Two 8-node quadrilateral spline elements by B-net method

Isoparametric quadrilateral elements are widely used in the finite element method, but the accuracy of the isoparametric quadrilateral elements will drop obviously deteriorate due to mesh distortions. Spline functions have some properties of simplicity and conformality. Two 8-node quadrilateral elements have been developed using the triangular area coordinates and the B-net method, which can exactly model the quadratic field for both convex and concave quadrangles. Some appropriate examples are employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed elements. The numerical results show that the two spline elements can obtain solutions which are highly accurate and insensitive to mesh distortions.     

Boundary-type finite element method for wave propagation analysis

The boundary-type finite element method has been investigated and applied to the Helmholz and mild-slope equations. Four types of interpolation function are examined based on trigonometric function series. Three-node triangular, four-node quadrilateral, six-node triangular and eight-node quadrilateral elements are tested; these are all non-conforming elements. Three types of numerical example show that the three-node triangular and four-node quadrilateral elements are useful for practical analysis.     

New mixed plate-bending elements with shear strain interpolations

This paper is concerned with two mixed plate-bending elements with shear strain interpolations, a quadrilateral element and an 8-node serendipity-type element based on discussions on the element proposed in Ref.[1]. The shear strains and inner-forces in the natural coordinates are interpolated in an element and then transformed into Cartesian coordinates in accordance with covariant and contravariant tensor transformations, respectively. The quadrilateral element coincides with the element in Ref.[1] when it is rectangular. Numerical examples show that the two new elements are free from shear locking and spurious kinematic modes under regular and irregular meshes and have the advantages of being insensitive to element distortion and able to give fairly accurate results.The Project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Application of the 2-D constant strain assumption to FEM elements consisting of an arbitrary number of nodes

The formulation for the constant strain element is revisited to develop multi-noded elements that can be used as transition elements in a finite element mesh. Although the constant strain approach is computationally attractive, spurious force-free displacement modes arise for elements consisting of more than three nodes. These unstable mode shapes are typified by “hourglassing” which develops in quadrilateral elements when constant strain is assumed within the element. The means for stabilizing spurious mode shapes for quadrilateral elements is well documented in the literature, however, in this paper, a general formulation for stabilizing forces is presented for elements having an arbitrary number of nodes and therefore is not restricted to quadrilateral elements. This paper examines the use of meshes consisting of constant strain elements created from polygons having differing numbers of element nodes. The effectiveness of the stabilization procedure is illustrated along with “patch test” examples to assess the consistency of the approximation. The elements are shown to be surprisingly robust, yielding reasonable results even when poorly designed mesh transitions are used.     

用拟协调元直接构造平面任意四边形单元——进入有限元的禁区

利用拟协调元方法,在直角坐标系下直接构造了一族平面任意四边形单元,对其收敛性进行了分析,并与平面等参元进行了对比研究.结果证明平面任意四边形单元可采用多项式基函数直接列式,并可以保障单元的收敛性;拟协调元列式可以使平面问题的有限元方法得到统一.与平面等参元相比,单元列式简单,性能稳定,具有显式的刚度阵,计算量小,这说明对于有限元平面问题拟协调元是一个更正确、有效的做法.      

Development of quadrilateral spline thin plate elements using the B-net method

The quadrilateral discrete Kirchhoff thin plate bending element DKQ is based on the isoparametric element Q8, however, the accuracy of the isoparametric quadrilateral elements will drop significantly due to mesh distortions. In a previous work, we constructed an 8-node quadrilateral spline element L8 using the triangular area coordinates and the Bnet method, which can be insensitive to mesh distortions and possess the second order completeness in the Cartesian coordinates. In this paper, a thin plate spline element is developed based on the spline element L8 and the refined technique. Numerical examples show that the present element indeed possesses higher accuracy than the DKQ element for distorted meshes.     

