3. Considering damping The damping of a structure’s vibration is related to dissipation phenome...

B4. Specificities of the seismic analysis Spectral response – Specific case of earthquakes The ...

Chapter C. Nonlinear Static calculations Nonlinear calculations are generally time-demanding: a ...

C1. Mechanical non-linear problems Description of possible non-linearities The non-line...

C2. Why performing non-linear calculations As in many areas of physics, it is only reasonable to...

C3. Implementation The correct method consists of always proceeding step by step so that non-lin...

C4. Convergence issues? Symptoms and solutions As opposed to linear elastic calculations, non-li...

Chapter D. Civil Engineering D.1 Civil engineering materials D.1 Civil engineering materials D...

D1. Civil engineering materials The objective of this chapter is to highlight the peculiarities ...

D2. Different categories of structural elements  Here are presented the peculiarities of these e...

D3. The different construction phases  Studying the phases of construction has two objectives: ...

Chapter E. Typical post-treatment in Civil Engineering Introduction In civil engineering there ...

E1. Generalities The different post-treated quantities may change significantly according to the...

E2. Quantities in Dynamics Time-dependent analyses Post-processing of time-dependent qu...

E3. The specific case of reinforced concrete Overview of the common methods for designing th...

Chapter F – Geotechnical calculations  Introduction Conventional methods for the design and dim...

F1. Geometric aspects  One of the advantages of the FE method is the possibility of describing t...

F2. Material non-linearities  In geotechnics, it is very rare to be able to study a structure ex...

F3. Soil-structure interactions Geotechnical structures often combine layers of soil with metal ...

F4. Hydraulic effects Hydromechanical coupling Another peculiarity of geotechnical calc...

F5. Uncertainties and recommendations  Uncertainties There are many sources of uncertai...

F6. Normative aspects: Principles of the Eurocode 7 Numerical modeling always had a particular r...

F7. Modeling in Dynamics   Because of the continuous and unconfined nature of geomaterials, the...

F8. Characteristic scales Firstly, to frame the discussion about soil dynamics problems, it is n...

Chapter A. Understanding the finite elements A.1. What does a finite element software do? Exampl...

A1. What does the software do in a finite element calculation? The example of beam structures Th...

A2. What is a finite element? The resolution of the efforts in the elements is carried out follo...

Chapter B. Computational objectives and necessary characteristics of the tool  Creating a finite...

B. Calculation objectives and necessary tool characteristics  Creating a finite element computat...

B.7 Organization of the calculation  This is an essential step to be carried out at the beginnin...

Chapter C. Good practices to create a model The different levels of analysis and the complexity ...

C1. Input data and units The input data must be consistent, whether these values are defined in ...

C2. Modeling of the main elements C.2.1 Creating the geometry The first stage of modeling consi...

C3. FE and meshing C.3.1 Types of finite elements First and foremost, the user of FE software m...

C4. Modeling the non-structural elements or equipment Non-structural elements and equipment are ...

C5. Boundary Conditions C.5.1 General case The boundary conditions are determined by the degree...

C6. Connections - links – assembly C.6.1 Releasing the bars/springs/degrees of freedom In all m...

C7. Offsets  Most finite element software offer several options to define a beam on a fiber othe...

C8. Composite Sections (Beams/Slabs)  Composite sections are made up of the assembly, rigid or e...

C9. Materials Part 1 Chapter 4 is dedicated to civil engineering materials and their specificiti...

C10. Specific behavior in shear and torsion In general, it should be noted that beam element mod...

C11. Modeling the loading As explained in chapter E, it is important to always verify for each l...

C12. More about solid elements The principles stated for 2D modeling remain applicable in 3D, in...

C13. More about non-linear calculations This paragraph deals with non-linearities related to the...

C14. More about prestressed concrete The proper modeling of prestressing requires using specific...

C15. More about phased calculations The reader may also refer to Part 1 - D.3 Construction Phase...

C16. More about dynamic and seismic calculations The dynamic solicitations generate inertial and...

Chapter D. Analysis and processing of the results  D.1 General information about numerical calcu...

D1. General information on numerical calculations D.1.1 Calculation time Computation time (in t...

D2. Load combinations  D.2.1 Combinations and envelopes Recall that using a load combination co...

D3. Data processing D.3.1 Stresses/Deformations or Internal forces It is important to define wh...

D4. Normative verifications: the behavior of reinforced concrete elements D.4.1 Reinforcement ma...

D5. Understanding and analyzing the peaks (case study about concrete) The smoothing referred to ...

D6. Understanding and analyzing the peaks (case study about steel assembly) The results of a cal...

D7. Further information specific to dynamic calculations D.7.1 Total mass verification In the c...

Chapter E. How to ensure quality? Below are some simple advice to assess the quality of the fini...

We propose below some simple advice to deploy a quality approach in finite element calculations. ...

E2. Model validation using self-checking Before exploiting the model results, several verificati...

E3. Traceability and group work While there are projects where a single engineer will do all the...

Chapter F. How to properly present the finite element calculation note? This paragraph introduce...

F. How to properly present the finite element calculation note? This paragraph provides the mini...

This part contains modeling examples for simple and more complex objects. They are presented as a...

Example A - Modeling a complex high-rise building Franck DUBOIS - Structures Engineering ...

Example B. Mixed and Steel Girders The subgroup responsible for these examples is still workin...

Example C - Beam Grillage Modeling Benjamin Tritschler (Arcadis) - Transverse Bending of a M...

Example D - Simple example: modeling of a Br wheel The purpose of this example is to show the di...

Example E - Transverse bending of a prestressed concrete box girder Author : Jean-Paul Deveaud...

Example F – Dynamic calculations of tanks Coming soon... a little patience required. Author: Gi...

Example G – Cable-stayed bridges Coming soon... a little patience required.

Beam Grid Example 1. Beam grid The beam grid is a generally horizontal structure consisting of ...

Contribution to the beam grillage analysis Author: Pierre PERRIN – Assistant director of the bri...

Transverse bending of a multi-beam bridge Author: B. Tritschler (Arcadis) – April 29th, 2020 1....

Example of a beam grillage calculation according to different methods  Comparison of the results...

Example of a beam grillage calculation according to different methods  Comparison of the results...

Example of a beam grillage calculation according to different methods  Comparison of the results...

Practical application of smoothing Example of the Br wheel in Handbook 61, title II Finite Elem...

Bibliography General bibliographic references 1) General Papers BATOZ, Jean-Louis DHATT,...

Additions and Modifications 2020/07/12: Example E - Calculation of transverse bending of a BP (p...