A numerical comparison of two different approximations of the error in a meshless method

Meshless methods still require considerable improvement before they equal the prominence of finite elements in computer science and engineering. In the Element Free Galerkin (EFG) method, it is obviously important that the error of approximation should be estimated, as it is in the Finite Element Method (FEM).In this paper we compare two different procedures to approximate the a posteriori error for the EFG method, both procedures are recovery based errors. The performance of the two different approximations of the error is illustrated by analysing different examples for 2-D potential and elasticity problems with known analytical solutions, using regular and irregular clouds of points. For irregular clouds of points, it is recommended to use smooth transition of nodes, thus creating areas of decreasing nodal densities.     

A numerical approach based on the meshless collocation method in elastodynamics

In this paper, a collocation technique with the modified equilibrium on line method （ELM） for imposition of Neumann （natural） boundary conditions is presented for solving the two-dimensional problems of linear elastic body vibrations. In the modified ELM, equilibrium over the lines on the natural boundary is satisfied as Neumann boundary condition equations. In other words, the natural boundary conditions are satisfied naturally by using the weak formulation. The performance of the modified version of the ELM is studied for collocation methods based on two different ways to construct meshless shape functions： moving least squares approximation and radial basis point interpolation. Numerical examples of two-dimensional free and forced vibration analyses show that by using the modified ELM, more stable and accurate results would be obtained in comparison with the direct collocation method.     

A meshless method of a thin plate

A meshless approach to analysis of arbitrary Kirchhoff plates by the local boundary integral equation(LBIE) method is presented. The method combines the advantageous features of, all the three methods: the Galerkin finite element method (GFEM), the boundary element method (BEM) and the element-free Galerkin method (EFGM). It is a truly meshless method, which means that the discretization is independent of geometric subdivision into elements or cells, but is only based on a set of nodes (ordered or scattered) over a domain in question. It involves only boundary integration, however, over a local boundary centered at the node in question; It poses no difficulties in satisfying the essential boundary conditions while leading to banded and sparse system matrices using the moving least square (MLS) approximations. It is shown that high accuracy can be achieved for arbitrary geometries for clamped and simply-supported edge conditions. The method is found to be simple, efficient, and attractive. Project supported by the National Science Foundation of China (No. 19972019).     

完全变换法在无网格伽辽金方法中的应用

由于移动最小二乘形函数一般不具有常规有限元或边界元形函数所具有的插值特征，本质边界条件的处理成为无网格伽辽金法实施中的一个难点。本文通过建立节点位移和广义位移之间的关系对移动最小二乘形函数进行修正，给出了修正的移动最小二乘形函数；以二维问题为例，对完全交换法在无网格伽辽金方法中的应用进行了研究，实现了本质边界条件在节点处的精确施加。数值计算结果表明该方法不仅简单合理，而且具有较高的精度、收敛性和稳定性。     

基于ALE方法的3D充填流动模拟

基于任意拉格朗日-欧拉方法发展了三维充填流动的数值模拟方案.该方案采用ALE方法准确地追踪移动自由面的位置并避免了网格扭曲;基于移动最小二乘曲面拟合方法提出了移动自由面上网格节点重定位方法,将充填流动的网格更新过程简化为自由面附近的局部网格重划分过程,并通过分级多面体三角剖分实现,减小了网格划分的计算量,实现了实时网格生成.给出的数值算例结果表明了该数值模型对三维充填流动模拟的有效性.     

Steady‐state solution of incompressible Navier–Stokes equations using discrete least‐squares meshless method

A fractional step method for the solution of the steady state incompressible Navier–Stokes equations is proposed in this paper in conjunction with a meshless method, named discrete least‐squares meshless (DLSM). The proposed fractional step method is a first‐order accurate scheme, named semi‐incremental fractional step method, which is a general form of the previous first‐order fractional step methods, i.e. non‐incremental and incremental schemes. One of the most important advantages of the proposed scheme is its capability to use large time step sizes for the solution of incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. DLSM method uses moving least‐squares shape functions for function approximation and discrete least‐squares technique for discretization of the governing differential equations and their boundary conditions. As there is no need for a background mesh, the DLSM method can be called a truly meshless method and enjoys symmetric and positive‐definite properties. Several numerical examples are used to demonstrate the ability and the efficiency of the proposed scheme and the discrete least‐squares meshless method. The results are shown to compare favorably with those of the previously published works. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

