自由单元法及其在结构分析中的应用

通过吸收有限元与无网格法的优点,提出了一种新的数值方法------自由单元法.此方法在离散方面,采用有限元法中的等参单元,表征几何形状和进行物理量的插值;在算法方面,采用单元配点技术,逐点产生系统方程.主要特点是,在每个配置点只需要一个和周围自由选择的节点而形成的一个独立的等参单元,因而不需要考虑物理量在单元之间的相互连接关系与导数连续性问题. 本文介绍强形式与弱形式两种自由单元法,前者直接由控制方程和边界条件直接产生系统方程,后者通过在自由单元上建立控制方程的加权余量式产生弱形式积分式,并通过像传统有限元法中的积分过程建立系统方程组.本文提出的方法是一种单元配点法,对于域内点为了获得较高的导数精度,需要采用至少具有一个内部点的等参单元,为此除了可使用各阶次的拉格朗日四边形单元外, 还 给出了七节点三角形等参单元,用于模拟较为复杂的几何形状问题.      

Nonlinear dynamics of hydrostatic internal gravity waves

Stratified hydrostatic fluids have linear internal gravity waves with different phase speeds and vertical profiles. Here a simplified set of partial differential equations (PDE) is derived to represent the nonlinear dynamics of waves with different vertical profiles. The equations are derived by projecting the full nonlinear equations onto the vertical modes of two gravity waves, and the resulting equations are thus referred to here as the two-mode shallow water equations (2MSWE). A key aspect of the nonlinearities of the 2MSWE is that they allow for interactions between a background wind shear and propagating waves. This is important in the tropical atmosphere where horizontally propagating gravity waves interact together with wind shear and have source terms due to convection. It is shown here that the 2MSWE have nonlinear internal bore solutions, and the behavior of the nonlinear waves is investigated for different background wind shears. When a background shear is included, there is an asymmetry between the east- and westward propagating waves. This could be an important effect for the large-scale organization of tropical convection, since the convection is often not isotropic but organized on large scales by waves. An idealized illustration of this asymmetry is given for a background shear from the westerly wind burst phase of the Madden–Julian oscillation; the potential for organized convection is increased to the west of the existing convection by the propagating nonlinear gravity waves, which agrees qualitatively with actual observations. The ideas here should be useful for other physical applications as well. Moreover, the 2MSWE have several interesting mathematical properties: they are a system of nonconservative PDE with a conserved energy, they are conditionally hyperbolic, and they are neither genuinely nonlinear nor linearly degenerate over all of state space. Theory and numerics are developed to illustrate these features, and these features are important in designing the numerical scheme. A numerical method is designed with simplicity and minimal computational cost as the main design principles. Numerical tests demonstrate that no catastrophic effects are introduced when hyperbolicity is lost, and the scheme can represent propagating discontinuities without introducing spurious oscillations.      

Self-consistent Eulerian rate type elasto-plasticity models based upon the logarithmic stress rate

The objective of this article is to suggest new Eulerian rate type constitutive models for isotropic finite deformation elastoplasticity with isotropic hardening, kinematic hardening and combined isotropic-kinematic hardening etc. The main novelty of the suggested models is the use of the newly discovered logarithmic stress rate and the incorporation of a simple, natural explicit integrable-exactly rate type formulation of general hyperelasticity. Each new model is thus subjected to no incompatibility of rate type formulation for elastic behaviour with the notion of elasticity, as encountered by any other existing Eulerian rate type model for elastoplasticity or hypoelasticity. As particular cases, new Prandtl-Reuss equations for elastic-perfect plasticity and elastoplasticity with isotropic hardening, kinematic hardening and combined isotropic-kinematic hardening, respectively, are presented for computational and practical purposes. Of them, the equations for kinematic hardening and combined isotropic–kinematic hardening are, respectively, reduced to three uncoupled equations with respect to the spherical stress component, the shifted stress and the back-stress. The effects of finite rotation on the current strain and stress and hardening behaviour are indicated in a clear and direct manner. As illustrations, finite simple shear responses for the proposed models are studied by means of numerical integration. Further, it is proved that, among all possible (infinitely many) objective Eulerian rate type models, the proposed models are not only the first, but unique, self-consistent models of their kinds, in the sense that the rate type equation used to represent elastic behaviour is exactly integrable to really deliver an elastic relation. ©     

