A new subregion mesh method for the investigation of the elastic-plastic impact in flexible multibody systems

Impact processes between flexible bodies often lead to local stress concentration and wave propagation of high frequency. Therefore, the modeling of flexible multibody systems involving impact should consider the local plastic deformation and the strict requirements of the spatial discretization. Owing to the nonlinearity of the stiffness matrix, the reduction of the element number is extremely important. For the contact-impact problem, since different regions have different requirements regarding the element size, a new subregion mesh method is proposed to reduce the number of the unnecessary elements. A dynamic model for flexible multibody systems with elastic-plastic contact impact is established based on a floating frame of reference formulation and complete Lagrange incremental nonlinear finite-element method to investigate the effect of the elastic-plastic deformation as well as spatial discretization. Experiments on the impact between two bodies are carried out to validate the correctness of the elastic-plastic model. The proposed formulation is applied to a slider-crank system with elastic-plastic impact.

The ICM method with objective function transformed by variable discrete condition for continuum structure

ICM （Independent Continuous Mapping） method can solve topological optimization problems with the minimized weight as the objective and subjected to displacement constraints. To get a clearer topological configuration, by introducing the discrete condition of topological variables and integrating with the original objective, an optimal model with multi-objectives is formulated to make the topological variables approach 0 or 1 as near as possible, and the model reduces the effect of deleting rate on the result. The image-filtering method is employed to eliminate the checkerboard patterns and mesh dependence that occurred in the topology optimization of a continuum structure. The computational efficiency is enhanced through selecting quasi-active displacement constraints and a design region. Numerical examples indicate that this algorithm is robust and practicable, though the number of iterations is slightly increased with respect to the original algorithm.

METHOD FOR ADAPTIVE MESH GENERATION BASED ON GEOMETRICAL FEATURES OF 3D SOLID

In order to provide a guidance to specify the element size dynamically during adaptive finite element mesh generation, adaptive criteria are firstly defined according to the relationships between the geometrical features and the elements of 3D solid. Various modes based on different datum geometrical elements, such as vertex, curve, surface, and so on, are then designed for generating local refined mesh. With the guidance of the defmed criteria, different modes are automatically selected to apply on the appropriate datum objects to program the element size in the local special areas. As a result, the control information of element size is successfully programmed covering the entire domain based on the geometrical features of 3D solid. A new algorithm based on Delatmay triangulation is then developed for generating 3D adaptive finite element mesh, in which the element size is dynamically specified to catch the geometrical features and suitable tetrahedron facets are selected to locate interior nodes continuously. As a result, adaptive mesh with good-quality elements is generated. Examples show that the proposed method can be successfully applied to adaptive finite element mesh automatic generation based on the geometrical features of 3D solid.

A VIRTUAL MESH METHOD FOR THE OPTIMIZED DESIGN OF COMPLEX STRUCTURES

Concepts for a virtual 3D space and a hyper-sphere are proposed and the formulae for determining the computable nodes of the mesh are derived.Then a new optimization design method('Virtual Mesh Method'or V.M.M)is developed.Three examples are given,showing that the method proposed is especially suitable for the optimized design of complex structures,and that the global approximate optimal solution can be searched with remarkably reduced computational work.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL FINITE ELEMENT DELAUNAY MESH GENERATION BY A PERFECTED NODE CONNECTION METHOD

How to automatically generate three-dimensional finite element Delaunay mesh by a peifected node connection method is introduced, where nodes are generated based on existing elements, instead of independence of node creation and elements generation in traditional node connection method. Therefore, Ihe the difficulty about how to automatically create nodes in the traditional method is overcome.

Study on the computation method of temperature field of RCC dam

According to the construction characteristic of RCC dam cast by layers, three-dimensional finite element relocating mesh method is developed to simulate construction process and compute temperature field. The computation model of relocating mesh method is expatiated in detail; based on the thermodynamic properties of RCC materials, the feasibility and error of relocating mesh method are analyzed and demonstrated; The computation results in this article are verified by means of the temperature observation data of certain RCC gravity dam. The results show that the temperature field computed by three-dimensional finite element relocating mesh method can not only ensure the computation precision, but also improve the calculation efficiency greatly. This provides an effective method for simulating construction process and computing temperature field of RCC dam.

Simulation of Hydrodynamic Performance of Drag and Double Reverse Propeller Podded Propulsors

The unsteady performance of drag and double reverse propeller podded propulsors in open water was numerically simulated using a computational fluid dynamics （CFD） method. A moving mesh method was used to more realistically simulate propulsor working conditions, and the thrust, torque, and lateral force coefficients of both propulsors were compared and analyzed. Forces acting on different parts of the propulsors along with the flow field distribution of steady and unsteady results at different advance coefficients were compared. Moreover, the change of the lateral force and the difference between the abovementioned two methods were mainly analyzed. It was shown that the thrust and torque results of both methods were similar, with the lateral force results having the highest deviation

CFD Simulation of Hydrodynamic Characteristics in Stirred Reactors Equipped with Standard Rushton or 45°-Upward PBT Impeller

The hydrodynamic characteristics generated by the standard Rushton or 45°-upward pitched-blade-turbine (PBT) impellers in a baffled reactor are numerically simulated for different off-bottom clearances (C= 1/3H and 1/2H) and agitator speeds (100, 150, 200, 250 and 300r·min^-1) by using FLUENT code (Version 5.4). The results are compared with the experimental and simulated data in the published papers and good agreement is observed. The shapes of the profile of mean velocities seem independent to the speed of agitators under the experimental conditions (100-300r·min^-1).

