A Deep Learning Approach to Shape Optimization Problems for Flexoelectric Materials Using the Isogeometric Finite Element Method

A new approach for flexoelectricmaterial shape optimization is proposed in this study.In this work,a proxymodel based on artificial neural network(ANN)is used to solve the parameter optimization and shape optimization problems.To improve the fitting ability of the neural network,we use the idea of pre-training to determine the structure of the neural network and combine different optimizers for training.The isogeometric analysis-finite element method(IGA-FEM)is used to discretize the flexural theoretical formulas and obtain samples,which helps ANN to build a proxy model from the model shape to the target value.The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through two numerical examples of parameter optimization and one numerical example of shape optimization.

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.

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.

Bubble-Enriched Smoothed Finite Element Methods for Nearly-Incompressible Solids

This work presents a locking-free smoothed finite element method(S-FEM)for the simulation of soft matter modelled by the equations of quasi-incompressible hyperelasticity.The proposed method overcomes well-known issues of standard finite element methods(FEM)in the incompressible limit:the over-estimation of stiffness and sensitivity to severely distorted meshes.The concepts of cell-based,edge-based and node-based S-FEMs are extended in this paper to three-dimensions.Additionally,a cubic bubble function is utilized to improve accuracy and stability.For the bubble function,an additional displacement degree of freedom is added at the centroid of the element.Several numerical studies are performed demonstrating the stability and validity of the proposed approach.The obtained results are compared with standard FEM and with analytical solutions to show the effectiveness of the method.

A Cell-Based Linear Smoothed Finite Element Method for Polygonal Topology Optimization

The aim of this work is to employ a modified cell-based smoothed finite element method(S-FEM)for topology optimization with the domain discretized with arbitrary polygons.In the present work,the linear polynomial basis function is used as the weight function instead of the constant weight function used in the standard S-FEM.This improves the accuracy and yields an optimal convergence rate.The gradients are smoothed over each smoothing domain,then used to compute the stiffness matrix.Within the proposed scheme,an optimum topology procedure is conducted over the smoothing domains.Structural materials are distributed over each smoothing domain and the filtering scheme relies on the smoothing domain.Numerical tests are carried out to pursue the performance of the proposed optimization by comparing convergence,efficiency and accuracy.

A Smoothed Finite Element Method for the Static and Free Vibration Analysis of Shells

A four-node quadrilateral shell element with smoothed membrane-bending based on Mindlin-Reissner theory is proposed. The element is a combination of a plate bending and membrane element. It is based on mixed interpolation where the bending and membrane stiffness matrices are calculated on the boundaries of the smoothing cells while the shear terms are approximated by independent interpolation functions in natural coordinates. The proposed element is robust, computationally inexpensive and free of locking. Since the integration is done on the element boundaries for the bending and membrane terms, the element is more accurate than the MITC4 element for distorted meshes. This will be demonstrated for several numerical examples.

Elastodynamic Infinite Elements with Modified Bessel Shape Functions for Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction

The paper is devoted to formulations of decay and mapped elastodynamic infinite elements, based on modified Bessel shape functions. These elements are appropriate for Soil-Structure Interaction （SSI） problems, solved in time or frequency domain and can be treated as a new form of the recently proposed Elastodynamic Infinite Elements with United Shape Functions （EIEUSF） infinite elements. The formulation of 2D Horizontal type Infinite Elements （HIE） is demonstrated here, but by similar techniques 2D Vertical （VIE） and 2D Comer （CIE） Infinite Elements can also be formulated. Using elastodynamic infinite elements is the easier and appropriate way to achieve an adequate simulation including basic aspects of Soil-Structure Interaction. Continuity along the artificial boundary （the line between finite and infinite elements） is discussed as well and the application of the proposed elastodynamic infinite elements in the Finite Element Method （FEM） is explained in brief. Finally, a numerical example shows the computational efficiency of the proposed infinite elements.

HIGH-ORDER RUNGE-KUTTA DISCONTINUOUS GALERKIN FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR 2-D RESONATOR PROBLEM

The Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin finite element method （RK-DGFEM） is introduced to solve the classical resonator problem in the time domain. DGFEM uses unstructured grid discretization in the space domain and it is explicit in the time domain. Consequently it is a best mixture of FEM and finite volume method （FVM）. RK-DGFEM can obtain local high-order accuracy by using high-order polynomial basis. Numerical experiments of transverse magnetic （TM） wave propagation in a 2-D resonator are performed. A high-order Lagrange polynomial basis is adopted. Numerical results agree well with analytical solution. And different order Lagrange interpolation polynomial basis impacts on simulation result accuracy are discussed. Computational results indicate that the accuracy is evidently improved when the order of interpolation basis is increased. Finally, L^2 errors of different order polynomial basis in RK-DGFEM are presented. Computational results show that L^2 error declines exponentially as the order of basis increases.

