The stress field problem for a pre-stressed plate-strip with finite length under the action of arbitrary time-harmonic forces

In the framework of the three-dimensional linearized theory of elastodynamics the finite element modeling of the stress field problem for the pre-stressed plate-strip with finite length resting on a rigid foundation under the action of inclined linearly located time-harmonic forces is developed. The numerical results involving the normal stress acting on the interface plane of the plate-strip and the rigid foundation are presented. Moreover, the dependencies between this stress, the frequency of the arbitrary inclined linearly located external force and the initial stretching of the plate-strip are analyzed.     

Forced vibration of the pre-stressed bi-layered plate-strip with finite length resting on a rigid foundation

Within the scope of the piecewise homogeneous body model utilizing Three-Dimensional Linearized Theory of Elastic Waves in Initially Stressed Bodies the time-harmonic dynamical stress field in the pre-stressed bi-layered plate-strip with finite length resting on the rigid foundation is investigated. The materials of the layers are assumed to be isotropic. The FEM modeling is developed for the solution to the corresponding boundary-value-contact problem. The numerical results regarding the influence of the finiteness of the layers’ length on the stress distribution on the interface planes are presented and discussed. In particular, it is shown that with increasing the plate length the results obtained for the considered case approach to the corresponding ones attained for the bi-layered plate with infinite length.     

The critical speed of a moving time-harmonic load acting on a system consisting a pre-stressed orthotropic covering layer and a pre-stressed half-plane

The dynamic response of a system consisting of an initially stressed covering layer and an initially stressed half-plane to a moving time-harmonic load is investigated within the scope of the piecewise-homogeneous body model utilizing three-dimensional linearized wave propagation theory in the initially stressed body. It is assumed that the material of the layer and half-plane is orthotropic. It is also assumed that the velocity of the line-located time harmonic moving load which acts on the covering layer is constant. The investigations were carried out were for the plane-strain state under subsonic velocity of the moving load for two types of contact conditions, namely: complete and incomplete. An algorithm is developed for the determination of the values of the moving load’s critical velocity. For various values of the problem parameters the numerical results were presented and discussed.     

A dynamical (time-harmonic) axisymmetric stress field in a finitely prestretched multilayered slab on a rigid foundation

Within the framework of a piecewise homogeneous body model, with the use of the three-dimensional linearized theory of elastic waves in initially stressed bodies, the dynamical (time-harmonic) axisymmetric stress field in a finitely prestretched multilayered slab resting on a rigid foundation is studied. It is assumed that the slab consists of two-layer packets. The elasticity of layer materials is described by the Treloar potential. It is assumed that the material of the lower layer in the packets is more rigid than that of the upper one. Numerical results are presented for the cases where the number of layers (packets) in the slab is 2 (1), 4 (2), or 6 (3). These results concern the normal stresses acting on the interface between the layers of the first, upper packet and on the interface between the first and second packets. The influence of the number, prestretch level, and thickness of the layers on relation ships between the stresses and the frequency of the external force is analyzed. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 667–680, September–October, 2006.     

On the convergence of finite element solutions to the interface problem for the Stokes system

The Stokes system with a discontinuous coefficient (Stokes interface problem) and its finite element approximations are considered. We firstly show a general error estimate. To derive explicit convergence rates, we introduce some appropriate assumptions on the regularity of exact solutions and on a geometric condition for the triangulation. We mainly deal with the MINI element approximation and then consider P1-iso-P2/P1 element approximation. Results are expected to give an instructive remark in numerical analysis for two-phase flow problems.     

Convergence of a finite element/ALE method for the Stokes equations in a domain depending on time

We consider the approximation of the unsteady Stokes equations in a time dependent domain when the motion of the domain is given. More precisely, we apply the finite element method to an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) formulation of the system. Our main results state the convergence of the solutions of the semi-discretized (with respect to the space variable) and of the fully-discrete problems towards the solutions of the Stokes system.     

A new model for the analysis of reinforced concrete members with a coupled HdBNM/FEM

As a truly boundary-type meshless method, the hybrid boundary node method (HdBNM) does not require ‘boundary element mesh’, either for the purpose of interpolation of the solution variables or for the integration of ‘energy’. In this paper, the HdBNM is coupled with the finite element method (FEM) for predicting the mechanical behaviors of reinforced concrete. The steel bars are considered as body forces in the concrete. A bond model is presented to simulate the bond-slip between the concrete and steels using fictitious spring elements. The computational scale and cost for meshing can be further reduced. Numerical examples, in 2D and 3D cases, demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.     

