Self-adaptive strategy for one-dimensional finite element method based on EEP method with optimal super-convergence order

Based on the newly-developed element energy projection （EEP） method with optimal super-convergence order for computation of super-convergent results, an improved self-adaptive strategy for one-dimensional finite element method （FEM） is proposed. In the strategy, a posteriori errors are estimated by comparing FEM solutions to EEP super-convergent solutions with optimal order of super-convergence, meshes are refined by using the error-averaging method. Quasi-FEM solutions are used to replace the true FEM solutions in the adaptive process. This strategy has been found to be simple, clear, efficient and reliable. For most problems, only one adaptive step is needed to produce the required FEM solutions which pointwise satisfy the user specified error tolerances in the max-norm. Taking the elliptical ordinary differential equation of the second order as the model problem, this paper describes the fundamental idea, implementation strategy and computational algorithm and representative numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed approach.     

SELF-ADAPTIVE STRATEGY FOR ONE-DIMENSIONAL FINITE ELEMENT METHOD BASED ON ELEMENT ENERGY PROJECTION METHOD

Based on the newly-developed element energy projection (EEP) method for computation of super-convergent results in one-dimensional finite element method (FEM), the task of self-adaptive FEM analysis was converted into the task of adaptive piecewise polynomial interpolation. As a result, a satisfactory FEM mesh can be obtained, and further FEM analysis on this mesh would immediately produce an FEM solution which usually satisfies the user specified error tolerance. Even though the error tolerance was not completely satisfied, one or two steps of further local refinements would be sufficient. This strategy was found to be very simple, rapid, cheap and efficient. Taking the elliptical ordinary differential equation of second order as the model problem, the fundamental idea, implementation strategy and detailed algorithm are described. Representative numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed approach.     

Recursive super-convergence computation for multi-dimensional problems via one-dimensional element energy projection technique

This paper presents a strategy for computation of super-convergent solutions of multi-dimensional problems in the finite element method (FEM) by recursive application of the one-dimensional (1D) element energy projection (EEP) technique. The main idea is to conceptually treat multi-dimensional problems as generalized 1D problems, based on which the concepts of generalized 1D FEM and its consequent EEP formulae have been developed in a unified manner. Equipped with these concepts, multi-dimensional problems can be recursively discretized in one dimension at each step, until a fully discretized standard finite element (FE) model is reached. This conceptual dimension-by-dimension (D-by-D) discretization procedure is entirely equivalent to a full FE discretization. As a reverse D-by-D recovery procedure, by using the unified EEP formulae together with proper extraction of the generalized nodal solutions, super-convergent displacements and first derivatives for two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) problems can be obtained over the domain. Numerical examples of 3D Poisson’s equation and elasticity problem are given to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed strategy.     

基于有限单元柔度法的材料与几何双重非线性空间梁柱单元

从有限单元柔度法的基本思想出发,基于完全拉格朗日格式(TL格式),建立了能考虑材料与几何双重非线性的一般化空间梁柱单元,适用于满足Euler-Bernoulli梁柱二阶分析理论假定的空间杆系结构非线性分析。另外,在梁柱单元截面分析中引入纤维模型,使其适用于解决钢筋混凝土这类复合材料结构的非线性分析问题。对钢筋混凝土双向偏心受压柱试验结果的模拟分析表明,本文所提方法是正确、可靠的,能有效地分析钢筋混凝土框架柱的材料与几何双重非线性问题。     

Nonlinear quasi-conforming finite element method

The nonlinear quasi-conforming FEM is presented based on the basic concept of the quasiconforming finite element. First, the incremental principle of stationary potential energy is discussed. Then, the formulation process of the nonlinear quasi-conforming FEM is given. Lastly, two computational examples of shells are given.     

Finite cell method compared to h-version finite element method for elasto-plastic problems

The finite cell method （FCM） combines the high-order finite element method （FEM） with the fictitious domain approach for the purpose of simple meshing. In the present study, the FCM is used to the Prandtl-Reuss flow theory of plasticity, and the results are compared with the h-version finite element method （h-FEM）. The numerical results show that the FCM is more efficient compared to the h-FEM for elasto-plastic problems, although the mesh does not conform to the boundary. It is also demonstrated that the FCM performs well for elasto-plastic loading and unloading.     

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.     

