FINITE LAYER ANALYSIS FOR SEMI-INFINITE SOILS (Ⅰ)——GENERAL THEORY

In the present paper a finite layer method is studied for the elastodynamics of transverse isotropic bodies. With this method, semi-infinite soils can be considered as an transverse isotropic half-space, its material functions varying with depth. Dividing the half.space into a series of layers in the direction of depth the material fimetioms in each layer are simulated by exponential fumctions Consequently, the fundamental equations to be solved can be simplified if the fouricr transform with repsect to coordinates is used. We have obtained the relationship between the "layer forces" and "layer displacements". This finite layer method, in fact, can also be called a semi-analytical method. It possesses those advantages as the usual semi-analytical methods do, and can be used to analyse the problem of the interaction between soils and structures.     

A new analytical solution to axisymmetric Biot＇s consolidation of a finite soil layer

A new analytical method is presented to study the axisymmetric Biot＇s consolidation of a finite soil layer. Starting from the governing equations of axisymmetric Blot＇s consolidation, and based on the property of Laplace transform, the relation of basic variables for a point of a finite soil layer is established between the ground surface （z= 0） and the depth z in the Laplace and Hankel transform domains. Combined with the boundary conditions of the finite soil layer, the analytical solution of any point in the transform domain can be obtained. The actual solution in the physical domain can be obtained by inverse Laplace and Hankel transforms. A numerical analysis for the axisymmetric consolidation of a finite soil layer is carried out.     

SOME PROBLEMS IN BOUNDARY ELEMENT PROGRAMMING OF AXISYMMETRIC ELASTICITY

Axisymmetric problems in elasticity can be reduced to two dimensional ones,but theyare a little more complicated than plane problems.Therefore,some special problems will beencountered in the boundary element programming of axisymmetric elasticity.In thispaper,the methods to treat these problems and some remarks are given according to ourexperience in programming.Numerical examples are presented for the checking of thesetreatments.     

Topology optimization of 3D structures with design-dependent loads

Topology optimization of continuum structures with design-dependent loads has long been a challenge. In this paper, the topology optimization of 3D structures subjected to design-dependent loads is investigated. A boundary search scheme is proposed for 3D problems, by means of which the load surface can be identified effectively and efficiently, and the difficulties arising in other approaches can be overcome. The load surfaces are made up of the boundaries of finite elements and the loads can be directly applied to corresponding element nodes, which leads to great convenience in the application of this method. Finally, the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method is validated by several numerical examples.     

Fuzzy finite difference method for heat conduction analysis with uncertain parameters

A new numerical technique named as fuzzy finite difference method is proposed to solve the heat conduction problems with fuzzy uncertainties in both the phys- ical parameters and initial/boundary conditions. In virtue of the level-cut method, the difference discrete equations with fuzzy parameters are equivalently transformed into groups of interval equations. New stability analysis theory suited to fuzzy difference schemes is developed. Based on the parameter perturbation method, the interval ranges of the uncertain temperature field can be approximately predicted. Subsequently, fuzzy solutions to the original difference equations are obtained by the fuzzy resolution theorem. Two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the presented method for solving both steady-state and transient heat conduction problems.     

Numerical solution of Poisson equation with wavelet bases of Hermite cubic splines on the interval

A new wavelet-based finite element method is proposed for solving the Poisson equation. The wavelet bases of Hermite cubic splines on the interval are employed as the multi-scale interpolation basis in the finite element analysis. The lifting scheme of the wavelet-based finite element method is discussed in detail. For the orthogonal characteristics of the wavelet bases with respect to the given inner product, the corresponding multi-scale finite element equation can be decoupled across scales, totally or partially, and suited for nesting approximation. Numerical examples indicate that the proposed method has the higher efficiency and precision in solving the Poisson equation.     

An elasticity solution for axisymmetric problem of finite circular cylinder

In this paper,the complete double-series in the closed region expressing the double-variable functions and their partial derivatives are derived by the H-transformation and Stockes’transformation.Using the double-series,a series solution for the axisymmetric boundary value problem of the elastic circular cylinder with finite length is presented.In a numerical example,the cylinder subjected to the axisymmetric tra(?)s with various loaded regions is investigated and the distributions of the displacements and stresses are obtained.It is possible to solve the axisymmetric boundary value problems in the cylinderical coordinates for other scientific fields by use of the method presented in this paper.     

