strekningselement

Strekningselement is a term used in mathematics, engineering and computational modelling to describe a one-dimensional finite element that represents a straight segment between two nodes in a discretized domain. It is commonly employed to approximate curves or linear features by a sequence of connected straight pieces, enabling numerical analysis of physical fields along a line.

In a typical finite element context, a strekningselement has two ends (two nodes) and a defined length equal to the Euclidean distance between the node coordinates. The element carries information about the field of interest (such as displacements, temperature or electrical potential) and uses interpolation functions, or shape functions, to estimate the field inside the element. The simplest form is a linear two-node element, where the field varies linearly along the length. More advanced variants use higher-order interpolation with additional nodes, such as a quadratic line element with a mid-side node, to capture curvature more accurately.

Strekningselement is widely used for one-dimensional problems in structural analysis (bar or cable elements), heat conduction along rods, fluid or gas networks, and other applications where a line-like domain is appropriate. It also serves as the basic building block for meshing longer 2D or 3D models by discretizing curves or edges into multiple linked segments.

Key concepts include node connectivity, element length, orientation, and the material or physical properties assigned to the element. This enables the computation of global responses by assembling many connected strekningselement.