A comparison of boundary element and finite element methods for modeling axisymmetric polymeric drop deformation

A modified boundary element method (BEM) and the DEVSS‐G finite element method (FEM) are applied to model the deformation of a polymeric drop suspended in another fluid subjected to start‐up uniaxial extensional flow. The effects of viscoelasticity, via the Oldroyd‐B differential model, are considered for the drop phase using both FEM and BEM and for both the drop and matrix phases using FEM. Where possible, results are compared with the linear deformation theory. Consistent predictions are obtained among the BEM, FEM, and linear theory for purely Newtonian systems and between FEM and linear theory for fully viscoelastic systems. FEM and BEM predictions for viscoelastic drops in a Newtonian matrix agree very well at short times but differ at longer times, with worst agreement occurring as critical flow strength is approached. This suggests that the dominant computational advantages held by the BEM over the FEM for this and similar problems may diminish or even disappear when the issue of accuracy is appropriately considered. Fully viscoelastic problems, which are only feasible using the FEM formulation, shed new insight on the role of viscoelasticity of the matrix fluid in drop deformation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

饱和多孔介质中的混合有限元法和有限应变下应变局部化分析

对基于Biot理论的饱和多孔介质中动力-渗流耦合分析提出了一个耦合场混合元．固相位移、应变和有效应力以及流相压力、压力梯度和Darcy速度在单元内均处理为独立变量分别插值．基于胡海昌-Washizu三变量广义变分原理给出的饱和多孔介质动力-渗流耦合问题控制方程的单元弱形式，导出了单元公式．进一步导出了考虑压力相关非关联塑性的非线性单元公式和发展了相应的一致性算法．对几何非线性分析，采用了共旋公式途径．数值结果例题显示所发展耦合场混合元模拟大应变下由应变软化引起以应变局部化为特征的渐进破坏现象的性能．     

电磁共振腔辛有限元法

将电磁场的基本方程导向了对偶方程形式。给出了推导电磁场有限元所需相应的对偶变量变分原理。为了有限元列式的保辛，交分原理被积函数可导向对于对偶变量为对称的形式。交分原理的边界积分项对于相邻单元互相抵消。对偶变量有限元推导可避免所谓的C1连续性问题。采用对偶变量离散分析了共振腔本征值问题，离散后再消去一类变量可导出普通的广义本征值问题而求解。算例表明了对偶变量有限元分析的有效性。     

A nonlinear,transient finite element method for coupled solvent diffusion and large deformation of hydrogels

Hydrogels are capable of coupled mass transport and large deformation in response to external stimuli. In this paper, a nonlinear, transient finite element formulation is presented for initial boundary value problems associated with swelling and deformation of hydrogels, based on a nonlinear continuum theory that is consistent with classical theory of linear poroelasticity. A mixed finite element method is implemented with implicit time integration. The incompressible or nearly incompressible behavior at the initial stage imposes a constraint to the finite element discretization in order to satisfy the Ladyzhenskaya–Babuska–Brezzi (LBB) condition for stability of the mixed method, similar to linear poroelasticity as well as incompressible elasticity and Stokes flow; failure to choose an appropriate discretization would result in locking and numerical oscillations in transient analysis. To demonstrate the numerical method, two problems of practical interests are considered: constrained swelling and flat-punch indentation of hydrogel layers. Constrained swelling may lead to instantaneous surface instability for a soft hydrogel in a good solvent, which can be regulated by assuming a stiff surface layer. Indentation relaxation of hydrogels is simulated beyond the linear regime under plane strain conditions, in comparison with two elastic limits for the instantaneous and equilibrium states. The effects of Poisson’s ratio and loading rate are discussed. It is concluded that the present finite element method is robust and can be extended to study other transient phenomena in hydrogels.     

Analysis of the electromechanical behavior of ferroelectric ceramics based on a nonlinear finite element model

A nonlinear finite element (FE) model based on domain switching was proposed to study the electromechanical behavior of ferroelectric ceramics. The incremental FE formulation was improved to avoid any calculation instability. The problems of mesh sensitivity and convergence, and the efficiency of the proposed nonlinear FE technique have been assessed to illustrate the versatility and potential accuracy of the said technique. The nonlinear electromechanical behavior, such as the hysteresis loops and butterfly curves, of ferroelectric ceramics subjected to both a uniform electric field and a point electric potential has been studied numerically. The results obtained are in good agreement with those of the corresponding theoretical and experimental analyses. Furthermore, the electromechanical coupling fields near (a) the boundary of a circular hole, (b) the boundary of an elliptic hole and (c) the tip of a crack, have been analyzed using the proposed nonlinear finite element method (FEM). The proposed nonlinear electromechanically coupled FEM is useful for the analysis of domain switching, deformation and fracture of ferroelectric ceramics.The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10025209, 10132010 and 90208002), the Research Grants of the Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (HKU7086/02E) and the Key Grant Project of the Chinese Ministry of Education (0306)     