层合圆柱三维温度场分析的半解析-精细积分法

针对圆柱体的三维温度场分析,提出了一种高效的半解析-精细积分法。将温度场展开为环向坐标的Fourier级数,并对径向坐标进行差分离散,从而把三维热传导方程简化为一系列二阶常微分方程;将这些二阶常微分方程转化为哈密顿体系下的一阶状态方程,并利用两点边值问题的精细积分法求解。由于该方法仅对径向坐标进行差分离散,故相对于传统的数值方法离散规模大幅度减少,不仅提高了计算效率、降低了存贮量,而且缓解了代数方程的病态问题。此外,针对Fourier半解析解,根据热平衡原理推导出了两种材料衔接面的半解析差分方程,从而为求解复合材料层合柱问题打下了基础。算例结果表明,即使对于细长比高达400的圆柱杆件,此方法仍然可以给出精度较高的解答。     

A low-cost optimization framework to solve muscle redundancy problem

Prediction of muscle activations based on optimization procedures mostly leads to a prohibitive computational effort. To overcome this problem, an optimization framework by reformulation of the so-called method of extended inverse dynamics (EID) was developed. A planar, seven-segment model with sixteen muscle groups was used to represent human neuromusculoskeletal dynamics. The muscle activations were estimated based on two methods: EID, which treats the system dynamics (compatibility between muscular and skeletal torques), as an equality constraint, and the proposed method, which employs unconstrained system dynamics of EID (USDEID). The proposed method is based on the idea that the EID equality constraint, which is difficult to satisfy, can be eliminated by reformulation of the governing equations and optimization variables, which not only relaxes the optimization problem and leads to less optimization parameters, but also guarantees the full compatibility of the system dynamics. The comparison of simulation results of optimal muscle activations against experimental data showed a reasonable agreement for both methods during half of a gait cycle. Optimization results showed that USDEID is not only more accurate than EID in terms of the compatibility between the skeletal and muscular system dynamics, but also approximately eight times faster for ten random initial values. USDEID may be used to predict muscle activations, when the computational cost becomes prohibitive.     

Numerical simulation of axisymmetric turbulent flow in combustors and diffusers

Numerical studies of turbulent flow in an axisymmetric 45° expansion combustor and bifurcated diffuser are presented. The Navier-Stokes equations incorporating a k–? model were solved in a non-orthogonal curvillinear co-ordinate system. A zonal grid method, wherein the flow field was divided into several subsections, was developed. This approach permitted different computational schemes to be used in the various zones. In addition, grid generation was made a more simple task. However, treatment of the zonal boundaries required special handling. Boundary overlap and interpolating techniques were used and an adjustment of the flow variables was required to assure conservation of mass flux. Three finite differencing methods—hybrid, quadratic upwind and skew upwind—were used to represent the convection terms. Results were compared with existing experimental data. In general, good agreement between predicted and measured values was obtained.     

PARALLEL FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF HIGH FREQUENCY VIBRATIONS OF QUARTZ CRYSTAL RESONATORS ON LINUX CLUSTER

Quartz crystal resonators are typical piezoelectric acoustic wave devices for frequency control applications with mechanical vibration frequency at the radio-frequency （RF） range. Precise analyses of the vibration and deformation are generally required in the resonator design and improvement process. The considerations include the presence of electrodes, mountings, bias fields such as temperature, initial stresses, and acceleration. Naturally, the finite element method is the only effective tool for such a coupled problem with multi-physics nature. The main challenge is the extremely large size of resulted linear equations. For this reason, we have been employing the Mindlin plate equations to reduce the computational difficulty. In addition, we have to utilize the parallel computing techniques on Linux clusters, which are widely available for academic and industrial applications nowadays, to improve the computing efficiency. The general principle of our research is to use open source software components and public domain technology to reduce cost for developers and users on a Linux cluster. We start with a mesh generator specifically for quartz crystal resonators of rectangular and circular types, and the Mindlin plate equations are implemented for the finite element analysis. Computing techniques like parallel processing, sparse matrix handling, and the latest eigenvalue extraction package are integrated into the program. It is clear from our computation that the combination of these algorithms and methods on a cluster can meet the memory requirement and reduce computing time significantly.     

