On the forced response of waveguides using the wave and finite element method

The forced response of waveguides subjected to time harmonic loading is treated. The approach starts with the wave and finite element (WFE) method where a segment of the waveguide is modeled using traditional finite element methods. The mass and stiffness matrices of the segment are used to formulate an eigenvalue problem whose solution yields the wave properties of the waveguide. The WFE formulation is used to obtain the response of the waveguide to a convected harmonic pressure (CHP). Since the Fourier transform of the response to a general excitation is a linear combination of the responses to CHPs, the response to a general excitation can be obtained via an inverse Fourier transform process. This is evaluated analytically using contour integration and the residue theorem. Hence, the approach presented herein enables the response of a waveguide to general loading to be found by: (a) modeling a segment of the waveguide using finite element methods and post-processing it to obtain the wave characteristics, (b) using Fourier transform and contour integration to obtain the wave amplitudes and (c) using the wave amplitudes to find the response at any point in the waveguide. Numerical examples are presented.     

On accuracy of the wave finite element predictions of wavenumbers and power flow: A benchmark problem

This rapid communication is concerned with justification of the ‘rule of thumb’, which is well known to the community of users of the finite element (FE) method in dynamics, for the accuracy assessment of the wave finite element (WFE) method. An explicit formula linking the size of a window in the dispersion diagram, where the WFE method is trustworthy, with the coarseness of a FE mesh employed is derived. It is obtained by the comparison of the exact Pochhammer-Chree solution for an elastic rod having the circular cross-section with its WFE approximations. It is shown that the WFE power flow predictions are also valid within this window.     

Calculating the forced response of cylinders and cylindrical shells using the wave and finite element method

The dynamic response of circular cylinders can be obtained analytically in very few (and simple) cases. For complicated (thick or anisotropic) circular cylinders, researchers often resort to the finite element (FE) method. This can lead to large models, especially at higher frequencies, which translates into high computational costs and memory requirements. In this paper, the response of axially homogenous circular cylinders (that can be arbitrarily complex through the thickness) is obtained using the wave and finite element (WFE) method. Here, the homogeneity of the cylinder around the circumference and along the axis are exploited to post-process the FE model of a small rectangular segment of the cylinder using periodic structure theory and obtain the wave characteristics of the cylinder. The full power of FE methods can be utilised to obtain the FE model of the small segment. Then, the forced response of the cylinder is posed as an inverse Fourier transform. However, since there are an integer number of wavelengths around the circumference of a closed circular cylinder, one of the integrals in the inverse Fourier transform becomes a simple summation, whereas the other can be resolved analytically using contour integration and the residue theorem. The result is a computationally efficient technique for obtaining the response to time harmonic, arbitrarily distributed loads of axially homogenous, circular cylinders with arbitrary complexity across the thickness.     

Vibration modelling of helical springs with non-uniform ends

Helical springs constitute an integral part of many mechanical systems. Usually, a helical spring is modelled as a massless, frequency independent stiffness element. For a typical suspension spring, these assumptions are only valid in the quasi-static case or at low frequencies. At higher frequencies, the influence of the internal resonances of the spring grows and thus a detailed model is required. In some cases, such as when the spring is uniform, analytical models can be developed. However, in typical springs, only the central turns are uniform; the ends are often not (for example, having a varying helix angle or cross-section). Thus, obtaining analytical models in this case can be very difficult if at all possible. In this paper, the modelling of such non-uniform springs are considered. The uniform (central) part of helical springs is modelled using the wave and finite element (WFE) method since a helical spring can be regarded as a curved waveguide. The WFE model is obtained by post-processing the finite element (FE) model of a single straight or curved beam element using periodic structure theory. This yields the wave characteristics which can be used to find the dynamic stiffness matrix of the central turns of the spring. As for the non-uniform ends, they are modelled using the standard finite element (FE) method. The dynamic stiffness matrices of the ends and the central turns can be assembled as in standard FE yielding a FE/WFE model whose size is much smaller than a full FE model of the spring. This can be used to predict the stiffness of the spring and the force transmissibility. Numerical examples are presented.     