基于高阶剪切变形理论的四边形求积元板单元及其应用

近年来由各类新型复合材料或功能梯度材料构成的板结构在工程领域得到了广泛应用,其显著特点是材料性能沿板厚变化.为合理考虑横向剪切应变,许多学者基于Reddy高阶剪切变形理论,构建了不同的有限元单元对该类板结构进行分析,但其中满足$C^{1}$连续条件的单元相对较少.本文基于Reddy高阶剪切变形理论,采用求积元方法,建立了$C^{1}$连续的四边形板单元.利用该单元对均质材料、复合材料、功能梯度材料构成的等厚度矩形板、变厚度矩形板及等厚度斜板的线弹性弯曲和自由振动问题进行了计算分析,并与现有文献中的相应计算结果进行了对比.研究表明:基于高阶剪切变形理论的四边形求积元板单元具有较高的计算效率和良好的适应性,文中各类材料构成的等变厚度矩形板及等厚度斜板均只需1个单元即可得到理想的计算结果.对于等/变厚度矩形板,可仅使用9$\times$9个积分点,而对于等厚度斜板,随着斜角的增大,所需积分点的数目逐渐增多至15$\times $15.该四边形求积元板单元可进一步用于新型复合材料板的非线性分析.      

Numerical convergence of finite element solutions of nonrational B-spline element and absolute nodal coordinate formulation

In this investigation, numerical convergence of finite element solutions obtained using the B-spline approach and the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) is discussed. Furthermore, equivalence of the two formulations with different orders of polynomials and degrees of continuity is demonstrated by several numerical examples. The degree of continuity can be easily controlled in B-spline elements by changing knot multiplicities, while continuity conditions associated with higher order derivatives need to be imposed to achieve C ² and higher continuities in ANCF elements. In order to compare element performances of the third and quartic B-spline and ANCF elements, the three-node quartic ANCF beam element is developed. It is demonstrated in several numerical examples that use of B-spline and ANCF elements with same orders and continuities leads to identical results. Furthermore, effects of polynomial orders and continuities on the accuracy and numerical convergence are demonstrated.     

Development of special finite elements for free boundaries

A modified two-dimensional quadrilateral plane stress element and a modified three-dimensional brick element have been developed to eliminate the weakness of the conventional finite elements in determining the stress distributions along free boundaries. The results obtained by the said modified elements are in good agreement with the theoretical and experimental results and are superior to the conventional finite element results. A comparison is made between the proposed approach of improving stress calculations and another approach which employs the least square fitting method. The comparison shows that the two approaches provide comparable accuracy but the latter is more difficult to implement.     

精化不协调元的实施

按精化不协调元法推导了保证收敛的平面四结点单元（ＲＮＱ４）及空间八结点单元（ＲＮＱ８），从工程实际应用角度分析此类单元的实施及其对结构工程中抗弯结构和高层抗剪结构的适应性。     

轴对称实体迴转杂交应力元

用杂交应力法导出一系列新的八节点、四边形轴对称实体迴转元,对每种元,边界二次位移插值函数相同,内部应力场各异,对两类不同选择假定应力场的方法进行了对比研究,以內压力作用下的厚壁筒及厚球为例,对各种应力场进行了数值比较,并选出了一种较好的元,该元给出了远较传统的八节点轴对称假定位移元准确的应力分布。     

Axisymmetric solid-of-revolution elements based on the assumed stress hybrid model

A series of axisymmetric solid-of-revolution elements with 8-node and quadrilateral cross section have been developed based on the assumed stress hybrid model. A quadratic boundary displacement assumption is employed for each element and a variety of interior stress assumptions have been made. Two different kinds of procedure used for developing stress field have been studied. Example problems of a thick-walled cylinder under internal pressure and a thick-walled sphere under internal pressure are utilized to evaluate the various elements and a desirable stress assumption has been identified. Comparisons of present results with those obtained by the use of 8-node element based on the assumed displacement model indicate that this hybrid stress element is far superior in predicting the stress distribution.     

Finite Element Analysis of Elasto-plastic Plate Bending Problems using Transition Rectangular Plate Elements

In this work, the finite element analysis of the elasto-plastic plate bending problems is carried out using transition rectangular plate elements. The shape functions of the transition plate elements are derived based on a practical rule. The transition plate elements are all quadrilateral and can be used to obtain efficient finite element models using minimum number of elements. The mesh convergence rates of the models including the transition elements are compared with the regular element models. To verify the developed elements, simple tests are demonstrated and various elasto-plastic problems are solved. Their results are compared with ANSYS results.The English text was polished by Keren Wang.     

QUADRILATERAL 4-NODE QUASI-CONFORMING PLANE ELEMENT WITH INTERNAL PARAMETERS

在拟协调框架之下,利用新的内参形函数构造了一个四边形四节点拟协调平面单元. 新的内参位移函数也可以添加到等参单元Q4 中来构造新的内参型等参单元. 新构造的拟协调单元QC6N 具有显式刚度矩阵,因而效率更高. 数值例子表明相比于四节点等参单元,新构造的单元可以提高计算精度和抗网格畸变的能力.     

