A Piezoelectric Finite Shell Element for the Geometrically Nonlinear Analysis of Sensors

A geometrically nonlinear finite element formulation to analyze piezoelectric shell structures is presented. The formulation is based on the mixed field variational functional of Hu–Washizu. Within this variational principle the independent fields are displacements, electric potential, strains, electric field, stresses and dielectric displacements. The mixed formulation allows an interpolation of the strains and the electric field through the shell thickness, which is an essential advantage when using a three dimensional material law. It is remarked that no simplification regarding the constitutive relation is assumed. The normal zero stress condition and the normal zero dielectric displacement condition are enforced by the independent resultant stress and resultant dielectric displacement fields. The shell structure is modeled by a reference surface with a four node element. Each node possesses six mechanical degrees of freedom, three displacements and three rotations, and one electrical degree of freedom, which is the difference of the electric potential through the shell thickness. The developed mixed hybrid shell element fulfills the in–plane, bending and shear patch tests, which have been adopted for coupled field problems. A numerical investigation of a smart antenna demonstrates the applicability of the piezoelectric shell element under the consideration of geometrical nonlinearity. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A Multiscale Approach for the Modelling of Failure

In the present contribution a multi–scale – or rather two–scale – framework for the modelling of propagating discontinuities is introduced. The method is based on the Variational Multiscale Method. The displacement field is additively decomposed into a coarse– and a fine–scale part. This kinematic assumption implies a separation of the weak form in two equations, corresponding to the coarse–scale and the fine–scale problem. Both scales are discretized by means of finite elements. On the fine–scale, due to a much finer discretization, a heteregeneous mesostructure and propagating mesocracks can be considered. The propagation of the mesocracks is simulated independently of the underlying finite element mesh by discontinuous elements. The performance of the multi–scale approach is shown by a numerical example. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

On the variationally consistent modeling of material failure

Material failure associated with cracks or shear bands is frequently analyzed by utilizing so-called cohesive models. Such models are based on traction-separation laws. Within such approaches, the stress vector of the considered crack or shear band is related to its conjugate variable being the respective displacement jump (such as the material separation or the crack opening). In the present work, a framework suitable for the analysis of shear bands is discussed. All models belonging to that framework are consistently derived from thermodynamical principles. Hence, the second law of thermodynamics is automatically fulfilled. Furthermore, a variational principle strongly relying on the postulate of maximum dissipation is elaborated leading finally to a variationally consistent implementation. More precisely, all state variables, together with the unknown deformation mapping, follow naturally from minimizing an incrementally defined potential within the presented algorithmic formulation. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Locally Embedded Strong Discontinuities at finite strains – Numerical Implementation

In this paper, a geometrically nonlinear finite element approximation for highly localized deformation in structures undergoing material failure in the form of strain softening, is developed. The basis for its numerical implementation in this class of problems is defined through the elaboration of Strong Discontinuity Approach-fundamentals. Proposed numerical model uses an Enhanced Assumed Strain Concept for the additive decomposition of the displacement gradient into a conforming and an enhanced part. The discontinuous component of the displacement field which is associated with the failure in the modeled structure is isolated in the enhanced part of the deformation gradient. In contrast to previous works, this part of the deformation mapping is condensed out at the material level, without the application of static condensation technique. The resulting set of constitutive equations is formally identical to that of standard plasticity and therefore, can be solved using the return-mapping algorithm. No assumptions regarding the interface law connecting the displacement discontinuity with the conjugate traction vector are made. As a result, the proposed numerical solution can be applied to a broad range of different mechanical problems including mode-I fracture in brittle materials or the analysis of shear bands. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Exploitation of Configurational Forces in Extended Nonlocal Continua with Microstructure

We investigate aspects of the application of configurational forces in extended nonlocal continua with microstructure. Focussing on multifield approaches to gradient–type inelastic solids, the coupled problem is governed by the macroscopic deformation field, while nonlocal inelastic effects on the microstructure are described by a family of order parameter fields. The dual macro– and micro–field equations are derived within an incremental variational framework. Using an incremental principle, due to the variation with respect to the material position, an additional balance in the material space appears with the dual macro–micro–balances in the physical space. In view of the numerical implementation of this coupled problem by a finite element method, the incremental variational framework is recast into a discrete format in terms of discrete macro– and micro–physical nodal forces and configurational nodal forces. Applying a staggered solution scheme, the configurational branch is used as a postprocessing procedure with all the ingredients known from the solution of the coupled macro–micro–problem. The procedure is implemented for a nonlocal, viscous damage model. The consequences with regard to the configurational nodal forces are assessed by means of a numerical example. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Simulation of short crack propagation under hydrogen influence using a hybrid boundary element technique for anisotropic elastic solids

