Modeling nonlinear deformation of a plate with an elliptic inclusion by John’s harmonic material

The exact analytical solution of a nonlinear plane-strain problem has been obtained for a plate with an elastic elliptic inclusion with constant stresses given at infinity. The mechanical properties of the plate and inclusion are described with the model of John’s harmonic material. In this model, stresses and displacements are expressed in terms of two analytical functions of a complex variable that are determined from nonlinear boundary-value problems. Assuming the tensor of nominal stresses to be constant inside the inclusion has made it possible to reduce the problem to solving two simpler problems for a plate with an elliptic hole. The validity of the adopted hypothesis has been justified by the fact that the derived solution exactly satisfies all the equations and boundary conditions of the problem. The existence of critical plate-compression loads that lead to the loss of stability of the material has been established. Two special nonlinear problems for a plate with a free elliptic hole and a plate with a rigid inclusion have been solved.     

Elastostatic inverse formulation

In this paper an inverse method for solving elastostatic problems with incomplete boundary conditions is presented. In general, inverse problems are ill-posed boundary value problems whose stability and uniqueness of solution and sensitivity-based formulations require additional constraints. In the development we use the Betti-reciprocal theorem to represent the boundary traction field in terms of the boundary and field displacements in an integral form. Initially, we assume the unknown boundary conditions and deformations required to solve the problem. In this way we equate the work done by the exact solution (unknown) to the work done by an assumed solution. Discretizing the resulting equations and using an iterative procedure each step in the solution process becomes the solution to a well-posed problem. Thus, with sufficient perturbations the correct boundary conditions are reconstructed.     

The method of fundamental solutions for linear diffusion-reaction equations

The paper presents an extension of the solution procedure based on the method of fundamental solutions proposed earlier in the literature for solving linear diffusion reaction equations in nonregular geometries in two and three dimensions. The solution procedure utilizes the fundamental solution to the problem along with boundary collocation to result in a grid-free numerical scheme. A new heuristic for source location is utilized along with orthogonal collocation in nonsmooth domains to improve the accuracy of the solution. The efficacy of the solution procedure is demonstrated for a variety of problems in nonregular simply and multiply connected geometries with nonuniform boundary conditions.     

A contact problem for an elastic plate with a thin rigid inclusion

Under study is an equilibrium problem for a plate under the influence of external forces. The plate is assumed to have a thin rigid inclusion that reaches the boundary at the zero angle and partially contacts a rigid body. On the inclusion face, there is a delamination. We consider the complete Kirchhoff–Love model, where the unknown functions are the vertical and horizontal displacements of the middle surface points of the plate. We present differential and variational formulations of the problem and prove the existence and uniqueness of a solution.     

An alternative procedure for approximating hyperbolic systems of conservation laws

This work presents an alternative numerical procedure for simulating a class of nonlinear hyperbolic systems, using Glimm's method for advancing in time. The standard procedure to implement this methodology suffers from the disadvantage of requiring a complete solution of the associated Riemann problem—a task, in general, not easily reached. The alternative procedure introduced in this article consists in approximating the solution of the associated Riemann problem by piecewise constant functions always satisfying the jump condition—thus circumventing the difficulty of solving the Riemann problem and giving rise to an approximation easier to implement with lower computational cost. In order to illustrate the good performance of the alternative methodology proposed, two problems are considered—namely the transport of a pollutant in the atmosphere and the dynamics of the filling up of a rigid porous medium, modeled under a mixture theory viewpoint. Comparison with the standard procedure, employing the complete solution of the associated Riemann problem for implementing Glimm's scheme, has shown good agreement.     

