Plate/shell structure topology optimization of orthotropic material for buckling problem based on independent continuous topological variables

The purpose of the present work is to study the buckling problem with plate/shell topology optimization of orthotropic material. A model of buckling topology optimization is established based on the independent, continuous, and mapping method, which considers structural mass as objective and buckling critical loads as constraints. Firstly, composite exponential function (CEF) and power function (PF) as filter functions are introduced to recognize the element mass, the element stiffness matrix, and the element geometric stiffness matrix. The filter functions of the orthotropic material stiffness are deduced. Then these filter functions are put into buckling topology optimization of a differential equation to analyze the design sensitivity. Furthermore, the buckling constraints are approximately expressed as explicit functions with respect to the design variables based on the first-order Taylor expansion. The objective function is standardized based on the second-order Taylor expansion. Therefore, the optimization model is translated into a quadratic program. Finally, the dual sequence quadratic programming (DSQP) algorithm and the global convergence method of moving asymptotes algorithm with two different filter functions (CEF and PF) are applied to solve the optimal model. Three numerical results show that DSQP&CEF has the best performance in the view of structural mass and discretion.

Key Techniques and Applications of Adaptive Growth Method for Stiffener Layout Design of Plates and Shells

The application of the adaptive growth method is limited because several key techniques during the design process need manual intervention of designers. Key techniques of the method including the ground structure construction and seed selection are studied, so as to make it possible to improve the effectiveness and applicability of the adaptive growth method in stiffener layout design optimization of plates and shells. Three schemes of ground structures, which are comprised by different shell elements and beam elements, are proposed. It is found that the main stiffener layouts resulted from different ground structures are almost the same, but the ground structure comprised by 8-nodes shell elements and both 3-nodes and 2-nodes beam elements can result in clearest stiffener layout, and has good adaptability and low computational cost. An automatic seed selection approach is proposed, which is based on such selection rules that the seeds should be positioned on where the structural strain energy is great for the minimum compliance problem, and satisfy the dispersancy requirement. The adaptive growth method with the suggested key techniques is integrated into an ANSYS-based program, which provides a design tool for the stiffener layout design optimization of plates and shells. Typical design examples, including plate and shell structures to achieve minimum compliance and maximum bulking stability are illustrated. In addition, as a practical mechanical structural design example, the stiffener layout of an inlet structure for a large-scale electrostatic precipitator is also demonstrated. The design results show that the adaptive growth method integrated with the suggested key techniques can effectively and flexibly deal with stiffener layout design problem for plates and shells with complex geometrical shape and loading conditions to achieve various design objectives, thus it provides a new solution method for engineering structural topology design optimization.

A NEW APPROACH OF PREDICTING BIFURCATION POINTS OF ELASTIC-PLASTIC BUCKLING OF PLATES AND SHELLS

The paper proposes a new approach of predicting the bifurcation points of elastic-plastic buckling of plates and shells,which is obtained from the natural combination of the Lyaponov's dy- namic criterion on stability and the modified adaptive Dynamic Relaxation(maDR)method developed recently by the authors.This new method can overcome the difficulties in the applications of the dy- namic criterion.Numerical results show that the theoretically predicted bifurcation points are in very good agreement with the corresponding experimental ones.The paper also provides a new means for further research on the plastic buckling paradox of plates and shells.

h-ADAPTIVE ANALYSIS BASED ON MESHLESS LOCAL PETROV-G ALERKIN METHOD WITH B SPLINE WAVELET FOR PLATES AND SHELLS

Using the two-scale decomposition technique, the h-adaptive meshless local Petrov- Galerkin method for solving Mindlin plate and shell problems is presented. The scaling functions of B spline wavelet are employed as the basis of the moving least square method to construct the meshless interpolation function. Multi-resolution analysis is used to decompose the field variables into high and low scales and the high scale component can commonly represent the gradient of the solution according to inherent characteristics of wavelets. The high scale component in the present method can directly detect high gradient regions of the field variables. The developed adaptive refinement scheme has been applied to simulate actual examples, and the effectiveness of the present adaptive refinement scheme has been verified.

