Multiscale Finite Element Method for Coupling Analysis of Heterogeneous Magneto-Electro-Elastic Structures in Thermal Environment

Magneto-electro-elastic (MEE) materials, a new type of composite intelligent materials, exhibit excellent multifield coupling effects. Due to the heterogeneity of the materials, it is challenging to use the traditional finite element method (FEM) for mechanical analysis. Additionally, the MEE materials are often in a complex service environment, especially under the influence of the thermal field with thermoelectric and thermomagnetic effects, which affect its mechanical properties. Therefore, this paper proposes the efficient multiscale computational method for the multifield coupling problem of heterogeneous MEE structures under the thermal environment. The method constructs a multi-physics field with numerical base functions (the displacement, electric potential, and magnetic potential multiscale base functions). It equates a single cell of heterogeneous MEE materials to a macroscopic unit and supplements the macroscopic model with a microscopic model. This allows the problem to be solved directly on a macroscopic scale. Finally, the numerical simulation results demonstrate that compared with the traditional FEM, the multiscale finite element method (MsFEM) can achieve the purpose of ensuring accuracy and reducing the degree of freedom, and significantly improving the calculation efficiency.

Immersed Interface Finite Element Methods for Elasticity Interface Problems with Non-Homogeneous Jump Conditions

In this paper,a class of new immersed interface finite element methods (IIFEM) is developed to solve elasticity interface problems with homogeneous and non-homogeneous jump conditions in two dimensions.Simple non-body-fitted meshes are used.For homogeneous jump conditions,both non-conforming and conforming basis functions are constructed in such a way that they satisfy the natural jump conditions. For non-homogeneous jump conditions,a pair of functions that satisfy the same non-homogeneous jump conditions are constructed using a level-set representation of the interface.With such a pair of functions,the discontinuities across the interface in the solution and flux are removed;and an equivalent elasticity interface problem with homogeneous jump conditions is formulated.Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate that such methods have second order convergence.

Implementing the Node Based Smoothed Finite Element Method as User Element in Abaqus for Linear and Nonlinear Elasticity

In this paper,the node based smoothed-strain Abaqus user element(UEL)in the framework of finite element method is introduced.The basic idea behind of the node based smoothed finite element(NSFEM)is that finite element cells are divided into subcells and subcells construct the smoothing domain associated with each node of a finite element cell[Liu,Dai and Nguyen-Thoi(2007)].Therefore,the numerical integration is globally performed over smoothing domains.It is demonstrated that the proposed UEL retains all the advantages of the NSFEM,i.e.,upper bound solution,overly soft stiffness and free from locking in compressible and nearly-incompressible media.In this work,the constant strain triangular(CST)elements are used to construct node based smoothing domains,since any complex two dimensional domains can be discretized using CST elements.This additional challenge is successfully addressed in this paper.The efficacy and robustness of the proposed work is obtained by several benchmark problems in both linear and nonlinear elasticity.The developed UEL and the associated files can be downloaded from https://github.com/nsundar/NSFEM.

An explicit finite element－finite difference method for analyzing the effect of visco－elastic local topography on the earthquake motion

An explicit finite element-finite difference method for analyzing the effects of two-dimensional visco-elastic localtopography on earthquake ground motion is prOPosed in this paper. In the method, at first, the finite elementdiscrete model is formed by using the artificial boundary and finite element method, and the dynamic equationsof local nodes in the discrete model are obtained according to the theory of the special finite element method similar to the finite difference method, and then the explicit step-by-step integration formulas are presented by usingthe explicit difference method for solving the visco-elastic dynamic equation and Generalized Multi-transmittingBoundary. The method has the advantages of saving computing time and computer memory space, and it is suitable for any case of topography and has high computing accuracy and good computing stability.

Quasi-optimal complexity of adaptive finite element method for linear elasticity problems in two dimensions

This paper introduces an adaptive finite element method （AFEM） using the newest vertex bisection and marking exclusively according to the error estimator without special treatment of oscillation. By the combination of the global lower bound and the localized upper bound of the posteriori error estimator, perturbation of oscillation, and cardinality of the marked element set, it is proved that the AFEM is quasi-optimal for linear elasticity problems in two dimensions, and this conclusion is verified by the numerical examples.