A two-dimensional model for stage I short crack propagation on multiple slip planes under the influence of hydrogen is presented. It considers elastic-plastic material behaviour by allowing sliding on the active slip planes in the corresponding slip directions. A crack propagation law based on the crack tip sliding displacement is used to simulate crack growth. The activation of slip bands and the sliding on these active slip bands will be influenced by the local hydrogen concentration. The model is solved numerically using the boundary element method. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Numerical homogenization of foam-like structures based on the FE2-approach

The computation of foam–like structures is still a topic of research. There are two basic approaches: the microscopic model where the foam–like structure is entirely resolved by a discretization (e.g. with Timoshenko beams) on a micro level, and the macroscopic approach which is based on a higher order continuum theory. A combination of both of them is the FE²-approach where the mechanical parameters of the macroscopic scale are obtained by solving a Dirichlet boundary value problem for a representative microstructure at each integration point. In this contribution, we present a two–dimensional geometrically nonlinear FE²-framework of first order (classical continuum theories on both scales) where the microstructures are discretized by continuum finite elements based on the p-version. The p-version elements have turned out to be highly efficient for many problems in structural mechanics. Further, a continuum–based approach affords two additional advantages: the formulation of geometrical and material nonlinearities is easier, and there is no problem when dealing with thicker beam–like structures. In our numerical example we will investigate a simple macroscopic shear test. Both the macroscopic load displacement behavior and the evolving anisotropy of the microstructures will be discussed. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Strengthened Cauchy–Bunyakowski–Schwarz inequality for a three‐dimensional elasticity system

The constant γ of the strengthened Cauchy–Bunyakowski–Schwarz (CBS) inequality plays a fundamental role in the convergence rate of multilevel iterative methods. The main purpose of this work is to give an estimate of the constant γ for a three‐dimensional elasticity system. The theoretical results obtained are practically important for the successful implementation of the finite element method to large‐scale modelling of complicated structures as they allow us to construct optimal order algebraic multilevel iterative solvers for a wide class of real‐life elasticity problems. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fractional‐order switching type control law design for adaptive sliding mode technique of 3D fractional‐order nonlinear systems

In this article, an adaptive sliding mode technique based on a fractional‐order (FO) switching type control law is designed to guarantee robust stability for a class of uncertain three‐dimensional FO nonlinear systems with external disturbance. A novel FO switching type control law is proposed to ensure the existence of the sliding motion in finite time. Appropriate adaptive laws are shown to tackle the uncertainty and external disturbance. The calculation formula of the reaching time is analyzed and computed. The reachability analysis is visualized to show how to obtain a shorter reaching time. A stability criteria of the FO sliding mode dynamics is derived based on indirect approach to Lyapunov stability. Effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is illustrated through numerical simulations. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 363–373, 2016     

Geometrically nonlinear bending analysis of laminated composite plate

In this work, a transverse bending of shear deformable laminated composite plates in Green–Lagrange sense accounting for the transverse shear and large rotations are presented. Governing equations are developed in the framework of higher order shear deformation theory. All higher order terms arising from nonlinear strain–displacement relations are included in the formulation. The present plate theory satisfies zero transverse shear strains conditions at the top and bottom surfaces of the plate in von-Karman sense. A C⁰ isoparametric finite element is developed for the present nonlinear model. Numerical results for the laminated composite plates of orthotropic materials with different system parameters and boundary conditions are found out. The results are also compared with those available in the literature. Some new results with different parameters are also presented.     