VIBRATION AND ACOUSTIC RADIATION FROM SUBMERGED STIFFENED SPHERICAL SHELL WITH DECK-TYPE INTERNAL PLATE

Based on the motion differential equations of vibration and acoustic coupling system for thin elastic spherical shell with an elastic plate attached to its internal surface,in which Dirac-δ functions are employed to introduce the moments and forces applied by the attachment on the surface of shell,by means of expanding field quantities as Legendre series,a semi-analytic solution is derived for the vibration and acoustic radiation from a submerged stiffened spherical shell with a deck-type internal plate,which has a satisfactory computational effectiveness and precision for an arbitrary frequency range.It is easy to analyze the effect of the internal plate on the acoustic radiation field by using the formulas obtained by the method proposed.It is concluded that the internal plate can significantly change the mechanical and acoustic characteristics of shell,and give the coupling system a very rich resonance frequency spectrum.Moreover,the method can be used to study the acoustic radiation mechanism in similar structures as the one studied here.

Thermodynamic Consistency of Plate and Shell Mathematical Models in the Context of Classical and Non-Classical Continuum Mechanics and a Thermodynamically Consistent New Thermoelastic Formulation

Inclusion of dissipation and memory mechanisms, non-classical elasticity and thermal effects in the currently used plate/shell mathematical models require that we establish if these mathematical models can be derived using the conservation and balance laws of continuum mechanics in conjunction with the corresponding kinematic assumptions. This is referred to as thermodynamic consistency of the mathematical models. Thermodynamic consistency ensures thermodynamic equilibrium during the evolution of the deformation. When the mathematical models are thermodynamically consistent, the second law of thermodynamics facilitates consistent derivations of constitutive theories in the presence of dissipation and memory mechanisms. This is the main motivation for the work presented in this paper. In the currently used mathematical models for plates/shells based on the assumed kinematic relations, energy functional is constructed over the volume consisting of kinetic energy, strain energy and the potential energy of the loads. The Euler’s equations derived from the first variation of the energy functional for arbitrary length when set to zero yield the mathematical model(s) for the deforming plates/shells. Alternatively, principle of virtual work can also be used to derive the same mathematical model(s). For linear elastic reversible deformation physics with small deformation and small strain, these two approaches, based on energy functional and the principle of virtual work, yield the same mathematical models. These mathematical models hold for reversible mechanical deformation. In this paper, we examine whether the currently used plate/shell mathematical models with the corresponding kinematic assumptions can be derived using the conservation and balance laws of classical or non-classical continuum mechanics. The mathematical models based on Kirchhoff hypothesis (classical plate theory, CPT) and first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) that are representative of most mathematical models for plates/shells are investigated in this paper for their thermodynamic consistency. This is followed by the details of a general and higher order thermodynamically consistent plate/shell thermoelastic mathematical model that is free of a priori consideration of kinematic assumptions and remains valid for very thin as well as thick plates/shells with comprehensive nonlinear constitutive theories based on integrity. Model problem studies are presented for small deformation behavior of linear elastic plates in the absence of thermal effects and the results are compared with CPT and FSDT mathematical models.

A 3D shell-like approach using element-free Galerkin method for analysis of thin and thick plate structures

A new efficient meshless method based on the element-free Galerkin method is proposed to analyze the static deformation of thin and thick plate structures in this paper. Using the new 3D shell-like kinematics in analogy to the solid-shell concept of the finite element method, discretization is carried out by the nodes located on the upper and lower surfaces of the structures. The approximation of all unknown field variables is carried out by using the moving least squares （MLS） approximation scheme in the in-plane directions, while the linear interpolation is applied through the thickness direction. Thus, different boundary conditions are defined only using displacements and penalty method is used to enforce the essential boundary conditions. The constrained Galerkin weak form, which incorporates only dis- placement degrees of freedom （d.o.f.s）, is derived. A modified 3D constitutive relationship is adopted in order to avoid or eliminate some self-locking effects. The numeric efficiency of the proposed meshless formulation is illustrated by the numeric examples.

