Customer Reviews

The Finite Element Method: Linear Static and Dynamic Finite Element Analysis (Dover Civil and Mechanical Engineering)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Finite Element Methodology though conceptually simple (eat the elephant by chopping it up into mouthfuls), becomes somewhat involved when applied, because the of tricks used to get solutions, after all you still may have to solve 100,000 PDEs to get your approximate solution to an otherwise intractable problem. So in its own way FEM can become a bit of a pachyderm itself.

This book is very good, but be aware that this book is aimed at graduate physical-science/engineering students. This means that you know how to solve basic second order differential equations and understand how to perform path integrals for example.

This book is aimed at people who would like to be able to write their own FEM solver. If you are looking to gain some backgrounding in how to construct finite element models using a program to solve problems, this book is probably much more than you need. You might want to try Schaum's Outline of Finite Element Analysis if this is your objective.

DLearn is available from the http://www.zace.com/afdlearn.html or by typing
"Dlearn program FEA"
into google and following the link.

The author hase chosen the best, in my oppinion, way to present the background maths using functionals, this not being the fact with other, indeed classic and valuabe, though much more expensive, texts on the subject. Actually most use the original forms of variatonal formulations, which are tricky and result in very lengthy equations. Regarding the method itself, this text includes almost everything you should know to solve linear problems, both static and dynamic (i especially appreciated the dynamic part). Price over value ratio tends to zero, so it is a real bargain!

The reviewer who said that the software is not available from the ZACE website is incorrect. Go to www.zace.com and click on "Home Page." There you will be able to download DLEARN for free in addition to a
C++ finite element code.

I consider this book simply excellent. The book does contain all the information you need to understand the finite element method. It comes with a companion software you can download. I don't actually understand those people who complain about the "excess" of math: com'on. If you don't like math, why in the world are you trying to do FE analysis? If you need to know, say, what is hourglassing, you need to know the theory behind the integration over a master element, otherwise you will never understand what hourglassing is. This is a bare example of what you need to know in order to do some FEA. If this is the kind of information (plus a much more) you're looking for, this is the book for you. Even though, as many other FE books, it's full of math, I've found it less "cryptic" than Bathe's book.
Enjoy it!

an excellent,and also one of the best several books in FEM, definitely. But you need to invest much time to read and understand those math and theories behind the FE, then you can only get the really good insight into the subject.

This book was written in a simple but mathematical language. It is not intended for first timers and/or for people without a good support in mathematics.
Good for stablishing routines and procedures if you are willing to create your own brand new program. But also good if you are willing to use the routine that the authors wrote. You can find them at: http://www.zace.com/afdlearn.html

Have a good time reading and working with Finite Elements as I am doing.

An excellent reference book from one of the gurus of FEM. It's more mathematically oriented than most, but it gives you a good insight into the math , which is the foundation of all FEM.
Great bargain for the price.

Excellent. Well writen. Although simple its thorough and its mathematical treatment is good enough. It covers most of the important aspects of the method. If I sould choose between this book and the Bathe Book witch is a clasic i would recoment this one as a first read. Its much easier to read and more self study orienteted. 5 Stars Rating.

With the price cut, it is bargain for money. The original one is too expensive and dont worth the price, even though the book is nicely written. But this one is a must buy.

I bought this book to begin understanding of finite elements theory. the book is good but sure not for starters. The lack of examples and introduction to computer software make this book limited at least for me.