Three-Dimensional Thermo-Elastic-Plastic Finite Element Method Modeling for Predicting Weld-Induced Residual Stresses and Distortions in Steel Stiffened-Plate Structures

The objective of the present paper is to develop nonlinear finite element method models for predicting the weld-induced initial deflection and residual stress of plating in steel stiffened-plate structures. For this purpose, three-dimensional thermo-elastic-plastic finite element method computations are performed with varying plate thickness and weld bead length (leg length) in welded plate panels, the latter being associated with weld heat input. The finite element models are verified by a comparison with experimental database which was obtained by the authors in separate studies with full scale measurements. It is concluded that the nonlinear finite element method models developed in the present paper are very accurate in terms of predicting the weld-induced initial imperfections of steel stiffened plate structures. Details of the numerical computations together with test database are documented.

RATIONAL FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR ELASTIC BENDING OF REISSNER PLATES

In this paper; some deformation patterns defined by differential equations of the elastic system are introduced into the revised functional for the incompatible elements. And therefore the rational FEM, which is perfect combination of the analytic methods and numeric methods, has been presented. This new approach satisfies not only the mechanical requirement of the elements but also the geometric requirement of the complex structures. What's more the quadrilateral element obtained accordingly for the elastic bending of thick plates demonstrates such advantages as high precision for computation and availability of accurate integration for stiffness matrices.

Numerical Analysis for High⁃Throughput Elastic Modulus Measurement of Substrate⁃Supported Thin Films

Micro/nano-thin films are widely used in the fields of micro/nano-electromechanical system(MEMS/NEMS)and flexible electronics,and their mechanical properties have an important impact on the stability and reliability of components.However,accurate characterization of the mechanical properties of thin films still faces challenges due to the complexity of film-substrate structure,and the characterization efficiency of traditional techniques is insufficient.In this paper,a high-throughput determination method of the elastic modulus of thin films is proposed based on the strain variance method,the feasibility of which is analyzed by the finite element method(FEM),and the specific tensile configuration with array-distributed thin films is designed and optimized.Based on the strain difference between the film-substrate region and the uncoated region,the elastic modulus of multiple films is obtained simultaneously,and the influences of film width,spacing,thickness,and distribution on the measurement of elastic modulus are elucidated.The results show that the change in film width has a more obvious effect on the elastic modulus determination than film spacing and thickness,i.e.,the larger the film width is,the closer the calculation results are to the theoretical value,and the change in calculation results tends to be stabilized when the film width increases to a certain length.Specifically,the simultaneous measurement of the elastic modulus of eight metal films on a polyimide(PI)substrate with a length of 110 mm and a width of 30 mm can be realized,and the testing throughput can be further increased with the extension of the substrate length.This study provides an efficient and low-cost method for measuring the elastic modulus of thin films,which is expected to accelerate the development of new thin film materials.

Multiple linear system techniques for 3D finite element method modeling of direct current resistivity

The strategies that minimize the overall solution time of multiple linear systems in 3D finite element method (FEM) modeling of direct current (DC) resistivity were discussed. A global stiff matrix is assembled and stored in two parts separately. One part is associated with the volume integral and the other is associated with the subsurface boundary integral. The equivalent multiple linear systems with closer right-hand sides than the original systems were constructed. A recycling Krylov subspace technique was employed to solve the multiple linear systems. The solution of the seed system was used as an initial guess for the subsequent systems. The results of two numerical experiments show that the improved algorithm reduces the iterations and CPU time by almost 50%, compared with the classical preconditioned conjugate gradient method.

A Locking-free Nonconforming Finite Element for Planar Linear Elasticity

We propose a locking-free nonconforming finite element method to solve for the displacement variation in the pure displacement boundary value problem of planar linear elasticity. The method proposed in this paper is robust and optimal, in the sense that the convergence estimate in the energy is independent of the Lame parameter λ.

Surrounding rock deformation analysis of underground caverns with multi-body finite element method

Discontinuous deformation problems are common in rock engineering. Numerical analysis methods based on system models of the discrete body can better solve these problems. One of the most effective solutions is discontinuous deformation analysis （DDA） method, but the DDA method brings about rock embedding problems when it uses the strain assumption in elastic deformation and adopts virtual springs to simulate the contact problems. The multi-body finite element method （FEM） proposed in this paper can solve the problems of contact and deformation of blocks very well because it integrates the FEM and multi-body system dynamics theory. It is therefore a complete method for solving discontinuous deformation problems through balance equations of the contact surface and for simulating the displacement of whole blocks. In this study, this method was successfully used for deformation analysis of underground caverns in stratified rock. The simulation results indicate that the multi-body FEM can show contact forces and the stress states on contact surfaces better than DDA, and that the results calculated with the multi-body FEM are more consistent with engineering practice than those calculated with DDA method.

