SSPH basis functions for meshless methods, and comparison of solutions with strong and weak formulations

We propose a new and simple technique called the Symmetric Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SSPH) method to construct basis functions for meshless methods that use only locations of particles. These basis functions are found to be similar to those in the Finite Element Method (FEM) except that the basis for the derivatives of a function need not be obtained by differentiating those for the function. Of course, the basis for the derivatives of a function can be obtained by differentiating the basis for the function as in the FEM and meshless methods. These basis functions are used to numerically solve two plane stress/strain elasto-static problems by using either the collocation method or a weak formulation of the problem defined over a subregion of the region occupied by the body; the latter is usually called the Meshless Local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method. For the two boundary-value problems studied, it is found that the weak formulation in which the basis for the first order derivatives of the trial solution are derived directly in the SSPH method (i.e., not obtained by differentiating the basis function for the trial solution) gives the least value of the L²-error norm in the displacements while the collocation method employing the strong formulation of the boundary-value problem has the largest value of the L²-error norm. The numerical solution using the weak formulation requires more CPU time than the solution with the strong formulation of the problem. We have also computed the L²-error norm of displacements by varying the number of particles, the number of Gauss points used to numerically evaluate domain integrals appearing in the weak formulation of the problem, the radius of the compact support of the kernel function used to generate the SSPH basis, the order of complete monomials employed for constructing the SSPH basis, and boundary conditions used at a point on a corner of the rectangular problem domain. It is recommended that for solving two-dimensional elasto-static problems, the MLPG formulation in which derivatives of the trial solution are found without differentiating the SSPH basis function be adopted.     

Modified smoothed particle hydrodynamics method and its application to transient problems

A modification to the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method is proposed that improves the accuracy of the approximation especially at points near the boundary of the domain. The modified method is used to study one-dimensional wave propagation and two-dimensional transient heat conduction problems.This work was supported by the ONR grant N00014-98-1-0300 and the ARO grant DAAD19-01-1-0657 to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the AFOSR MURI grant to Georgia Tech that awarded a subcontract to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Opinions expressed in the paper are those of authors and not of the funding agencies.     

Topology optimization of plane structures using smoothed particle hydrodynamics method

This paper presents an alternative topology optimization method based on an efficient meshless smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) algorithm. To currently calculate the objective compliance, the deficiencies in standard SPH method are eliminated by introducing corrective smoothed particle method and total Lagrangian formulation. The compliance is established relative to a designed density variable at each SPH particle which is updated by optimality criteria method. Topology optimization is realized by minimizing the compliance using a modified solid isotropic material with penalization approach. Some numerical examples of plane elastic structure are carried out and the results demonstrate the suitability and effectiveness of the proposed SPH method in the topology optimization problem. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transient Fokker–Planck–Kolmogorov equation solved with smoothed particle hydrodynamics method

Probabilistic theories aim at describing the properties of systems subjected to random excitations by means of statistical characteristics such as the probability density function ψ (pdf). The time evolution of the pdf of the response of a randomly excited deterministic system is commonly described with the transient Fokker–Planck–Kolmogorov (FPK) equation. The FPK equation is a conservation equation of a hypothetical or abstract fluid, which models the transport of probability. This paper presents a generalized formalism for the resolution of the transient FPK equation by using the well‐known mesh‐free Lagrangian method, smoothed particle hydrodynamics). Numerical implementation shows notable advantages of this method in an unbounded state space: (1) the conservation of total probability in the state space is explicitly written; (2) no artifact is required to manage far‐field boundary conditions; (3) the positivity of the pdf is ensured; and (4) the extension to higher dimensions is straightforward. Furthermore, thanks to the moving particles, this method is adapted for a large kind of initial conditions, even slightly dispersed distributions. The FPK equation is solved without any a priori knowledge of the stationary distribution, just a precise representation of the initial distribution is required.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of smoothed particle hydrodynamics method for modeling active nematics

This article proposes a novel graphics processing unit-based active nematic flow solver based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. Nematohydrodynamics equations are discretized using the SPH algorithm. Flow behavior, nematic ordering, topological defects, and vorticity correlation are calculated and discussed in detail. The spectrum of the kinetic energy with respect to the wavenumber is calculated at high particle resolution, and its slope at the different length scales is discussed. To exploit the SPH capabilities, pathlines of nematic particles are evaluated during the simulation. Finally, the mixing behavior of the active nematics is calculated as well and described qualitatively. The effects of two important parameters, namely, activity and elastic constant are investigated. It is shown that the activity intensifies the chaotic mixing nature of the active nematics, while the elastic constant behaves oppositely.     