Stability Analysis of an Orbiting Plate with Finite Elements

This paper contributes to the analysis of rotating equilibria of non–driven systems (sometimes called relative equilibria), which are characterized by the fact that their angular momentum is conserved and non–zero. Interesting applications are usually found in space dynamics, in particular if large earth orbiting structures such as the space elevator are considered. For flexible structures relative equilibria can be found with Finite Element software packages. However, in this case the stability analysis is a non–trivial task since one usually has only limited account to the internal data of commercial FE solvers. Therefore, in [5] a new finite element based stability test was developed and applied to one–dimensional structural elements. Here, we consider a large–scale flexible plate orbiting around the earth in order to demonstrate that this method works well also for two dimensional shell–elements. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Modeling quasi-static crack growth with the embedded finite element method on multiple levels

The current work presents the multilevel approach of the embedded finite element method which is obtained by combining features of the method of domain decomposition with those of the standard embedded finite element method. The conventional requirement of fine mesh in a possible failure zone is rendered unnecessary with the new approach thereby reducing the computational expense. In addition, it is also possible to stop a propagating crack-tip in the middle of a finite element. In this approach, the finite elements at the failure-prone zone where cracks or shear bands, referred to as strong discontinuities which represent jumps in the displacement field, can form and propagate based on some failure criterion are treated as separate sub-boundary value problems which are adaptively discretized during the run time into a number of sub-elements and subjected to a kinematic constraint on their boundary. Each sub-element becomes equally capable of developing a strong discontinuity depending upon its state of stress. A linear displacement based constraint is applied initially which is modified accordingly as soon as a strong discontinuity propagates through the boundary of the main finite element. At the local equilibrium, the coupling between the quantities at two different levels of discretization is obtained by matching the virtual energies due to admissible variations of the main finite element and its constituent sub-elements. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A higher order finite element including transverse normal strain for linear elastic composite plates with general lamination configurations

This paper describes a higher-order global-local theory for thermal/mechanical response of moderately thick laminated composites with general lamination configurations. In-plane displacement fields are constructed by superimposing the third-order local displacement field to the global cubic displacement field. To eliminate layer-dependent variables, interlaminar shear stress compatibility conditions have been employed, so that the number of variables involved in the proposed model is independent of the number of layers of laminates. Imposing shear stress free condition at the top and the bottom surfaces, derivatives of transverse displacement are eliminated from the displacement field, so that C⁰ interpolation functions are only required for the finite element implementation. To assess the proposed model, the quadratic six-node C⁰ triangular element is employed for the interpolation of all the displacement parameters defined at each nodal point on the composite plate. Comparing to various existing laminated plate models, it is found that simple C⁰ finite elements with non-zero normal strain could produce more accurate displacement and stresses for thick multilayer composite plates subjected to thermal and mechanical loads. Finally, it is remarked that the proposed model is quite robust, such that the finite element results are not sensitive to the mesh configuration and can rapidly converge to 3-D elasticity solutions using regular or irregular meshes.     

3D elasticity analytical solution for bending of FG micro/nanoplates resting on elastic foundation using modified couple stress theory

This paper addresses a 3D elasticity analytical solution for static deformation of a simply-supported rectangular micro/nanoplate made of both homogeneous and functionally graded (FG) material within the framework of modified couple stress theory. The plate is assumed to be resting on a Winkler–Pasternak elastic foundation, and its modulus of elasticity is assumed to vary exponentially along thickness. By expanding displacement components in double Fourier series along in-plane coordinates and imposing relevant boundary conditions, the boundary value problem (BVP) of plate system, including its governing partial differential equations (PDEs) of equilibrium are reduced to BVP consisting only ordinary ones (ODEs). Parametric studies are conducted among displacement and stress components developed in the plate and FG material gradient index, length scale parameter, and foundation stiffnesses. From the numerical results, it is concluded that the out-of-plane shear stresses are not necessarily zero at the top and bottom surfaces of plate. The results of this investigation may serve as a benchmark to verify further bending analyses of either homogeneous or FG micro/nanoplates on elastic foundation.     

Advanced finite element formulations for modeling thin piezoelectric structures

This contribution is concerned with mixed finite element formulations for modeling piezoelectric beam and shell structures. Due to the electromechanical coupling, specific deformation modes are joined with electric field components. In bending dominated problems incompatible approximation functions of these fields cause incorrect results. These effects occur in standard finite element formulations, where interpolation functions of lowest order are used. A mixed variational approach is introduced to overcome these problems. The mixed formulation allows for a consistent approximation of the electromechanical coupled problem. It utilizes six independent fields and could be derived from a Hu-Washizu variational principle. Displacements, rotations and the electric potential are employed as nodal degrees of freedom. According to the Timoshenko theory (beam) and the Reissner-Mindlin theory (shell), the formulations account for constant transversal shear strains. To incorporate three dimensional constitutive relations all transversal components of the electric field and the strain field are enriched by mixed finite element interpolations. Thus the complete piezoelectric coupling is appropriately captured. The common assumption of vanishing transversal stress and dielectric displacement components is enforced in an integral sense. Some numerical examples will demonstrate the capability of the presented finite element formulation. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A finite element framework for the numerical implementation of boundary potentials