无单元法求解欧拉梁及梁系的自由振动问题

双变量无单元法以广义移动最小二乘法为理论基础,同时考虑挠度和转角双变量.采用双变量无单元法建立了欧拉粱的质量矩阵和刚度矩阵,并进行自由振动的计算.不同边界条件欧拉梁动力特性的算例表明:双变量无单元法比与只考虑挠度的单变量无单元法具有更高的插值精度,并能在高阶振型计算中获得明显优于有限元的计算精度.通过试算法对影响半径中的scale乘子进行了讨论,认为在动力计算中Scale取3.5较合理.最后在欧拉粱的基础上,将无单元法应用于梁系模型的自由振动计算,显示了该法在复杂模型中的精确性.     

Boundary element method for model analysis of 2-D composite structure

The boundary element method is used for the modal analysis of free vibration of 2-D composite structures in this paper. Since the particular solution method is used to treat the terms of body forces (inertial forces) in the equation of motion, only static fundamental solutions are needed in solving the problem. For an isotropic cantilever beam, the numerical results obtained by using the BEM presented in this paper are in good agreement, with, those of using FEM or other BEM, but this BEM can also be used to analyze problems for anisotropic materials. For simply supported composite laminated beams, the comparisons of the numerical reslts obtained by this method with the analytical results obtained by 1-D laminated beam theory indicate that if the ratio of length/thickness is greater than 20, the results of the two methods are in good agreement, but if the ratio of length/thickness is less than 20, big errors will occur for 1-D laminated beam theory.     

Efficient simulation of free surface flows with discrete least-squares meshless method using a priori error estimator

In this article, a priori error estimate is employed to improve the efficiency of simulating free surface flows with discrete least-squares meshless (DLSM) method. DLSM is a fully least-squares approach in which both function approximation and the discretisation of the governing differential equations is carried out using a least-squares concept. The meshless shape functions are derived using the moving least-squares (MLS) method of function approximation. The discretised equations are obtained via a discrete least-squares method in which the sum of the squared residuals are minimised with respect to unknown nodal parameters. The governing equations of mass and momentum conservation are solved in a Lagrangian form using a pressure projection method. The proposed simulation strategy is composed of error estimation and a node moving refinement method. Since in free surface problems, the position of the free surface is of primary interest, a priori error estimate is used which automatically associates higher error to the nodes near the free surface. The node moving refinement method is used to construct a nodal configuration with dense nodal arrangement near the free surface. Four test problems namely dam break, evolution of a water bubble, solitary wave propagation and wave run-up on slope are investigated to test the ability and efficiency of the proposed efficient simulation method.     

Collocated discrete least squares meshless (CDLSM) method for the solution of transient and steady‐state hyperbolic problems

A collocated discrete least squares meshless method for the solution of the transient and steady‐state hyperbolic problems is presented in this paper. The method is based on minimizing the sum of the squared residuals of the governing differential equation at some points chosen in the problem domain as collocation points. The collocation points are generally different from nodal points, which are used to discretize the problem domain. A moving least squares method is employed to construct the shape functions at nodal points. The coefficient matrix is symmetric and positive definite even for non‐symmetric hyperbolic differential equations and can be solved efficiently with iterative methods. The proposed method is a truly meshless method and does not require numerical integration. Advantages of the collocation points are shown to be threefold: First, the collocation points are shown to be responsible for stabilizing the method in particular when problems with shocked solution are attempted. Second, the collocation points are also shown to improve the accuracy of the solution even for problems with smooth solutions. Third, the collocation points are shown to contribute to the efficiency of the method when solving steady‐state problems via faster convergence of the resulting algorithm. The ability of the method and in particular the effect of collocation points are tested against a series of one‐dimensional transient and steady‐state benchmark examples from the literature and the results are presented. A sensitivity analysis is also carried out to investigate the effect of the base polynomials on the accuracy and convergence characteristics of the method in solving steady‐state problems. The results show the ability of the proposed method to accurately solve difficult hyperbolic problems considered. The method is also shown to be particularly stable for problems with shocked solution due to the inherent stabilizing mechanism of the method. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing dynamic response of multispan viscoelastic thin beams under a moving mass via generalized moving least square method

