A powerful tool for the approximate solution of differential equations, the finite element is extensively used in industry and research. This book offers students of engineering and physics a comprehensive view of the principles involved, with numerous illustrative examples and exercises. Starting with continuum boundary value problems and the need for numerical discretization, the text examines finite difference methods, weighted residual methods in the context of continuous trial functions, and piecewise defined trial functions and the finite element method. Additional topics include higher order finite element approximation, mapping and numerical integration, variational methods, and partial discretization and time-dependent problems. A survey of generalized finite elements and error estimates concludes the text.

This book is the first volume of a three-part textbook suitable for graduate coursework, professional engineering and academic research. It is also appropriate for graduate flipped classes. Each volume is divided into short chapters. Each chapter can be covered in one teaching unit and includes exercises as well as solutions available from a dedicated website. The salient ideas can be addressed during lecture, with the rest of the content assigned as reading material. To engage the reader, the text combines examples, basic ideas, rigorous proofs, and pointers to the literature to enhance scientific literacy. Volume I is divided into 23 chapters plus two appendices on Banach and Hilbert spaces and on differential calculus. This volume focuses on the fundamental ideas regarding the construction of finite elements and their approximation properties. It addresses the all-purpose Lagrange finite elements, but also vector-valued finite elements that are crucial to approximate the divergence and the curl operators. In addition, it also presents and analyzes quasi-interpolation operators and local commuting projections. The volume starts with four chapters on functional analysis, which are packed with examples and counterexamples to familiarize the reader with the basic facts on Lebesgue integration and weak derivatives. Volume I also reviews important implementation aspects when either developing or using a finite element toolbox, including the orientation of meshes and the enumeration of the degrees of freedom.

This introduction to the theory of Sobolev spaces and Hilbert space methods in partial differential equations is geared toward readers of modest mathematical backgrounds. It offers coherent, accessible demonstrations of the use of these techniques in developing the foundations of the theory of finite element approximations. J. T. Oden is Director of the Institute for Computational Engineering & Sciences (ICES) at the University of Texas at Austin, and J. N. Reddy is a Professor of Engineering at Texas A&M University. They developed this essentially self-contained text from their seminars and courses for students with diverse educational backgrounds. Their effective presentation begins with introductory accounts of the theory of distributions, Sobolev spaces, intermediate spaces and duality, the theory of elliptic equations, and variational boundary value problems. The second half of the text explores the theory of finite element interpolation, finite element methods for elliptic equations, and finite element methods for initial boundary value problems. Detailed proofs of the major theorems appear throughout the text, in addition to numerous examples.

This book is the second volume of a three-part textbook suitable for graduate coursework, professional engineering and academic research. It is also appropriate for graduate flipped classes. Each volume is divided into short chapters. Each chapter can be covered in one teaching unit and includes exercises as well as solutions available from a dedicated website. The salient ideas can be addressed during lecture, with the rest of the content assigned as reading material. To engage the reader, the text combines examples, basic ideas, rigorous proofs, and pointers to the literature to enhance scientific literacy. Volume II is divided into 32 chapters plus one appendix. The first part of the volume focuses on the approximation of elliptic and mixed PDEs, beginning with fundamental results on well-posed weak formulations and their approximation by the Galerkin method. The material covered includes key results such as the BNB theorem based on inf-sup conditions, Céa's and Strang's lemmas, and the duality argument by Aubin and Nitsche. Important implementation aspects regarding quadratures, linear algebra, and assembling are also covered. The remainder of Volume II focuses on PDEs where a coercivity property is available. It investigates conforming and nonconforming approximation techniques (Galerkin, boundary penalty, Crouzeix—Raviart, discontinuous Galerkin, hybrid high-order methods). These techniques are applied to elliptic PDEs (diffusion, elasticity, the Helmholtz problem, Maxwell's equations), eigenvalue problems for elliptic PDEs, and PDEs in mixed form (Darcy and Stokes flows). Finally, the appendix addresses fundamental results on the surjectivity, bijectivity, and coercivity of linear operators in Banach spaces.

This book gives an introduction to the finite element method as a general computational method for solving partial differential equations approximately. Our approach is mathematical in nature with a strong focus on the underlying mathematical principles, such as approximation properties of piecewise polynomial spaces, and variational formulations of partial differential equations, but with a minimum level of advanced mathematical machinery from functional analysis and partial differential equations. In principle, the material should be accessible to students with only knowledge of calculus of several variables, basic partial differential equations, and linear algebra, as the necessary concepts from more advanced analysis are introduced when needed. Throughout the text we emphasize implementation of the involved algorithms, and have therefore mixed mathematical theory with concrete computer code using the numerical software MATLAB is and its PDE-Toolbox. We have also had the ambition to cover some of the most important applications of finite elements and the basic finite element methods developed for those applications, including diffusion and transport phenomena, solid and fluid mechanics, and also electromagnetics.​

The Sixth Edition of this influential best-selling book delivers the most up-to-date and comprehensive text and reference yet on the basis of the finite element method (FEM) for all engineers and mathematicians. Since the appearance of the first edition 38 years ago, The Finite Element Method provides arguably the most authoritative introductory text to the method, covering the latest developments and approaches in this dynamic subject, and is amply supplemented by exercises, worked solutions and computer algorithms. • The classic FEM text, written by the subject's leading authors • Enhancements include more worked examples and exercises • With a new chapter on automatic mesh generation and added materials on shape function development and the use of higher order elements in solving elasticity and field problems Active research has shaped The Finite Element Method into the pre-eminent tool for the modelling of physical systems. It maintains the comprehensive style of earlier editions, while presenting the systematic development for the solution of problems modelled by linear differential equations. Together with the second and third self-contained volumes (0750663219 and 0750663227), The Finite Element Method Set (0750664312) provides a formidable resource covering the theory and the application of FEM, including the basis of the method, its application to advanced solid and structural mechanics and to computational fluid dynamics. The classic introduction to the finite element method, by two of the subject's leading authors Any professional or student of engineering involved in understanding the computational modelling of physical systems will inevitably use the techniques in this key text