A p-adaptive scaled boundary finite element method based on maximization of the error decrease rate

This study enhances the classical energy norm based adaptive procedure by introducing new refinement criteria, based on the projection-based interpolation technique and the steepest descent method, to drive mesh refinement for the scaled boundary finite element method. The technique is applied to p-adaptivity in this paper, but extension to h- and hp-adaptivity is straightforward. The reference solution, which is the solution of the fine mesh formed by uniformly refining the current mesh, is used to represent the unknown exact solution. In the new adaptive approach, a projection-based interpolation technique is developed for the 2D scaled boundary finite element method. New refinement criteria are proposed. The optimum mesh is assumed to be obtained by maximizing the decrease rate of the projection-based interpolation error appearing in the current solution. This refinement strategy can be interpreted as applying the minimisation steepest descent method. Numerical studies show the new approach out-performs the conventional approach.     

A combined r-h adaptive strategy based on material forces and error assessment for plane problems and bimaterial interfaces

An r-h adaptive scheme has been proposed and formulated for analysis of bimaterial interface problems using adaptive finite element method. It involves a combination of the configurational force based r-adaption with weighted laplacian smoothing and mesh enrichment by h-refinement. The Configurational driving force is evaluated by considering the weak form of the material force balance for bimaterial inerface problems. These forces assembled at nodes act as an indicator for r-adaption. A weighted laplacian smoothing is performed for smoothing the mesh. The h-adaptive strategy is based on a modifed weighted energy norm of error evaluated using supercovergent estimators. The proposed method applies specific non sliding interface strain compatibility requirements across inter material boundaries consistent with physical principles to obtain modified error estimators. The best sequence of combining r- and h-adaption has been evolved from numerical study. The study confirms that the proposed combined r-h adaption is more efficient than a purely h-adaptive approach and more flexible than a purely r-adaptive approach with better convergence characteristics and helps in obtaining optimal finite element meshes for a specified accuracy.     

Adaptive Poly-FEM for the analysis of plane elasticity problems

In this work, we present an adaptive polygonal finite element method (Poly-FEM) for the analysis of two-dimensional plane elasticity problems. The generation of meshes consisting of n ? sided polygonal finite elements is based on the generation of a centroidal Voronoi tessellation (CVT). An unstructured tessellation of a scattered point set, that minimally covers the proximal space around each point in the point set, is generated whereby the method also includes tessellation of nonconvex domains. In this work, we propose a region by region adaptive polygonal element mesh generation. A patch recovery type of stress smoothing technique that utilizes polygonal element patches for obtaining smooth stresses is proposed for obtaining the smoothed finite element stresses. A recovery type a ? posteriori error estimator that estimates the energy norm of the error from the recovered solution is then adopted for the Poly-FEM. The refinement of the polygonal elements is then made on an region by region basis through a refinement index. For the numerical integration of the Galerkin weak form over polygonal finite element domains, we resort to classical Gaussian quadrature applied to triangular subdomains of each polygonal element. Numerical examples of two-dimensional plane elasticity problems are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed adaptive Poly-FEM.     

A p‐hierarchical adaptive procedure for the scaled boundary finite element method

This paper describes a p‐hierarchical adaptive procedure based on minimizing the classical energy norm for the scaled boundary finite element method. The reference solution, which is the solution of the fine mesh formed by uniformly refining the current mesh element‐wise one order higher, is used to represent the unknown exact solution. The optimum mesh is assumed to be obtained when each element contributes equally to the global error. The refinement criteria and the energy norm‐based error estimator are described and formulated for the scaled boundary finite element method. The effectivity index is derived and used to examine quality of the proposed error estimator. An algorithm for implementing the proposed p‐hierarchical adaptive procedure is developed. Numerical studies are performed on various bounded domain and unbounded domain problems. The results reflect a number of key points. Higher‐order elements are shown to be highly efficient. The effectivity index indicates that the proposed error estimator based on the classical energy norm works effectively and that the reference solution employed is a high‐quality approximation of the exact solution. The proposed p‐hierarchical adaptive strategy works efficiently. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Voxel‐based meshing and unit‐cell analysis of textile composites

