553 Comput Appl Eng Educ. 2019;27:553–571. wileyonlinelibrary.com/cae © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Received: 25 July 2018 | Accepted: 18 November 2018 DOI: 10.1002/cae.22097 RESEARCH ARTICLE LESM—An object-oriented MATLAB program for structural analysis of linear element models Rafael Lopez Rangel | Luiz Fernando Martha Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Correspondence Luiz Fernando Martha, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua Marquês de São Vicente 225–Gávea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22451-900, Brazil. Email: [email protected] Funding information National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq); the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio); the PUC-Rio Technical- Scientific Software Development Institute (Tecgraf/PUC-Rio) Abstract This paper describes the implementation of a MATLAB program based on the Object Oriented Programming paradigm for linear-elastic analysis of one-dimensional element models using a conventional displacement-based procedure. The main objective is the development of an educational tool on matrix structural analysis with a didactic and well-documented open source code, which allows any user to implement new procedures with relative simplicity. The LESM (Linear Elements Structure Model) program can handle different types of analysis models, such as 2D/ 3D frames and trusses, and grillages. In addition, both Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko theories for bending behavior of beam elements are considered. The OOP class architecture was devised for generically handling these different types of analyses models and element types. The MATLAB script codes of all classes and methods of LESM, including its documentation, are available in its site (www. tecgraf.puc-rio.br/lesm). KEYWORDS educational software, MATLAB program, matrix structural analysis, object-oriented-programming 1 | INTRODUCTION One of the most important fields of study that must be mastered by every civil engineering student is the structural analysis. It consists of modeling a structure, evaluating its behavior and interpreting the analysis results. The advances in computer science turned structural analysis into a process of computational simulation of structures behavior. There are many available structural analysis programs, some of them are intended for commercial use, while others have educational or scientific purposes, such as [1,3,16,17,19,21,29,30,33]. It is noticed that most commercial software works like a “black-box,” where all the process of computing the results is hidden from users. Usage of closed structural analysis programs is very important in the design of structures and is also beneficial in the educational process of engineering, since students can improve their design skills and their sensibility to the response of structures [3]. However, practicing with closed programs, without understanding how they are implemented, deprives students of the implementation phase. This intermediate stage, between theory and the blind use of a program, is very important for the assimilation of a computer-based method. Therefore, tools where students can work at the source code level, or allow students to be a part of the process of creating the apps that will be used to solve their problems [5], are necessary to complement theoretical aspects. Even though there are a number of educational programs that share the approach of providing open source code, very few of them have adequate and didactic documentation. This paper presents an educational tool with transparent imple- mentation in order to meet this lack of appropriate tools for teaching matrix structural analysis. The LESM (Linear Elements Structure Model) program was developed at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de
LESM—An object-oriented MATLAB program for structural analysis of linear element models
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