On the use of linear graph theory in multibody system dynamics

Multibody dynamics involves the generation and solution of the equations of motion for a system of connected material bodies. The subject of this paper is the use of graph-theoretical methods to represent multibody system topologies and to formulate the desired set of motion equations; a discussion of the methods available for solving these differential-algebraic equations is beyond the scope of this work. After a brief introduction to the topic, a review of linear graphs and their associated topological arrays is presented, followed in turn by the use of these matrices in generating various graph-theoretic equations. The appearance of linear graph theory in a number of existing multibody formulations is then discussed, distinguishing between approaches that use absolute (Cartesian) coordinates and those that employ relative (joint) coordinates. These formulations are then contrasted with formal graph-theoretic approaches, in which both the kinematic and dynamic equations are automatically generated from a single linear graph representation of the system. The paper concludes with a summary of results and suggestions for further research on the graph-theoretical modelling of mechanical systems.     

AN IMPROVED NAVIER–STOKES PROCEDURE FOR ANALYSIS OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL AEROFOILS IN LAMINAR AND TURBULENT FLOWS

An accurate and robust Navier–Stokes procedure to predict the complex flow about an aerofoil has been developed. Much improvement over existing methods is achieved in various aspects of the solution procedure. The computational grid generated by conformal mapping, which is not only orthogonal but aligned with the inviscid streamlines, keeps the equations simple and minimizes the error due to false diffusion. Formal second-order accuracy is ensured by employing the QUICK scheme for the convective derivatives in the full Navier–Stokes and turbulence transport equations. To treat the separated region properly and to better resolve the flow field in the wake, the two-layer k–ε turbulence model is incorporated. The onset of transition is triggered in a unique fashion to warrant the smooth transition to turbulent flow. Sample calculations for various aerofoil sections show that the prediction is improved substantially over those by existing methods. The details of the flow extending to the wake, such as the surface pressure distribution, C_Lmax, the velocity fields and the Reynolds stress profiles, are found to be in excellent agreement with the data. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

物理信息依赖核函数配点法的研究进展

在过去几十年里, 尽管有限元等传统计算方法已被成功用于众多科学与工程领域, 但是其在数值模拟无限域波传播、大尺寸比结构、工程反演和移动边界问题时仍面临计算量大、计算效率低、网格生成困难等计算难题. 本文介绍一类基于物理信息依赖核函数的无网格配点法及其在上述难点问题中的应用. 物理信息依赖核函数配点法的关键在于构建能反映问题微分控制方程物理信息的基函数. 基于这些物理信息依赖核函数, 该方法无需/仅需少量配点对所求微分控制方程进行离散, 即可有效提高计算效率. 本文首先介绍满足常见齐次微分方程的基本解、调和函数、径向Trefftz函数以及T完备函数等典型物理信息依赖核函数. 接着依次介绍非齐次、非均质、非稳态以及隐式微分方程构造物理信息依赖核函数的方法. 随后, 根据所求问题特点, 选用全域配点或局部配点技术, 建立相应的物理信息依赖核函数配点法. 最后, 通过几个典型算例验证所提物理信息依赖核函数配点法的有效性.      

Free convection from a vertical plate with nonuniform surface heat flux and embedded in a porous medium

An analysis is presented for the calculation of heat transfer due to free convective flow along a vertical plate embedded in a porous medium with an arbitrarily varying surface heat flux. By applying the appropriate coordinate transformations and the Merk series, the governing energy equation is expressed as a set of ordinary differential equations. Numerical solutions are presented for these equations which represent universal functions and several computational examples are provided.     

Clustering solver for displacement-based numerical homogenization

Based on strain-clustering via k-means, we decompose computational domain into clusters of possibly disjoint cells. Assuming cells in each cluster take the same strain, we reconstruct displacement field. We further propose a new way to condensate the governing equations of displacement-based finite element method to reduce the complexity while maintain the accuracy. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the efficiency of the clustering solver. Numerical convergence studies are performed for the examples. Avoiding complexities which is common in existing clustering analysis methods, the proposed clustering solver is easy to implement, particularly for numerical homogenization using commercial softwares.     

Flow of an Oldroyd-fluid in a contracting channel with a moving boundary

The industrial process of coating flat surfaces with polymeric substances is numerically simulated by solving the full equations of motion for a flow through a contraction with a moving boundary. The four-constant Oldroyd constitutive equation is used to represent the viscoelastic fluid. Some adjustments to existing finite-difference methods are made in such a way as to avoid singular iterative matrices during the solution process. Results are presented for flow situations with Weissenberg numbers up to about three times larger than any previously published results for this problem.     