Solving a suite of NIST benchmark problems for adaptive FEM with the Hermes library

Recently, a new suite of twelve benchmark problems for adaptive finite element methods (FEM) was published at the US National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). These benchmark problems come with exact solutions, and they exhibit all typical difficulties associated with elliptic problems including singularities, steep internal layers, anisotropy, and oscillations. In this paper we solve these benchmark problems using the open source library Hermes (http://hpfem.org). All these results are reproducible—they are part of the Git repository of the open source Hermes project, and the reader can experiment with them by himself/herself. Instructions for this are provided. We hope that authors of other adaptive FEM codes will make their results for these test problems available in a reproducible fashion as well.     

Convergence of a FEM and two-grid algorithms for elliptic problems on disjoint domains

In this paper, we analyze a FEM and two-grid FEM decoupling algorithms for elliptic problems on disjoint domains. First, we study the rate of convergence of the FEM and, in particular, we obtain a superconvergence result. Then with proposed algorithms, the solution of the multi-component domain problem (simple example — two disjoint rectangles) on a fine grid is reduced to the solution of the original problem on a much coarser grid together with solution of several problems (each on a single-component domain) on fine meshes. The advantage is the computational cost although the resulting solution still achieves asymptotically optimal accuracy. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the algorithms.     

On the coupled NBEM and FEM for a class of nonlinear exterior Dirichlet problem in R~(2*)

In this paper, based on the natural boundary reduction advanced by Feng and Yu, we couple the finite element approach with the natural boundary element method to study the weak solvability and Galerkin approximation of a class of nonlinear exterior boundary value problems. The analysis is mainly based on the variational formulation with constraints. We prove the error estimate of the finite element solution and obtain     

A Study of Multiple Solutions for the Navier-Stokes Equations by a Finite Element Method

In this paper, a finite element method is proposed to investigate multiple solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations for an unsteady, laminar, incompressible flow in a porous expanding channel. Dual or triple solutions for the fixed values of the wall suction Reynolds number $R$ and the expansion ratio $α$ are obtained numerically. The computed multiple solutions for the symmetric flow are validated by comparing them with approximate analytic solutions obtained by the similarity transformation and homotopy analysis method. Unlike previous works, our method deals with the Navier-Stokes equations directly and thus has no similarity and other restrictions as in previous works. Finally we use the method to study multiple solutions for three cases of the asymmetric flow (which has not been studied before using the similarity-type techniques).     

Development of a higher order finite element on a Winkler foundation

Analyzing thick plates as a construction component has been of interest to structural engineering research for several decades. In particular, thick plates resting on elastic foundations are more specific. Mindlin's plate theory for thick plate analysis and the Winkler theory for elastic foundation analyses have wide applications. The current research considers analysis of isotropic plates on a Winkler foundation according to Mindlin's plate theory. The analysis uses a higher order plate element to avoid shear locking phenomena in the plate. The main features of this element are representation of real displacement functions of the plate perfect and shear locking do not occur at the plates modeled with this element. Derivation of the equations for finite element formulation for thick plate theory uses fourth-order displacement shape functions. A computer program using the finite element method, coded in C++, analyzes the plates resting on an elastic foundation. The analysis involves a 17-noded finite element. The study's graphs and tables assist engineers' designs of thick plates resting on elastic foundations. The study concludes with the computer-coded program, which allows effective use for the shear locking-free analysis of thick Mindlin plates resting on elastic foundations.     

On the coupling of regularization techniques and the boundary element method for a hemivariational inequality modelling a delamination problem

In this paper, we couple regularization techniques of nondifferentiable optimization with the h‐version of the boundary element method (h‐BEM) to solve nonsmooth variational problems arising in contact mechanics. As a model example, we consider the delamination problem. The variational formulation of this problem leads to a hemivariational inequality with a nonsmooth functional defined on the contact boundary. This problem is first regularized and then discretized by an h‐BEM. We prove convergence of the h‐BEM Galerkin solution of the regularized problem in the energy norm, provide an a priori error estimate and give a numerical examples. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical modeling of free field vibrations due to pile driving using a dynamic soil-structure interaction formulation

This paper presents a numerical model for the prediction of free field vibrations due to vibratory and impact pile driving. As the focus is on the response in the far field, where deformations are relatively small, a linear elastic constitutive behavior is assumed for the soil. The free field vibrations are calculated by means of a coupled FE–BE model using a subdomain formulation. The results show that, in the near field, the response of the soil is dominated by a vertically polarized shear wave, whereas in the far field, Rayleigh waves dominate the ground vibration and body waves are importantly attenuated. Finally, the computed ground vibrations are compared with the results of field measurements reported in the literature.     

