SHAPE DESIGN SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS USING CLOSED-FORM STIFFNESS MATRIX FOR HIERARCHICAL TRIANGULAR ELEMENTS

Shape design sensitivity analysis for finite element analysis using straight-sided hierarchic triangular elements is considered in this paper. Using a recently developed closed-form stiffness matrix, the sensitivity analysis is carried out by direct differentiation of the system equations for finite element analysis. That is, the term delta-K/delta-alpha required in sensitivity analysis is formulated in the closed form. This is in contrast with prior formulations which utilize finite differences (the semianalytical formulation) and numerical integration to obtain these terms. Both the displacement sensitivity analysis and the strain and stress sensitivity analysis are addressed in this paper.