Analysis of wave propagation in cylindrical pipes with local inhomogeneities

In this paper, we present a numerical approach to study the guided elastic wave propagation in cylindrical pipes with local inhomogeneities. A hybrid wave finite element (WFE) and finite element (FE) technique is introduced to investigate the dispersion and wave scattering in pipes by taking full advantage of the existing FE codes. Dynamic reduction technique is employed to improve the computational efficiency, which is particularly suitable for the pipes with standard local features. Numerical examples indicate that the proposed technique provides an effective way to calculate the dispersion relationship and the scattered field. Both the axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric wave scattering problems are considered.     

Wave mode diffusion and propagation in structural wave guide under Varying Temperature

A numerical approach is presented to study the guided wave propagation through periodic specimen with thermal dependence of material properties. There is a great interest in extending the skills of the wave finite element (WFE) method to figure out the variations in the wave propagation properties due to temperature fluctuations. Thermal effects on the dispersion curves thereby on group velocity are discussed. Comparisons between numerical results and analytical developments for various temperatures are given to prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach to predict the sensitivity of guided wave propagation characteristics in presence of temperature variations.     

Calculating the forced response of two-dimensional homogeneous media using the wave and finite element method

The forced response of two-dimensional, infinite, homogenous media subjected to time harmonic loading is treated. The approach starts with the wave and the finite element (WFE) method where a small segment of a homogeneous medium is modelled using commercial or in-house finite element (FE) packages. The approach is equally applicable to periodic structures with a periodic cell being modelled. This relatively small model is then used, along with periodicity conditions, to formulate an eigenvalue problem whose solution yields the wave characteristics of the whole medium. The eigenvalue problem involves the excitation frequency and the wavenumbers (or propagation constants) in the two directions. The wave characteristics of the medium are then used to obtain the response of the medium to a convected harmonic pressure (CHP). Since the Fourier transform of a general two-dimensional excitation is a linear combination of CHPs, the response to a general excitation is a linear combination of the responses to CHPs. Thus, the response of a two-dimensional medium to a general excitation can be obtained by evaluating an inverse Fourier transform. This is a double integral, one of which is evaluated analytically using contour integration and the residue theorem. The other integral can be evaluated numerically. Hence, the approach presented herein enables the response of an infinite two-dimensional or periodic medium to an arbitrary load to be computed via (a) modelling a small segment of the medium using standard FE methods and post-processing its model to obtain the wave characteristics, (b) formulating the Fourier transform of the response to a general loading, and (c) computing the inverse of the Fourier transform semi-analytically via contour integration and the residue theorem, followed by a numerical integration to find the response at any point in the medium. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the approach.     

Wave interpretation of numerical results for the vibration in thin conical shells

The dynamic behaviour of thin conical shells can be analysed using a number of numerical methods. Although the overall vibration response of shells has been thoroughly studied using such methods, their physical insight is limited. The purpose of this paper is to interpret some of these numerical results in terms of waves, using the wave finite element, WFE, method. The forced response of a thin conical shell at different frequencies is first calculated using the dynamic stiffness matrix method. Then, a wave finite element analysis is used to calculate the wave properties of the shell, in terms of wave type and wavenumber, as a function of position along it. By decomposing the overall results from the dynamic stiffness matrix analysis, the responses of the shell can then be interpreted in terms of wave propagation. A simplified theoretical analysis of the waves in the thin conical shell is also presented in terms of the spatially-varying ring frequency, which provides a straightforward interpretation of the wave approach. The WFE method provides a way to study the types of wave that travel in thin conical shell structures and to decompose the response of the numerical models into the components due to each of these waves. In this way the insight provided by the wave approach allows us to analyse the significance of different waves in the overall response and study how they interact, in particular illustrating the conversion of one wave type into another along the length of the conical shell.     