THE LAYOUT OPTIMIZATION OF STIFFENERS FOR PLATE-SHELL STRUCTURES

The plate-shell structures with stiffeners are widely used in a broad range of engineering structures. This study presents the layout optimization of stiffeners. The minimum weight of stiffeners is taken as the objective function with the global stiffness constraint. In the layout optimization, the stiffeners should be placed at the locations with high strain energy/or stress. Conversely, elements of stiffeners with a small strain energy/or stress are considered to be used inefficiently and can be removed. Thus, to identify the element efficiency so that most inefficiently used elements of stiffeners can be removed, the element sensitivity of the strain energy of stiffeners is introduced, and a search criterion for locations of stiffeners is presented. The layout optimization approach is given for determining which elements of the stiffeners need to be kept or removed. In each iterative design, a high efficiency reanalysis approach is used to reduce the computational effort. The present approach is implemented for the layout optimization of stiffeners for a bunker loaded by the hydrostatic pressure. The numerical results show that the present approach is effective for dealing with layout optimization of stiffeners for plate-shell structures.

ON THE STABILITY ANALYSIS OF PLATES AND SHELLS USING A QUADRILATERAL,16-DEGREES OF FREEDOM PLAT SHELL ELEMENT DKQ16

The linear buckling problems of plates and shells were analysed using a recently developped quadrilateral,16-degrees of freedom flat shell element (called DKQ16).The geometrical stiffness matrix was established.Comparison of the numerical results for several typical problems shows that the DKQ16 element has a very good precision for the linear buckling problems of plates and shells.

ANALYTICAL FORMULAS OF SOLUTIONS OF GEOMETRICALLY NONLINEAR EQUATIONS OF AXISYMMETRIC PLATES AND SHALLOW SHELLS

Starting from the step-by-step iterative method, the analytical formulas of solutions of the geometrically nonlinear equations of the axisymmetric plates and shallow shells, have been obtained. The uniform convergence of the iterative method, is used to prove the convergence of the analytical formulas of the exact solutions of the equa- tions.

Analysis of Error Caused by Replacing Spherical Shell with an Elastic Plate Model in Studying Bending Deformation of the Lithosphere

To study the bending deformation of the lithosphere, the simplification of replacing a spherical shell by a plate model is usually made. Based on the differential equations for the bending of plates and shallow spherical shells, an expression for the error caused by such a simplification is derived in this paper. The effect of model sizes on the error is discussed. It is proved that if we replace the shallow spherical shell by a plate model to solve the bending deformation of lithospheric plate, a large error will be caused. In contrast, if we use a plate on an elastic foundation instead, an approximate solution closer to that of spherical shell can be obtained. In such a way, the error can be reduced effectively and the actual geological condition can be modeled more closely.

ITERATIVE METHOD FOR LARGE DEFLECTION NONLINEAR PROBLEM OF LAMINATED COMPOSITE SHALLOW SHELLS AND PLATES

Based on the results by Wang,in this paper, the iterative method is presented for the study of large deflection nonlinear problem of laminated composite shallow shells and plates. The rectangular laminated composite shallow shells have been analyzed. The results have been compared with the small deflection linear analytical solution and finite element nonlinear solution. The results proved that the solution coincide with small deflection linear analytical solution in the condition of the low loads and finite element nonlinear solution in the condition of the high loads.

The Hamilton System and Hamilton Type Generalized Variational Principle for the Laminated Composite Plates and Shells

By introducing the Hamilton theory and algorithms into the problems of laminated composite plates andshells, the Hamiltion type generalized variational principle is established, and the Hamilton canonical equations andthe boundary conditions for the static and elastoplastic analysis of composite plates are presented. With thetransformation of phase variables, the Hamilton canonical equations and their boundary conditions for thecylindrical shells and doubly curved shells in the curvilinear coordinate are given.