This contribution deals with the implications of boundary potential energies on deformational mechanics in the framework of the finite element method at finite strains. The common material models in continuum mechanics are taking the bulk into account, nevertheless, neglecting the boundary. However, boundary effects sometimes play a dominant role in the material behavior, e.g. surface tension in fluids. The boundary potentials, in general, are allowed to depend not only on the boundary deformation gradient but also on the spatial surface–normal / curve–tangent, as well. For the finite element implementation, a suitable curvilinear coordinate system attached to the boundary is defined and corresponding geometrical and kinematical derivations are carried out. Afterwards, the discretization of the generalized weak formulation, including boundary potentials, is carried out and finally numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the boundary effects due to the different proposed material behavior. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Discontinuous Galerkin finite element heterogeneous multiscale method for advection–diffusion problems with multiple scales

A discontinuous Galerkin finite element heterogeneous multiscale method is proposed for advection–diffusion problems with highly oscillatory coefficients. The method is based on a coupling of a discontinuous Galerkin discretization for an effective advection–diffusion problem on a macroscopic mesh, whose a priori unknown data are recovered from micro finite element calculations on sampling domains within each macro element. The computational work involved is independent of the high oscillations in the problem at the smallest scale. The stability of our method (depending on both macro and micro mesh sizes) is established for both diffusion dominated and advection dominated regimes without any assumptions about the type of heterogeneities in the data. Fully discrete a priori error bounds are derived for locally periodic data. Numerical experiments confirm the theoretical error estimates.     

Finite Swelling with Weakly Fulfilled Boundary Conditions

Biological soft tissues exhibit a swelling behaviour and consist of multiple phases, a solid phase composed of collgagen fibers and charged PGA chains and a fluid phase composed of the liquid solvent and the ions of dissolved salt. In this contribution, the Theory of Porous Media (TPM) model consists of four constituents, a charged solid and an aqueous solution composed of water and the ions of dissolved salt. The solid is modelled by a finite elasticity law accounting for the multiphasic micro structure, whereas the fluid is considered as a viscous Newtonian fluid. One finally ends up with the volume balance of the fluid, the concentration balance of the cations, the momentum balance of the overall mixture. The resulting set of partial differential equations is solved within the framework of the FEM. Therefore, the weak forms are derived and the resulting set of equations for the primary variables pore pressure p, cation concentration c and solid displacement u _S , is implemented into the FE tool PANDAS. Finally, a three dimensional example of a swelling hydrogel disc is shown. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Large deflections of tapered functionally graded beams subjected to end forces

The large deflections of tapered functionally graded beams subjected to end forces are studied by using the finite element method. The material properties of the beams are assumed to vary through the thickness direction according to a power law distribution. A first order shear deformable beam element employed the exact polynomials to interpolate the transverse displacement and rotation, is formulated in the context of the co-rotational approach. The large deflection response of the beams is computed by using the arc-length control algorithm in combination with the Newton–Raphson iterative method. The numerical results show that the formulated element is capable to assess accurately the response of the beams by using just several elements. A parametric study is given to examine the influence of the material non-homogeneity, taper ratio as well as the aspect ratio on the large deflection behaviour of the beams.     

Derivation of the consistent flexibility matrix for geometrically nonlinear Timoshenko frame finite element

A consistent flexibility matrix is presented for a large displacement equilibrium-based Timoshenko beam–column element. This development is an improvement and extension to Neuenhofer–Filippou [1] (1998. ASCE J. Struct. Eng. 124, 704–711) for geometrically nonlinear Euler–Bernoulli force-based beam element. In order to find weak form compatibility and strong form equilibrium equations of the beam, the Hellinger–Reissner potential is expressed. During the formulation process, an extended displacement interpolation technique named curvature/shearing based displacement interpolation (CSBDI) is proposed for the strain–displacement relationship. Finally, the extended CSBDI technique is validated for geometric nonlinear examples and accuracy of the method is investigated concluding improved convergence rates with respect to the general finite element formulation. Also it is seen that the use of force based formulation removes shear locking effects. The results demonstrate considerable accuracy even in presence of high axial loading in comparison with the displacement based approach.