Impact analysis of arbitrarily‐shaped bodies using a finite element method and a smoothed particle hydrodynamics method

We propose a new method to obtain contact forces under a non‐smoothed contact problem between arbitrarily‐shaped bodies which are discretized by finite element method. Contact forces are calculated by the specific contact algorithm between two particles of smoothed particle hydrodynamics, which is a meshfree method, and that are applied to each colliding body. This approach has advantages that accurate contact forces can be obtained within an accelerated collision without a jump problem in a discrete time increment. Also, this can be simply applied into any contact problems like a point‐to‐point, a point‐to‐line, and a point‐to‐surface contact for complex shaped and deformable bodies. In order to describe this method, an impulse based method, a unilateral contact method and smoothed particle hydrodynamics method are firstly introduced in this paper. Then, a procedure about the proposed method is handled in great detail. Finally, accuracy of the proposed method is verified by a conservation of momentum through three contact examples. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical study via total Lagrangian smoothed particle hydrodynamics on chip formation in micro cutting

Numerical simulation is an effective approach in studying cutting mechanism. The widely used methods for cutting simulation include finite element analysis and molecular dynamics. However, there exist some intrinsic shortcomings when using a mesh-based formulation, and the capable scale of molecular dynamics is extremely small. In contrast, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is a candidate to combine the advantages of them. It is a particle method which is suitable for simulating the large deformation process, and is formulated based on continuum mechanics so that large scale problems can be handled in principle. As a result, SPH has also become a main way for the cutting simulation. Since some issues arise while using conventional SPH to handle solid materials, the total Lagrangian smoothed particle hydrodynamics (TLSPH) is developed. But instabilities would still occur during the cutting, which is a critical issue to resolve. This paper studies the effects of TLSPH settings and cutting model parameters on the numerical instability, as well as the chip formation process. Plastic deformation, stress field and cutting forces are analyzed as well. It shows that the hourglass coefficient, critical pairwise deformation and time step are three important parameters to control the stability of the simulation, and a strategy on how to adjust them is provided.The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-020-00297-z     

Numerical modeling of Kelvin–Helmholtz instability using smoothed particle hydrodynamics

This paper presents a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) solution for the Kelvin–Helmholtz Instability (KHI) problem of an incompressible two‐phase immiscible fluid in a stratified inviscid shear flow with interfacial tension. The time‐dependent evolution of the two‐fluid interface over a wide range of Richardson number (Ri) and for three different density ratios is numerically investigated. The simulation results are compared with analytical solutions in the linear regime. Having captured the physics behind KHI, the effects of gravity and surface tension on a two‐dimensional shear layer are examined independently and together. It is shown that the growth rate of the KHI is mainly controlled by the value of the Ri number, not by the nature of the stabilizing forces. It was observed that the SPH method requires a Richardson number lower than unity (i.e. Ri?0.8) for the onset of KHI, and that the artificial viscosity plays a significant role in obtaining physically correct simulation results that are in agreement with analytical solutions. The numerical algorithm presented in this work can easily handle two‐phase fluid flow with various density ratios. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal analysis of friction stir processing (FSP) using arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) meshing techniques

Friction stir processing (FSP), a derivation of friction stir welding (FSW) is a material processing method which is used to locally modify the microstructure and texture of a given material. In friction stir processing (FSP), the heat produced by the frictional force and material deformation plays a significant role in producing a good surface quality. Therefore, the thermal modeling of friction stir processing (FSP) requires accurate boundary conditions and an appropriate mesh modelling technique. In this study, the thermal behavior of friction stir processing (FSP) using the aluminum alloy 6061-T6 for different process parameters is investigated. To solve complicated governing equations, two finite element formulations have been utilized; i. e. an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) and a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). For the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE), a three-dimensional (3D) fully coupled thermomechanical finite element model using a modified Coulomb friction and Johnson-Cook material law has been used. The results show that, the temperature behavior is asymmetrical in the cross section and the peak temperature is approximately around 60 %–80 % of the melting temperature of the AA6061-T6. Moreover, it is seen that as the rotating velocity increases, the peak temperature is also increased; and the peak temperature decreases as the transverse speed increases. Finally, a good correlation between the calculated values and the literature is found.     