Well‐conditioned boundary integral formulations for high‐frequency elastic scattering problems in three dimensions

We construct and analyze a family of well‐conditioned boundary integral equations for the Krylov iterative solution of three‐dimensional elastic scattering problems by a bounded rigid obstacle. We develop a new potential theory using a rewriting of the Somigliana integral representation formula. From these results, we generalize to linear elasticity the well‐known Brakhage–Werner and combined field integral equation formulations. We use a suitable approximation of the Dirichlet‐to‐Neumann map as a regularizing operator in the proposed boundary integral equations. The construction of the approximate Dirichlet‐to‐Neumann map is inspired by the on‐surface radiation conditions method. We prove that the associated integral equations are uniquely solvable and possess very interesting spectral properties. Promising analytical and numerical investigations, in terms of spherical harmonics, with the elastic sphere are provided. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A method for solving an exterior three-dimensional boundary value problem for the Laplace equation

We develop and experimentally study the algorithms for solving three-dimensionalmixed boundary value problems for the Laplace equation in unbounded domains. These algorithms are based on the combined use of the finite elementmethod and an integral representation of the solution in a homogeneous space. The proposed approach consists in the use of the Schwarz alternating method with consecutive solution of the interior and exterior boundary value problems in the intersecting subdomains on whose adjoining boundaries the iterated interface conditions are imposed. The convergence of the iterative method is proved. The convergence rate of the iterative process is studied analytically in the case when the subdomains are spherical layers with the known exact representations of all consecutive approximations. In this model case, the influence of the algorithm parameters on the method efficiency is analyzed. The approach under study is implemented for solving a problem with a sophisticated configuration of boundaries while using a high precision finite elementmethod to solve the interior boundary value problems. The convergence rate of the iterations and the achieved accuracy of the computations are illustrated with some numerical experiments.     

A general solution of equations of equilibrium in linear elasticity

A general solution of equations of equilibrium in linear elasticity is presented in cylindrical coordinates in terms of three harmonic functions describing an arbitrary displacement field. The structure of this solution is similar to the general solution given by Love (Kelvin’s solution) in spherical coordinates. Galerkin vector representation of our solution leads to an integral connecting the harmonic functions. The connections to Papkovich–Neuber and Muki’s general representations are also provided. Suitable choices of the harmonic functions in our new representation yield general solutions for axisymmetric deformations due to Love, Boussinesq and Michell. Some unbounded deformations induced by singular forces are tabulated in terms of the scalar harmonic functions to justify the simple nature of our representation. Exact solution of the half-space boundary value problem is also provided to demonstrate the power of our approach. The stress components computed via our solution are also listed (see the Appendix).     

An accurate numerical solution for the transient heating of an evaporating spherical droplet

A recently derived numerical algorithm for one-dimensional time-dependent Stefan problems is extended for the purposes of solving a moving boundary problem for the transient heating of an evaporating spherical droplet. The Keller box finite-difference scheme is used, in tandem with the so-called boundary immobilization method. An important component of the work is the careful use of variable transformations that must be built into the numerical algorithm in order to preserve second-order accuracy in both time and space - an issue not previously discussed in relation to this widely-used scheme. In addition, we demonstrate that our solution is in close agreement with the solution obtained using an alternative numerical scheme that employs an analytic solution of the heat conduction equation inside the droplet, for which the droplet radius was assumed to be a piecewise linear function of time. The advantages of the new method are discussed.     

Numerical solution of an equilibrium problem for an elastic body with a thin delaminated rigid inclusion

Under consideration is a 2D-problem of elasticity theory for a body with a thin rigid inclusion. It is assumed that there is a delamination crack between the rigid inclusion and the elastic matrix. At the crack faces, the boundary conditions are set in the form of inequalities providing mutual nonpenetration of the crack faces. Some numerical method is proposed for solving the problem, based on domain decomposition and the Uzawa algorithm for solving variational inequalities.We give an example of numerical calculation by the finite element method.     

The use of the method of boundary states to analyse an elastic medium with cavities and inclusions

The analytical method of boundary states is developed and theoretically substantiated. A corollary of the Weierstrass theorem is proved according to which a function that is harmonic in a bounded, simply connected domain can be approximated by a series of homogeneous harmonic polynomials. A basis of the space of functions that are harmonic outside any neighbourhood of a point is constructed. An algorithm is developed for filling the basis of the space of the states of a multicavity elastic body. The method is used to solve a series of problems of determining of the stress-strain state of an unbounded elastic medium containing spherical cavities or inclusions with different boundary conditions: the boundary of the cavity is free (the Southwell problem), constrained or under conditions of contact with a rigid core. The effect of the width of the intercavity layer on the stress concentration is analysed in a non-axisymmetric problem with two cavities. The form of the relation between the mean-square discrepancy in the boundary conditions of the solution obtained and the number of elements in the basis is indicative of the numerical convergence of the solution of this problem.     