Shock-Wave/Rail-Fasteners Interaction for Two Rocket Sleds in the Supersonic Flow Regime

Rocket sleds belong to a category of large-scale test platforms running on the ground.The applications can be found in many fields,such as aerospace engineering,conventional weapons,and civil high-tech products.In the present work,shock-wave/rail-fasteners interaction is investigated numerically when the rocket sled is in supersonic flow conditions.Two typical rocket sled models are considered,i.e.,an anti-D shaped version of the rocket sled and an axisymmetric slender-body variant.The dynamics for Mach number 2 have been simulated in the framework of a dynamic mesh method.The emerging shock waves can be categorized as head-shock,tailing-shock and reflected-shock.An unsteady large-scale vortex and related shock dynamics have been found for the anti-D shaped rocket sled.However,a quasi-steady flow state exists for the slender-body shaped rocket sled.It indicates that the axisymmetric geometry is more suitable for the effective production of rocket sleds.With the help of power spectral density analysis,we have also determined the characteristic frequencies related to shock-wave/rail-fasteners interaction.Furthermore,a harmonic phenomenon has been revealed,which is intimately related to a shock wave reflection mechanism.

Numerical Simulation of Aerodynamic Interaction Effects in Coaxial Compound Helicopters

The so-called coaxial compound helicopter features two rigid coaxial rotors,and possesses high-speed capabilities.Nevertheless,the small separation of the coaxial rotors causes severe aerodynamic interactions,which require careful analysis.In the present work,the aerodynamic interaction between the various helicopter components is investigated by means of a numerical method considering both hover and forward flight conditions.While a sliding mesh method is used to deal with the rotating coaxial rotors,the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS)equations are solved for the flow field.The Caradonna&Tung(CT)rotor and Harrington-2 coaxial rotor are considered to validate the numerical method.The results show that the aerodynamic interaction of the two rigid coaxial rotors significantly influences hover’s induced velocity and pressure distribution.In addition,the average thrust of an isolated coaxial rotor is smaller than that of the corresponding isolated single rotor.Compared with the isolated coaxial rotor,the existence of the fuselage results in an increment in the thrust of the rotors.Furthermore,these interactions between the components of the considered coaxial compound helicopter decay with an increase in the advance ratio.

Higher-Order Line Element Analysis of Potential Field with Slender Heterogeneities

Potential field due to line sources residing on slender heterogeneities is involved in various areas,such as heat conduction,potential flow,and electrostatics.Often dipolar line sources are either prescribed or induced due to close interaction with other objects.Its calculation requires a higher-order scheme to take into account the dipolar effect as well as net source effect.In the present work,we apply such a higher-order line element method to analyze the potential field with cylindrical slender heterogeneities.In a benchmark example of two parallel rods,we compare the line element solution with the boundary element solution to show the accuracy as a function in terms of rods distance.Furthermore,we use more complicated examples to demonstrate the capability of the line element technique.

PHYSICAL VALUE MAPPING ALGORITHM OF MESH IN FINE CAE ANALYSIS OF AUTOMOBILE BODY STRUCTURE

A physical value mapping （PVM） algorithm based on finite element mesh from the stamped part in stamping process to the product is presented, In order to improve the efficiency of the PVM algorithm, a search way from the mesh of the product to the mesh of the stamped part will be adopted. At the same time, the search process is divided into two steps： entire search （ES） and local search （LS）, which improve the searching efficiency. The searching area is enlarged to avoid missing projection elements in ES process. An arc-length method is introduced in LS process. The validity is confirmed by the results of the complex industry-forming product.

Adaptive Moving Mesh Central-Upwind Schemes for Hyperbolic System of PDEs:Applications to Compressible Euler Equations and Granular Hydrodynamics

We introduce adaptive moving mesh central-upwind schemes for one-and two-dimensional hyperbolic systems of conservation and balance laws.The proposed methods consist of three steps.First,the solution is evolved by solving the studied system by the second-order semi-discrete central-upwind scheme on either the one-dimensional nonuniform grid or the two-dimensional structured quadrilateral mesh.When the evolution step is complete,the grid points are redistributed according to the moving mesh differential equation.Finally,the evolved solution is projected onto the new mesh in a conservative manner.The resulting adaptive moving mesh methods are applied to the one-and two-dimensional Euler equations of gas dynamics and granular hydrodynamics systems.Our numerical results demonstrate that in both cases,the adaptive moving mesh central-upwind schemes outperform their uniform mesh counterparts.

