Hermite Finite Element Method for Vibration Problem of Euler-Bernoulli Beam on Viscoelastic Pasternak Foundation

Viscoelastic foundation plays a very important role in civil engineering. It can effectively disperse the structural load into the foundation soil and avoid the damage caused by the concentrated load. The model of Euler-Bernoulli beam on viscoelastic Pasternak foundation can be used to analyze the deformation and response of buildings under complex geological conditions. In this paper, we use Hermite finite element method to get the numerical approximation scheme for the vibration equation of viscoelastic Pasternak foundation beam. Convergence and error estimation are rigourously established. We prove that the fully discrete scheme has convergence order O(τ2+h4), where τis time step size and his space step size. Finally, we give four numerical examples to verify the validity of theoretical analysis.

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.

Radiation heat transfer model for complex superalloy turbine blade in directional solidification process based on finite element method

For the sake of a more accurate shell boundary and calculation of radiation heat transfer in the Directional Solidification(DS) process, a radiation heat transfer model based on the Finite Element Method(FEM)is developed in this study. Key technologies, such as distinguishing boundaries automatically, local matrix and lumped heat capacity matrix, are also stated. In order to analyze the effect of withdrawing rate on DS process,the solidification processes of a complex superalloy turbine blade in the High Rate Solidification(HRS) process with different withdrawing rates are simulated; and by comparing the simulation results, it is found that the most suitable withdrawing rate is determined to be 5.0 mm·min^(-1). Finally, the accuracy and reliability of the radiation heat transfer model are verified, because of the accordance of simulation results with practical process.

Modeling and Simulation of Valve Cycle in Vein Using an Immersed Finite Element Method

A vein model was established to simulate the periodic characteristics of blood flow and valve deformation in blood-induced valve cycles.Using an immersed finite element method which was modified by a ghost fluid technique,the interaction between the vein and blood was simulated.With an independent solid solver,the contact force between vein tissues was calculated using an adhesive contact method.A benchmark simulation of the normal valve cycle validated the proposed model for a healthy vein.Both the opening orifice and blood flow rate agreed with those in the physiology.Low blood shear stress and maximum leaflet stress were also seen in the base region of the valve.On the basis of the healthy model,a diseased vein model was subsequently built to explore the sinus lesions,namely,fibrosis and atrophy which are assumed stiffening and softening of the sinus.Our results showed the opening orifice of the diseased vein was inversely proportional to the corresponding modulus of the sinus.A drop in the transvalvular pressure gradient resulted from the sinus lesion.Compared to the fibrosis,the atrophy of the sinus apparently improved the vein deformability but simultaneously accelerated the deterioration of venous disease and increased the risk of potential fracture.These results provide understandings of the normal/abnormal valve cycle in vein,and can be also helpful for the prosthesis design.

Axisymmetric Finite Element Method for Analysis of Plate on Layered Soil

To obtain the fundamental solution of soil has become the key problem for the semi-analytical and semi-numerical (SASN) method in analyzing plate on layered soil. By applying axisymmetric finite element method (FEM),an expression relating the surface settlement and the reaction of the layered soil can be obtained. Such a reaction can be treated as load acting on the applied external load. Having the plate modelled by four-node elements,the governing equation of the plate can be formed and solved. In this case, the fundamental solution can be introduced into the global soil stiffness matrix and five-node or nine-node element soil stiffness matrix.The existing commercial FEM software can be used to solve the fundamental solution of soil, which can bypass the complicated formula derivation and boasts high computational efficiency as well.

Stability assessment of landslide-prone road cut rock slopes in Himalayan terrain:A finite element method based approach

Large-scale slope destabilization could be aggravated due to swift urbanization and ever-rising demands of geoengineering projects such as dams,tunnels,bridges and widening roads.National Highway-58 connects Delhi to Badrinath in India,which passes through complex geomorphological and geological terrain and often encounters cut slopes susceptible to slope failures.In the present investigation,a detailed geotechnical appraisal is conducted along the road cut slopes from Rishikesh to Devprayag in the Himalayas.Twenty vulnerable road cut slopes were demarcated for detailed slope stability analysis using Phase2D finite element modeling simulator.Nonlinear generalized Hoek-Brown(GHB)criterion was adopted for stability analyses.Out of 20 slopes,five slopes(S6,S7,S18,S19 and S20)are unstable with factor of safety(FoS)less than or equal to 1,and thus needs immediate attention.The FoS values of four slopes(S2,S9,S13 and S17)lie between 1 and 1.3,i.e.marginally stable,and slopes S1,S3,S4,S5,S8,S10,Sll,S12,S14,S15 and S16 are stable.Mohr-Coulomb(MC)criterion was also adopted to compare the slope stability analysis with GHB criterion.The FoS calculated from GHB criterion is close to that using MC criterion for lower values of FoS whereas for higher values,the difference is marked.For the jointed rock in the Himalayan region,the nonlinear GHB criterion gives better results as compared to MC criterion and matches with the prevailing field conditions.Accordingly,some suggestions are proposed to strengthen the stability of cut slopes.