An explicit finite element method for dynamic analysis in three-medium coupling system and its application

In this paper, an explicit finite element method to analyze the dynamic responses of three-medium coupled systems with any terrain is developed on the basis of the numerical simulation of the continuous conditions on the bounda-ries among fluid saturated porous medium, elastic single-phase medium and ideal fluid medium. This method is a very effective one with the characteristic of high calculating speed and small memory needed because the formulae for this explicit finite element method have the characteristic of decoupling, and which does not need to solve sys-tem of linear equations. The method is applied to analyze the dynamic response of a reservoir with considering the dynamic interactions among water, dam, sediment and basement rock. The vertical displacement at the top point of the dam is calculated and some conclusions are given.

Transient analysis of 1D inhomogeneous media by dynamic inhomogeneous finite element method

The dynamic inhomogeneous finite element method is studied for use in the transient analysis of one dimensional inhomogeneous media. The general formula of the inhomogeneous consistent mass matrix is established based on the shape function. In order to research the advantages of this method, it is compared with the general finite element method. A linear bar element is chosen for the discretization tests of material parameters with two fictitious distributions. And, a numerical example is solved to observe the differences in the results between these two methods. Some characteristics of the dynamic inhomogeneous finite element method that demonstrate its advantages are obtained through comparison with the general finite element method. It is found that the method can be used to solve elastic wave motion problems with a large element scale and a large number of iteration steps.

Application of scaled boundary finite element method in static and dynamic fracture problems

The scaled boundary finite element method （SBFEM） is a recently developed numerical method combining advantages of both finite element methods （FEM） and boundary element methods （BEM） and with its own special features as well. One of the most prominent advantages is its capability of calculating stress intensity factors （SIFs） directly from the stress solutions whose singularities at crack tips are analytically represented. This advantage is taken in this study to model static and dynamic fracture problems. For static problems, a remeshing algorithm as simple as used in the BEM is developed while retaining the generality and flexibility of the FEM. Fully-automatic modelling of the mixed-mode crack propagation is then realised by combining the remeshing algorithm with a propagation criterion. For dynamic fracture problems, a newly developed series-increasing solution to the SBFEM governing equations in the frequency domain is applied to calculate dynamic SIFs. Three plane problems are modelled. The numerical results show that the SBFEM can accurately predict static and dynamic SIFs, cracking paths and load-displacement curves, using only a fraction of degrees of freedom generally needed by the traditional finite element methods.

Numerical simulation of coal-bed methane transfer with finite element method

The mathematical model and the numerical simulation for the transfer of coal bed methane were established based on the combination of the porous flow theory and elastic plastic mechanics theory and the numerical solution was given, together with the consideration of the fluid solid interaction between the coal bed gas and coal framework. Then the dispersion for the equation of gas porous flow and coal seam distortion was carried out and the functional analysis equation was obtained. Finally, the coupling solution was educed and calculated by finite element method(FEM) on a model example.

ANALYSES ON NONLINEAR COUPLING OF MAGNETO-THERMO-ELASTICITY OF FERROMAGNETIC THIN SHELL—II:FINITE ELEMENT MODELING AND APPLICATION

Based on the generalized vaxiational principle of magneto-thermo-elasticity of a ferromagnetic thin shell established （see, Analyses on nonlinear coupling of magneto-thermo- elasticity of ferromagnetic thin shell--I）, the present paper developed a finite element modeling for the mechanical-magneto-thermal multi-field coupling of a ferromagnetic thin shell. The numerical modeling composes of finite element equations for three sub-systems of magnetic, thermal and deformation fields, as well as iterative methods for nonlinearities of the geometrical large-deflection and the multi-field coupling of the ferromagnetic shell. As examples, the numerical simulations on magneto-elastic behaviors of a ferromagnetic cylindrical shell in an applied magnetic field, and magneto-thermo-elastic behaviors of the shell in applied magnetic and thermal fields are carried out. The results are in good agreement with the experimental ones.