Combined Size and Shape Optimization of Structures with DOE,RSM and GA

In this paper,size and shape optimization problem of a machine gun system is addressed with an efficient hybrid method,in which a novel and flexible mesh morphing technique is employed to achieve fast parameterization and modification of complexity structure without going back to CAD for reconstruction of geometric models or to finite element analysis（ FEA） for remodeling. Design of experiments（ DOE） and response surface method（ RSM） are applied to approximate the constitutive parameters of a machine gun system based on experimental tests. Further FEA,secondary development technique and genetic algorithm（ GA） are introduced to find all the optimal solutions in one go and the optimal design of the demonstrated machine gun system is obtained. Results of the rigid-flexible coupling dynamic analysis and exterior ballistics calculation validate the proposed methodology,which is relatively time-saving,reliable and has the potential to solve similar problems.

Numerical simulation of pedestrian flow past a circular obstruction

In this paper, a revisiting Hughes’ dynamic continuum model is used to investigate and predict the essential macroscopic characteristics of pedestrian flow, such as flow, density and average speed, in a two dimensional continuous walking facility scattered with a circular obstruction. It is assumed that pedestrians prefer to walk a path with the lowest instantaneous travel cost from origin to destination, under the consideration of the current traffic conditions and the tendency to avoid a high-density region and an obstruction. An algorithm for the pedestrian flow model is based on a cellcentered finite volume method for a scalar conservation law equation, a fast sweeping method for an Eikonal-type equation and a second-order TVD Runge-Kutta method for the time integration on unstructured meshes. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm. It is verified that density distribution of pedestrian flow is influenced by the position of the obstruction and the path-choice behavior of pedestrians.

An Improved Moving Mesh Algorithm

We consider an iterative algorithm of mesh optimization for finite element solution, and give an improved moving mesh strategy that reduces rapidly the complexity and cost of solving variational problems. A numerical result is presented for a 2-dimensional problem by the improved algorithm.

Discussion and study on contraction joints for RCC gravity dam

Based on the construction property of rolled compacted concrete, three-dimensional finite element relocating mesh method was developed in simulating construction process and computing temperature and stress field. Using this method, the temperature and the thermal stress fields developed in the RCC gravity dam of the Longtan project with or without a longitudinal joint during construction and operation are calculated so as to simulate the construction process. The computation results show that the value of the thermal stresses developed in the dam even, without any longitudinal joint, could meet the design criteria provided the placement temperature is adequately controlled.

Simulation analysis of temperature control calculation of RCC gravity dam in the cold region

In this paper, regarding the actual conditions of a roller compacted concrete dam, three-dimensional finite element relocating mesh method is utilized to simulate and calculate the temperature field of the RCC dam during the construction stage and operating period. The calculation is well consistent with the actual construction process, the thin-layer pouring process the pouring temperature and all kinds of external loads involved being taken into account, By comparing and analyzing of the impact of the cold wave on the dam stress, important references are provided for the RCCD design and the temperature control during construction.

A mesh optimization method using machine learning technique and variational mesh adaptation

Computational mesh is an important ingredient that affects the accuracy and efficiency of CFD numerical simulation.In light of the introduced large amount of computational costs for many adaptive mesh methods,moving mesh methods keep the number of nodes and topology of a mesh unchanged and do not increase CFD computational expense.As the state-of-the-art moving mesh method,the variational mesh adaptation approach has been introduced to CFD calculation.However,quickly estimating the flow field on the updated meshes during the iterative algorithm is challenging.A mesh optimization method,which embeds a machine learning regression model into the variational mesh adaptation,is proposed.The regression model captures the mapping between the initial mesh nodes and the flow field,so that the variational method could move mesh nodes iteratively by solving the mesh functional which is built from the estimated flow field on the updated mesh via the regression model.After the optimization,the density of the nodes in the high gradient area increases while the density in the low gradient area decreases.Benchmark examples are first used to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.And then we use the steady subsonic and transonic flows over cylinder and NACA0012 airfoil on unstructured triangular meshes to test our method.Results show that the proposed method significantly improves the accuracy of the local flow features on the adaptive meshes.Our work indicates that the proposed mesh optimization approach is promising for improving the accuracy and efficiency of CFD computation.

Effects of fixed and dynamic mesh methods on simulation of stepped planing craft

In the present study,we investigate the effects of fixed and dynamic mesh methods on CFD simulation of stepped planing craft.To this accomplishment,three different body forms of without step,one step,and two step Cougar planing crafts are considered.Three-dimensional CFD analysis is conducted using finite volume method(FVM).Volume of fluid(VOF)model is used for free surface modeling.Overset mesh technique(dynamic mesh)and fixed mesh method are conducted by STAR CCM and ANSYS CFX CFD toolboxes,respectively.CFD results of total hydrodynamic resistance and dynamic trim angle are compared against our measured experimental data to assess the performance and accuracy of considered mesh methods.For more details,pressure distributions,wave patterns and streamlines around the hull models are also presented.Based on our CFD results,dynamic mesh method is more accurate and precise to simulate the stepped planing crafts compared to fixed mesh method.However,computational cost for dynamic mesh method is significantly greater than the fixed mesh method.We also found that the porpoising phenomenon is only detectable using dynamic mesh method in simulation of stepped Cougar planing craft.©2018 Shanghai Jiaotong University.Published by Elsevier B.V.