A parallel finite element solution method

New parallel computer architectures have revolutionized the design of computer algorithms, and promise to have significant influence on algorithms for structural engineering computations. In this paper, a parallel finite element solution method is presented. The solution method proposed does not require the formation of global system equations, but computes directly the element distortions, as opposed to solving a system of nodal equations. An element or substructure is mapped on to a processor of an MIMD multiprocessing system. Each processor stores only the information relevant to the element or substructure for which the processor represents. The finite element computations can be performed in parallel, in that a processor generates the local stiffness, computes the element distortions and determines the stress-strain characteristics for the element or substructure associated with the processor.     

The PCICE-FEM scheme for highly compressible axisymmetric flows

The recently developed PCICE-FEM scheme (Journal of Computational Physics, vol. 198, 659, 2004) is extended to two-dimensional axisymmetric geometries. The main discretization problem for nodal-based axisymmetric formulations lies in deriving a closed form as the radial coordinates approach zero along the axis of symmetry. This problem is addressed by employing the finite element piecewise linear approximations to both the flow variables and (separately) to the nodal values of the radial coordinates. The resulting formulation is an elegant treatment of the axisymmetric coordinate system with out noticeable loss of spatial accuracy and little additional cost in computational effort. An overview of the PCICE algorithm for the axisymmetric governing equations will be followed by a detailed axisymmetric finite element formulation for the PCICE-FEM scheme. The ability of the PCICE-FEM scheme to accurately and efficiently simulate highly compressible axisymmetric flows is demonstrated.     

Analysis of spurious oscillation modes for the shallow water and Navier-Stokes equations

The origin and nature of spurious oscillation modes that appear in mixed finite element methods are examined. In particular, the shallow water equations are considered and a modal analysis for the one-dimensional problem is developed. From the resulting dispersion relations we find that the spurious modes in elevation are associated with zero frequency and large wave number (wavelengths of the order of the nodal spacing) and consequently are zero-velocity modes. The spurious modal behavior is the result of the finite spatial discretization. By means of an artificial compressibility and limiting argument we are able to resolve the similar problem for the Navier-Stokes equations. The relationship of this simpler analysis to alternative consistency arguments is explained. This modal approach provides an explanation of the phenomenon in question and permits us to deduce the cause of the very complex behavior of spurious modes observed in numerical experiments with the shallow water equations and Navier-Stokes equations. Furthermore, this analysis is not limited to finite element formulations, but is also applicable to finite difference formulations.     

A finite difference variational method for bending of plates

The method of analysis for bending of plates presented in this paper combines a finite difference scheme for the plate strain components and a variational derivation of the equations of motion or equilibrium. The plate strain components are expressed in terms of discrete nodal displacements with the aid of the two dimensional Taylor expansion. Consequently, the virtual work, or the first variation of the strain energy, in an area element is found as a function of the nodal displacements. The derivation of the element forces or the element stiffness matrices and the assembly of the equations of motion or equilibrium follows closely the steps of the finite element method.     

Nonlinear bending of beams using the finite element method

In this paper a finite element formulation for determining the finite deflection of thin bars is presented. The nonlinear stiffness equations are generated after simple approximate expressions involving the nodal parameters are used to replace the nonlinear terms in the energy functional. The procedure used results in a simplified set of nonlinear algebraic equations which are more amenable to solution than the equations usually presented. The applicability and accuracy of the method together with an evaluation of three incremental solution techniques, a step by step method, a one step Newton-Raphson procedure, and a variable interpolation technique is demonstrated by solving a cantilever beam with a point load acting on the end. Curves showing the sensitivity to increment size and to the number of elements are also presented. The results indicate that the formulation is accurate and inexpensive in terms of computational effort.     

Multiscale computational analysis in mechanics using finite calculus: an introduction

The paper introduces a general procedure for computational analysis of a wide class of multiscale problems in mechanics using a finite calculus (FIC) formulation. The FIC approach is based in expressing the governing equations in mechanics accepting that the domain where the standard balance laws are established has a finite size. This introduces naturally additional terms into the classical equations of infinitesimal theory in mechanics which are useful for the numerical solution of problems involving different scales in the physical parameters. The discrete nodal values obtained with the FIC formulation and the finite element method (FEM) can be effectively used as the starting point for obtaining a more refined solution in zones where high gradients of the relevant variables occur using hierarchical or enriched FEM. Typical multiscale problems in mechanics which can be solved with the FIC method include convection–diffusion-reaction problems with high localized gradients, incompressible problems in solid and fluid mechanics, localization problems such as prediction of shear bands in solids and shock waves in compressible fluids, turbulence, etc. The paper presents an introduction of the treatment of multiscale problems using the FIC approach in conjunction with the FEM. Examples of application of the FIC/FEM formulation to the solution of simple multiscale convection–diffusion problems are given.     