Convergence of the Swartztrauber-Sweet Method for Parabolic Problems on a Disk with Singularities

In this article, we study the convergence analysis for the initial and boundary value problem of parabolic equations on a disk with singular solutions. It is assumed that the exact solution performs singular properties that its derivatives go to infinity at the boundary of the disk. We propose a fully implicit time-stepping numerical scheme. A stretching polynomial-like function with a parameter is used to construct a local grid refinement. Over the nonuniform partition, we combine the Swartztrauber-Sweet scheme and the backward Euler method in spatial and temporal discretization, respectively. We carry out convergence analysis and analyze the effects of the parameter. It is shown that our numerical scheme is of first order accuracy for temporal discretization and of almost second order accuracy for spatial discretization. Numerical experiments are performed to illustrate our analysis results and show that there exists an optimal value for the parameter to obtain a best approximate solution.     

The Fourier-finite element method for the Poisson problem on a non-convex polyhedral cylinder

We study the Poisson problem with zero boundary datum in a (finite) polyhedral cylinder with a non-convex edge. Applying the Fourier sine series to the equation along the edge and by a corner singularity expansion for the Poisson problem with parameter, we define the edge flux coefficient and the regular part of the solution on the polyhedral cylinder. We present a numerical method for approximating the edge flux coefficient and the regular part and show the stability. We derive an error estimate and give some numerical experiments.     

A pseudo active kinematic constraint for a biological living soft tissue: An effect of the collagen network

Recent studies in mammalian hearts show that left ventricular wall thickening is an important mechanism for systolic ejection, and that during contraction the cardiac muscle develops significant stresses in the muscular cross-fiber direction. We suggested that the collagen network surrounding the muscular fibers could account for these mechanical behaviors. To test this hypothesis we develop a model for large deformation response of active, incompressible, nonlinear elastic and transversely isotropic living soft tissue (such as cardiac or arteries tissues) in which we include a coupling effect between the connective tissue and the muscular fibers. Then, a three-dimensional finite element formulation including this internal pseudo-active kinematic constraint is derived. Analytical and finite element solutions are in a very good agreement. The numerical results show this wall thickening effect with an order of magnitude compatible with the experimental observations.     

Error estimates of the finite element method for the exterior Helmholtz problem with a modified DtN boundary condition

A priori error estimates in the H¹- and L²-norms are established for the finite element method applied to the exterior Helmholtz problem, with modified Dirichlet-to-Neumann (MDtN) boundary condition. The error estimates include the effect of truncation of the MDtN boundary condition as well as that of discretization of the finite element method. The error estimate in the L²-norm is sharper than that obtained by the author [D. Koyama, Error estimates of the DtN finite element method for the exterior Helmholtz problem, J. Comput. Appl. Math. 200 (1) (2007) 21-31] for the truncated DtN boundary condition.     

A two-level finite element method for the Navier–Stokes equations based on a new projection

We consider a fully discrete two-level approximation for the time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations in two dimension based on a time-dependent projection. By defining this new projection, the iteration between large and small eddy components can be reflected by its associated space splitting. Hence, we can get a weakly coupled system of large and small eddy components. This two-level method applies the finite element method in space and Crank–Nicolson scheme in time. Moreover,the analysis and some numerical examples are shown that the proposed two-level scheme can reach the same accuracy as the classical one-level Crank–Nicolson method with a very fine mesh size h by choosing a proper coarse mesh size H. However, the two-level method will involve much less work.     

Error estimates of the DtN finite element method for the exterior Helmholtz problem

A priori error estimates are established for the DtN (Dirichlet-to-Neumann) finite element method applied to the exterior Helmholtz problem. The error estimates include the effect of truncation of the DtN boundary condition as well as that of the finite element discretization. A property of the Hankel functions which plays an important role in the proof of the error estimates is introduced.