Finite volume element method for analysis of unsteady reaction–diffusion problems

A finite volume element method is developed for analyzing unsteady scalar reaction-diffusion problems in two dimensions. The method combines the concepts that are employed in the finite volume and the finite element method together. The finite volume method is used to discretize the unsteady reaction-diffusion equation, while the finite element method is applied to estimate the gradient quantities at cell faces. Robustness and efficiency of the combined method have been evaluated on uniform rectangular grids by using available numerical solutions of the two-dimensional reaction-diffusion problems. The numerical solutions demonstrate that the combined method is stable and can provide accurate solution without spurious oscillation along the high-gradient boundary layers.     

Fractional four-step finite element method for analysis of thermally coupled fluid-solid interaction problems

An integrated fluid-thermal-structural analysis approach is presented. In this approach, the heat conduction in a solid is coupled with the heat convection in the viscous flow of the fluid resulting in the thermal stress in the solid. The fractional four-step finite element method and the streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) method are used to analyze the viscous thermal flow in the fluid. Analyses of the heat transfer and the thermal stress in the solid are performed by the Galerkin method. The second-order semiimplicit Crank-Nicolson scheme is used for the time integration. The resulting nonlinear equations are linearized to improve the computational efficiency. The integrated analysis method uses a three-node triangular element with equal-order interpolation functions for the fluid velocity components, the pressure, the temperature, and the solid displacements to simplify the overall finite element formulation. The main advantage of the present method is to consistently couple the heat transfer along the fluid-solid interface. Results of several tested problems show effiectiveness of the present finite element method, which provides insight into the integrated fluid-thermal-structural interaction phenomena.     

Adaptive finite element method for analysis of pollutant dispersion in shallow water

A finite element method for analysis of pollutant dispersion in shallow water is presented. The analysis is divided into two parts ： （ 1 ） computation of the velocity flow field and water surface elevation, and （2） computation of the pollutant concentration field from the dispersion model. The method was combined with an adaptive meshing technique to increase the solution accuracy, as well as to reduce the computational time and computer memory. The finite element formulation and the computer programs were validated by several examples that have known solutions. In addition, the capability of the combined method was demonstrated by analyzing pollutant dispersion in Chao Phraya River near the gulf of Thailand.     

Mixed time discontinuous space-time finite element method for convection diffusion equations

A mixed time discontinuous space-time finite element scheme for secondorder convection diffusion problems is constructed and analyzed. Order of the equation is lowered by the mixed finite element method. The low order equation is discretized with a space-time finite element method, continuous in space but discontinuous in time. Stability, existence, uniqueness and convergence of the approximate solutions are proved. Numerical results are presented to illustrate efficiency of the proposed method.     

Analysis of interlaminar stress and nonlinear dynamic response for composite laminated plates with interfacial damage

By considering the effect of interfacial damage and using the variation principle, three-dimensional nonlinear dynamic governing equations of the laminated plates with interfacial damage are derived based on the general sixdegrees-of-freedom plate theory towards the accurate stress analysis. The solutions of interlaminar stress and nonlinear dynamic response for a simply supported laminated plate with interfacial damage are obtained by using the finite difference method, and the results are validated by comparison with the solution of nonlinear finite element method. In numerical calculations, the effects of interfacial damage on the stress in the interface and the nonlinear dynamic response of laminated plates are discussed.     

Three-dimensional steady-state closed form solution for multilayered fluid-saturated anisotropic finite media due to surface/internal point source

A three-dimensional(3 D)steady-state solution of fluid saturated anisotropic finite media is presented.The eigenequation method and the pseudo-Stroh formalism are used to obtain the exact solution for homogeneous saturated finite media.The propagator matrix method is introduced to deal with the corresponding multilayered poroelastic media.The poroelastic solutions due to surface or internal point fluid source are obtained.The comparison of the results of the saturated isotropic media in a half space and those obtained by the finite element method is given to illustrate the accuracy of the solution in a finite domain.Numerical solutions of a sandwich poroelastic medium are presented to analyze its hydromechanical behaviors.Two ratios of the horizontal permeability to vertical permeability and different source positions are investigated.The results show that the fluid parameters and source positions have great influence on the hydromechanical behaviors of the layered media.     

ANALYTICAL SOLUTIONS TO STRESS CONCENTRATION PROBLEM IN PLATES CONTAINING RECTANGULAR HOLE UNDER BIAXIAL TENSIONS

The stress concentration problem in structures with a circular or elliptic hole can be investigated by analytical methods. For the problem with a rectangular hole, only approximate results are derived. This paper deduces the analytical solutions to the stress concentration problem in plates with a rectangular hole under biaxial tensions. By using the U-transformation technique and the finite element method, the analytical displacement solutions of the finite element equations are derived in the series form. Therefore, the stress concentration can then be discussed easily and conveniently. For plate problem the bilinear rectangular element with four nodes is taken as an example to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method. The stress concentration factors for various ratios of height to width of the hole are obtained.     

