Introduction about Finite Element Method

The finite element method (FEM) is a part of various numerical solution processes, which is widely used in a majority of fields of engineering, such as solid mechanics, structures, fluids, heat transfer, sound, etc. Therefore, nowadays the FEM is considered as an essential aspect in the analysis and design in most of the engineering fields. Due to rapid advancements in personal computers, supercomputers, and other computation systems that easily solve engineering problems, the development of FEM and its practical applications have increased significantly over the recent decades. Therefore, in this chapter we demonstrate the FEM in detail and also present all the procedures and analyses involved in FEM in seven steps. The chapter covers all the main components of the commercial finite element packages, including preprocessor, processor, and post-processor.