MESHLESS ANALYSIS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL ELASTICITY WITH SINGULAR HYBRID BOUNDARY NODE METHOD

The singular hybrid boundary node method (SHBNM) is proposed for solving three-dimensional problems in linear elasticity. The SHBNM represents a coupling between the hybrid displacement variational formulations and moving least squares (MLS) approximation. The main idea is to reduce the dimensionality of the former and keep the meshless advantage of the later. The rigid movement method was employed to solve the hyper-singular integrations. The 'boundary layer effect', which is the main drawback of the original Hybrid BNM, was overcome by an adaptive integration scheme. The source points of the fundamental solution were arranged directly on the boundary. Thus the uncertain scale factor taken in the regular hybrid boundary node method (RHBNM) can be avoided. Numerical examples for some 3D elastic problems were given to show the characteristics. The computation results obtained by the present method are in excellent agreement with the analytical solution. The parameters that influence the performance of this method were studied through the numerical examples.     

SEMI-ANALYTICAL AND SEMI-NUMERICAL METHOD FOR DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF FOUNDATION

A semi-analytical and semi-numerical method is proposed for the dynamic analysis of foundations. The Lamb's solution and the approximate formulae were used to establish the relation of the contact force and deflection between the foundation and soil. Therefore, the foundation can be separated from soil and analyzed by FEM as for the static cases. The plate can be treated as that the known forces are acting on the upper surface, and the contact pressure from soil can be represented as the deflection. So that only the plate needs to be divided into elements in the analysis. By this method, a series of vibration problems, including various shapes and rigidities of foundations, different excitation frequencies, were analyzed. Furthermore, it can be used for the embedded foundation. The numerical examples show that this method has simplicity, highly accurate and versatile. It is an effective method for the dynamic analysis of foundations.     

ON THE GENERAL EQUTIONS,DOUBLE HORMONIC EQUATION AND ELGEN-EQUATION IN THE PROBLEMS OF IDEAL PLASTICITY

In this paper the outcome of axisymmetric problems of ideal plasticity in paper[39],[19]and[37]is directly extended to the three-dimensional problems of ideal plasticity,andget at the general equation in it.The problem of plane strain for material of ideal rigid-plasticity can be solved by putting into double hormonic equation by famous Pauli matricesof quantum electrodynamics different from the method in paper[7].We lead to the eigenequation in the problems of ideal plasticity,taking partial tenson of stress-increment aseigenfunctions,and we are to transform from nonlinear equations into linear equation inthis paper.     

PARAMETRIC VARIATIONAL PRINCIPLE BASED ELASTIC-PLASTIC ANALYSIS OF HETEROGENEOUS MATERIALS WITH VORONOI FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

The Voronoi cell finite element method (VCFEM) is adopted to overcome the limitations of the classic displacement based finite element method in the numerical simulation of heterogeneous materials. The parametric variational principle and quadratic programming method are developed for elastic-plastic Voronoi finite element analysis of two-dimensional problems. Finite element formulations are derived and a standard quadratic programming model is deduced from the elastic-plastic equations. Influence of microscopic heterogeneities on the overall mechanical response of heterogeneous materials is studied in detail. The overall properties of heterogeneous materials depend mostly on the size, shape and distribution of the material phases of the microstructure. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the method developed.     

Incubation time fracture criterion for FEM simulations

The paper is discussing problems connected with embedment of the incubation time criterion for brittle fracture into finite element computational schemes.Incubation time fracture criterion is reviewed;practical questions of its numerical implementation are extensively discussed.Several examples of how the incubation time fracture criterion can be used as fracture condition in finite element computations are given.The examples include simulations of dynamic crack propagation and arrest,impact crater formation(i.e.fracture in initially intact media),spall fracture in plates,propagation of cracks in pipelines.Applicability of the approach to model initiation,development and arrest of dynamic fracture is claimed.     

Exact finite element method

In this paper,a new method,exact element method for constructing finite element,ispresented.It can be applied to solve nonpositive definite or positive definite partialdifferential equation with arbitrary variable coefficient under arbitrary boundarycondition.Its convergence is proved and its united formula for solving partial differentialequation is given.By the present method,a noncompatible element can be obtained and thecompatibility conditions between elements can be treated very easily.Comparing the exactelement method with the general finite element method with the same degrees of freedom,the high convergence rate of the high order derivatives of solution can be obtained.Threenumerical examples are given at the end of this paper,which indicate all results canconverge to exact solution and have higher numerical precision.     

DUAL RECIPROCITY HYBRID BOUNDARY NODE METHOD FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL ELASTICITY WITH BODY FORCE

Combining Dual Reciprocity Method （DRM） with Hybrid Boundary Node Method （HBNM）, the Dual Reciprocity Hybrid Boundary Node Method （DRHBNM） is developed for three-dimensional linear elasticity problems with body force. This method can be used to solve the elasticity problems with body force without domain integral, which is inevitable by HBNM. To demonstrate the versatility and the fast convergence of this method, some numerical examples of 3-D elasticity problems with body forces are examined. The computational results show that the present method is effective and can be widely applied in solving practical engineering problems.     

