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Plotting of contours in a natural way
Author(s) -
Stelzer J. F.,
Welzel R.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.421
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1097-0207
pISSN - 0029-5981
DOI - 10.1002/nme.1620240911
Subject(s) - classification of discontinuities , function (biology) , finite element method , simple (philosophy) , element (criminal law) , constant (computer programming) , section (typography) , ordinate , geometry , mathematics , computer science , mathematical analysis , algorithm , structural engineering , engineering , philosophy , epistemology , evolutionary biology , political science , law , biology , programming language , operating system
A simple and straightforward scheme for plotting contours is introduced. For any function the appropriate contours are traced on the paths of constant function values disclosing the information contained in the shape functions. The exactness of the contours matches that of the finite element analysis. Extreme value considerations must be carried out to decide whether contours appear in an element at all. Three co‐ordinate systems are dealt with: the local, the global and the screen co‐ordinate system, and the necessary mutual transformations. A short section deals with the treatment of contour discontinuities across element borders which frequently occur with stresses and heat fluxes. Finally, some examples are shown.