Guided wave dispersion curves for a bar with an arbitrary cross-section,a rod and rail example

Theoretical and experimental issues of acquiring dispersion curves for bars of arbitrary cross-section are discussed. Since a guided wave can propagate over long distances in a structure, guided waves have great potential for being applied to the rapid non-destructive evaluation of large structures such as rails in the railroad industry. Such fundamental data as phase velocity, group velocity, and wave structure for each guided wave mode is presented for structures with complicated cross-sectional geometries as rail. Phase velocity and group velocity dispersion curves are obtained for bars with an arbitrary cross-section using a semi-analytical finite element method. Since a large number of propagating modes with close phase velocities exist, dispersion curves consisting of only dominant modes are obtained by calculating the displacement at a received point for each mode. These theoretical dispersion curves agree in characteristic parts with the experimental dispersion curves obtained by a two-dimensional Fourier transform technique.     

Dynamic analysis of circular and sector thick,layered plates

The finite element method is extended to the free vibration analysis of laminated thick plates with curved boundaries. Two elements are developed on the basis of Mindlin's thick plate theory in which the effects of thickness-shear deformation and rotary inertia are included. Both elements are derived in polar co-ordinates and can be joined together to handle annular as well as circular laminated anisotropic plate problems. Since axisymmetry has not been assumed, variations in material properties in the tangential direction can be dealt with. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the influence of geometrical shape as well as that of thickness-shear deformation on the free vibrations of both homogeneous and layered plates. Comparisons between the numerical results obtained and those presented by other investigators confirm the accuracy of the new elements. The elements also can be used in the analysis of rectangular plates by assuming very large radii and very small subtended angle values.     

Spectral finite element based on an efficient layerwise theory for wave propagation analysis of composite and sandwich beams

In this paper, we present a spectral finite element model (SFEM) using an efficient and accurate layerwise (zigzag) theory, which is applicable for wave propagation analysis of highly inhomogeneous laminated composite and sandwich beams. The theory assumes a layerwise linear variation superimposed with a global third-order variation across the thickness for the axial displacement. The conditions of zero transverse shear stress at the top and bottom and its continuity at the layer interfaces are subsequently enforced to make the number of primary unknowns independent of the number of layers, thereby making the theory as efficient as the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT). The spectral element developed is validated by comparing the present results with those available in the literature. A comparison of the natural frequencies of simply supported composite and sandwich beams obtained by the present spectral element with the exact two-dimensional elasticity and FSDT solutions reveals that the FSDT yields highly inaccurate results for the inhomogeneous sandwich beams and thick composite beams, whereas the present element based on the zigzag theory agrees very well with the exact elasticity solution for both thick and thin, composite and sandwich beams. A significant deviation in the dispersion relations obtained using the accurate zigzag theory and the FSDT is also observed for composite beams at high frequencies. It is shown that the pure shear rotation mode remains always evanescent, contrary to what has been reported earlier. The SFEM is subsequently used to study wavenumber dispersion, free vibration and wave propagation time history in soft-core sandwich beams with composite faces for the first time in the literature.     

A finite element model for laser-induced leaky waves at fluid–solid interfaces

The finite element method is firstly used to simulate the laser-induced leaky waves at fluid–solid interfaces. Corresponding models and arithmetic are developed, in that the fluid–solid interactions are described by a coupling matrix and the infinite boundary of fluid domain is modeled by acoustic absorption elements. Typical calculations are executed for air–aluminum plane and cylindrical interfaces. The results are in very good agreements with the experimental signals in available literatures, which verify the correctness of our finite element model for simulating laser-induced leaky wave at fluid–solid interfaces. And some elementary conclusions are obtained for the laser induced leaky waves.     

