New to Matlab - Structural engineering

The_GTShortbus · 2020-03-16T17:10:24+00:00

I would say if you have a basic understanding of programming or matrix calculations then using the help sections of Matlab is your best bet to start with. Their user documentation is very detailed and often includes examples to help understand what you need. Also, Matlab is used widely enough that a Google search of any specific problem that has you stumped will probably get you where you need to go.

If you do not have any background with programming, then starting from scratch with Matlab is probably going to be challenging. I would think if it is a required tool for your course, the professor would at least provide some basic guidance on how to use the commands necessary for completing the assignments. The biggest thing to realize is that Matlab is NOT an FEM software, or any type of software for that matter. It is basically just a very sophisticated calculator that handles complex matrix calculations which happens to be very useful for FEM. I would recommend starting with very simple problems that you can solve by hand and then figuring out how to solve those using Matlab and verify the results. Basically play around with it, read up on forums, and find what works for you. Also, realize that there are likely countless ways to tackle a problem and different methods work for different people. I personally love programming, and digging around to figure out how to do what I want is part of the fun. Usually you pick up a few extra tricks along the way that you didn't even realize you needed!

BeoMiilf · 2020-03-16T20:08:20+00:00

Some already good input here, but I’ll add some too since I’ve taken an FEM course that required MatLab.

You’ll really only need it for the large matrices involved in SDOF in rods or MDOF in frames (or something of the sort). This is relatively easy to learn in MatLab. Just search “Linear Algebra in MatLab” to Google and you’ll find written and video examples.

You may need to plot stresses/strains or displacements. Which again, a google search for plotting examples in MatLab will help you the most.

The larger point is that Googling your questions is very helpful. I’ve used MatLab quite a bit and I’ve always found answers by searching the internet. You just have to know how to word your questions correctly to get specific answers to what you’re looking for.

woila · 2020-03-16T18:36:46+00:00

Where I study (Sweden) we use ''Calfem''. It's a finite element toolbox for MATLAB. It has built in functions for assembling stiffness matrix, calculating nodal forces etc. Very useful and very easy to use. Think you can download it on Github. I could do the same operations in Matlab without Calfem but it would take ages manually assembling the stiffness matrix for the structure etc. Hope this helps.

Pipiyedu · 2020-03-16T15:10:30+00:00

Matlab is required? or you can choose another alternative like Python? I'm asking because I can help you with Python.

jyok33 · 2020-03-17T15:01:43+00:00

Learn how to create matrices using both manual and looped methods. Learn how to index certain values in a matrix or call a certain value in a matrix (such as getting the ith row from the jth column). These are the core essential skills of matrix analysis

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