UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
CEE 510
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS
Fall 2020
PROJECT 1
Derive the full stiffness matrix and load vector for the 4-node rectangular finite element shown
below. Assume that the applied loads are only applied at the nodes (no need to calculate
consistent nodal loads due to body or surface loads).
Implement the derived stiffness matrix into the MatLab program. Choose a problem with known
‘exact’ answer and conduct convergence studies to see how fast the solution converges to the
exact answer.
Submit a comprehensive, well produced report documenting your efforts along with a copy of
the revised program by e-mail. The quality of the presentation will be taken into consideration
during grading.
y4
x4
x1
y3
4
3
1
2
y1
y2
Page 1
x3
x2