Nonlinear finite-element-based structural system failure probability analysis methodology for gravity dams considering correlated failure modes

The structural system failure probability(SFP) is a valuable tool for evaluating the global safety level of concrete gravity dams.Traditional methods for estimating the failure probabilities are based on defined mathematical descriptions,namely,limit state functions of failure modes.Several problems are to be solved in the use of traditional methods for gravity dams.One is how to define the limit state function really reflecting the mechanical mechanism of the failure mode;another is how to understand the relationship among failure modes and enable the probability of the whole structure to be determined.Performing SFP analysis for a gravity dam system is a challenging task.This work proposes a novel nonlinear finite-element-based SFP analysis method for gravity dams.Firstly,reasonable nonlinear constitutive modes for dam concrete,concrete/rock interface and rock foundation are respectively introduced according to corresponding mechanical mechanisms.Meanwhile the response surface(RS) method is used to model limit state functions of main failure modes through the Monte Carlo(MC) simulation results of the dam-interface-foundation interaction finite element(FE) analysis.Secondly,a numerical SFP method is studied to compute the probabilities of several failure modes efficiently by simple matrix integration operations.Then,the nonlinear FE-based SFP analysis methodology for gravity dams considering correlated failure modes with the additional sensitivity analysis is proposed.Finally,a comprehensive computational platform for interfacing the proposed method with the open source FE code Code Aster is developed via a freely available MATLAB software tool(FERUM).This methodology is demonstrated by a case study of an existing gravity dam analysis,in which the dominant failure modes are identified,and the corresponding performance functions are established.Then,the dam failure probability of the structural system is obtained by the proposed method considering the correlation relationship of main failure modes on the basis of the mechanical mechanism analysis with the MC-FE simulations.

Assessment of natural frequency of installed offshore wind turbines using nonlinear finite element model considering soil-monopile interaction

A nonlinear finite element model is developed to examine the lateral behaviors of monopiles, which support offshore wind turbines(OWTs) chosen from five different offshore wind farms in Europe. The simulation is using this model to accurately estimate the natural frequency of these slender structures, as a function of the interaction of the foundations with the subsoil. After a brief introduction to the wind power energy as a reliable alternative in comparison to fossil fuel, the paper focuses on concept of natural frequency as a primary indicator in designing the foundations of OWTs. Then the range of natural frequencies is provided for a safe design purpose. Next, an analytical expression of an OWT natural frequency is presented as a function of soil-monopile interaction through monopile head springs characterized by lateral stiffness KL, rotational stiffness KRand cross-coupling stiffness KLRof which the differences are discussed. The nonlinear pseudo three-dimensional finite element vertical slices model has been used to analyze the lateral behaviors of monopiles supporting the OWTs of different wind farm sites considered. Through the monopiles head movements(displacements and rotations), the values of KL, KRand KLRwere obtained and substituted in the analytical expression of natural frequency for comparison. The comparison results between computed and measured natural frequencies showed an excellent agreement for most cases. This confirms the convenience of the finite element model used for the accurate estimation of the monopile head stiffness.

Analytical study of performance evaluation for seismic retrofitting of reinforced concrete building using 3D dynamic nonlinear finite element analysis

This paper presents three-dimensional finite element （FE） analyses of an all-frame model of a three-story reinforced concrete （RC） building damaged in the 1999 Taiwan Chi-Chi Earthquake. Non-structural brick walls of the building acted as a seismic resistant element although their contributions were neglected in the design. Hence, the entire structure of a typical frame was modeled and static and dynamic nonlinear analyses were conducted to evaluate the contributions of the brick walls. However, the results of the analyses were considerably overestimated due to coarse mesh discretizations, which were unavoidable due to limited computer resources. This study corrects the overestimations by modifying （1） the tensile strengths and （2） shear stiffness reduction factors of concrete and brick. The results indicate that brick walls improve frame strength although shear failures are caused in columns shortened by spandrel walls. Then, the effectiveness of three types of seismic retrofits is evaluated. The maximum drift of the first floor is reduced by 89.3%, 94.8%, and 27.5% by Steel-confined, FuI1-RC, and Full-brick models, respectively. Finally, feasibility analyses of models with soils were conducted. The analyses indicated that the soils elongate the natural period of building models although no significant differences were observed.

