Question

The shape functions for interpolation on beam elements are defined on the range of ________

(a) 0 to +1

(b) -1 to 0

(c) 0 to +2

(d) -1 to +1

The question was posed to me during an interview.

This interesting question is from Beams and Frames in section Beams and Frames of Finite Element Method

Answer 1

The correct option is (d) -1 to +1

The best I can explain: The shape function for interpolation is defined in the range of -1 to +1. The value varies between -1 to +1 where value on one node is -1 and the value on other node is +1.