One Step Positive Approach for Sheet Metal Forming Simulation Based on Quasi-conjugate-gradient Method

In one step inverse finite element approach, an initial blank shape is normally predicted from the final deformed shape. The final deformed shape needs to be trimmed into a final part after stamping, the trimmed area, therefore, needs to be compensated manually before using one step inverse approach, which causes low efficiency and in consistency with the real situation. To solve this problem, one step positive approach is proposed to simulate the sheet metal stamping process. Firstly the spatial initial solution of one step positive method is preliminarily obtained by using the mapping relationship and area coordinates, then based on the deformation theory the iterative solving is carried out in three-dimensional coordinate system by using quasi-conjugate-gradient method. During iterative process the contact judgment method is introduced to ensure that the nodes on the spatial initial solution are not separated from die surface. The predicted results of sheet metal forming process that include the shape and thickness of the stamped part can be obtained after the iterative solving process. The validity of the proposed approach is verified by comparing the predicted results obtained through the proposed approach with those obtained through the module of one step inverse approach in Autoform and the real stamped part. In one step positive method, the stamped shape of regular sheet can be calculated fast and effectively. During the iterative solution, the quasi-conjugate-gradient method is proposed to take the place of solving system of equations, and it can improve the stability and precision of the algorithm.

Water storage changes in North America retrieved from GRACE gravity and GPS data

As global warming continues,the monitoring of changes in terrestrial water storage becomes increasingly important since it plays a critical role in understanding global change and water resource management.In North America as elsewhere in the world,changes in water resources strongly impact agriculture and animal husbandry.From a combination of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment（GRACE） gravity and Global Positioning System（GPS） data,it is recently found that water storage from August,2002 to March,2011 recovered after the extreme Canadian Prairies drought between 1999 and 2005.In this paper,we use GRACE monthly gravity data of Release 5 to track the water storage change from August,2002 to June,2014.In Canadian Prairies and the Great Lakes areas,the total water storage is found to have increased during the last decade by a rate of 73.8 ± 14.5 Gt/a,which is larger than that found in the previous study due to the longer time span of GRACE observations used and the reduction of the leakage error.We also find a long term decrease of water storage at a rate of-12.0 ± 4.2 Gt/a in Ungava Peninsula,possibly due to permafrost degradation and less snow accumulation during the winter in the region.In addition,the effect of total mass gain in the surveyed area,on present-day sea level,amounts to-0.18 mm/a,and thus should be taken into account in studies of global sea level change.