UNIQUENESS FOR THE SOLUTIONS OF ELASTIC THIN PLATES AND SHALLOW SHELLS AS WELL AS THEIR CONTACT PROBLEM WITH HALF SPACE

The uniqueness for the solutions mentioned in the subject is proved by using the uniqueness of the solution for the internal boundary problem of Laplace and bi-Laplace equations of the first kind as well as of the second.

Are “Higher-Order” and “Layer-wise Zig-Zag” Plate & Shell Theories Necessary for Functionally Graded Materials and Structures?

Similar to the very vast prior literature on analyzing laminated composite structures,“higher-order”and“layer-wise higher-order”plate and shell theories for functionally-graded(FG)materials and structures are also widely popularized in the literature of the past two decades.However,such higher-order theories involve(1)postulating very complex assumptions for plate/shell kinematics in the thickness direction,(2)defining generalized variables of displacements,strains,and stresses,and(3)developing very complex governing equilibrium,compatibility,and constitutive equations in terms of newly-defined generalized kinematic and generalized kinetic variables.Their industrial applications are thus hindered by their inherent complexity,and the fact that it is difficult for end-users(front-line structural engineers)to completely understand all the newly-defined generalized DOFs for FEM in the higher-order and layer-wise theories.In an entirely different way,very simple 20-node and 27-node 3-D continuum solid-shell elements are developed in this paper,based on the simple theory of 3D solid mechanics,for static and dynamic analyses of functionally-graded plates and shells.A simple Over-Integration(a 4-point Gauss integration in the thickness direction)is used to evaluate the stiffness matrices of each element,while only a single element is used in the thickness direction without increasing the number of degrees of freedom.A stress-recovery approach is used to compute the distribution of transverse stresses by considering the equations of 3D elasticity in Cartesian as well as cylindrical polar coordinates.Comprehensive numerical results are presented for static and dynamic analyses of FG plates and shells,which agree well,either with the existing solutions in the published literature,or with the computationally very expensive solutions obtained by using simple 3D isoparametric elements(with standard Gauss Quadrature)available in NASTRAN(wherein many 3D elements are used in the thickness direction to capture the varying material properties).The effects of the material gradient index,the span-to-thickness ratio,the aspect ratio and the boundary conditions are also studied in the solutions of FG structures.Because the proposed methodology merely involves:(2)standard displacement DOFs at each node,(2)involves a simple 4-point Gaussian over-integration in the thickness direction,(3)relies only on the simple theory of solid mechanics,and(4)is capable of accurately and efficiently predicting the static and dynamical behavior of FG structures in a very simple and cost-effective manner,it is thus believed by the authors that the painstaking and cumbersome development of“higher-order”or“layer-wise higher-order”theories is not entirely necessary for the analyses of FG plates and shells.

The deformation and failure mechanism of cylindrical shell and square plate with pre-formed holes under blast loading

The deformation and failure mechanism of cylindrical shells and square plate with pre-formed holes under blast loading were investigated numerically by employing the Ansys 17.0 and Ls-Dyna 971.To calibrate the numerical model,the experiments of square plates with pre-formed circle holes were modeled and the numerical results have a good agreement with the experiment data.The calibrated numerical model was used to study the deformation and failure mechanism of cylindrical shells with pre-formed circle holes subjected to blast loading.The structure response and stress field changing process has been divided into four specific stages and the deformation mechanism has been discussed systematically.The local and global deformation curves,degree of damage,change of stress status and failure modes of cylindrical shell and square plate with pre-formed circular holes are obtained,compared and analyzed,it can be concluded as:(1)The transition of tensile stress fields is due to the geometrical characteristic of pre-formed holes and cylindrical shell with arch configuration;(2)The existence of preformed holes not only lead to the increasing of stress concentration around the holes,but also release the stress concentration during whole response process;(3)There are three and two kinds of failure modes for square plate and cylindrical shell with pre-formed holes,respectively.and the standoff distance has a key influence on the forming location of the crack initiating point and the locus of crack propagation;(4)The square plate with pre-formed holes has a better performance than cylindrical shell on blast-resistant capability at a smaller standoff distance,while the influence of pre-formed holes on the reduction of blast-resistant capability of square plate is bigger than that of cylindrical shell.