The virtual crack extension method for nonlinear material behavior

The linear elastic, stiffness-derivative, finite element technique of Parks [ 1 ]is generalized to determine the ductile fracture parameter J from elastic-plastic finite element solutions. The method, based on energy comparison of two slightly different crack lengths, requires only one elastic-plastic finite element solution, and the altered crack configuration is obtained by changing nodal point positions. The technique is applied to finite element solutions for a deeply cracked, plane-strain bend specimen - a configuration for which J can be otherwise obtained - and the results are encouraging. The extension of the method to obtain arc-length-weighted J values in three-dimensional crack configurations is also proposed.     

A co-rotational formulation for nonlinear dynamic analysis of curved euler beam

A co-rotational finite element formulation for the dynamic analysis of a planar curved Euler beam is presented. The Euler-Bernoulli hypothesis and the initial curvature are properly considered for the kinematics of a curved beam. Both the deformational nodal forces and the inertial nodal forces of the beam element are systematically derived by consistent linearization of the fully geometrically nonlinear beam theory in element coordinates which are constructed at the current configuration of the corresponding beam element. An incremental-iterative method based on the Newmark direct integration method and the Newton-Raphson method is employed here for the solution of the nonlinear dynamic equilibrium equations. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed element and to investigate the effect of the initial curvature on the dynamic response of the curved beam structures.     

A discontinuous Galerkin algorithm for the two-dimensional shallow water equations

A new high-resolution finite element scheme is introduced for solving the two-dimensional (2D) depth-integrated shallow water equations (SWE) via local plane approximations to the unknowns. Bed topography data are locally approximated in the same way as the flow variables to render an instinctive well-balanced scheme. A finite volume (FV) wetting and drying technique that reconstructs the Riemann states by ensuring non-negative water depth and maintaining well-balanced solution is adjusted and implemented in the current finite element framework. Meanwhile, a local slope-limiting process is applied and those troubled-slope-components are restricted by the minmod FV slope limiter. The inter-cell fluxes are upwinded using the HLLC approximate Riemann solver. Friction forces are separately evaluated via stable implicit discretization to the finite element approximating coefficients. Boundary conditions are derived and reported in details. The present model is validated against several test cases including dam-break flows on regular and irregular domains with flooding and drying.     

Finite element formulation for dynamics of planar flexible multi-beam system

In some previous geometric nonlinear finite element formulations, due to the use of axial displacement, the contribution of all the elements lying between the reference node of zero axial displacement and the element to the foreshortening effect should be taken into account. In this paper, a finite element formulation is proposed based on geometric nonlinear elastic theory and finite element technique. The coupling deformation terms of an arbitrary point only relate to the nodal coordinates of the element at which the point is located. Based on Hamilton principle, dynamic equations of elastic beams undergoing large overall motions are derived. To investigate the effect of coupling deformation terms on system dynamic characters and reduce the dynamic equations, a complete dynamic model and three reduced models of hub-beam are prospected. When the Cartesian deformation coordinates are adopted, the results indicate that the terms related to the coupling deformation in the inertia forces of dynamic equations have small effect on system dynamic behavior and may be neglected, whereas the terms related to coupling deformation in the elastic forces are important for system dynamic behavior and should be considered in dynamic equation. Numerical examples of the rotating beam and flexible beam system are carried out to demonstrate the accuracy and validity of this dynamic model. Furthermore, it is shown that a small number of finite elements are needed to obtain a stable solution using the present coupling finite element formulation.     

A hybrid finite element method for stokes flow: Part II—Stability and convergence studies

In Part I we have presented a hybrid finite element method based on an assumed stress field which has the features: (i) the unknowns in the final system of finite element equations are (a) the nodal velocities, and (b) the ‘constant term’ in the arbitrary pressure field over each element; (ii) ‘exact’ integrations were performed for each element.In the following we present studies of stability and convergence of the above hybrid finite element method.     

Tracing post-limit-point paths with reduced basis technique

A reduced basis technique and a problem-adaptive computational algorithm are presented for predicting the post-limit-point paths of structures. In the proposed approach the structure is discretized by using displacement finite element models. The nodal displacement vector is expressed as a linear combination of a small number of vectors and a Rayleigh-Ritz technique is used to approximate the finite element equations by a small system of nonlinear algebraic equations.To circumvent the difficulties associated with the singularity of the stiffness matrix at limit points, a constraint equation, defining a generalized arc-length in the solution space, is added to the system of nonlinear algebraic equations and the Rayleigh-Ritz approximation functions (or basis vectors) are chosen to consist of a nonlinear solution of the discretized structure and its various order derivatives with respect to the generalized arc-length. The potential of the proposed approach and its advantages over the reduced basis-load control technique are outlined. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated by means of numerical examples of structural problems with snap-through and snap-back phenomena.     

Modelling telescopic boom--The plane case: part I

We shall briefly present an idea for the modelling flexible telescopic boom using a non-linear finite element method. The boom is assembled by Reissner’s geometrically exact beam elements. The sliding boom parts are coupled together by the element, where a slide-spring is coupled to beam with the aid of a master-slave technique. This technique yields system equations without algebraic constraints. Telescopic movement is achieved by the rod element with varying length and the connector element expressing the chains. The structural dynamic calculation model is converted to first order ordinary differential equations by adding nodal velocities to state variable, which is solved by the Rosenbrock-W integration method.     

