Finite element response sensitivity analysis using force-based frame models

This paper presents a method to compute consistent response sensitivities of force-based
finite element models of structural frame systems to both material constitutive and discrete
loading parameters. It has been shown that force-based frame elements are superior to classical
displacement-based elements in the sense that they enable, at no significant additional costs, a
drastic reduction in the number of elements required for a given level of accuracy in the computed
response of the finite element model. This advantage of force-based elements is of even more
interest in structural reliability analysis, which requires accurate and efficient computation of
structural response and structural response sensitivities