Abstract
The precision in the results of analysis using the finite element (FE) technique requires that a
structure to be analyzed shall be discretized using a finer mesh. The number of elements into which the structure shall be discretized so as to obtain the FE results within an acceptable tolerance is usually decided by experience or a guess. Moreover, the error in the results of FE analysis is an unknown, therefore, it is difficult to say whether the results are within an acceptable tolerance. It is due to these reasons that an extrapolation technique is presented in the present paper to predict the results more precisely by carrying out the analysis for two mesh configurations which have a different number of elements in each case, but possess a similar discretization pattern. This is done by taking into consideration the variation of parameters within the body of the structure. The error in the results of analysis of plane strain and plate bending problems has been found to be inversely proportional to the number of elements. Two other algorithms for the modeling of error have also been tested. Several numerical examples under the two categories of problems considered in the study are presented to demonstrate the utility of the proposed
extrapolation technique.