Implementation of one and two dimensional linear finite element programs with java language

Abstract

Finite element program codes were generally developed in Fortran but during last decade developers started to seek better programming paradigms in order to handle complexity in finite element software. Since Java language developed by Sun Microsystems possesses features, which makes it attractive for using in finite element modeling, in this study Java programming language is chosen to develop a well organized finite element program. Following the discussion of the finite element method, one dimensional rod and beam elements are implemented to 3D Truss and Beam-Column Frame programs respectively. Moreover, by implementing two dimensional high order quadrilateral and triangular elements the Plane Stress program is developed. Performances of the implemented Java programs are compared with the commercial software packages and exact solutions. In order to illustrate the comparison of the results, five different case studies are investigated. 3DTruss and Beam-Column Frame programs are compared with SAP2000 software. Plane Stress-Strain program is firstly compared with LUSAS software and secondly with ANSYS software. Results of this comparison revealed the efficiency and accuracy of the Java finite element programs implemented in this study.