SOLUTION OF MULTIPLE CRACKS IN A FINITE PLATE OF AN ELASTIC ISOTROPIC MATERIAL WITH THE DISTRIBUTED DISLOCATION METHOD

This paper presents a numerical solution to model multiple cracks in a finite plate of an elastic isotropic material. Both the boundaries and the cracks are modeled by distributed dislocations. This method results in a system of singular integral equations with Cauchy kernels which can be solved by Gauss-Chebyshev quadrature method. Four examples are provided to assess the capability of this method.     

Construction of n-sided polygonal spline element using area coordinates and B-net method

In general, triangular and quadrilateral elements are commonly applied in two-dimensional finite element methods. If they are used to compute polycrystalline materials, the cost of computation can be quite significant. Polygonal elements can do well in simulation of the materials behavior and provide greater flexibility for the meshing of complex geometries. Hence, the study on the polygonal element is a very useful and necessary part in the finite element method. In this paper, an n-sided polygonal element based on quadratic spline interpolant, denoted by PS2 element, is presented using the triangular area coordinates and the B-net method. The PS2 element is conforming and can exactly model the quadratic field. It is valid for both convex and non-convex polygonal element, and insensitive to mesh distortions. In addition, no mapping or coordinate transformation is required and thus no Jacobian matrix and its inverse are evaluated. Some appropriate examples are employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed element.     

Precise integration method for solving singular perturbation problems

This paper presents a precise method for solving singularly perturbed boundary-value problems with the boundary layer at one end. The method divides the interval evenly and gives a set of algebraic equations in a matrix form by the precise integration relationship of each segment. Substituting the boundary conditions into the algebraic equations, the coefficient matrix can be transformed to the block tridiagonal matrix. Considering the nature of the problem, an efficient reduction method is given for solving singular perturbation problems. Since the precise integration relationship introduces no discrete error in the discrete process, the present method has high precision. Numerical examples show the validity of the present method.     

PERTURBATION FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR SOLVING GEOMETRICALLY NONLINEAR PROBLEMS OF AXISYMMETRICAL SHELL

In analysing the geometrically nonlinear problem of an axisymmetrical thin-walled shell, the paper combines the perturbation method with the finite element method by introducing the former into the variational equation to obtain a series of linear equations of different orders and then solving the equations with the latter. It is well-known that the finite element method can be used to deal with difficult problems as in the case of structures with complicated shapes or boundary conditions, and the perturbation method can change the nonlinear problems into linear ones. Evidently the combination of the two methods will give an efficient solution to many difficult nonlinear problems and clear away some obstacles resulted from using any of the two methods solely. The paper derives all the formulas concerning an axisym-metric shell of large deformation by means of the perturbation finite element method and gives two numerical examples,the results of which show good convergence characteristics.     

HIERARCHICAL STOCHASTIC FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

In this paper, the hierarchical approach is adopted for series representation of the stochastic nodal displacement vector using the hierarchical basis vectors, while the Karhunen-Lòeve series expansion technique is employed to discretize the random field into a set of random variables. A set of hierarchical basis vectors are defined to approximate the stochastic response quantities. The stochastic variational principle instead of the projection scheme is adopted to develop a hierarchical stochastic finite element method (HSFEM) for stochastic structures under stochastic loads. Simplified expressions of coefficients of governing equations and the first two statistical moments of the response quantities in the schemes of the HSFEM are developed, so that the time consumed for computation can be greatly reduced. Investigation in this paper suggests that the HSFEM yields a series of stiffness equations with similar dimensionality as the perturbation stochastic finite element method (PSFEM). Two examples are presented for numerical study on the performance of the HSFEM in elastic structural problems with stochastic Young’s Modulus and external loads. Results show that the proposed method can achieve higher accuracy than the PSFEM for cases with large coefficients of variation, and yield results agreeing well with those obtained by the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS).     

A novel virtual node method for polygonal elements

A novel polygonal finite element method （PFEM） based on partition of unity is proposed, termed the virtual node method （VNM）. To test the performance of the present method, numerical examples are given for solid mechanics problems. With a polynomial form, the VNM achieves better results than those of traditional PFEMs, including the Wachspress method and the mean value method in standard patch tests. Compared with the standard triangular FEM, the VNM can achieve better accuracy. With the ability to construct shape functions on polygonal elements, the VNM provides greater flexibility in mesh generation. Therefore, several fracture problems are studied to demonstrate the potential implementation. With the advantage of the VNM, the convenient refinement and remeshing strategy are applied.