内参型四边形四节点拟协调平面单元

在拟协调框架之下,利用新的内参形函数构造了一个四边形四节点拟协调平面单元. 新的内参位移函数也可以添加到等参单元Q4 中来构造新的内参型等参单元. 新构造的拟协调单元QC6N 具有显式刚度矩阵,因而效率更高. 数值例子表明相比于四节点等参单元,新构造的单元可以提高计算精度和抗网格畸变的能力.      

Introducing new cracked finite elements and a method for SIF calculation of cracks

Two different types of 8-node cracked quadrilateral finite element are presented for fracture applications. The first element contains a central crack and the other one includes an edge crack. The introduced elements are applicable in 2D problems. The crack is not physically modeled within the element, but instead, its effects on the stiffness matrix are taken into account by utilizing linear fracture mechanics laws. Furthermore, a simple and practical procedure is proposed for calculation of stress intensity factor (SIF) by employing proposed cracked elements. Several numerical examples are presented to evaluate the capabilities of the proposed elements and procedure.     

多边形有限元研究进展

有限元法是数值求解偏微分方程边值问题的重要方法,采用不规则多边形单元网格, 可以方便有效地模拟材料的力学性能, 又使得区域网格剖分变得灵活方便. 特别是对于复杂的几何形状, 多边形单元网格具有更大的优势. 本文对国内外有关多边形有限元法的最新进展作了初步的总结和评述, 主要以基于位移法的多边形有限元为主.论述了多边形有限元的发展历史, 给出了多边形单元上的Wachspress插值、Laplace插值和重心坐标的一些最新研究成果. 与经典有限元法形函数为多项式形式不同, 多边形单元的形函数为有理函数或者无理函数形式. 多边形单元插值形函数满足线性完备性, 可以再现线性位移场, 像经典有限元法一样直接施加本质边界条件; 插值函数在多边形的边界上是线性的,确保不同单元间的自动协调. 不同单元的插值形函数表达公式形式统一, 方便混合单元网格计算的程序编写. 提出了多边形有限元法今后需要研究的问题.      

Incompatible curved quadrilateral plate bending element with 12-degrees of freedom

This paper presents a new curved quadrilateral plate element with12-degree freedom by the exact element method.The method can be used to arbitrary non-positive and positive definite partial differential equations without variation principle.Using this method,the compatibility conditions between element can be treated very easily,if displacements and stress resultants are continuous at nodes between elements.The displacements and stress resultants obtained by the present method can converge to exact solution and have the second order convergence speed.Numerical examples are given at the end of this paper,which show the excellent precision and efficiency of the new element.     

带转动自由度的内参型非协调元研究

非协调元虽然破坏了单元间位移的连续性，却能很好地反映弯曲类变形，然而在不增加单元结点自由度的情况下，非协调元的计算精度总是滞留在某一水平，无法得到较大改变。基于修正后的位移型Reissner泛函中引入独立转动场的变分原理，采用连续介质力学中的转动自由度的定义，转动场采用结点真实转角来插值，结合平面四结点单元讨论了有效附加非协调位移的合理形式，引入了适用于任何四边形单元的非协调位移函数，从而建立了一种带转动自由度的平面四结点内参型非协调元模型。本文单元能通过分片检验，并易于与带转动自由度的梁单元相容．教值算例表明具有较高的计算精度。     

Corotational nonlinear analyses of laminated shell structures using a 4-node quadrilateral flat shell element with drilling stiffness

A new 4-node quadrilateral flat shell element is developed for geometrically nonlinear analyses of thin and moderately thick laminated shell structures. The fiat shell element is constructed by combining a quadrilateral area co- ordinate method （QAC） based membrane element AGQ6- II, and a Timoshenko beam function （TBF） method based shear deformable plate bending element ARS-Q12. In order to model folded plates and connect with beam elements, the drilling stiffness is added to the element stiffness matrix based on the mixed variational principle. The transverse shear rigidity matrix, based on the first-order shear deformation theory （FSDT）, for the laminated composite plate is evaluated using the transverse equilibrium conditions, while the shear correction factors are not needed. The conventional TBF methods are also modified to efficiently calculate the element stiffness for laminate. The new shell element is extended to large deflection and post-buckling analyses of isotropic and laminated composite shells based on the element independent corotational formulation. Numerical re- sults show that the present shell element has an excellent numerical performance for the test examples, and is applicable to stiffened plates.