Mixed finite element and differential quadrature method for free and forced vibration and buckling analysis of rectangular plates

This paper presents a combined application of the finite element method (FEM) and the differential quadrature method (DQM) to vibration and buckling problems of rectangular plates. The proposed scheme combines the geometry flexibility of the FEM and the high accuracy and efficiency of the DQM. The accuracy of the present method is demonstrated by comparing the obtained results with those available in the literature. It is shown that highly accurate results can be obtained by using a small number of finite elements and DQM sample points. The proposed method is suitable for the problems considered due to its simplicity and potential for further development.     

HYBRID FEM WITH FUNDAMENTAL SOLUTIONS AS TRIAL FUNCTIONS FOR HEAT CONDUCTION SIMULATION

A new type of hybrid finite element formulation with fundamental solutions as internal interpolation functions, named as HFS-FEM, is presented in this paper and used for solving two dimensional heat conduction problems in single and multi-layer materials. In the proposed approach, a new variational functional is firstly constructed for the proposed HFS-FE model and the related existence of extremum is presented. Then, the assumed internal potential field constructed by the linear combination of fundamental solutions at points outside the elemental domain under consideration is used as the internal interpolation function, which analytically satisfies the governing equation within each element. As a result, the domain integrals in the variational functional formulation can be converted into the boundary integrals which can significantly simplify the calculation of the element stiffness matrix. The independent frame field is also introduced to guarantee the inter-element continuity and the stationary condition of the new variational functional is used to obtain the final stiffness equations. The proposed method inherits the advantages of the hybrid Trefftz finite element method （HT-FEM） over the conventional finite element method （FEM） and boundary element method （BEM）, and avoids the difficulty in selecting appropriate terms of T-complete functions used in HT-FEM, as the fundamental solutions contain usually one term only, rather than a series containing infinitely many terms. Further, the fundamental solutions of a problem are, in general, easier to derive than the T-complete functions of that problem. Finally, several examples are presented to assess the performance of the proposed method, and the obtained numerical results show good numerical accuracy and remarkable insensitivity to mesh distortion.     

Semi-analytical finite element method for fictitious crack model in fracture mechanics of concrete

Based on the Hamiltonian governing equations of plane elasticity for sectorial domain, the variable separation and eigenfunction expansion techniques were employed to develop a novel analytical finite element for the fictitious crack model in fracture mechanics of concrete. The new analytical element can be implemented into FEM program systems to solve fictitious crack propagation problems for concrete cracked plates with arbitrary shapes and loads. Numerical results indicate that the method is more efficient and accurate than ordinary finite element method.     

Analytical solution for bending beam subject to lateral force with different modulus

A bending beam, subjected to state of plane stress, was chosen to investigate. The determination of the neutral surface of the structure was made, and the calculating formulas of neutral axis, normal stress, shear stress and displacement were derived. It is concluded that, for the elastic bending beam with different tension-compression modulus in the condition of complex stress, the position of the neutral axis is not related with the shear stress, and the analytical solution can be derived by normal stress used as a criterion,improving the multiple cyclic method which determines the position of neutral point by the principal stress. Meanwhile, a comparison is made between the results of the analytical solution and those calculated from the classic mechanics theory, assuming the tension modulus is equal to the compression modulus, and those from the finite element method (FEM) numerical solution. The comparison shows that the analytical solution considers well the effects caused by the condition of different tension and compression modulus. Finally, a calculation correction of the structure with different modulus is proposed to optimize the structure.     

A MESHLESS LOCAL PETROV-GALERKIN METHOD FOR GEOMETRICALLY NONLINEAR PROBLEMS

Nonlinear formulations of the meshless local Petrov-Galerkin （MLPG） method are presented for geometrically nonlinear problems. The method requires no mesh in computation and therefore avoids mesh distortion difficulties in the large deformation analysis. The essential boundary conditions in the present formulation axe imposed by a penalty method. An incremental and iterative solution procedure is used to solve geometrically nonlinear problems. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in geometrically nonlinear problems analysis. Numerical results show that the MLPG method is an effective one and that the values of the unknown variable are quite accurate.     

PERTURBATION FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR SOLVING GEOMETRICALLY NONLINEAR PROBLEMS OF AXISYMMETRICAL SHELL

In analysing the geometrically nonlinear problem of an axisymmetrical thin-walled shell, the paper combines the perturbation method with the finite element method by introducing the former into the variational equation to obtain a series of linear equations of different orders and then solving the equations with the latter. It is well-known that the finite element method can be used to deal with difficult problems as in the case of structures with complicated shapes or boundary conditions, and the perturbation method can change the nonlinear problems into linear ones. Evidently the combination of the two methods will give an efficient solution to many difficult nonlinear problems and clear away some obstacles resulted from using any of the two methods solely. The paper derives all the formulas concerning an axisym-metric shell of large deformation by means of the perturbation finite element method and gives two numerical examples,the results of which show good convergence characteristics.     

Equivalent method for accurate solution to linear interval equations

Based on linear interval equations, an accurate interval finite element method for solving structural static problems with uncertain parameters in terms of optimization is discussed.On the premise of ensuring the consistency of solution sets, the original interval equations are equivalently transformed into some deterministic inequations.On this basis, calculating the structural displacement response with interval parameters is predigested to a number of deterministic linear optimization problems.The results are proved to be accurate to the interval governing equations.Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method.     

