This article describes the stiffness matrix and equivalent nodal forces for Bernoulli's beam element. The derivation was formulated using MATLAB's symbolic toolbox. This can simplify most tedious tasks in integration and differentiation. For example, an equivalent nodal due to concentrated force and moment can be simply obtained by applying Dirac's delta function to close-formed integration. This provides a clear and concise way of learning about the basic element formulation.
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