Unit‐cell homogenization techniques are frequently used together with the finite element method to compute effective mechanical properties for a wide range of different composites and heterogeneous materials systems. For systems with very complicated material arrangements, mesh generation can be a considerable obstacle to usage of these techniques. In this work, pixel‐based (2D) and voxel‐based (3D) meshing concepts borrowed from image processing are thus developed and employed to construct the finite element models used in computing the micro‐scale stress and strain fields in the composite. The potential advantage of these techniques is that generation of unit‐cell models can be automated, thus requiring far less human time than traditional finite element models. Essential ideas and algorithms for implementation of proposed techniques are presented. In addition, a new error estimator based on sensitivity of virtual strain energy to mesh refinement is presented and applied. The computational costs and rate of convergence for the proposed methods are presented for three different mesh‐refinement algorithms: uniform refinement; selective refinement based on material boundary resolution; and adaptive refinement based on error estimation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An adaptive hp-version of the finite element method applied to flame propagation problems

This paper describes an adaptive hp-version mesh refinement strategy and its application to the finite element solution of one-dimensional flame propagation problems. The aim is to control the spatial and time discretization errors below a prescribed error tolerance at all time levels. In the algorithm, the optimal time step is first determined in an adaptive manner by considering the variation of the computable error in the reaction zone. Later, the method uses a p-version refinement till the computable a posteriori error is brought down below the tolerance. During the p-version, if the maximum allowable degree of approximation is reached in some elements of the mesh without satisfying the global error tolerance criterion, then conversion from p- to h-version is performed. In the conversion procedure, a gradient based non-uniform h-version refinement has been introduced in the elements of higher degree approximation. In this way, p-version and h-version approaches are used alternately till the a posteriori error criteria are satisfied. The mesh refinement is based on the element error indicators, according to a statistical error equi-distribution procedure. Numerical simulations have been carried out for a linear parabolic problem and premixed flame propagation in one-space dimension. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A posteriori error control in finite element methods via duality techniques: Application to perfect plasticity

In this paper a new technique for a posteriori error control and adaptive mesh design is presented for finite element models in perfect plasticity. The approach is based on weighted a posteriori error estimates derived by duality arguments as proposed in Becker and Rannacher (1996) and Rannacher and Suttmeier (1997) for linear problems. The conventional strategies for mesh refinement in finite element methods are mostly based on a posteriori error estimates for the global energy norm in terms of local residuals of the computed solution. These estimates reflect the approximation properties of the trial functions by local interpolation constants while the stability property of the continuous model enters through a global coercivity constant. However, meshes generated on the basis of such global error estimates are not appropriate in computing local quantities as point values or contour integrals and in the case of nonlinear material behavior. More accurate and efficient error estimation can be achieved by using suitable weights which can be obtained numerically in the course of the refinement process from the solutions of linearized dual problems. This feed-back approach is developed here for primal-mixed finite element models in linear-elastic perfect plasticity.     

An efficient adaptive analysis procedure using the edge-based smoothed point interpolation method (ES-PIM) for 2D and 3D problems

In this paper, an efficient adaptive analysis procedure is proposed using the newly developed edge-based smoothed point interpolation method (ES-PIM) for both two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) elasticity problems. The ES-PIM works well with three-node triangular and four-node tetrahedral meshes, is easy to be implemented for complicated geometry, and can obtain numerical results of much better accuracy and higher convergence rate than the standard finite element method (FEM) with the same set of meshes. All these important features make it an ideal candidate for adaptive analysis. In the present adaptive procedure, a novel error indicator is devised for ES-PIM settings, which evaluates the maximum difference of strain energy values among the vertexes of each background cell. A simple h-type local refinement scheme is adopted together with a mesh generator based on Delaunay technology. Intensive numerical studies of 2D and 3D examples indicate that the proposed adaptive procedure can effectively capture the stress concentration and solution singularities, carry out local refinement automatically, and hence achieve much higher convergence for the solutions in strain energy norm compared to the general uniform refinement.     

Mesh refinement and iterative solution methods for finite element computations

Global and element residuals are introduced to determine a posteriori, computable, error bounds for finite element computations on a given mesh. The element residuals provide a criterion for determining where a finite element mesh requires refinement. This indicator is implemented in an algorithm in a finite element research program. There it is utilized to automatically refine the mesh for sample two-point problems exhibiting boundary layer and interior layer solutions. Results for both linear and nonlinear problems are presented. An important aspect of this investigation concerns the use of adaptive refinement in conjunction with iterative methods for system solution. As the mesh is being enriched through the refinement process, the solution on a given mesh provides an accurate starting iterate for the next mesh, and so on. A wide range of iterative methods are examined in a feasibility study and strategies for interweaving refinement and iteration are compared.     