A full multigrid method for nonlinear eigenvalue problems

We introduce a type of full multigrid method for the nonlinear eigenvalue problem. The main idea is to transform the solution of the nonlinear eigenvalue problem into a series of solutions of the corresponding linear boundary value problems on the sequence of finite element spaces and nonlinear eigenvalue problems on the coarsest finite element space. The linearized boundary value problems are solved by some multigrid iterations. Besides the multigrid iteration, all other efficient iteration methods for solving boundary value problems can serve as the linear problem solver. We prove that the computational work of this new scheme is truly optimal, the same as solving the linear corresponding boundary value problem. In this case, this type of iteration scheme certainly improves the overfull efficiency of solving nonlinear eigenvalue problems. Some numerical experiments are presented to validate the efficiency of the new method.     

Clifford algebra valued boundary integral equations for three-dimensional elasticity

Applications of Clifford analysis to three-dimensional elasticity are addressed in the present paper. The governing equation for the displacement field is formulated in terms of the Dirac operator and Clifford algebra valued functions so that a general solution is obtained analytically in terms of one monogenic function and one multiple-component spatial harmonic function together with its derivative. In order to solve numerically the three-dimensional problems of elasticity for an arbitrary domain with complicated boundary conditions, Clifford algebra valued boundary integral equations (BIEs) for multiple-component spatial harmonic functions at an observation point, either inside the domain, on the boundary, or outside the domain, are constructed. Both smooth and non-smooth boundaries are considered in the construction. Moreover, the singularities of the integrals are evaluated exactly so that in the end singularity-free BIEs for the observation point on the boundary taking values on Clifford numbers can be obtained. A Clifford algebra valued boundary element method (BEM) based on the singularity-free BIEs is then developed for solving three-dimensional problems of elasticity. The accuracy of the Clifford algebra valued BEM is demonstrated numerically.     

The discrete Plateau Problem: Algorithm and numerics

We solve the problem of finding and justifying an optimal fully discrete finite element procedure for approximating minimal, including unstable, surfaces. In this paper we introduce the general framework and some preliminary estimates, develop the algorithm, and give the numerical results. In a subsequent paper we prove the convergence estimate. The algorithmic procedure is to find stationary points for the Dirichlet energy within the class of discrete harmonic maps from the discrete unit disc such that the boundary nodes are constrained to lie on a prescribed boundary curve. An integral normalisation condition is imposed, corresponding to the usual three point condition. Optimal convergence results are demonstrated numerically and theoretically for nondegenerate minimal surfaces, and the necessity for nondegeneracy is shown numerically.

     

On bending an elastic plate with a delaminated thin rigid inclusion

Under study is the problem of bending an elastic plate with a thin rigid inclusion which may delaminate and form a crack. We find a system of boundary conditions valid on the faces of the crack and prove the existence of a solution. The problem of bending a plate with a volume rigid inclusion is also considered. We establish the convergence of solutions of this problem to a solution to the original problem as the size of the volume rigid inclusion tends to zero.     

A Finite Algorithm for Almost Linear Complementarity Problems

We present an algorithm for solving a class of nonlinear complementarity problems called the almost linear complementarity problem (ALCP), which can be used to simulate free boundary problems. The algorithm makes use of a procedure for identifying an active index subset of an ALCP by bounding its solution with an interval vector. It is shown that an acceptable solution of the given ALCP can be obtained by solving at most n systems of equations. Numerical results are reported to illustrate the efficiency of the algorithm for large-scale problems.     