Dynamic response of multispan viscoelastic thin beams subjected to a moving mass is studied by an efficient numerical method in some detail. To this end, the unknown parameters of the problem are discretized in spatial domain using generalized moving least square method （GMLSM） and then, discrete equations of motion based on Lagrange＇s equation are obtained. Maximum deflection and bending moments are considered as the important design parameters. The design parameter spectra in terms of mass weight and velocity of the moving mass are presented for multispan viscoelastic beams as well as various values of relaxation rate and beam span number. A reasonable good agreement is achieved between the results of the proposed solution and those obtained by other researchers. The results indicate that, although the load inertia effects in beams with higher span number would be intensified for higher levels of moving mass velocity, the maximum values of design parameters would increase either. Moreover, the possibility of mass separation is shown to be more critical as the span number of the beam increases. This fact also violates the linear relation between the mass weight of the moving load and the associated design parameters, especially for high moving mass velocities. However, as the relaxation rate of the beam material increases, the load inertia effects as well as the possibility of moving mass separation reduces.     

ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE LAMINATE BEAMS USING COUPLING CROSS-SECTION FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

Beams and plates manufactured from laminates of composite materials have distinct advantages in a significant number of applications. However, the anisotropy arising from these materials adds a significant degree of complexity, and thus time, to the stress and deformation analyses of such components, even using numerical approaches such as finite elements. The analysis of composite laminate beams subjected to uniform extension, bending, and/or twisting loads was performed by a novel implementation of the usual finite element method. Due to the symmetric features of the deformations, only a thin slice of the beam to be analysed needs to be modelled. Conventional three-dimensional solid finite elements were used for the structural discretization. The accurate deformation relationships were formulated and implemented through the coupling of nodal translational degrees of freedom in the numerical analysis. A sample solution for a rectangular composite laminate beam is presented to show the validity and accuracy of the proposed method.     

Fluid–solid interaction problems with thermal convection using the immersed element‐free Galerkin method

In this work, the immersed element‐free Galerkin method (IEFGM) is proposed for the solution of fluid–structure interaction (FSI) problems. In this technique, the FSI is represented as a volumetric force in the momentum equations. In IEFGM, a Lagrangian solid domain moves on top of an Eulerian fluid domain that spans over the entire computational region. The fluid domain is modeled using the finite element method and the solid domain is modeled using the element‐free Galerkin method. The continuity between the solid and fluid domains is satisfied by means of a local approximation, in the vicinity of the solid domain, of the velocity field and the FSI force. Such an approximation is achieved using the moving least‐squares technique. The method was applied to simulate the motion of a deformable disk moving in a viscous fluid due to the action of the gravitational force and the thermal convection of the fluid. An analysis of the main factors affecting the shape and trajectory of the solid body is presented. The method shows a distinct advantage for simulating FSI problems with highly deformable solids. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An equivalent nonlinearization method for analysing response of nonlinear systems to random excitations

I.IntroductionInthelasttwodecades,theresponseofstochasticallyexcitednonlinearsystemshavebeenresearcheddeeplyandwidely.Manyexactandapproximatemethodsofpredictingtheresponseofnonlinearsystemstorandomexcitationshavebeenprop0sedl']'l21.Becauseofv4riousreasons…     

Modeling vibration behavior of delaminated composite laminates using meshfree method in Hamilton system

Free vibration analysis of composite laminates with delaminations is performed based on a three-dimensional semi-analytical model established by introducing the local radial point interpolation method (LRPIM) into a Hamilton system. The governing equation is derived with a transfer matrix technique and a spring layer model based on a local weak-form equivalent to the modified Hellinger-Reissner variational principle. Main superiority of the present model is that the scale of the governing equation involves only the so-called state variables at the top and bottom surfaces, and is insensitive to the thickness and the layer number of the composite laminates. Several numerical examples for analyzing the vibration frequencies and mode shapes of delaminated composite beams and plates are given to validate the model. The results are in good agreement with the pre-existing results.     