DEFORMATION ANALYSIS OF SHEET METAL SINGLE-POINT INCREMENTAL FORMING BY FINITE ELEMENT METHOD SIMULATION

Single-point incremental forming （SPIF） is an innovational sheet metal forming method without dedicated dies, which belongs to rapid prototyping technology. In generalizing the SPIF of sheet metal, the deformation analysis on forming process becomes an important and useful method for the planning of shell products, the choice of material, the design of the forming process and the planning of the forming tool. Using solid brick elements, the finite element method（FEM） model of truncated pyramid was established. Based on the theory of anisotropy and assumed strain formulation, the SPIF processes with different parameters were simulated. The resulted comparison between the simulations and the experiments shows that the FEM model is feasible and effective. Then, according to the simulated forming process, the deformation pattern of SPIF can be summarized as the combination of plane-stretching deformation and bending deformation. And the study about the process parameters＇ impact on deformation shows that the process parameter of interlayer spacing is a dominant factor on the deformation. Decreasing interlayer spacing, the strain of one step decreases and the formability of blank will be improved. With bigger interlayer spacing, the plastic deformation zone increases and the forming force will be bigger.

A Computational Study with Finite Element Method and Finite Difference Method for 2D Elliptic Partial Differential Equations

In this paper, we consider two methods, the Second order Central Difference Method (SCDM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM) with P1 triangular elements, for solving two dimensional general linear Elliptic Partial Differential Equations (PDE) with mixed derivatives along with Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. These two methods have almost the same accuracy from theoretical aspect with regular boundaries, but generally Finite Element Method produces better approximations when the boundaries are irregular. In order to investigate which method produces better results from numerical aspect, we apply these methods into specific examples with regular boundaries with constant step-size for both of them. The results which obtained confirm, in most of the cases, the theoretical results.

Treatment of discontinuous interface in liquid-solid forming with extended finite element method

Extended finite element method(XFEM) is proposed to simulate the discontinuous interface in the liquid-solid forming process.The discontinuous interface is an important phenomenon happening in the liquid-solid forming processes and it is difficult to be simulated accurately with conventional finite element method(CFEM) because it involves solid phase and liquid phase simultaneously.XFEM is becoming more and more popular with the need of solving the discontinuous problem happening in engineering field.The implementation method of XFEM is proposed on Abaqus code by using UEL(user element) with the flowchart.The key is to modify the element stiffness in the proposed method by using UEL on the platform of Abaqus code.In contrast to XFEM used in the simulation of solidification,the geometrical and physical properties of elements were modified at the same time in our method that is beneficial to getting smooth interface transition and precise analysis results.The analysis is simplified significantly with XFEM.

Flow simulation considering adsorption boundary layer based on digital rock and finite element method

Due to the low permeability of tight reservoirs,throats play a significant role in controlling fluid flow.Although many studies have been conducted to investigate fluid flow in throats in the microscale domain,comparatively fewer works have been devoted to study the effect of adsorption boundary layer(ABL)in throats based on the digital rock method.By considering an ABL,we investigate its effects on fluid flow.We build digital rock model based on computed tomography technology.Then,microscopic pore structures are extracted with watershed segmentation and pore geometries are meshed through Delaunay triangulation approach.Finally,using the meshed digital simulation model and finite element method,we investigate the effects of viscosity and thickness of ABL on microscale flow.Our results demonstrate that viscosity and thickness of ABL are major factors that significantly hinder fluid flow in throats.

Sintering zone prediction in direct metal laser sintering by finite element method

A three-dimensional finite element thermal model in direct metal laser sintering(DMLS) including the effect of powder-to-solid transition were established to predict sintering zone, which benefited the determination of suitable process parameters in DMLS. The nonlinear transient model of the metals thermal conductivity for powder-to-solid transition was developed. The model uses solid thermal properties of material in liquid-phase zone, transitional ones in sintering or sintered zone and powder ones in unsintered zones of powder bed to predict, respectively. Sintering zone boundary was estimated by maximum temperature history profile. Experiments were carried out using multi-component Cu-based metal powder. Compared experimental and predicted results, the mean error of sintering depth and width are 7.8% and 14.4%, respectively, which confirms the accuracy of the FEM prediction.

Simulation of Needle-Type Corona Electrodes by the Finite Element Method

This paper describes a software tool, called LEVSOFT, suitable for the electric field simulations of corona electrodes by the Finite Element Method （FEM）. Special attention was paid to the user friendly construction of geometries with corners and sharp points, and to the fast generation of highly refined triangular meshes and field maps. The execution of selfadaptive meshes was also implemented. These customized features make the code attractive for the simulation of needle-type corona electrodes. Some case examples involving needle type electrodes are presented.

