I bought this book to begin understanding of finite elements theory. the book is good but sure not for starters. The lack of examples and introduction to computer software make this book limited at least for me.

I bought this book to begin understanding of finite elements theory. the book is good but sure not for starters. The lack of examples and introduction to computer software make this book limited at least for me.

I am an international student majored in geology and geophysics. FEM is quite important for me to build a computational model to caculate statical and dynamical problems. This FEM book is recommended by my supervisor and I have read it carefully. The concepts and mathematics are easy to understand for me. good deal~ not too hard, good for new students in this area

This book has been a core finite element reference for me for 16 years. The mathematics are actually somewhat mild compared to most of today's finite element literature and many of the other seminal finite element texts. It is completely inappropriate for an undergraduate level text, but it is an excellent graduate level introduction the FEM. It provides a sound basis for advanced topics in non-linear analysis. It does assume that the reader already has a reasonable background in related fields (e.g. continuum mechanics, linear algebra, and real analysis). I have never touched the code that the text references.

The text is obviously considered a benchmark for FEA. The date of the first edition causes me to guess that it was among the first serious texts in the subject. For that reason, the book is worth the some of the price. But, detractors reduce the worth...

Two major items detract from the usefulness of the text:
1. It is written for a mathematician. So, reading is a little rough for those who are learning the notation as they read the book.
2. The text spends pages describing examples using and an appendix providing user information for software that is missing from the reprint. This subtracts from the value, even if the code is a source in FORTRAN, because excellent examples of FEA implementations are missing.

It turns out that the source code and a compiled executable for DLEARN is available on the web. However, you have to know where and how to search. [...]

I wanted a complete book in FEA to start learning about it. I expected this book to be clear, practical, complete, with a good amount of practical examples showing how to use the theory, that is complex by itself. I also wanted some sort of reference to a computer program so that I could start using to simplify my life. I work at a Company and I don't have too much time. This book is not for me. I

I wanted a complete book in FEA to start learning about it. I expected this book to be clear, practical, complete, with a good amount of practical examples showing how to use the theory, that is complex by itself. I also wanted some sort of reference to a computer program so that I could start using to simplify my life. I work at a Company and I don't have too much time. This book is not for me. I

This book was written in a simple but mathematical language. It is not intended for first timers and/or for people without a good support in mathematics.
Good for stablishing routines and procedures if you are willing to create your own brand new program. But also good if you are willing to use the routine that the authors wrote. You can find them at: http://www.zace.com/afdlearn.html

Have a good time reading and working with Finite Elements as I am doing.

The service is excellent, the price of the book is according to the product, the content is good. I live in Chihuahua, Mexico and I am very satisfied.

The Finite Element Methodology though conceptually simple (eat the elephant by chopping it up into mouthfuls), becomes somewhat involved when applied, because the of tricks used to get solutions, after all you still may have to solve 100,000 PDEs to get your approximate solution to an otherwise intractable problem. So in its own way FEM can become a bit of a pachyderm itself.

This book is very good, but be aware that this book is aimed at graduate physical-science/engineering students. This means that you know how to solve basic second order differential equations and understand how to perform path integrals for example.

This book is aimed at people who would like to be able to write their own FEM solver. If you are looking to gain some backgrounding in how to construct finite element models using a program to solve problems, this book is probably much more than you need. You might want to try the "Schaum's Outline of Finite Element Analysis" if this is your objective.

DLearn is available from the www.zace.com/dlearn.htm or by typing
"Dlearn program"
into google and following the link.

The reviewer who said that the software is not available from the ZACE website is incorrect. Go to www.zace.com and click on "Home Page." There you will be able to download DLEARN for free in addition to a
C++ finite element code.

an excellent,and also one of the best several books in FEM, definitely. But you need to invest much time to read and understand those math and theories behind the FE, then you can only get the really good insight into the subject.

an excellent,and also one of the best several books in FEM, definitely. But you need to invest much time to read and understand those math and theories behind the FE, then you can only get the really good insight into the subject.

The first reviewer states that the code is available for download. The text references this non existant code throughout the entire volume but it cannot be found anywhere. The site referenced in the book;
"NOTE: The software described in this book may be downloaded from www.zace.com",
does not have the download although it does have a reference to a high cost seminar in Europe by the author. Also, this site refuses eMail inquiries. I finally gave up and purchased the older hard copy version which at least has the "old" source for DLEARN. Other than this frustrating nonsence by the author, it is a good FEA study.

I consider this book simply excellent. The book does contain all the information you need to understand the finite element method. It comes with a companion software you can download. I don't actually understand those people who complain about the "excess" of math: com'on. If you don't like math, why in the world are you trying to do FE analysis? If you need to know, say, what is hourglassing, you need to know the theory behind the integration over a master element, otherwise you will never understand what hourglassing is. This is a bare example of what you need to know in order to do some FEA. If this is the kind of information (plus a much more) you're looking for, this is the book for you. Even though, as many other FE books, it's full of math, I've found it less "cryptic" than Bathe's book.
Enjoy it!

The author hase chosen the best, in my oppinion, way to present the background maths using functionals, this not being the fact with other, indeed classic and valuabe, though much more expensive, texts on the subject. Actually most use the original forms of variatonal formulations, which are tricky and result in very lengthy equations. Regarding the method itself, this text includes almost everything you should know to solve linear problems, both static and dynamic (i especially appreciated the dynamic part). Price over value ratio tends to zero, so it is a real bargain!

An excellent reference book from one of the gurus of FEM. It's more mathematically oriented than most, but it gives you a good insight into the math , which is the foundation of all FEM.
Great bargain for the price.

I've studied finite elements in various formulations, and my
opinion would be that this is not an appropriate text for someone
working in the real world of civil engineering, say, or heat
distribution problems. I think it is too abstract for general readers. It reminds me of one of my profs who advised us to stay away from mathematicians because the mathematician will teach you rigor and rigor mortis. Still, it is a good book to have in your library just in case you need it, and it is available at a very reasonable price.

With the price cut, it is bargain for money. The original one is too expensive and dont worth the price, even though the book is nicely written. But this one is a must buy.

Excellent. Well writen. Although simple its thorough and its mathematical treatment is good enough. It covers most of the important aspects of the method. If I sould choose between this book and the Bathe Book witch is a clasic i would recoment this one as a first read. Its much easier to read and more self study orienteted. 5 Stars Rating.

This book is a decent reference to have in your collection. The book does do a decent job of presenting some of the mathematical rigor associated with the FEM. However, I would not recommend it for use in a FEM course. I think students find the initial introduction to FEM somewhat confusing.

I think this book is a good book to have,but i feel it is a little too mathematical.