Search algorithm,and simulation of elastodynamic crack propagation by modified smoothed particle hydrodynamics (MSPH) method

We first present a nonuniform box search algorithm with length of each side of the square box dependent on the local smoothing length, and show that it can save up to 70% CPU time as compared to the uniform box search algorithm. This is especially relevant for transient problems in which, if we enlarge the sides of boxes, we can apply the search algorithm fewer times during the solution process, and improve the computational efficiency of a numerical scheme. We illustrate the application of the search algorithm and the modified smoothed particle hydrodynamics (MSPH) method by studying the propagation of cracks in elastostatic and elastodynamic problems. The dynamic stress intensity factor computed with the MSPH method either from the stress field near the crack tip or from the J-integral agrees very well with that computed by using the finite element method. Three problems are analyzed. One of these involves a plate with a centrally located crack, and the other with three cracks on plates’s horizontal centroidal axis. In each case the plate edges parallel to the crack are loaded in a direction perpendicular to the crack surface. It is found that, at low strain rates, the presence of other cracks will delay the propagation of the central crack. However, at high strain rates, the speed of propagation of the central crack is unaffected by the presence of the other two cracks. In the third problem dealing with the simulation of crack propagation in a functionally graded plate, the crack speed is found to be close to the experimental one.     

A corrective smoothed particle method for boundary value problems in heat conduction

Combining the kernel estimate with the Taylor series expansion is proposed to develop a Corrective Smoothed Particle Method (CSPM). This algorithm resolves the general problem of particle deficiency at boundaries, which is a shortcoming in Standard Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SSPH). In addition, the method’s ability to model derivatives of any order could make it applicable for any time‐dependent boundary value problems. An example of the applications studied in this paper is unsteady heat conduction, which is governed by second‐order derivatives. Numerical results demonstrate that besides the capability of directly imposing boundary conditions, the present method enhances the solution accuracy not only near or on the boundary but also inside the domain. Published in 1999 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article is a U.S. government work and is in the public domain in the United States.     

Smoothed particle hydrodynamics for numerical simulation of underwater explosion

 Underwater explosion arising from high explosive detonation consists of a complicated sequence of energetic processes. It is generally very difficult to simulate underwater explosion phenomena by using traditional grid-based numerical methods due to the inherent features such as large deformations, large inhomogeneities, moving interface and so on. In this paper, a meshless, Lagrangian particle method, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is applied to simulate underwater explosion problems. As a free Lagrangian method, SPH can track the moving interface between the gas produced by the explosion and the surrounding water effectively. The meshless nature of SPH overcomes the difficulty resulted from large deformations. Some modifications are made in the SPH code to suit the needs of underwater explosion simulation in evolving the smoothing length, treating solid boundary and material interface. The work is mainly focused on the detonation of the high explosive, the interaction of the explosive gas with the surrounding water, and the propagation of the underwater shock. Comparisons of the numerical results for three examples with those from other sources are quite good. Major features of underwater explosion such as the magnitude and location of the underwater explosion shock can be well captured. Received: 2 April 2002 / Accepted: 20 September 2002     

Development of smoothed particle hydrodynamics method and its application in the hydrodynamics of condensed matter

An improved smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is described; in this method, the solution to the Riemann problem in strength media is described. Generalization of this approach to solving heat conduction problems is performed. The improved SPH method is used to solve a wide range of problems. Problems of heat conduction and volume energy release accompanied by spallation effects, simulation of high speed perforation, and propagation of failure waves in brittle materials are considered. Shock wave compression of porous materials and diffraction of detonation waves in heterogeneous explosives are simulated on the mesostructure scale.     

A saturated discrete particle model and characteristic-based SPH method in granular materials

Based on the discrete particle model for solid-phase deformation of granular materials consisting of dry particulate assemblages, a discrete particle–continuum model for modelling the coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour in saturated granular materials is developed. The motion of the interstitial fluid is described by two parallel continuum schemes governed by the averaged incompressible N–S equations and Darcy's law, respectively, where the latter one can be regarded as a degraded case of the former. Owing to the merits in both Lagrangian and mesh-free characters, the characteristic-based smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is proposed in this paper for modelling pore fluid flows relative to the deformed solid phase that is modelled as packed assemblages of interacting discrete particles. It is assumed that the formulation is Lagrangian with the co-ordinate system transferring with the movement of the solid particles. The assumed continuous fluid field is discretized into a finite set of Lagrangian (material) points with their number equal to that of solid particles situated in the computational domain. An explicit meshless scheme for granular materials with interstitial water is formulated. Numerical results illustrate the capability and performance of the present model in modelling the fluid–solid interaction and deformation in granular materials saturated with water. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the random differential quadrature (RDQ) method: consistency analysis and application in elasticity problems