Arc-length technique for nonlinear finite element analysis

Nonlinear solution of reinforced concrete structures, particularly complete load-deflection response, requires tracing of the equilibrium path and proper treatment of the limit and bifurcation points. In this regard, ordinary solution techniques lead to instability near the limit points and also have problems in case of snap-through and snap-back. Thus they fail to predict the complete load-displacement response. The arc-length method serves the purpose well in principle, received wide acceptance in finite element analysis, and has been used extensively. However modifications to the basic idea are vital to meet the particular needs of the analysis. This paper reviews some of the recent developments of the method in the last two decades, with particular emphasis on nonlinear finite element analysis of reinforced concrete structures.

Full－range nonlinear analysis of fatigue behaviors of reinforced concrete structures by finite element method

The offshore reinforced concrete structures are always subject to cyclic load, such as wave load.In this paper a new finite element analysis model is developed to analyze the stress and strain state of reinforced concrete structures including offshore concrete structures, subject to any number of the cyclic load. On the basis of the anal ysis of the experimental data,this model simplifies the number of cycles-total cyclic strain curve of concrete as three straight line segments,and it is assumed that the stress-strain curves of different cycles in each segment are the same, thus the elastoplastic analysis is only needed for the first cycle of each segment, and the stress or strain corresponding to any number of cycles can be obtained by superposition of stress or strain obtained by the above e lastoplastic analysis based on the cyclic numbers in each segment.This model spends less computer time,and can obtain the stress and strain states of the structures after any number of cycles.The endochronic-damage and ideal offshore concrete platform subject to cyclic loading are experimented and analyzed by the finite element method based on the model proposed in this paper. The results between the experiment and the finite element analysis are in good agreement,which demonstrates the validity and accuracy of the proposed model.

PRINCIPAL COMPONENT DECOMPOSITION BASED FINITE ELEMENT MODEL UPDATING FOR STRAIN-RATE-DEPENDENCE NONLINEAR DYNAMIC PROBLEMS

Thin wail component is utilized to absorb impact energy of a structure. However, the dynamic behavior of such thin-walled structure is highly non-linear with material, geometry and boundary non-linearity. A model updating and validation procedure is proposed to build accurate finite element model of a frame structure with a non-linear thin-walled component for dynamic analysis. Design of experiments （DOE） and principal component decomposition （PCD） approach are applied to extract dynamic feature from nonlinear impact response for correlation of impact test result and FE model of the non-linear structure. A strain-rate-dependent non-linear model updating method is then developed to build accurate FE model of the structure. Computer simulation and a real frame structure with a highly non-linear thin-walled component are employed to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Deep Beams

By the nonlinear finite element analysis （FEA） method, the mechanical properties of the steel fiber reinforced concrete （SFRC） deep beams were discussed in terms of the crack load and ultimate bearing capacity. In the simulation process, the ANSYS parametric design language （APDL） was used to set up the finite element model; the model of bond stress-slip relationship between steel bar and concrete was established. The nonlinear FEA results and test results demonstrated that the steel fiber can not only significantly improve the cracking load and ultimate bearing capacity of the concrete but also repress the development of the cracks. Meanwhile, good agreement was found between the experimental data and FEA results, if the unit type, the parameter model and the failure criterion are selected reasonably.

Relationships between femoral strength evaluated by nonlinear finite element analysis and BMD,material distribution and geometric morphology

Precisely quantifying the strength of the proximal femur and accurately assessing hip fracture risk would enable those at high risk to be identified so that preventive interventions could be taken.Development of better measures of femoral strength using the clinically

Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis of the Structure of Door Seals

In order to evaluate the influence of the seal structure on door dosing force, nonlinear finite dement methed is introduced to analyze compression deformation of a door seal for SANTANA （name of the car made by Shanghai Volkswagen Co. Ltd）. MSC. Marc software is used to analyze the large deformation of the seal and the compression test is done to prove the computational results. The results show that the compression loads of the door seal are larger than the standard value of Shanghai Volkswagen Co. Ltd and the seal structure needs to be optimized. There are consistent relationships between calculating results and experimental results and the simulation method is effective.

Finite Element Method Based on Equivalent Magnetic Energy Method for Computation of 2D Nonlinear Eddy Current Field

In this paper, the finite element method using vector potential in applications to 2D nonlinear eddy current field is discussed. The authors use the equivalent magnetic energy method to deal with magnetization curve of ferromagnetic material,and present the formulation of 2D nonlinear eddy current field.With this method the authors analyze the eddy current field in an induction ladle furnace and the force distribution in the charge (molten metal),and plot the corresponding curves.