Self-adaptive strategy for one-dimensional finite element method based on EEP method with optimal super-convergence order

Based on the newly-developed element energy projection （EEP） method with optimal super-convergence order for computation of super-convergent results, an improved self-adaptive strategy for one-dimensional finite element method （FEM） is proposed. In the strategy, a posteriori errors are estimated by comparing FEM solutions to EEP super-convergent solutions with optimal order of super-convergence, meshes are refined by using the error-averaging method. Quasi-FEM solutions are used to replace the true FEM solutions in the adaptive process. This strategy has been found to be simple, clear, efficient and reliable. For most problems, only one adaptive step is needed to produce the required FEM solutions which pointwise satisfy the user specified error tolerances in the max-norm. Taking the elliptical ordinary differential equation of the second order as the model problem, this paper describes the fundamental idea, implementation strategy and computational algorithm and representative numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed approach.

Extended multiscale finite element method for mechanical analysis of heterogeneous materials

An extended multiscale finite element method （EMsFEM） is developed for solving the mechanical problems of heterogeneous materials in elasticity.The underlying idea of the method is to construct numerically the multiscale base functions to capture the small-scale features of the coarse elements in the multiscale finite element analysis.On the basis of our existing work for periodic truss materials, the construction methods of the base functions for continuum heterogeneous materials are systematically introduced. Numerical experiments show that the choice of boundary conditions for the construction of the base functions has a big influence on the accuracy of the multiscale solutions, thus,different kinds of boundary conditions are proposed. The efficiency and accuracy of the developed method are validated and the results with different boundary conditions are verified through extensive numerical examples with both periodic and random heterogeneous micro-structures.Also, a consistency test of the method is performed numerically. The results show that the EMsFEM can effectively obtain the macro response of the heterogeneous structures as well as the response in micro-scale,especially under the periodic boundary conditions.

Prediction of grain scale plasticity of NiTi shape memory alloy based on crystal plasticity finite element method

Grain scale plasticity of NiTi shape memory alloy(SMA)during uniaxial compression deformation at 400℃was investigated through two-dimensional crystal plasticity finite element simulation and corresponding analysis based on the obtained orientation data.Stress and strain distributions of the deformed NiTi SMA samples confirm that there exhibits a heterogeneous plastic deformation at grain scale.Statistically stored dislocation(SSD)density and geometrically necessary dislocation(GND)density were further used in order to illuminate the microstructure evolution during uniaxial compression.SSD is responsible for sustaining plastic deformation and it increases along with the increase of plastic strain.GND plays an important role in accommodating compatible deformation between individual grains and thus it is correlated with the misorientation between neighboring grains,namely,a high GND density corresponds to large misorientation between grains and a low GND density corresponds to small misorientation between grains.

Simulation of isothermal precision extrusion of NiTi shape memory alloy pipe coupling by combining finite element method with cellular automaton

In order to present the microstructures of dynamic recrystallization(DRX) in different deformation zones of hot extruded NiTi shape memory alloy(SMA) pipe coupling,a simulation approach combining finite element method(FEM) with cellular automaton(CA) was developed and the relationship between the macroscopic field variables and the microscopic internal variables was established.The results show that there exists a great distinction among the microstructures in different zones of pipe coupling because deformation histories of these regions are diverse.Large plastic deformation may result in fine recrystallized grains,whereas the recrystallized grains may grow very substantially if there is a rigid translation during the deformation,even if the final plastic strain is very large.As a consequence,the deformation history has a significant influence on the evolution path of the DRX as well as the final microstructures of the DRX,including the morphology,the mean grain size and the recrystallization fraction.

Static and free vibration analyses of functionally graded porous variable-thickness plates using an edge-based smoothed finite element method

The main purpose of this paper is to present numerical results of static bending and free vibration of functionally graded porous(FGP) variable-thickness plates by using an edge-based smoothed finite element method(ES-FEM) associate with the mixed interpolation of tensorial components technique for the three-node triangular element(MITC3), so-called ES-MITC3. This ES-MITC3 element is performed to eliminate the shear locking problem and to enhance the accuracy of the existing MITC3 element. In the ES-MITC3 element, the stiffness matrices are obtained by using the strain smoothing technique over the smoothing domains formed by two adjacent MITC3 triangular elements sharing an edge. Materials of the plate are FGP with a power-law index(k) and maximum porosity distributions(U) in the forms of cosine functions. The influences of some geometric parameters, material properties on static bending, and natural frequency of the FGP variable-thickness plates are examined in detail.

