Current Issue

NEW GUIDELINES FOR OPTIMIZATION OF FINITE ELEMENT SOLUTIONS

Tse-Shan Hsu

President, Institute of Mitigation for Earthquake Shear Banding Disasters

Professor, Feng-Chia University, Taiwan, R.O.C., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Yu-Chien Wu*

*Ph.D., Ph.D. Program for Infrastructure Planning and Engineering,

Feng-Chia University, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Zong-Lin Wu**, Yan-Ming Wang*

**Assistant Professor, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Abstract

In the optimization of finite element solutions, an algorithmic procedure is required to generate a finite element mesh that achieves the desired accuracy with minimal computational effort. Traditionally, two approaches—analytical and topological guidelines—have been employed for this purpose. However, the effectiveness of the guidelines derived from these approaches has not been systematically evaluated. In this study, a novel parameter is introduced to formulate a proposed optimality condition. Based on this parameter and the contours of strain energy density, new mesh optimization guidelines are developed. The results demonstrate that the proposed guidelines yield superior solutions compared with those obtained using existing methods.

Keywords: optimization, finite element mesh, strain energy density, guidelines.