Next: Ten-node tetrahedral element (C3D10 Up: Element Types Previous: C3D20RI Contents

### Four-node tetrahedral element (C3D4 and F3D4)

The C3D4 is a general purpose tetrahedral element (1 integration point). The shape functions can be found in [68]. The node numbering follows the convention of Figure 48.

Figure 48: 4-node tetrahedral element

This element is included for completeness, however, it is not suited for structural calculations unless a lot of them are used (the element is too stiff). Please use the 10-node tetrahedral element instead.

The F3D4 element is the corresponding fluid element.