INCREMENTAL ANALYSIS FOR NONLINEAR RUBBER-LIKE MATERIALS BY HYBRID STRESS FINITE ELEMENT

In this paper, on the basis of the incremental Reissner variational principle.a nonlinear finite element analysis has been accomplished and a formulation of hybrid stress element has been presented for incompressible Mooney rubber-like materials. The corrected terms of the non-equilibrium force and the incompressibility deviation are considered in the formulation. The computed values of numerical example agree very closely with the exact solution.

Finite element analyses of Wanjiazhai water transmission tunnel excavation and service

This paper is devoted to the nonlinear stress and strain analysis oftunneling and working conditions of Wanjiazhai Division Project No.7 Tunnel in Shanxi province ofChina. The initial geological stress of loess was simulated by grading fill; the theory of unloadingproposed by Duncan and boundary stress of elasticity were used to calculate the excavation of thetunnel; Goodman joint elements were applied to simulate the joints of the liners; both loading andunloading tests have been performed to determine the parameters of Duncan-Chang's model and thecalculated results were compared; Terzaghi' s theory on loosening earth pressure was applied. Manyworking conditions were analyzed and some reasonable results were obtained. Based on the analyses,reparative measures were proposed and completed. The tunnel has functioned well since October, 2001.

Finite Element Analysis on Plane Stress Crack Growth in a Power-Law Hardening Material

Aim To determine numerically the field characteristics in the vied at the tip of a place crack growing steadily in a power-law hardening material. Meteods. Methods on the Euler mode and small-scale yield assumption, the numerical results were given by nonlinear finite element analysis. Results The numerical results of the shape of the active plastic sone, the angular distribution of stresseses and Clack tip opening displacement (CTOD) in the vicinity at the hp of the steadily groWing CraCk are determined. Conclusion The comparison between the numerical results given by the present wort and those given by analytic asymptotic analysis shows that the present work reached a very high accuracy.

Nonlinear Numerical Analysis of Vortex-Induced Vibration of A Three-Dimensional Deepwater Steep Wave Riser with Large Deformation Features

The cross-flow(CF)vortex-induced vibration(VIV)of a deepwater steep wave riser(SWR)subjected to uniform or shear flow loads is investigated numerically.The model is based on a three-dimensional(3D)nonlinear elastic rod theory coupled with a wake oscillator model.In this numerical simulation,the nonlinear motion equations of the riser with large deformation features are established in a global coordinate system to avoid the transformation between global and local coordinate systems,and are discretized with the time-domain finite element method(FEM).A wakeoscillator model is employed to study the vortex shedding,and the lift force generated by the wake flow is described in a van der Pol equation.A Newmark-βiterative scheme is used to solve their coupling equation for the VIV response of the SWR.The developed model is validated against the existing experimental results for the VIV response of the top-tension riser(TTR).Then,the numerical simulations are executed to determine VIV characteristics of the SWR.The effects of both flow velocity and the spanwise length of the flow field on the drag coefficient in the inline(IL)direction and the lift coefficient in the CF direction are investigated systematically.The results indicate that compared with TTR,the low frequency and multi-modal vibration are the main components of the SWR due to the large deformation and flexible characteristics.For shear flow,the multi-frequency resonance dominates the VIV response of the SWR,especially at the hang-off segment.

Finite Element Analysis and Linear Regression of Maximum Temperature for Inner Wall of Chimney Foundation

The uniform design method was adopted and the twenty-four groups of different geometric and physical pa-rameters were chosen. The finite element model was built. Comparisons between the simulation results and the test re-sults prove that the simulation results are correct. The distribution of the temperature field of the chimney foundationwas analyzed. The multivariate linear regression of the hightest tomperature was performed on the inner wall of thechimney foundation by the numerical calculated results. The fitting property of the highest temperature with six influ-ence factors was obtained. A simple method for the calculation of the temperature field of the chimney foundation wasprovided.

