Constrained Hamilton variational principle for shallow water problems and Zu-class symplectic algorithm

In this paper, the shallow water problem is discussed. By treating the incompressible condition as the constraint, a constrained Hamilton variational principle is presented for the shallow water problem. Based on the constrained Hamilton variational principle, a shallow water equation based on displacement and pressure （SWE-DP） is developed. A hybrid numerical method combining the finite element method for spa- tial discretization and the Zu-class method for time integration is created for the SWE- DP. The correctness of the proposed SWE-DP is verified by numerical comparisons with two existing shallow water equations （SWEs）. The effectiveness of the hybrid numerical method proposed for the SWE-DP is also verified by numerical experiments. Moreover, the numerical experiments demonstrate that the Zu-class method shows excellent perfor- mance with respect to simulating the long time evolution of the shallow water.

A hybrid-stress element based on Hamilton principle

A novel hybrid-stress finite element method is proposed for constructing simple 4-node quadrilateral plane elements, and the new element is denoted as HH4-3fl here. Firstly, the theoretical basis of the traditional hybrid-stress elements, i.e., the Hellinger-Reissner variational principle, is replaced by the Hamilton variational principle, in which the number of the stress variables is reduced from 3 to 2. Secondly, three stress parameters and corresponding trial functions are introduced into the system equations. Thirdly, the displacement fields of the conventional bilinear isoparametric element are employed in the new models. Finally, from the stationary condition, the stress parameters can be expressed in terms of the displacement parameters, and thus the new element stiffness matrices can be obtained. Since the required number of stress variables in the Hamilton variational principle is less than that in the Hellinger-Reissner variational principle, and no additional incompatible displacement modes are considered, the new hybrid-stress element is simpler than the traditional ones. Furthermore, in order to improve the accuracy of the stress solutions, two enhanced post-processing schemes are also proposed for element HH4-3β. Numerical examples show that the proposed model exhibits great improvements in both displacement and stress solutions, implying that the proposed technique is an effective way for developing simple finite element models with high performance.

New way to construct high order Hamiltonian variational integrators

This paper develops a new approach to construct variational integrators. A simplified unconventional Hamilton＇s variational principle corresponding to initial value problems is proposed, which is convenient for applications. The displacement and mo- mentum are approximated with the same Lagrange interpolation. After the numerical integration and variational operation, the original problems are expressed as algebraic equations with the displacement and momentum at the interpolation points as unknown variables. Some particular variational integrators are derived. An optimal scheme of choosing initial values for the Newton-Raphson method is presented for the nonlinear dynamic system. In addition, specific examples show that the proposed integrators are symplectic when the interpolation point coincides with the numerical integration point, and both are Gaussian quadrature points. Meanwhile, compared with the same order symplectic Runge-Kutta methods, although the accuracy of the two methods is almost the same, the proposed integrators are much simpler and less computationally expensive.

Analysis of nonlinear stability and post-buckling for Euler-type beam-column structure

Based on the assumption of finite deformation, the Hamilton variational principle is extended to a nonlinear elastic Euler-type beam-column structure located on a nonlinear elastic foundation. The corresponding three-dimensional （3D） mathematical model for analyzing the nonlinear mechanical behaviors of structures is established, in which the effects of the rotation inertia and the nonlinearity of material and geometry are considered. As an application, the nonlinear stability and the post-buckling for a linear elastic beam with the equal cross-section located on an elastic foundation are analyzed. One end of the beam is fully fixed, and the other end is partially fixed and subjected to an axial force. A new numerical technique is proposed to calculate the trivial solution, bifurcation points, and bifurcation solutions by the shooting method and the Newton- Raphson iterative method. The first and second bifurcation points and the corresponding bifurcation solutions are calculated successfully. The effects of the foundation resistances and the inertia moments on the bifurcation points are considered.