Bifurcation and post-buckling analysis of laminated composite plates via reduced basis technique

A reduced basis technique and a problem-adaptive computational algorithm are presented for the bifurcation and post-buckling analysis of laminated anisotropic plates. The computational algorithm can be conveniently divided into three distinct stages. The first stage is that of determining the bifurcation point. The plate is discretized by using displacement finite element (or finite difference) models. The special symmetries exhibited by the response of the anisotropic plate are used to reduce the size of the analysis region. The vector of unknown nodal parameters is expressed as a linear combination of a small number of basis vectors, and a Rayleigh-Ritz technique is used to approximate the finite element equations by a small system of algebraic equations. The reduced equations are used to determine the bifurcation point and the associated eigen mode of the panel.In the second stage of the bifurcation buckling mode is used to obtain a nonlinear solution in the vicinity of the bifurcation point and new (updated) sets of basis vectors and reduced equations are generated. In the third stage the reduced equations are used to trace the post-buckling paths.The effectiveness of the proposed technique for predicting the bifurcation and post-buckling behavior of plates is demonstrated by means of numerical examples for plates loaded by means of prescribed edge displacements.     

A transient finite element solution method for the Navier-Stokes equations

This paper is concerned with the discrete finite element formulation and numerical solution of transient incompressible viscous flow in terms of the primitive variables. A restricted variational principle is introduced as equivalent to the momentum equations and the Poisson equation for pressure. The latter is introduced to replace the continuity equation, and thus the incompressibility condition is realized only asymptotically; i.e. through the iterative process. An incomplete cubic interpolation function is used for both the velocities and pressure within a triangular finite element. The discrete equations are integrated in time with backward finite differences. We illustrate the similarity between the (ψ,ζ) finite difference method and the ($\text{u}\text{,p}$) finite element method by calculations on the driven square cavity problem.     

Least square finite element solution of stagnation point flow

A detailed analysis of the least square finite element solution of nonlinear boundary value problems is presented with reference to a particular example of nonlinear coupled differential equations governing the flow of an incompressible viscous fluid in the vicinity of a forward stagnation point at a blunt body. The numerical solutions are presented for different cases. The results obtained by the least square finite element method are in very good agreement with the results available in the literature confirming the versatility and usefulness of the application of the method to nonlinear boundary value problems governing the fluid flow problems.     

MHD flow in a rectangular duct with a perturbed boundary

The unsteady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of a viscous, incompressible and electrically conducting fluid in a rectangular duct with a perturbed boundary, is investigated. A small boundary perturbation $\epsilon$ is applied on the upper wall of the duct which is encountered in the visualization of the blood flow in constricted arteries. The MHD equations which are coupled in the velocity and the induced magnetic field are solved with no-slip velocity conditions and by taking the side walls as insulated and the Hartmann walls as perfectly conducting. Both the domain boundary element method (DBEM) and the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) are used in spatial discretization with a backward finite difference scheme for the time integration. These MHD equations are decoupled first into two transient convection–diffusion equations, and then into two modified Helmholtz equations by using suitable transformations. Then, the DBEM or DRBEM is used to transform these equations into equivalent integral equations by employing the fundamental solution of either steady-state convection–diffusion or modified Helmholtz equations. The DBEM and DRBEM results are presented and compared by equi-velocity and current lines at steady-state for several values of Hartmann number and the boundary perturbation parameter.     

Solving Wick-stochastic water waves using a Galerkin finite element method

A Galerkin finite element approximation of Wick-stochastic water waves is developed and numerically investigated. The problems under study consist of a class of shallow water equations driven by white noise. Random effects may appear in the water free surface or in the bottom topography among others. To perform a rigorous study of stochastic effects in the shallow water equations we employ techniques from Wick calculus. The differentiation respect to time and space along with the product operations are performed in a distribution sense. Using the Wiener-Itô chaos expansion for treating the randomness, the governing equations are transformed into a sequence of deterministic shallow water equations to be solved for each chaos coefficient by standard methods from computational fluid dynamics. In our study, we formulate a finite element method for spatial discretization and a backward Euler scheme for time integration. Once the chaos coefficients are obtained, statistical moments for the stochastic solution are carried out. Numerical results are presented for stochastic water waves in the Strait of Gibraltar.     

On numerical stabilization in the solution of Saint-Venant equations using the finite element method

Solving the Saint-Venant equations by using numerical schemes like finite difference and finite element methods leads to some unwanted oscillations in the water surface elevation. The reason for these oscillations lies in the method used for the approximation of the nonlinear terms. One of the ways of smoothing these oscillations is by adding artificial viscosity into the scheme. In this paper, by using a suitable discretization, we first solve the one-dimensional Saint-Venant equations by a finite element method and eliminate the unwanted oscillations without using an artificial viscosity. Second, our main discussion is concentrated on numerical stabilization of the solution in detail. In fact, we first convert the systems resulting from the discretization to systems relating to just water surface elevation. Then, by using M-matrix properties, the stability of the solution is shown. Finally, two numerical examples of critical and subcritical flows are given to support our results.