Types of Elements in FEA

One of the requirements to become a good finite element analyst is to be aware of a range of standard elements that are best for specific applications. Whilst commercial FEA programs all offer a library of elements for users to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which to use due to the large amount of elements available. Luckily, these elements can be categorised into three classes by their shape:

1. Line elements - trusses, beams
2. Area elements - quadrilaterals, triangles, membranes, plates, shells, axisymmetric elements
3. Volume elements - bricks (hexahedron), tetrahedron

To capture new user groups, FEA programs also distinguish from each other by offering special elements for specific applications too. Examples include spring and rigid link elements, which can act as springs and rigid connections as their names suggest.

Different types of elements adapted from the DAAC

Related blog posts
Truss vs, Beam
Thin vs. Thick beams
Straight vs. Curved beams
Plane Stress, Plane Strain and Axisymmetric elements
Membrane vs. Plate vs. Shell elements
Thin vs. Thick shells
Isoparametric elements