The rapid advances in the nuclear and aerospace technologies in the past two decades compounded with the increasing demands for high performance, energy-efficient power plant components and engines have made reliable thermal stress analysis a critical factor in the design and operation of such equipment. Recently, and as experienced by the author, the need for sophis ticated analyses has been extended to the energy resource industry such as in-situ coal gasification and in-situ oil recovery from oil sands and shales. The analyses in the above applications are of a multidisciplinary nature, and some involve the additional complexity of multiphase and phase change phenomena. These extremely complicated factors preclude the use of classical methods, and numerical techniques such as the finite element method appear to be the most viable alternative solution. The development of this technique so far appears to have concentrated in two extremes; one being overly concerned with the accuracy of results and tending to place all effort in the implementation of special purpose element concepts and computational algorithms, the other being for commercial purposes with the ability of solving a wide range of engineering problems. However, to be versatile, users require substantial training and experience in order to use these codes effectively. Above all, no provision for any modifi cation of these codes by users is possible, as all these codes are proprietary and access to the code is limited only to the owners.

Though many 'finite element' books exist, this book provides a unique focus on developing the method for three-dimensional, industrial problems. This is significant as many methods which work well for small applications fail for large scale problems, which generally: are not so well posed introduce stringent computer time conditions require robust solution techniques. Starting from sound continuum mechanics principles, derivation in this book focuses only on proven methods. Coverage of all different aspects of linear and nonlinear thermal mechanical problems in solids are described, thereby avoiding distracting the reader with extraneous solutions paths. Emphasis is put on consistent representation and includes the examination of topics which are not frequently found in other texts, such as cyclic symmetry, rigid body motion and nonlinear multiple point constraints. Advanced material formulations include anisotropic hyperelasticity, large strain multiplicative viscoplasticity and single crystal viscoplasticity. Finally, the methods described in the book are implemented in the finite element software CalculiX, which is freely available (www.calculix.de; the GNU General Public License applies). Suited to industry practitioners and academic researchers alike, The Finite Element Method for Three-Dimensional Thermomechanical Applications expertly bridges the gap between continuum mechanics and the finite element method.

Finite element modeling has developed into one of the most important tools at an engineer's disposal, especially in applications involving nonlinearity. While engineers coping with such applications may have access to powerful computers and finite element codes, too often they lack the strong foundation in finite element analysis (FEA) that nonline

This introductory text presents the applications of the finite element method to the analysis of conduction and convection problems. The book is divided into seven chapters which include basic ideas, application of these ideas to relevant problems, and development of solutions. Important concepts are illustrated with examples. Computer problems are also included to facilitate the types of solutions discussed.

This book is a follow-up to the introductory text written by the same authors. The primary emphasis on this book is linear and nonlinear partial differential equations with particular concentration on the equations of viscous fluid motion. Each chapter describes a particular application of the finite element method and illustrates the concepts through example problems. A comprehensive appendix lists computer codes for 2-D fluid flow and two 3-D transient codes.