Calculation of higher natural frequencies of simply supported elastic composite beams using Riccati matrix method

A composite beam is composed of an upper slab and a lower beam connected at the interface by shear transmitting studs. In this paper, an improved and efficient numerical model for the calculation of higher natural frequencies of an elastic composite beam is presented. The numerical model uses the Riccati transfer matrix method. First, the exact field transfer matrix for an element of the beam is represented using the combination of the Analog Beam Method and the transfer matrix method. Second, applying Riccati method to the beam system, the natural frequencies can be easily calculated. The advantage of the present model is to overcome the numerical instabilities of the ordinary transfer matrix method, especially when calculating the higher natural frequencies of structures. A numerical example is given to illustrate and compare the results with those available from other methods. Finally, a parametric study is given to examine the effect of various parameters of the elastic composite beam on its free vibration behavior.     

Dynamic analysis of beam-cable coupled systems using Chebyshev spectral element method

The dynamic characteristics of a beam–cable coupled system are investigated using an improved Chebyshev spectral element method in order to observe the effects of adding cables on the beam. The system is modeled as a double Timoshenko beam system interconnected by discrete springs. Utilizing Chebyshev series expansion and meshing the system according to the locations of its connections,numerical results of the natural frequencies and mode shapes are obtained using only a few elements, and the results are validated by comparing them with the results of a finiteelement method. Then the effects of the cable parameters and layout of connections on the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a fixed-pinned beam are studied. The results show that the modes of a beam–cable coupled system can be classified into two types, beam mode and cable mode, according to the dominant deformation. To avoid undesirable vibrations of the cable, its parameters should be controlled in a reasonable range, or the layout of the connections should be optimized.     

非确定结构系统区间分析的泛灰求解方法

工程中的不确定性问题可以用区间分析、概率理论或模糊理论来求解。采用泛灰区间分析法来处理结构静力分析和设计中的不确定性问题。将结构系统中的不确定性参数用区间数来表示,用有限元法建立系统的控制方程。该控制方程是线性区间方程组。然后,在概述泛灰数的概念及其运算规则的基础上,介绍了泛灰数与区间数的转化,利用泛灰数的可扩展性对区间进行分析,研究了泛灰线性方程求解,然后将它应用于结构静力分析和设计中的不确定性问题,泛灰数不仅具有区间分析的功能,而且能解决区间分析所不能解决的问题。文中给出了两个算例,列出了本文算法与其他算法的结果比较。     

Simulation of non‐linear free surface motions in a cylindrical domain using a Chebyshev–Fourier spectral collocation method

When a liquid is perturbed, its free surface may experience highly non‐linear motions in response. This paper presents a numerical model of the three‐dimensional hydrodynamics of an inviscid liquid with a free surface. The mathematical model is based on potential theory in cylindrical co‐ordinates with a σ‐transformation applied between the bed and free surface in the vertical direction. Chebyshev spectral elements discretize space in the vertical and radial directions; Fourier spectral elements are used in the angular direction. Higher derivatives are approximated using a collocation (or pseudo‐spectral) matrix method. The numerical scheme is validated for non‐linear transient sloshing waves in a cylindrical tank containing a circular surface‐piercing cylinder at its centre. Excellent agreement is obtained with Ma and Wu's [Second order transient waves around a vertical cylinder in a tank. Journal of Hydrodynamics 1995; Ser. B4 : 72–81] second‐order potential theory. Further evidence for the capability of the scheme to predict complicated three‐dimensional, and highly non‐linear, free surface motions is given by the evolution of an impulse wave in a cylindrical tank and in an open domain. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.