An Exact Condensation Procedure for Chain-Like Structures Using a Finite Element-Transfer Matrix Approach

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to describe a new scheme to carry out the static or dynamic analysis of elastic systems using a combined Finite Element-Transfer Matrix Approach. The proposed scheme offers the advantage of automatic matrix size reduction without having to truncate degrees of freedom, and preserving the strain and kinetic energy throughout the condensation. Although limited to chain-like elastic systems, the method is generalized to non-repetitive configurations with substructures having intermediate active degrees of freedom.