A novel twice-interpolation finite element method for solid mechanics problems

Formulation and numerical evaluation of a novel twice-interpolation finite element method （TFEM） is presented for solid mechanics problems. In this method, the trial function for Galerkin weak form is constructed through two stages of consecutive interpolation. The primary interpolation follows exactly the same procedure of standard FEM and is further reproduced according to both nodal values and averaged nodal gradients obtained from primary interpolation. The trial functions thus constructed have continuous nodal gradients and contain higher order polynomial without increasing total freedoms. Several benchmark examples and a real dam problem are used to examine the TFEM in terms of accuracy and convergence. Compared with standard FEM, TFEM can achieve significantly better accuracy and higher convergence rate, and the continuous nodal stress can be obtained without any smoothing operation. It is also found that TFEM is insensitive to the quality of the elemental mesh. In addition, the present TFEM can treat the incompressible material without any modification.

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.

The use of the node-based smoothed finite element method to estimate static and seismic bearing capacities of shallow strip footings

The node-based smoothed finite element method(NS-FEM)is shortly presented for calculations of the static and seismic bearing capacities of shallow strip footings.A series of computations has been performed to assess variations in seismic bearing capacity factors with both horizontal and vertical seismic accelerations.Numerical results obtained agree very well with those using the slip-line method,revealing that the magnitude of the seismic bearing capacity is highly dependent upon the combinations of various directions of both components of the seismic acceleration.An upward vertical seismic acceleration reduces the seismic bearing capacity compared to the downward vertical seismic acceleration in calculations.In addition,particular emphasis is placed on a separate estimation of the effects of soil and superstructure inertia on each seismic bearing capacity component.While the effect of inertia forces arising in the soil on the seismic bearing capacity is non-trivial,and the superstructure inertia is the major contributor to reductions in the seismic bearing capacity.Both tables and charts are given for practical application to the seismic design of the foundations.

THE ANALYSIS OF THIN WALLED COMPOSITE LAMINATED HELICOPTER ROTOR WITH HIERARCHICAL WARPING FUNCTIONS AND FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

In the present paper, a series of hierarchical warping functions is developed to analyze the static and dynamic problems of thin walled composite laminated helicopter rotors composed of several layers with single closed cell. This method is the development and extension of the traditional constrained warping theory of thin walled metallic beams, which had been proved very successful since 1940s. The warping distribution along the perimeter of each layer is expanded into a series of successively corrective warping functions with the traditional warping function caused by free torsion or free beading as the first term, and is assumed to be piecewise linear along the thickness direction of layers. The governing equations are derived based upon the variational principle of minimum potential energy for static analysis and Rayleigh Quotient for free vibration analysis. Then the hierarchical finite element method. is introduced to form a,. numerical algorithm. Both static and natural vibration problems of sample box beams axe analyzed with the present method to show the main mechanical behavior of the thin walled composite laminated helicopter rotor.

Mixed Finite Element Formats of any Order Based on Bubble Functions for Stationary Stokes Problem

Mixed element formats of any order based on bubble functions for the stationary Stokes problem are derived in triangular and tetrahedral meshes and the convergence of these formats are proved.

An Adaptive Least-Squares Mixed Finite Element Method for Fourth Order Parabolic Problems

A least-squares mixed finite element (LSMFE) method for the numerical solution of fourth order parabolic problems analyzed and developed in this paper. The Ciarlet-Raviart mixed finite element space is used to approximate. The a posteriori error estimator which is needed in the adaptive refinement algorithm is proposed. The local evaluation of the least-squares functional serves as a posteriori error estimator. The posteriori errors are effectively estimated. The convergence of the adaptive least-squares mixed finite element method is proved.

Meshfree Finite Volume Element Method for Constrained Optimal Control Problem Governed by Random Convection Diffusion Equations

In this paper,we investigate a stochastic meshfree finite volume element method for an optimal control problem governed by the convection diffusion equations with random coefficients.There are two contributions of this paper.Firstly,we establish a scheme to approximate the optimality system by using the finite volume element method in the physical space and the meshfree method in the probability space,which is competitive for high-dimensional random inputs.Secondly,the a priori error estimates are derived for the state,the co-state and the control variables.Some numerical tests are carried out to confirm the theoretical results and demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.