ASYMPTOTICAL STABILITY OF NEUTRAL REACTION-DIFFUSION EQUATIONS WITH PCAS AND THEIR FINITE ELEMENT METHODS

This paper focuses on the analytical and numerical asymptotical stability of neutral reaction-diffusion equations with piecewise continuous arguments.First,for the analytical solutions of the equations,we derive their expressions and asymptotical stability criteria.Second,for the semi-discrete and one-parameter fully-discrete finite element methods solving the above equations,we work out the sufficient conditions for assuring that the finite element solutions are asymptotically stable.Finally,with a typical example with numerical experiments,we illustrate the applicability of the obtained theoretical results.

Numerical Study of Quasi-Static Crack Growth Problems Based on Extended Finite Element Method

The extended finite element method(XFEM) is a numerical method for modeling discontinuities within a classical finite element framework. Based on the algorithm of XFEM, the major factors such as integral domain factor and mesh density which all influence the calculation accuracy of stress intensity factor(SIF) are discussed,and the proper parameters to calculate the SIF are given. The results from the case analysis demonstrate that the crack path is the most sensitive to the crack growth increment size, and the crack path is not mesh-sensitive. A reanalysis method for the XFEM has been introduced. The example presented shows that there is a significantly reduced computational cost for each iteration of crack growth achieved by using the reanalysis method and the reanalysis approach has increasing benefits as the mesh density increases or the value of crack growth increments size decreases.

Numerical Simulation of a Multi-Frequency Resistivity Logging-While-Drilling Tool Using a Highly Accurate and Adaptive Higher-Order Finite Element Method

A novel,highly efficient and accurate adaptive higher-order finite element method(hp-FEM)is used to simulate a multi-frequency resistivity loggingwhile-drilling(LWD)tool response in a borehole environment.Presented in this study are the vector expression of Maxwell’s equations,three kinds of boundary conditions,stability weak formulation of Maxwell’s equations,and automatic hpadaptivity strategy.The new hp-FEM can select optimal refinement and calculation strategies based on the practical formation model and error estimation.Numerical experiments show that the new hp-FEM has an exponential convergence rate in terms of relative error in a user-prescribed quantity of interest against the degrees of freedom,which provides more accurate results than those obtained using the adaptive h-FEM.The numerical results illustrate the high efficiency and accuracy of the method at a given LWD tool structure and parameters in different physical models,which further confirm the accuracy of the results using the Hermes library(http://hpfem.org/hermes)with a multi-frequency resistivity LWD tool response in a borehole environment.

Numerical modeling of concrete hydraulic fracturing with extended finite element method

The extended finite element method (XFEM) is a new numerical method for modeling discontinuity. Research about numerical modeling for concrete hydraulic fracturing by XFEM is explored. By building the virtual work principle of the fracture problem considering water pressure on the crack surface, the governing equations of XFEM for hydraulic fracture modeling are derived. Implementation of the XFEM for hydraulic fracturing is presented. Finally, the method is verified by two examples and the advan- tages of the XFEM for hydraulic fracturing analysis are displayed.

Numerical simulation of isothermal chemical vapor infiltration process in fabrication of carbon-carbon composites by finite element method

The chemical vapor infiltration process in fabrication of carbon-carbon composites is highly inefficient and requires long processing time. These limitations add considerably to the cost of fabrication and restrict the application of this material. Efforts have been made to study the CVI process in fabrication of carbon-carbon composites by computer simulation and predict the process parameters, density, porosity, etc. According to the characteristics of CVI process, the basis principle of FEM and mass transport, the finite element model has been established. Incremental finite element equations and the elemental stiffness matrices have been derived for the first time. The finite element program developed by the authors has been used to simulate the ICVI process in fabrication of carbon-carbon composites. Computer color display of simulated results can express the densification and distributions of density and porosity in preform clearly. The influence of process parameters on the densification of preform has been analyzed. The numerically simulated and experimental results give a good agreement.

NUMERICAL SIMULATON OF IMPROVED BOUSSINESQ EQUATIONS BY A FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

The improved Boussinesq equations for varying depth derived by Beji andNadaoka significantly improved the linear dispersive properties of wave models in intermediate waterdepths. In this study, a finite element method was developed to solve the improved Boussinesqequations. A spongy layer was applied at the open boundary of the computational domain to absorb thewave energy. The fourth-order predictor-corrector method was employed in the time integration.Several test cases were illustrated. The numerical results of this model were compared withlaboratory data and those from other numerical models. It turns out that the present numerical modelis capable of giving satisactory prediction for wave propagation.

Numerical simulation of single roller melt spinning for NdFeB alloy based on finite element method

The numerical simulation model of single roller melt spinning for rapid quenching process of NdFeB alloy was built,and the vacuum chamber,cooling roller and sample were taken into account as a system.The existing mature technology was in order to verify the correctness of simulation.The rapid quenching ribbons with different roll speeds were used as the simulation objects.The results of the numerical simulation and experiments show that the validity of the model has been testified and the reasons of the formation of complete quenching ribbons and by-product have been explained.The experimental thickness of the ribbons is proportional to the theoretical thickness.In the same spray condition,with the roll speed increasing,the thickness decreases linearly.At the speed range of25-30 m·s^(-1),the simulated calculation date is close to the experimental date,which can be considered as an ideal technological parameter.