A MULTI-COUPLED FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING PROCESS

A two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model is developed to analyze the transient thermal and mechanical behaviors of the Resistance Spot Welding （RSW） process using commercial software ANSYS. Firstly a direct-coupled electrical-thermal Finite Element Analysis （FEA） is performed to analyze the transient thermal characteristics of the RSW process. Then based on the thermal results a sequential coupled thermo-elastic-plastic analysis is conducted to determine the mechanical features of the RSW process. The thermal history of the whole process and the temperature distribution of the weldment are obtained through the analysis. The mechanical features, including the distributions of the contact pressure at both the faying surface and the electrode-workpiece interface, the stress and strain distributions in the weldment and their changes during the RSW process, the deformation of the weldment and the electrode displacement are also calculated.

Numerical Simulation of the Parallel Gap Resistance Welding Process of a Solar Cell and Mo/Pt/Ag Interconnector

Energy for space vehicles in low Earth orbit(LEO) is mainly generated by solar arrays, and the service time of the vehicles is controlled by the lifetime of these arrays, which depends mainly on the lifetime of the interconnects. To increase the service life of LEO satellites, molybdenum/platinum/silver(Mo/Pt/Ag) laminated metal matrix composite(LMMC) interconnectors are widely used in place of Mo/Ag LMMC and Ag interconnectors in solar arrays. A 2D thermal-electrical-mechanical coupled axisymmetric model was established to simulate the behavior of the parallel gap resistance welding(PGRW) process for solar cells and Mo/Pt/Ag composite interconnectors using the commercial software ANSYS. The direct multicoupled PLANE223 element and the contact pair elements TARGE169 and CONTA172 were employed. A transitional meshing method was applied to solve the meshing problem due to the ultrathin(1 μm) intermediate Pt layer. A comparison of the analysis results with the experimental results revealed that the best parameters were 60 W, 60 ms, and 0.0138 MPa. The voltage and current predicted by the finite element method agreed well with the experimental results. This study contributes to a further understanding of the mechanism of PGRW and provides guidance for finite element simulation of the process of welding with an ultrathin interlayer.

Tensile Shock Physics in Compressible Thermoviscoelastic Solid Medium

This paper addresses tensile shock physics in thermoviscoelastic (TVE) solids without memory. The mathematical model is derived using conservation and balance laws (CBL) of classical continuum mechanics (CCM), incorporating the contravariant second Piola-Kirchhoff stress tensor, the covariant Green’s strain tensor, and its rates up to order n. This mathematical model permits the study of finite deformation and finite strain compressible deformation physics with an ordered rate dissipation mechanism. Constitutive theories are derived using conjugate pairs in entropy inequality and the representation theorem. The resulting mathematical model is both thermodynamically and mathematically consistent and has closure. The solution of the initial value problems (IVPs) describing evolutions is obtained using a variationally consistent space-time coupled finite element method, derived using space-time residual functional in which the local approximations are in hpk higher-order scalar product spaces. This permits accurate description problem physics over the discretization and also permits precise a posteriori computation of the space-time residual functional, an accurate measure of the accuracy of the computed solution. Model problem studies are presented to demonstrate tensile shock formation, propagation, reflection, and interaction. A unique feature of this research is that tensile shocks can only exist in solid matter, as their existence requires a medium to be elastic (presence of strain), which is only possible in a solid medium. In tensile shock physics, a decrease in the density of the medium caused by tensile waves leads to shock formation ahead of the wave. In contrast, in compressive shocks, an increase in density and the corresponding compressive waves result in the formation of compression shocks behind of the wave. Although these are two similar phenomena, they are inherently different in nature. To our knowledge, this work has not been reported in the published literature.

RELIABILITY OF ELASTO-PLASTIC STRUCTURE USING FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

A solution of probabilistic FEM for elastic-plastic materials is presented based on the incremental theory of plasticity and a modified initial stress method. The formulations are deduced through a direct differentiation scheme. Partial differentiation of displacement, stress and the performance function can be iteratively performed with the computation of the mean values of displacement and stress. The presented method enjoys the efficiency of both the perturbation method and the finite difference method, but avoids the approximation during the partial differentiation calculation. In order to improve the efficiency, the adjoint vector method is introduced to calculate the differentiation of stress and displacement with respect to random variables. In addition, a time-saving computational method for reliability index of elastic-plastic materials is suggested based upon the advanced First Order Second Moment (FOSM) and by the usage of Taylor expansion for displacement. The suggested method is also applicable to 3-D cases.