近场动力学与有限元的混合建模方法

综述了近场动力学与有限元混合建模方法的研究进展,阐明了各种混合建模方法的基本原理与特点,并重点介绍本课题组在近场动力学与有限元方法混合建模方面的研究工作。现有近场动力学与有限元混合建模方法包括位移协调约束、力耦合、混合函数方法以及子模型方法等,除子模型方法外,都可归结为并行式多尺度分析方法,其基本思想是将计算结构划分为近场动力学子域、有限元子域以及两者的交界区域(或重叠区域、或界面单元、或过渡区域)。子模型方法可归结为显-显分析方法,先采用显式有限元进行整体分析,后采用近场动力学方法对重点区域进行分析。混合建模方法需要着重提高交界区域的计算精度,并且消除虚假力和虚假应力波问题。提出了通过力耦合的近场动力学与有限元混合建模的隐式分析方法,该方法不再设置重叠区,通过杆单元连接近场动力学子域与有限元子域,其中界面上的有限元结点不仅与其所在单元的其他结点发生作用,还通过杆单元与以其为圆心、一定半径的圆域内的其他物质点相互作用。研究表明,本文提出的混合模型和求解方法既能有效解决裂纹扩展等不连续问题,又可提高计算效率,为工程结构破坏问题的计算分析提供一种有效方法。     

广义节点有限元法

应用流形方法思想,通过引入广义节点的概念,对传统有限元方法进行改进,建立了可具有任意高阶多项式托值函数的广义节点有限元方法,计算结果表明,广义节点有限元方法较之传统有限元方法有较高的精度。     

Coupling between finite element method and material point method for problems with extreme deformation

As a Lagrangian meshless method, the material point method (MPM) is suitable for dynamic problems with extreme deformation, but its efficiency and accuracy are not as good as that of the finite element method (FEM) for small deformation problems. Therefore, an algorithm for the coupling of FEM and MPM is proposed to take advantages of both methods. Furthermore, a conversion scheme of elements to particles is developed. Hence, the material domain is firstly discretized by finite elements, and then the distorted elements are automatically converted into MPM particles to avoid element entanglement. The interaction between finite elements and MPM particles is implemented based on the background grid in MPM framework. Numerical results are in good agreement with experimental data and the efficiency of this method is higher than that of both FEM and MPM.     

Two‐level finite element method with a stabilizing subgrid for the incompressible MHD equations

We consider the Galerkin finite element method (FEM) for the incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations in two dimension. The domain is discretized into a set of regular triangular elements and the finite‐dimensional spaces employed consist of piecewise continuous linear interpolants enriched with the residual‐free bubble functions. To find the bubble part of the solution, a two‐level FEM with a stabilizing subgrid of a single node is described and its application to the MHD equations is displayed. Numerical approximations employing the proposed algorithm are presented for three benchmark problems including the MHD cavity flow and the MHD flow over a step. The results show that the proper choice of the subgrid node is crucial to get stable and accurate numerical approximations consistent with the physical configuration of the problem at a cheap computational cost. Furthermore, the approximate solutions obtained show the well‐known characteristics of the MHD flow. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geometrical nonlinear elasto-plastic analysis of tensegrity systems via the co-rotational method

An efficient finite element formulation is presented for geometrical nonlinear elasto-plastic analyses of tensegrity systems based on the co-rotational method. Large displacement of a space rod element is decomposed into a rigid body motion in the global coordinate system and a pure small deformation in the local coordinate system. A new form of tangent stiffness matrix, including elastic and elasto-plastic stages is derived based on the proposed approach. An incremental-iterative solution strategy in conjunction with the Newton-Raphson method is employed to obtain the geometrical nonlinear elasto-plastic behavior of tensegrities. Several numerical examples are given to illustrate the validity and efficiency of the proposed algorithm for geometrical nonlinear elasto-plastic analyses of tensegrity structures.     

随机结构有限元分析的递推求解方法

提出了一种新的谱随机有限元分析方法——递推求解方法。该方法将随机结构的随机响应表示成非正交多项式展式,建立了和摄动法类似的一系列确定的递推方程,并通过确定性有限元方法对这些递推方程进行静力问题求解。算例表明,当随机量出现较大涨落时,计算结果相对于传统摄动法有不小的改进。     

P 1-nonconforming triangular finite element method for elliptic and parabolic interface problems

The lowest order P₁-nonconforming triangular finite element method (FEM) for elliptic and parabolic interface problems is investigated. Under some reasonable regularity assumptions on the exact solutions, the optimal order error estimates are obtained in the broken energy norm. Finally, some numerical results are provided to verify the theoretical analysis.     

A DOMAIN DECOMPOSITION ALGORITHM WITH FINITE ELEMENT-BOUNDARY ELEMENT COUPLING

A domain decomposition algorithm coupling the finite element and the boundary element was presented. It essentially involves subdivision of the analyzed domain into sub-regions being independently modeled by two methods, i.e., the finite element method (FEM) and the boundary element method (BEM). The original problem was restored with continuity and equilibrium conditions being satisfied on the interface of the two sub-regions using an iterative algorithm. To speed up the convergence rate of the iterative algorithm, a dynamically changing relaxation parameter during iteration was introduced. An advantage of the proposed algorithm is that the locations of the nodes on the interface of the two sub-domains can be inconsistent. The validity of the algorithm is demonstrated by the consistence of the results of a numerical example obtained by the proposed method and those by the FEM, the BEM and a present finite element-boundary element (FE-BE) coupling method.