Category Archives: Finite Element Analysis

Frame Analysis Resources

I recently discovered: Matrix Structural Analysis, 2nd Edition, by McGuire, Gallagher, and Ziemian. which is available for free download: Description The aims of the first edition of Matrix Structural Analysis were to place proper emphasis on the methods of matrix … Continue reading

Posted in Finite Element Analysis, Frame Analysis, Newton | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Section Properties with MeshPY, including torsion and warping

I recently discovered robbie van leeuwen’s structural engineering blog, which has an open-source set of Python routines for calculation of section properties, including torsion and warping constants.  The program uses the MeshPY Library for generating the finite element meshes required … Continue reading

Posted in Beam Bending, Concrete, Excel, Finite Element Analysis, Frame Analysis, Link to Python, Maths, Newton, Numerical integration, NumPy and SciPy, Strand7, UDFs, VBA, xlwings | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Stepping through 3DFrame

Following a recent comment this post looks at the code for setting up the stiffness matrix for a 3D frame, and how to step through any selected part of the code. The general procedure for setting up a 3D stiffness matrix, … Continue reading

Posted in Beam Bending, Excel, Finite Element Analysis, Frame Analysis, Newton, UDFs, VBA | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Setting up UDF Applications

Following a recent comment, this post looks at setting up a user defined function (UDF) on a blank worksheet, using the ConBeamU function as an example. To use a UDF, the VBA code for the function must either be included … Continue reading

Posted in Arrays, Beam Bending, Excel, Finite Element Analysis, Newton, UDFs, VBA | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Using the Frame Analysis Spreadsheets

Following some recent questions in the comments, here are some answers: How can nodal moments be created? The current versions only allow for forces to be applied to beams, but any point load or moment applied at the start or … Continue reading

Posted in Excel, Finite Element Analysis, Frame Analysis, Newton, VBA | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments