Numerical simulation on the seismic performance of retrofitted masonry walls based on the combined finite-discrete element method

Due to the long construction life,improper design methods,brittle material properties and poor construction techniques,most existing masonry structures do not perform well during earthquakes.The retrofitting method using an external steel-meshed mortar layer is widely used to retrofit existing masonry buildings.Assessing the seismic performance of masonry walls reinforced by an external steel-meshed mortar layer reasonably and effectively is a difficult subject in the research field of masonry structures.Based on the combined finite-discrete elements method,the numerical models of retrofitted brick walls with four different masonry mortar strengths by an external mortar layer are established.The shear strength of mortar and the contact between the retrofitted mortar layer and the brick blocks are discussed in detail.The failure patterns and load-displacement curves of the retrofitted brick walls were obtained by applying low cycle reciprocating loads to the numerical model,and the bearing capacity and the failure mechanism of the retrofitted walls were obtained by comparing the failure patterns,ultimate bearing capacity,deformability and other aspects with the tests.This study provides a basis for improving the seismic strengthening design method of masonry structures and helps to better assess the seismic performance of masonry structures after retrofitting.

COMBINED DELAUNAY TRIANGULATION AND ADAPTIVE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR CRACK GROWTH ANALYSIS

The paper presents the utilization of the adaptive Delaunay triangulation in the finite element modeling of two dimensional crack propagation problems, including detailed description of the proposed procedure which consists of the Delaunay triangulation algorithm and an adaptive remeshing technique. The adaptive remeshing technique generates small elements around crack tips and large elements in the other regions. The resulting stress intensity factors and simulated crack propagation behavior are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the procedure. Three sample problems of a center cracked plate, a single edge cracked plate and a compact tension specimen, are simulated and their results assessed.

Assessment of strain bursting in deep tunnelling by using the finite-discrete element method

Rockbursting in deep tunnelling is a complex phenomenon posing significant challenges both at the design and construction stages of an underground excavation within hard rock masses and under high in situ stresses. While local experience, field monitoring, and informed data-rich analysis are some of the tools commonly used to manage the hazards and the associated risks, advanced numerical techniques based on discontinuum modelling have also shown potential in assisting in the assessment of rockbursting. In this study, the hybrid finite-discrete element method(FDEM) is employed to investigate the failure and fracturing processes, and the mechanisms of energy storage and rapid release resulting in bursting, as well as to assess its utility as part of the design process of underground excavations.Following the calibration of the numerical model to simulate a deep excavation in a hard, massive rock mass, discrete fracture network(DFN) geometries are integrated into the model in order to examine the impact of rock structure on rockbursting under high in situ stresses. The obtained analysis results not only highlight the importance of explicitly simulating pre-existing joints within the model, as they affect the mobilised failure mechanisms and the intensity of strain bursting phenomena, but also show how the employed joint network geometry, the field stress conditions, and their interaction influence the extent and depth of the excavation induced damage. Furthermore, a rigorous analysis of the mass and velocity of the ejected rock blocks and comparison of the obtained data with well-established semi-empirical approaches demonstrate the potential of the method to provide realistic estimates of the kinetic energy released during bursting for determining the energy support demand.

Characterizing the influence of stress-induced microcracks on the laboratory strength and fracture development in brittle rocks using a finite-discrete element method-micro discrete fracture network FDEM-μDFN approach

Heterogeneity is an inherent component of rock and may be present in different forms including mineralheterogeneity, geometrical heterogeneity, weak grain boundaries and micro-defects. Microcracks areusually observed in crystalline rocks in two forms： natural and stress-induced; the amount of stressinducedmicrocracking increases with depth and in-situ stress. Laboratory results indicate that thephysical properties of rocks such as strength, deformability, P-wave velocity and permeability areinfluenced by increase in microcrack intensity. In this study, the finite-discrete element method （FDEM）is used to model microcrack heterogeneity by introducing into a model sample sets of microcracks usingthe proposed micro discrete fracture network （mDFN） approach. The characteristics of the microcracksrequired to create mDFN models are obtained through image analyses of thin sections of Lac du Bonnetgranite adopted from published literature. A suite of two-dimensional laboratory tests including uniaxial,triaxial compression and Brazilian tests is simulated and the results are compared with laboratory data.The FDEM-mDFN models indicate that micro-heterogeneity has a profound influence on both the mechanicalbehavior and resultant fracture pattern. An increase in the microcrack intensity leads to areduction in the strength of the sample and changes the character of the rock strength envelope. Spallingand axial splitting dominate the failure mode at low confinement while shear failure is the dominantfailure mode at high confinement. Numerical results from simulated compression tests show thatmicrocracking reduces the cohesive component of strength alone, and the frictional strength componentremains unaffected. Results from simulated Brazilian tests show that the tensile strength is influenced bythe presence of microcracks, with a reduction in tensile strength as microcrack intensity increases. Theimportance of microcrack heterogeneity in reproducing a bi-linear or S-shape failure envelope and itseffects on the mechanisms leading to spalling damage near an underground opening are also discussed.

Adaptive hp finite element method for fluorescence molecular tomography with simplified spherical harmonics approximation

Recently,the simplified spherical harmonics equations(SP)model has at tracted much att entionin modeling the light propagation in small tissue ggeometriesat visible and near-infrared wave-leng ths.In this paper,we report an eficient numerical method for fluorescence moleeular tom-ography(FMT)that combines the advantage of SP model and adaptive hp finite elementmethod(hp-FEM).For purposes of comparison,hp-FEM and h-FEM are,respectively applied tothe reconstruction pro cess with diffusion approximation and SPs model.Simulation experiments on a 3D digital mouse atlas and physical experiments on a phantom are designed to evaluate thereconstruction methods in terms of the location and the reconstructed fluorescent yield.Theexperimental results demonstrate that hp-FEM with SPy model,yield more accurate results thanh-FEM with difusion approximation model does.The phantom experiments show the potentialand feasibility of the proposed approach in FMT applications.

Adaptive discontinuous finite element quadrature sets over an icosahedron for discrete ordinates method

The discrete ordinates(S N)method requires numerous angular unknowns to achieve the desired accu-racy for shielding calculations involving strong anisotropy.Our objective is to develop an angular adaptive algorithm in the S N method to automatically optimize the angular distribution and minimize angular discretization errors with lower expenses.The proposed method enables linear dis-continuous finite element quadrature sets over an icosahe-dron to vary their quadrature orders in a one-twentieth sphere so that fine resolutions can be applied to the angular domains that are important.An error estimation that operates in conjunction with the spherical harmonics method is developed to determine the locations where more refinement is required.The adaptive quadrature sets are applied to three duct problems,including the Kobayashi benchmarks and the IRI-TUB research reactor,which emphasize the ability of this method to resolve neutron streaming through ducts with voids.The results indicate that the performance of the adaptive method is more effi-cient than that of uniform quadrature sets for duct transport problems.Our adaptive method offers an appropriate placement of angular unknowns to accurately integrate angular fluxes while reducing the computational costs in terms of unknowns and run times.

Numerical simulation of hydraulic fracturing and associated microseismicity using finite-discrete element method

Hydraulic fracturing （HF） technique has been extensively used for the exploitation of unconventional oiland gas reservoirs. HF enhances the connectivity of less permeable oil and gas-bearing rock formationsby fluid injection, which creates an interconnected fracture network and increases the hydrocarbonproduction. Meanwhile, microseismic （MS） monitoring is one of the most effective approaches to evaluatesuch stimulation process. In this paper, the combined finite-discrete element method （FDEM） isadopted to numerically simulate HF and associated MS. Several post-processing tools, includingfrequency-magnitude distribution （b-value）, fractal dimension （D-value）, and seismic events clustering,are utilized to interpret numerical results. A non-parametric clustering algorithm designed specificallyfor FDEM is used to reduce the mesh dependency and extract more realistic seismic information.Simulation results indicated that at the local scale, the HF process tends to propagate following the rockmass discontinuities; while at the reservoir scale, it tends to develop in the direction parallel to themaximum in-situ stress. 2014 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting byElsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

3-D direct current resistivity forward modeling by adaptive multigrid finite element method

Based on the fact that 3-D model discretization by artificial could not always be successfully implemented especially for large-scaled problems when high accuracy and efficiency were required, a new adaptive multigrid finite element method was proposed. In this algorithm, a-posteriori error estimator was employed to generate adaptively refined mesh on a given initial mesh. On these iterative meshes, V-cycle based multigrid method was adopted to fast solve each linear equation with each initial iterative term interpolated from last mesh. With this error estimator, the unknowns were nearly optimally distributed on the final mesh which guaranteed the accuracy. The numerical results show that the multigrid solver is faster and more stable compared with ICCG solver. Meanwhile, the numerical results obtained from the final model discretization approximate the analytical solutions with maximal relative errors less than 1%, which remarkably validates this algorithm.

Self-adaptive one-dimensional nonlinear finite element method based on element energy projection method

The element energy projection （EEP） method for computation of super- convergent resulting in a one-dimensional finite element method （FEM） is successfully used to self-adaptive FEM analysis of various linear problems, based on which this paper presents a substantial extension of the whole set of technology to nonlinear problems. The main idea behind the technology transfer from linear analysis to nonlinear analysis is to use Newton＇s method to linearize nonlinear problems into a series of linear problems so that the EEP formulation and the corresponding adaptive strategy can be directly used without the need for specific super-convergence formulation for nonlinear FEM. As a re- sult, a unified and general self-adaptive algorithm for nonlinear FEM analysis is formed. The proposed algorithm is found to be able to produce satisfactory finite element results with accuracy satisfying the user-preset error tolerances by maximum norm anywhere on the mesh. Taking the nonlinear ordinary differential equation （ODE） of second-order as the model problem, this paper describes the related fundamental idea, the imple- mentation strategy, and the computational algorithm. Representative numerical exam- ples are given to show the efficiency, stability, versatility, and reliability of the proposed approach.

Adaptive element free Galerkin method applied to analysis of earthquake induced liquefaction

An automatically adaptive element free method is presented to analyze the seismic response of liquefiable soils. The method is based on the element free Galerkin method （EFGM） and the fission procedure that is part of h-refinement, indicated by error estimation. In the proposed method, a posteriori error estimate procedure that depends on the energy norm of stress and the T-Belytschko （TB） stress recovery scheme is incorporated. The effective cyclic elasto-plastic constitutive model is used to describe the nonlinear behavior of the saturated soil. The governing equations are established by u-p formulation. The proposed method can effectively avoid the volumetric locking due to large deformation that usually occurs in numerical computations using the finite element method （FEM）. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated by evaluating the seismic response of an embankment and comparing it to results obtained through FEM. It is shown that the proposed method provides an accurate seismic analysis of saturated soil that includes the effects of liquefaction .

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.

SELF-ADAPTIVE STRATEGY FOR ONE-DIMENSIONAL FINITE ELEMENT METHOD BASED ON ELEMENT ENERGY PROJECTION METHOD

Based on the newly-developed element energy projection （EEP） method for computation of super-convergent results in one-dimensional finite element method （FEM）, the task of self-adaptive FEM analysis was converted into the task of adaptive piecewise polynomial interpolation. As a result, a satisfactory FEM mesh can be obtained, and further FEM analysis on this mesh would immediately produce an FEM solution which usually satisfies the user specified error tolerance. Even though the error tolerance was not completely satisfied, one or two steps of further local refinements would be sufficient. This strategy was found to be very simple, rapid, cheap and efficient. Taking the elliptical ordinary differential equation of second order as the model problem, the fundamental idea, implementation strategy and detailed algorithm are described. Representative numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed approach.

A SELF－ADAPTIVE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR SOLVING 2－D EULER EQUATIONS ON THE UNSTRUCTURED MESHES

An unstructured triangular mesh generation procedure is developed, whichmay be incoporated easily with self-adaptive mesh refinements. The procedure is char-acterized by the arbitrary distribution of nodes in a given domain, so the unstructuredmesh may be

A FINITE ELEMENT ADAPTIVE METHOD FOR SOLVING GENERALIZED STOKES PROSLEM

A stabilized and convergent finite element formulation for the generalized Stokes problem is proposed and a posteriori analysis is performed to produce an error indicator. On this basis adaptive numerical method for solying the problem is developed . Numerical calculations are performed to confirm the reliability and effectiveness of the method.

Adaptive mixed least squares Galerkin/Petrov finite element method for stationary conduction convection problems

An adaptive mixed least squares Galerkin/Petrov finite element method （FEM） is developed for stationary conduction convection problems. The mixed least squares Galerkin/Petrov FEM is consistent and stable for any combination of discrete velocity and pressure spaces without requiring the Babuska-Brezzi stability condition. Using the general theory of Verfiirth, the posteriori error estimates of the residual type are derived. Finally, numerical tests are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the method.

ADAPTIVE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR ANALYSIS OF POLLUTANT DISPERSION IN SHALLOW WATER

A finite element method for analysis of pollutant dispersion in shallow water is presented. The analysis is divided into two parts ： （ 1 ） computation of the velocity flow field and water surface elevation, and （2） computation of the pollutant concentration field from the dispersion model. The method was combined with an adaptive meshing technique to increase the solution accuracy, as well as to reduce the computational time and computer memory. The finite element formulation and the computer programs were validated by several examples that have known solutions. In addition, the capability of the combined method was demonstrated by analyzing pollutant dispersion in Chao Phraya River near the gulf of Thailand.

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.

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.

An Adaptive Finite Element Method Based on Optimal Error Estimates for Linear Elliptic Problems

The subject of the work is to propose a series of papers about adaptive finite element methods based on optimal error control estimate. This paper is the third part in a series of papers on adaptive finite element methods based on optimal error estimates for linear elliptic problems on the concave corner domains. In the preceding two papers (part 1:Adaptive finite element method based on optimal error estimate for linear elliptic problems on concave corner domain; part 2:Adaptive finite element method based on optimal error estimate for linear elliptic problems on nonconvex polygonal domains), we presented adaptive finite element methods based on the energy norm and the maximum norm. In this paper, an important result is presented and analyzed. The algorithm for error control in the energy norm and maximum norm in part 1 and part 2 in this series of papers is based on this result.

Adaptive Finite Element Method for Steady Convection-Diffusion Equation

This paper examines the numerical solution of the convection-diffusion equation in 2-D. The solution of this equation possesses singularities in the form of boundary or interior layers due to non-smooth boundary conditions. To overcome such singularities arising from these critical regions, the adaptive finite element method is employed. This scheme is based on the streamline diffusion method combined with Neumann-type posteriori estimator. The effectiveness of this approach is illustrated by different examples with several numerical experiments.