A structured but non‐uniform Cartesian grid‐based model for the shallow water equations

In large‐scale shallow flow simulations, local high‐resolution predictions are often required in order to reduce the computational cost without losing the accuracy of the solution. This is normally achieved by solving the governing equations on grids refined only to those areas of interest. Grids with varying resolution can be generated by different approaches, e.g. nesting methods, patching algorithms and adaptive unstructured or quadtree gridding techniques. This work presents a new structured but non‐uniform Cartesian grid system as an alternative to the existing approaches to provide local high‐resolution mesh. On generating a structured but non‐uniform Cartesian grid, the whole computational domain is first discretized using a coarse background grid. Local refinement is then achieved by directly allocating a specific subdivision level to each background grid cell. The neighbour information is specified by simple mathematical relationships and no explicit storage is needed. Hence, the structured property of the uniform grid is maintained. After employing some simple interpolation formulae, the governing shallow water equations are solved using a second‐order finite volume Godunov‐type scheme in a similar way as that on a uniform grid. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Global convergence of inexact Newton methods for transonic flow

In computational fluid dynamics, non-linear differential equations are essential to represent important effects such as shock waves in transonic flow. Discretized versions of these non-linear equations are solved using iterative methods. In this paper an inexact Newton method using the GMRES algorithm of Saad and Schultz is examined in the context of the full potential equation of aerodynamics. In this setting, reliable and efficient convergence of Newton methods is difficult to achieve. A poor initial solution guess often leads to divergence or very slow convergence. This paper examines several possible solutions to these problems, including a standard local damping strategy for Newton's method and two continuation methods, one of which utilizes interpolation from a coarse grid solution to obtain the initial guess on a finer grid. It is shown that the continuation methods can be used to augment the local damping strategy to achieve convergence for difficult transonic flow problems. These include simple wings with shock waves as well as problems involving engine power effects. These latter cases are modelled using the assumption that each exhaust plume is isentropic but has a different total pressure and/or temperature than the freestream.     

The application of the finite element method to solving Biot's consolidation equation

Biot's theory of consolidation of saturated soil, regards the consolidation process as a coupling problem between stress of elastic body and flow of fluid existing in pores^[1]. It can more precisely reflect the mechanism of consolidation than Terzhigi's theory^[2]. In this article, we obtain the general Biot's finite element equations of consolidation with classical variational principles. The equations have clear physical meaning and have been applied to analysing the consolidation of Bajiazui earth dam. The computational results are in accord with engineering practice.     

Defining and optimizing algorithms for neighbouring particle identification in SPH fluid simulations

Lagrangian particle methods such as smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) are very demanding in terms of computing time for large domains. Since the numerical integration of the governing equations is only carried out for each particle on a restricted number of neighbouring ones located inside a cut‐off radius r_c, a substantial part of the computational burden depends on the actual search procedure; it is therefore vital that efficient methods are adopted for such a search. The cut‐off radius is indeed much lower than the typical domain's size; hence, the number of neighbouring particles is only a little fraction of the total number. Straightforward determination of which particles are inside the interaction range requires the computation of all pair‐wise distances, a procedure whose computational time would be unpractical or totally impossible for large problems. Two main strategies have been developed in the past in order to reduce the unnecessary computation of distances: the first based on dynamically storing each particle's neighbourhood list (Verlet list) and the second based on a framework of fixed cells. The paper presents the results of a numerical sensitivity study on the efficiency of the two procedures as a function of such parameters as the Verlet size and the cell dimensions. An insight is given into the relative computational burden; a discussion of the relative merits of the different approaches is also given and some suggestions are provided on the computational and data structure of the neighbourhood search part of SPH codes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mesh update and projection techniques for 3D aerodynamic simulations

The target is to develop computational techniques for studying aerodynamic interactions between multiple objects with emphasis on studying the fluid mechanics and dynamics of an object exiting and separating from an aircraft. In these cases, the computational challenge is to predict the dynamic behaviour and path of the object, so that the separation process is safe and effective. This is a very complex problem because it has an unsteady, three-dimensional nature and requires the solution of complex equations that govern the fluid dynamics of the object and the aircraft together, with their relative positions changing in time. The gravitational and aerodynamic forces acting on the object determine its dynamics and path. The computational tools developed are based on the simultaneous solution of the time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations governing the airflow around the aircraft and the separating object, as well as the equations governing the motion of that object. These computational methods must include suitable mesh update techniques. In the research presented, focus is given to development of mesh update methods to increase the numerical accuracy and efficiency of the computations. These methods range from update tactics, reducing distortion and methods reducing the error introduced through projection.