Sound attenuation of a periodic array of micro-perforated tube mufflers

The wave propagation in a periodic array of micro-perforated tube mufflers is investigated theoretically, numerically and experimentally. Because of the high acoustic resistance and low mass reactance due to the sub-millimeter perforation, the micro-perforated muffler can provide considerable sound attenuation of duct noise. Multiple mufflers are often used to enhance attenuation performance. When mufflers are distributed periodically in a duct, the periodic structure produces special dispersion characteristics in the overall sound transmission loss. The Bloch wave theory and the transfer matrix method are used to study the wave propagation in periodic micro-perforated tube mufflers and the dispersion characteristics of periodic micro-perforated mufflers are examined. The results predicted by the theory are compared with finite element method simulation and experimental results. The results indicate that the periodic structure can influence the performance of micro-perforated mufflers. With different periodic distances, the combination of the periodic structure and the micro-perforated tube muffler can contribute to the control of lower frequency noise with a broader frequency range or improvement of the peak transmission loss around the resonant frequency.     

OPTIMIZATION OF SIMPLIFIED MODELS MESHED WITH FINITE TRIANGULAR PLATE ELEMENTS

Designers often want to analyze more and more sophisticated structures, thus leading to very large finite element models (typically 10 00 000 degrees of freedom for a body car, for example). These models being too costly for the early stages of design and optimization can be reduced by a substructure analysis or a mesh simplification of the components. A methodology is proposed in this paper for simplifying finite triangular plate element models leading to a dramatic reduction in the number of degrees of freedom while preserving the dynamical properties of the initial system. In particular, the proposed method is developed for models composed of the plate element STIFF63 generated by the software ANSYS. The principle consists in determining the parameters (thickness, Young's modulus, density) of the triangular elements of a coarse model which replaces a large set of elements of the refined model. The simplified mesh must satisfy one of two criteria. The first requires that the mass and stiffness matrices of the simplified model be as close as possible to the Guyan condensed matrices of the refined model on the reduced node set, whilst the second requires that the dynamical properties of the global structure be preserved. The application of these approaches is illustrated on two test structures using the gradient method to solve the resulting optimization problem. The second approach is shown to give the best results. Typically, the size of the models can be reduced by a factor of 20 whilst preserving the dynamical properties of the structure at low frequencies.     

Wave propagation in carbon nanotube intramolecular junctions: finite element calculations

The dispersion of longitudinal and transverse waves in (n,0)–(2n,0) intramolecular junctions (IMJs) are investigated using an atomistic finite element method (FEM). The transient responses of IMJs with different connection types subjected to harmonic incident wave were modelled using three-dimensional elastic beams of carbon bonds and point masses. The linkage between the force-field constants of molecular mechanics and input parameters of beam and mass elements was established through the molecular structural mechanics approach. The wave dispersion simulated by FEM shows good agreement with that of the non-local elastic model in a wide frequency range up to the terahertz region. It is shown that both the microstructure of conical part (connection part) and the coupling of longitudinal vibration and transverse vibration brought by the conicity play important roles in the dispersion of longitudinal and transverse wave in a single-walled IMJ. The amplitude decay of longitudinal wave depended on the distance propagating; the wavelength and the structure in connection part are examined. The results show that the dispersion of the decay of the wave amplitude in IMJ with less pentagon–heptagon defects has a better agreement with analytical results of macroscopic conical shell.     

A numerical approach for the computation of dispersion relations for plate structures using the Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method

In this paper, a method is presented for the numerical computation of dispersion properties and mode shapes of guided waves in plate structures. The formulation is based on the Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method. The through-thickness direction of the plate is discretized in the finite element sense, while the direction of propagation is described analytically. This leads to a standard eigenvalue problem for the calculation of wave numbers. The proposed method is not limited to homogeneous plates. Multi-layered composites as well as structures with continuously varying material parameters in the direction of thickness can be modeled without essential changes in the formulation. Higher-order elements have been employed for the finite element discretization, leading to excellent convergence for complex structures. It is shown by numerical examples that this method provides highly accurate results with a small number of nodes while avoiding numerical problems and instabilities.     