A gradient recovery–based adaptive finite element method for convection-diffusion-reaction equations on surfaces

In this paper, we present an adaptive mesh refinement method for solving convection-diffusion-reaction equations on surfaces, which is a fundamental subproblem in many models for simulating the transport of substances on biological films and solid surfaces. The method considered is a combination of well-known techniques: the surface finite element method, streamline diffusion stabilization, and the gradient recovery–based Zienkiewicz-Zhu error estimator. The streamline diffusion method overcomes the instability issue of the finite element method for the dominance of the convection. The gradient recovery–based adaptive mesh refinement strategy enables the method to provide high-resolution numerical solutions by relatively fewer degrees of freedom. Moreover, the implementation detail of a surface mesh refinement technique is presented. Various numerical examples, including the convection-dominated diffusion problems with large variations of solutions, nearly singular solutions, discontinuous sources, and internal layers on surfaces, are presented to demonstrate the efficacy and accuracy of the proposed method.     

Smart computational fracture of materials and structures

The use of the finite element method for complex engineering problems is now common. To ease the burden on the engineer the development of smart or adaptive computational methods is now required to model complex problems. In this paper we investigate the development of an adaptive finite element method for fracture-related problems. The adaptive method involves various stages which include the finite element analysis, error estimation/indication, mesh refinement and fracture/failure analysis in a loop. Some simple error estimators, based on stress projection, are used to investigate the adaptive finite element process. Element refinement is based on three schemes; the first and second are a simple and hierarchical refinement scheme with transitioning which avoids the need for constraint equations between element boundaries. Another scheme based on constraint equations between elements is also examined. The energy norm is used to estimate the element error. The software has the ability to introduce a discrete fracture in the structure according to standard fracture analysis practice. Crack tip parameters are calculated using a least-squares fit of the displacements into the asymptotic crack tip displacement field. Some simple examples are used to investigate the adaptive process, its behavior and some of the practical problems encountered. The convergence and equilibrium of the adaptive process, in terms of global error in the energy norm, are investigated. In the example the same problem is analyzed using both a fine computational grid and a coarse one. The coarse mesh is then adapted using the three different procedures available. The estimated error in the solution and the stress intensity are shown against the number of elements and number of iterations. Some further areas of research in adaptive finite element analysis are discussed.     

Simulation of two‐ and three‐dimensional viscoplastic flows using adaptive mesh refinement

This paper presents a finite element solver for the simulation of steady non‐Newtonian flow problems, using a regularized Bingham model, with adaptive mesh refinement capabilities. The solver is based on a stabilized formulation derived from the variational multiscale framework. This choice allows the introduction of an a posteriori error indicator based on the small scale part of the solution, which is used to drive a mesh refinement procedure based on element subdivision. This approach applied to the solution of a series of benchmark examples, which allow us to validate the formulation and assess its capabilities to model 2D and 3D non‐Newtonian flows.     

An algorithm for adaptive refinement of triangular element meshes

A simple algorithm is developed for adaptive and automatic h refinement of two-dimensional triangular finite element meshes. The algorithm is based on an element refinement ratio that can be calculated from an a posteriori error indicator. The element subdivision algorithm is robust and recursive. Smooth transition between large and small elements is achieved without significant degradation of the aspect ratio of the elements in the mesh. Several example problems are presented to illustrate the utility of the approach.     

Adaptive h-, p- and hp-versions for boundary integral element methods

Recently very promising results in a so-called hp-version of the finite element method have been obtained. The basic idea is a balanced combination of mesh refinement and increase of the polynomial degree of the shape functions. This idea is applied to a boundary collocation method in this paper. The new method is compared with adaptive h- and p-versions and it is shown in numerical examples that even in the presence of singularities in the exact solution exponential convergence is obtained.     

An error‐estimate‐free and remapping‐free variational mesh refinement and coarsening method for dissipative solids at finite strains

A variational h‐adaptive finite element formulation is proposed. The distinguishing feature of this method is that mesh refinement and coarsening are governed by the same minimization principle characterizing the underlying physical problem. Hence, no error estimates are invoked at any stage of the adaption procedure. As a consequence, linearity of the problem and a corresponding Hilbert‐space functional framework are not required and the proposed formulation can be applied to highly non‐linear phenomena. The basic strategy is to refine (respectively, unrefine) the spatial discretization locally if such refinement (respectively, unrefinement) results in a sufficiently large reduction (respectively, sufficiently small increase) in the energy. This strategy leads to an adaption algorithm having O(N) complexity. Local refinement is effected by edge‐bisection and local unrefinement by the deletion of terminal vertices. Dissipation is accounted for within a time‐discretized variational framework resulting in an incremental potential energy. In addition, the entire hierarchy of successive refinements is stored and the internal state of parent elements is updated so that no mesh‐transfer operator is required upon unrefinement. The versatility and robustness of the resulting variational adaptive finite element formulation is illustrated by means of selected numerical examples. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An adaptive mesh refinement technique for the analysis of shear bands in plane strain compression of a thermoviscoplastic solid

We have developed an adaptive mesh refinement technique that generates elements such that the integral of the second invariant of the deviatoric strain-rate tensor over an element is nearly the same for all elements in the mesh. It is shown that the finite element meshes so generated are effective in resolving shear bands, which are narrow regions of intense plastic deformation that form in high strain-rate deformation of thermally softening viscoplastic materials. Here we assume that the body is deformed in plane strain compression at a nominal strain-rate of 5000 sec^-1, and model a material defect by introducing a temperature perturbation at the center of the block.     