THE EVALUATION OF STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS OF PLANE CRACK FOR ORTHOTROPIC PLATE WITH EQUAL PARAMETER BY F2LFEM

In this paper, the evaluation of stress intensity factor of plane crack problems for orthotropic plate of equal-parameter is investigated using a fractal two-level finite element method (F2LFEM). The general solution of an orthotropic crack problem is obtained by assimilating the problem with isotropic crack problem, and is employed as the global interpolation function in F2LFEM. In the neighborhood of crack tip of the crack plate, the fractal geometry concept is introduced to achieve the similar meshes having similarity ratio less than one and generate an infinitesimal mesh so that the relationship between the stiffness matrices of two adjacent layers is equal. A large number of degrees of freedom around the crack tip are transformed to a small set of generalized coordinates. Numerical examples show that this method is efficient and accurate in evaluating the stress intensity factor (SIF).     

Coherent gradient sensing method for measuring thermal stress field of thermal barrier coating structures

Coherent gradient sensing(CGS)method can be used to measure the slope of a reflective surface,and has the merits of full-field,non-contact,and real-time measurement.In this study,the thermal stress field of thermal barrier coating(TBC)structures is measured by CGS method.Two kinds of powders were sprayed onto Ni-based alloy using a plasma spraying method to obtain two groups of film–substrate specimens.The specimens were then heated with an oxy-acetylene flame.The resulting thermal mismatch between the film and substrate led to out-of-plane deformation of the specimen.The deformation was measured by the reflective CGS method and the thermal stress field of the structure was obtained through calibration with the help of finite element analysis.Both the experiment and numerical results showed that the thermal stress field of TBC structures can be successfully measured by CGS method.     

SOLUTION OF THE CONNECTION PROBLEMS BETWEEN A FINITE HOLED PLATE AND A STIFFENER BY USING THE PARTITIONING CONCEPT OF THE GENERALIZED VARIATIONAL METHOD

In this paper a new finite element method is presented.in which complex functions arechosen to be the finite element model and the partitioning concept of the generalizedvariational method is utilized.The stress concentration factors for a finite holed platewelded by a stiffener are calculated and the analytical solutions in series form are obtained.From some computer trials it is demonstrated that the problem of displacementcompatibility and continuity of tractions between the holed plate and the stiffener issuccessfully analysed by using this method.Since only three elements need to beformulated.relatively less storage is required than the usual finite element methods.Furthermore,the accurary of solutions is improved and the computer time requirements areconsiderably reduced.Numerical results of stress concentration factors and stresses alongthe welded-line which may be referential to engineers are shown in tables.     

Self-adaptive one-dimensional nonlinear finite element method based on element energy projection method

The element energy projection （EEP） method for computation of super- convergent resulting in a one-dimensional finite element method （FEM） is successfully used to self-adaptive FEM analysis of various linear problems, based on which this paper presents a substantial extension of the whole set of technology to nonlinear problems. The main idea behind the technology transfer from linear analysis to nonlinear analysis is to use Newton＇s method to linearize nonlinear problems into a series of linear problems so that the EEP formulation and the corresponding adaptive strategy can be directly used without the need for specific super-convergence formulation for nonlinear FEM. As a re- sult, a unified and general self-adaptive algorithm for nonlinear FEM analysis is formed. The proposed algorithm is found to be able to produce satisfactory finite element results with accuracy satisfying the user-preset error tolerances by maximum norm anywhere on the mesh. Taking the nonlinear ordinary differential equation （ODE） of second-order as the model problem, this paper describes the related fundamental idea, the imple- mentation strategy, and the computational algorithm. Representative numerical exam- ples are given to show the efficiency, stability, versatility, and reliability of the proposed approach.     

Goal-oriented error estimation applied to direct solution of steady-state analysis with frequency-domain finite element method

Based on the concept of the constitutive relation error along with the residuals of both the origin and the dual problems,a goal-oriented error estimation method with extended degrees of freedom is developed.It leads to the high quality local error bounds in the problem of the direct-solution steady-state dynamic analysis with a frequency-domain finite element,which involves the enrichments with plural variable basis functions.The solution of the steady-state dynamic procedure calculates the harmonic response directly in terms of the physical degrees of freedom in the model,which uses the mass,damping,and stiffness matrices of the system.A three-dimensional finite element example is carried out to illustrate the computational procedures.     

An exact element method for bending of nonhomogeneous thin plates

In this paper, based on the step reduction method, a new method, the exact element method for constructing finite element, is presented. Since the new method doesn't need the variational principle, it can be applied to solve non-positive and positive definite partial differential equations with arbitrary variable coefficient. By this method, a triangle noncompatible element with 6 degrees of freedom is derived to solve the bending of nonhomogeneous plate. The convergence of displacements and stress resultants which have satisfactory numerical precision is proved. Numerical examples are given at the end of this paper, which indicate satisfactory results of stress resultants and displacements can be obtained by the present method.