Anisotropic mesh adaptation for numerical solution of boundary value problems

We present an efficient mesh adaptation algorithm that can be successfully applied to numerical solutions of a wide range of 2D problems of physics and engineering described by partial differential equations. We are interested in the numerical solution of a general boundary value problem discretized on triangular grids. We formulate a necessary condition for properties of the triangulation on which the discretization error is below the prescribed tolerance and control this necessary condition by the interpolation error. For a sufficiently smooth function, we recall the strategy how to construct the mesh on which the interpolation error is below the prescribed tolerance. Solving the boundary value problem we apply this strategy to the smoothed approximate solution. The novelty of the method lies in the smoothing procedure that, followed by the anisotropic mesh adaptation (AMA) algorithm, leads to the significant improvement of numerical results. We apply AMA to the numerical solution of an elliptic equation where the exact solution is known and demonstrate practical aspects of the adaptation procedure: how to control the ratio between the longest and the shortest edge of the triangulation and how to control the transition of the coarsest part of the mesh to the finest one if the two length scales of all the triangles are clearly different. An example of the use of AMA for the physically relevant numerical simulation of a geometrically challenging industrial problem (inviscid transonic flow around NACA0012 profile) is presented. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2004.     

The diffraction of plane elastic waves by a delaminated rigid inclusion when there is smooth contact in the delamination region

A solution of the problem of the diffraction of harmonic elastic waves by a thin rigid strip-like delaminated inclusion in an unbounded elastic medium, in which the conditions for plane deformation are satisfied, is proposed. We mean by a delaminated inclusion an inclusion, one side of which is completely bonded to the elastic medium, while the second does not interact in any way with it, or this interaction is partial. It is assumed that the conditions for smooth contact are satisfied in the delamination region. The method of solution is based on the use of previously constructed discontinuous solutions of the equations describing the vibrations of an elastic medium under plane deformation conditions. The problem therefore reduces to solving a system of three singular integral equations in the unknown stress and strain jumps at the inclusion. An approximate solution of the latter enabled formulae to be obtained that are convenient for numerical realization when investigating the stressed state in the region of the inclusion and its displacements when acted upon by incident waves.     

The role of conditioning in mesh selection algorithms for first order systems of linear two point boundary value problems

Codes for the numerical solution of two-point boundary value problems can now handle quite general problems in a fairly routine and reliable manner. When faced with particularly challenging equations, such as singular perturbation problems, the most efficient codes use a highly non-uniform grid in order to resolve the non-smooth parts of the solution trajectory. This grid is usually constructed using either a pointwise local error estimate defined at the grid points or else by using a local residual control. Similar error estimates are used to decide whether or not to accept a solution. Such an approach is very effective in general providing that the problem to be solved is well conditioned. However, if the problem is ill conditioned then such grid refinement algorithms may be inefficient because many iterations may be required to reach a suitable mesh on which to compute the solution. Even worse, for ill conditioned problems an inaccurate solution may be accepted even though the local error estimates may be perfectly satisfactory in that they are less than a prescribed tolerance. The primary reason for this is, of course, that for ill conditioned problems a small local error at each grid point may not produce a correspondingly small global error in the solution. In view of this it could be argued that, when solving a two-point boundary value problem in cases where we have no idea of its conditioning, we should provide an estimate of the condition number of the problem as well as the numerical solution. In this paper we consider some algorithms for estimating the condition number of boundary value problems and show how this estimate can be used in the grid refinement algorithm.     

Computational methods of solving the boundary value problems for the loaded differential and Fredholm integro‐differential equations

The article presents a new general solution to a loaded differential equation and describes its properties. Solving a linear boundary value problem for loaded differential equation is reduced to the solving a system of linear algebraic equations with respect to the arbitrary vectors of general solution introduced. The system's coefficients and right sides are computed by solving the Cauchy problems for ordinary differential equations. Algorithms of constructing a new general solution and solving a linear boundary value problem for loaded differential equation are offered. Linear boundary value problem for the Fredholm integro‐differential equation is approximated by the linear boundary value problem for loaded differential equation. A mutual relationship between the qualitative properties of original and approximate problems is obtained, and the estimates for differences between their solutions are given. The paper proposes numerical and approximate methods of solving a linear boundary value problem for the Fredholm integro‐differential equation and examines their convergence, stability, and accuracy.