An automatic adaptive refinement finite element procedure for 2D elastostatic analysis

An automatic adaptive refinement procedure for finite element analysis is presented. The procedure is applied to two-dimensional elastostatic problems to obtain solutions of prescribed accuracy. Through the combined use of new mesh generator using contour developed by Lo¹ and the concept of strain energy concentration, high-quality graded finite element meshes are generated. The whole process is fully automatic and no user intervention is required during the successive cycles of the mesh refinements. The Zienkiewicz and Zhu² error estimator is found to be effective and has been adopted for the present implementation. In the numerical examples tested, the error estimator gives an accurate error norm estimation and the effectivity index of the estimator converges to a value close to unity.     

A general methodology for structural shape optimization problems using automatic adaptive remeshing

The proposed methodology is based on the use of the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR ) techniques in the context of 2D shape optimization problems analysed by the finite element method. A suitable and very general technique for the parametrization of the optimization problem, using B-splines to define the boundary, is first presented. Then mesh generation, using the advancing frontal method, the error estimator and the mesh refinement criterion are studied in the context of shape optimization problems In particular, the analytical sensitivity analysis of the different items ruling the problem (B-splines. finite element mesh, structural behaviour and error estimator) is studied in detail. The sensitivities of the finite element mesh and error estimator permit their projection from one design to the next one leading to an a priori knowledge of the finite element error distribution on the new design without the necessity of any additional structural analysis. With this information the mesh refinement criterion permits one to build up a finite element mesh on the new design with a specified and controlled level of error. The robustness and reliability of the proposed methodology is checked by means of several examples.     

A stress distribution remodelling technique

The stress distribution ahead of a notch is of great practical interest when undertaking fatigue and fracture analyses. In particular it is generally the first principal stress close to the notch which is desired. For a sharp notch this can be characterized by the stress field parameter K ^N which is referred to as the notch stress intensity factor (or N-SIF). The finite element method is a very powerful tool which is commonly used to determine K ^N . However, unless specialized methods are used the finite element mesh must be extremely refined in the region of the notch in order to calculate an accurate value. In practical situations, the degree of mesh refinement necessary is often not possible, due to either time or computer limitations. The following describes a simple technique which can be used to accurately determine the stress distribution close to a sharp notch, by remodelling or reshaping a stress distribution that has been obtained from a finite element analysis using a coarse or inadequate mesh. A theoretical equation for defining the principal stress distribution ahead of a sharp notch, which has been developed by Atzori et al. (2005) is used to do this. It is shown that the theoretical distribution can be explicitly determined from the finite element distribution by using global equilibrium conditions. It is shown that this technique is independent of the finite element mesh size. The method is used to calculate K ^N for seven different combinations of geometry and loading condition, using various FE mesh refinement. It is shown that the results are accurate to within 15%.     

A posteriori error estimation in non‐linear FE analyses of shell structures

During the last decade, significant scientific efforts were made in the area of quality assurance of numerical results obtained by means of the finite element method (FEM). These efforts were based on adaptive remeshing controlled by an estimated error. This paper reports on the extension of error estimation to non‐linear shell analysis involving strain‐hardening and softening plasticity. In the context of incremental‐iterative analyses, an incremental error estimator is introduced. It is based on the rate of work. The stress recovery technique proposed by Zienkiewicz and Zhu (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 1992; 33 :1331) is modified to allow for discontinuities of certain stress components in case of localization arising from, e.g. cracking of concrete. The developed error estimator is part of a calculation scheme for adaptive non‐linear FE analysis. If the estimated error exceeds a prespecified threshold value in the course of an adaptive analysis, a new mesh is generated. After mesh refinement the state variables are transferred from the old to the new mesh and the calculation is restarted at the load level which was attained with the old mesh. The performance of the proposed error estimator is demonstrated by means of adaptive calculations of a reinforced concrete (RC) cooling tower. The influence of the user‐prescribed error threshold on the numerical results is investigated. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.