新型光学聚合物——Topas环烯烃共聚物微结构光纤的设计及特性分析

以新型光学聚合物Topas 环烯烃共聚物（折射率为1.53）为基质,设计了四种微结构聚合物光纤.应用有限元方法对各种光纤在波长0.5—2.0 μm范围内的基模有效折射率、模场面积和数值孔径进行了计算.研究了结构参数对模场分布、单模特性和色散特性的影响.得出了具有极大/小模场面积、无限单模传输和平坦近零色散的光纤结构参数.与石英、聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯基质的微结构光纤相比,该光纤具有更大的数值孔径和较宽的平坦近零色散范围.为光纤的制备提供了理论指导. 关键词： 微结构聚合物光纤 有限元方法 传输特性 Topas 环烯烃共聚物     

Wave motion analysis in arch structures via wavelet finite element method

The application of B-spline wavelet on interval (BSWI) finite element method for wave motion analysis in arch structures is presented in this paper. Instead of traditional polynomial interpolation, scaling functions at certain scales have been adopted to form the shape functions and construct wavelet-based elements. Different from other wavelet numerical methods adding wavelets directly, the element displacement field represented by the coefficients of wavelets expansions is transformed from wavelet space to physical space via the corresponding transformation matrix. The energy functional of the arch is obtained by the generalized shell theory, and the finite element model for wave motion analysis is constructed according to Hamilton's principle and the central difference method in time domain. Taking the practical application into account, damaged arch waveguides are also investigated. Proper analysis of the responses from structure damages allows one to indicate the location very precisely. This paper mainly focuses on the crack in structures. Based on Castigliano's theorem and the Pairs equation, the local flexibility of crack is formulated for BSWI element. Numerical experiments are performed to study the effect of wave propagations in arch waveguides, that is, frequency dispersion and mode spilt in the arch. The responses of the arch with cracks are simulated under the broad-band, narrow-band and chirp excitations. In order to estimate the spatial, time and frequency concentrations of responses, the reciprocal length, time-frequency transform and correlation coefficient are introduced in this investigation.     

Flutter analysis of periodically supported curved panels

This paper presents the one-dimensional axial wave propagation in an infinitely long periodically supported cylindrically curved panel subjected to supersonic airflow. The aerodynamic forces are based on piston theory. For this study the structure is considered as an assemblage of a number of identical cylindrically curved panels each of which will be referred to as a periodic element. A high precision triangular finite element with certain wave boundary conditions (Floquet's principle) is introduced in flutter problems of the proposed structure for the first time. The airflow is assumed in the direction of the straight edges of the panel. It is assumed that the deflection function accounts for a phase lag term only and does not consider any attenuation terms. Aerodynamic damping has been neglected for brevity. For a given geometry a three-dimensional plot related to the phase constant, flutter frequency and pressure parameter has been obtained corresponding to the optimum periodic angle. The “flutter line”(line of instability) has been identified. The limiting values of flutter frequencies and pressure parameters of the “flutter line” are compared with the critical flutter condition of a single curved panel, using two methods—an exact approach and a finite element method. The critical flutter results for multi-supported (1-span, 2-span and 3-span) curved panels are obtained using the band discretization principle.     

A modified axisymmetric finite element for the 3-D vibration analysis of piezoelectric laminated circular and annular plates

A finite element is presented to analyze the three-dimensional (3-D) vibration of piezoelectric coupled circular and annular plates. The proposed finite element is a modification of a conventional axisymmetric finite element and is capable of conducting both axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric vibration analysis of circular and annular laminated plates, with piezoelectric layers therein. The present formulation, a two-dimensional model itself, can investigate 3-D vibration of those plates for a preselected number of nodal diameters, and is therefore more economical than the conventional 3-D finite element analysis, yet still has almost the same accuracy and versatility as the 3-D analysis. In cases such as analysis of stators of traveling wave ultrasonic motors where only vibration modes with particular numbers of nodal diameters are of interest, the proposed approach is very convenient and useful.