Differential Quadrature (DQ) is an efficient derivative approximation technique but it requires a regular domain with uniformly arranged nodes. This restricts its application for a regular domain only discretized by the field nodes in a fixed pattern. In the presented random differential quadrature (RDQ) method however this restriction of the DQ method is removed and its applicability is extended for a regular domain discretized by randomly distributed field nodes and for an irregular domain discretized by uniform or randomly distributed field nodes. The consistency analysis of the locally applied DQ method is carried out, based on it approaches are suggested to obtain the fast convergence of function value by the RDQ method. The convergence studies are carried out by solving 1D, 2D and elasticity problems and it is concluded that the RDQ method can effectively handle regular as well as irregular domains discretized by random or uniformly distributed field nodes.     

Theoretical aspects of the smoothed finite element method (SFEM)

This paper examines the theoretical bases for the smoothed finite element method (SFEM), which was formulated by incorporating cell‐wise strain smoothing operation into standard compatible finite element method (FEM). The weak form of SFEM can be derived from the Hu–Washizu three‐field variational principle. For elastic problems, it is proved that 1D linear element and 2D linear triangle element in SFEM are identical to their counterparts in FEM, while 2D bilinear quadrilateral elements in SFEM are different from that of FEM: when the number of smoothing cells (SCs) of the elements equals 1, the SFEM solution is proved to be ‘variationally consistent’ and has the same properties with those of FEM using reduced integration; when SC approaches infinity, the SFEM solution will approach the solution of the standard displacement compatible FEM model; when SC is a finite number larger than 1, the SFEM solutions are not ‘variationally consistent’ but ‘energy consistent’, and will change monotonously from the solution of SFEM (SC = 1) to that of SFEM (SC → ∞). It is suggested that there exists an optimal number of SC such that the SFEM solution is closest to the exact solution. The properties of SFEM are confirmed by numerical examples. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The interpolating element-free Galerkin (IEFG) method for two-dimensional potential problems

In this paper, the moving least-squares (MLS) approximation and the interpolating moving least-squares (IMLS) method proposed by Lancaster are discussed first. A new method for deriving the MLS approximation is presented, and the IMLS method is improved. Compared with the IMLS method proposed by Lancaster, the shape function of the improved IMLS method in this paper is simpler so that the new method has higher computing efficiency. Then combining the shape function of the improved IMLS method with Galerkin weak form of the potential problem, the interpolating element-free Galerkin (IEFG) method for the two- dimensional potential problem is presented, and the corresponding formulae are obtained. Compared with the conventional element-free Galerkin (EFG) method, the boundary conditions can be applied directly in the IEFG method, which makes the computing efficiency higher. For the purposes of demonstration, some selected numerical examples are solved using the IEFG method.     

A spline strip kernel particle method and its application to two‐dimensional elasticity problems

In this paper we present a novel spline strip kernel particle method (SSKPM) that has been developed for solving a class of two‐dimensional (2D) elasticity problems. This new approach combines the concepts of the mesh‐free methods and the spline strip method. For the interpolation of the assumed displacement field, we employed the kernel particle shape functions in the transverse direction, and the B₃‐spline function in the longitudinal direction. The formulation is validated on several beam and semi‐infinite plate problems. The numerical results of these test problems are then compared with the existing solutions obtained by the exact or numerical methods. From this study we conclude that the SSKPM is a potential alternative to the classical finite strip method (FSM). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A face‐based smoothed finite element method (FS‐FEM) for 3D linear and geometrically non‐linear solid mechanics problems using 4‐node tetrahedral elements

This paper presents a novel face‐based smoothed finite element method (FS‐FEM) to improve the accuracy of the finite element method (FEM) for three‐dimensional (3D) problems. The FS‐FEM uses 4‐node tetrahedral elements that can be generated automatically for complicated domains. In the FS‐FEM, the system stiffness matrix is computed using strains smoothed over the smoothing domains associated with the faces of the tetrahedral elements. The results demonstrated that the FS‐FEM is significantly more accurate than the FEM using tetrahedral elements for both linear and geometrically non‐linear solid mechanics problems. In addition, a novel domain‐based selective scheme is proposed leading to a combined FS/NS‐FEM model that is immune from volumetric locking and hence works well for nearly incompressible materials. The implementation of the FS‐FEM is straightforward and no penalty parameters or additional degrees of freedom are used. The computational efficiency of the FS‐FEM is found better than that of the FEM. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.