A POTENTIAL-HYBRID/MIXED FINITE ELEMENT SCHEME FOR ANALYSIS OF PLATES AND CYLINDRICAL SHELLS

Based on the potential-hybrid/mixed finite element scheme, 4-node quadrilateral plate-bending elements MP4, MP4a and cylindrical shell element MCS4 are derived with, the inclusion of splitting rotations. All these elements demonstrate favorable convergence behavior over the existing counterparts, free from spurious kinematic mode's and do not exhibit locking phenomenon in thin platef shell limit. Inter-connections between the existing modified variational functionals for the use of formulating C0-and C1-continuous elements are also indicated. Important particularizations of the present scheme include Prathop's consistent field formulation, the RIT/SRIT-compatible displacement model and so on.

Stochastic Finite Element Analysis of Plate and Shell Construction

The response of random plate and shell construction is analyzed with the stochastic finite element method (SFEM). Random material properties and geometric dimensions of construction are involved in this paper. A simplified isoparametric local average model is used to describe the random field. Numerical results of the examples indicate that the approach presented herein is an economical and efficient solution for such an analysis compared with Monte Carlo simulation (MCS).

Three Dimensional Coupling between Elastic and Thermal Fields in the Static Analysis of Multilayered Composite Shells

This new work aims to develop a full coupled thermomechanical method including both the temperature profile and displacements as primary unknowns of the model.This generic full coupled 3D exact shell model permits the thermal stress investigation of laminated isotropic,composite and sandwich structures.Cylindrical and spherical panels,cylinders and plates are analyzed in orthogonal mixed curved reference coordinates.The 3D equilibrium relations and the 3D Fourier heat conduction equation for spherical shells are coupled and they trivially can be simplified in those for plates and cylindrical panels.The exponential matrix methodology is used to find the solutions of a full coupled model based on coupled differential relations with respect to the thickness coordinate.The analytical solution is based on theories of simply supported edges and harmonic relations for displacement components and sovra-temperature.The sovra-temperature magnitudes are directly applied at the outer faces through static state hypotheses.As a consequence,the sovra-temperature description is assumed to be an unknown variable of themodel and it is calculated in the sameway as the three displacements.The final systemis based on a set of coupled homogeneous differential relations of second order in the thickness coordinate.This system is reduced in a first order differential relation system by redoubling the number of unknowns.Therefore,the exponential matrix methodology is applied to calculate the solution.The temperature field effects are evaluated in the static investigation of shells and plates in terms of displacement and stress components.After an appropriate preliminary validation,new benchmarks are discussed for several thickness ratios,geometrical data,lamination sequences,materials and sovra-temperature values imposed at the outer faces.Results make evident the accordance between the uncoupled thermo-mechanical model and this new full coupled thermo-mechanical model without the need to separately solve the Fourier heat conduction relation.Both effects connected with the thickness layer and the related embedded materials are included in the conducted thermal stress analysis.

Synthesis and microwave characterization of Co-SiC core-shell powders by electroless plating

Co-SiC core-shell powders were prepared by electroless plating. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） revealed that Co-SiC core-shell powders were of nearly sphere-like shape and were about 0.3 pan. X-ray powder diffraction （XRD） patterns showed that the cobalt powder was hexagonal crystallite. The complex dielectric constant and the complex permeability of Co-SiC core-shell powders-paraffin wax composite were measured by the rectangle wavegnide method. It showed that the dielectric loss was less than 0.1 and the magnetic loss was about 0.2 in 8.2-12.4 GHz for prepared Co-SiC core-shell comoosite oowders.