Nonlinear dynamic response analysis of supercavitating vehicles

A finite element model for the supercavitating underwater vehicle was developed by employing 16-node shell elements of relative degrees of freedom.The nonlinear structural dynamic response was performed by introducing the updated Lagrangian formulation.The numerical results indicate that there exists a critical thickness for the supercavitating plain shell for the considered velocity of the vehicle.The structure fails more easily because of instability with the thickness less than the critical value,while the structure maintains dynamic stability with the thickness greater than the critical value.As the velocity of the vehicle increases,the critical thickness for the plain shell increases accordingly.For the considered structural configuration,the critical thicknesses of plain shells are 5 and 7 mm for the velocities of 300 and 400 m/s,respectively.The structural stability is enhanced by using the stiffened configuration.With the shell configuration of nine ring stiffeners,the maximal displacement and von Mises stress of the supercavitating structure decrease by 25% and 17% for the velocity of 300 m/s,respectively.Compared with ring stiffeners,longitudinal stiffeners are more significant to improve structural dynamic performance and decrease the critical value of thickness of the shell for the supercavitating vehicle.

Seismic Deformation and Seismic Resistance Analysis of Shapai Roller Compacted Concrete Arch Dam Based on Field Monitoring and Dynamic Finite Element Method

Shapai Roller Compacted Concrete(RCC) Arch Dam is the highest RCC arch dam of the 20th century in the world with a maximum height of 132m,and it is the only concrete arch dam near the epicentre of Wenchuan earthquake on May 12th,2008.The seismic damage to the dam and the resistance of the dam has drawn great attention.This paper analyzed the response and resistance of the dam to the seismic wave using numerical simulations with comparison to the monitored data.The field investigation after the earthquake and analysis of insitu data record showed that there was only little variation in the opening size at the dam and foundation interface,transverse joints and inducing joints before and after the earthquake.The overall stability of the dam abutment resistance body was quite good except a little relaxation was observed.The results of the dynamic finite element method(FEM) showed that the sizes of the openings obtained from the numerical modeling are comparable with the monitored values,and the change of the opening size is in millimeter range.This study revealed that Shapai arch dam exhibited high seismic resistance and overload capacity in the Wenchuan earthquake event.The comparison of the monitored and simulated results showed that the numerical method applied in this paper well simulated the seismic response of the dam.The method could be useful in the future application on the safety evaluation of RCC dams.

Nonlinear static response of piezoelectric plates considering electro-mechanical coupling

Nonlinear static analysis of piezoelectric plates has been carried out using nonlinear finite element method considering electro-mechanical coupling,The geometrical nonlinearity has been taken into account and electric potential is assumed to be quadratic across the plate thickness,The governing equations are obtained using potential energy and Hamilton's principle that includes elastic and piezoelectric effects.The finite element model is derived based on constitutive equation of piezoelectric material accounting for coupling between elasticity and electric effect using higher order plate elements,Results are presented for piezoelectric plate under different mechanical boundary conditions,Numerical results for the plate are given in dimensionless graphical forms.Effects of boundary conditions on linear and nonlinear response of the plate are also studied.The numerical results obtained by the present model are in good agreement with the available solutions reported in the literature.

Finite element analysis on deformation of high embankment in heavy-haul railway subjected to freeze-thaw cycles

Finite element simulations are increasingly providing a versatile environment for this topic. In this study, a two-dimensional finite element analysis is conducted to predict the deformation of high embankment in Bazhun heavy-haul railway, China. A recently developed nonlinear softening-type constitutive model is utilized to model the be- havior of subgrade filling materials subjected to freeze-thaw cycles. For the convenience of practical application, the dynamic loading induced by a vehicle is treated as a quasi-static axle load. The deformation of this embankment with different moisture content under freeze-thaw cycles is compared. The results show that when subjected to the first freeze-thaw cycle, the embankment experienced significant deformation variations. Maximum deformation was usually achieved after the embankment with optimum moisture content experienced six freeze-thaw cycles, however, the em- bankment with moisre content of 8.0% and 9.5% deforms continuously even after experiencing almost ten freeze-thaw cycles. Overall, this study provides a simple nonlinear finite element approach for calculating the deformation of the embankment in changing climate conditions.

SIMULATION OF FABRIC DRAPE USING A THIN PLATE ELEMENT WITH FINITE ROTATION

The draping behavior of fabric is simulated by using four node quadrilateral thin plate elements with finite rotation. The finite element formulation is based on the total Lagrangian approach. An exact representation of finite rotation is introduced. The strain energy function accounting for the material symmetry is obtained by the tensor representation theory. To avoid shear locking, the assumed strain technique for transverse shear is adopted. The conjugate gradient method with a proposed line search algorithm is employed to minimize energy and reach the final shape of fabric. The draping behavior of a rectangular piece of fabric over a rectangular table is simulated. (Author abstract) 9 Refs.