Elastic analysis of a half-plane with multiple inclusions using volume integral equation method

A volume integral equation method (VIEM) is used to calculate the elastostatic field in an isotropic elastic half-plane containing circular inclusions subject to remote loading parallel to the traction-free boundary. The material of the inclusions may be either isotropic or anisotropic and they are assumed to be distributed in square or hexagonal array. A detailed analysis of the stress field at the interface between the matrix and one of the inclusions is carried out for different distances between the inclusion and the surface of the half-plane. The results of the calculations are compared with available results. The VIEM is shown to be very accurate and effective for investigating the local stresses in the presence of multiple inclusions. The method can be applied to multiple inclusions of arbitrary geometry and elastic properties embedded in extended isotropic elastic media.     

A semi-analytical solution for multiple circular inhomogeneities in one of two joined isotropic elastic half-planes

The paper presents a semi-analytical method for solving the problem of two joined, dissimilar isotropic elastic half-planes, one of which contains a large number of arbitrary located, non-overlapping, perfectly bonded circular elastic inhomogeneities. In general, the inhomogeneities may have different elastic properties and sizes. The analysis is based on a solution of a complex singular integral equation with the unknown tractions at each circular boundary approximated by a truncated complex Fourier series. A system of linear algebraic equations is obtained by using a Taylor series expansion. Apart from round-off, the only errors introduced into the solution are due to truncation of the Fourier series. The resulting semi-analytical method allows one to calculate the elastic fields everywhere in the half-planes and inside the inhomogeneities. Numerical examples are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.     

Multiple circular nano-inhomogeneities and/or nano-pores in one of two joined isotropic elastic half-planes

The paper considers the problem of multiple interacting circular nano-inhomogeneities or/and nano-pores located in one of two joined, dissimilar isotropic elastic half-planes. The analysis is based on the solutions of the elastostatic problems for (i) the bulk material of two bonded, dissimilar elastic half-planes and (ii) the bulk material of a circular disc. These solutions are coupled with the Gurtin and Murdoch model of material surfaces [Gurtin ME, Murdoch AI. A continuum theory of elastic material surfaces. Arch Ration Mech Anal 1975;57:291–323; Gurtin ME, Murdoch AI. Surface stress in solids. Int J Solids Struct 1978;14:431–40.]. Each elastostatic problem is solved with the use of complex Somigliana traction identity [Mogilevskaya SG, Linkov AM. Complex fundamental solutions and complex variables boundary element method in elasticity. Comput Mech 1998;22:88–92]. The complex boundary displacements and tractions at each circular boundary are approximated by a truncated complex Fourier series, and the unknown Fourier coefficients are found from a system of linear algebraic equations obtained by using a Taylor series expansion. The resulting semi-analytical method allows one to calculate the elastic fields everywhere in the half-planes and inside the nano-inhomogeneities. Numerical examples demonstrate that (i) the method is effective in solving the problems with multiple nano-inhomogeneities, and (ii) the elastic response of a composite system is profoundly influenced by the sizes of the nano-features.     

Elastic analysis of a half-plane containing an inclusion and a void using a mixed volume and boundary integral equation method

A mixed volume and boundary integral equation method is used to calculate the plane elastostatic field in an isotropic elastic half-plane containing an isotropic or anisotropic inclusion and a void subject to remote loading parallel to a traction-free boundary. A detailed analysis of the stress field is carried out for three different geometries of the problem. It is demonstrated that the method is very accurate and effective for investigating local stresses in an isotropic elastic half-plane containing multiple isotropic or anisotropic inclusions and multiple voids.     

A new special element for stress concentration analysis of a plate with elliptical holes

Special hole elements are presented for analyzing the stress behavior of an isotropic elastic solidcontaining an elliptical hole. The special hole elements are constructed using the special fundamental solutions for an infinite domain containing a single elliptical hole, which are derived based on complex conformal mapping and Cauchy integrals. During the construction of the special elements, the interior displacement and stress fields are assumed to be the combination of fundamental solutions at a number of source points, and the frame displacement field defined over the element boundary is independently approximated with conventional shape functions. The hybrid finite element model is formulated based on a hybrid functional that provides a link between the two assumed independent fields. Because the fundamental solutions used exactly satisfy both the traction-free boundary conditions of the elliptical hole under consideration and the governing equations of the problems of interest, all integrals can be converted into integrals along the element boundary and there is no need to model the elliptical hole boundary. Thus, the mesh effort near the elliptical hole is significantly reduced. Finally, the numerical model is verified through three examples, and the numerical results obtained for the prediction of stress concentration factors caused by elliptical holes are extremely accurate.     

Null-field integral equation approach for free vibration analysis of circular plates with multiple circular holes

In this paper, a semi-analytical approach for the eigenproblem of circular plates with multiple circular holes is presented. Natural frequencies and modes are determined by employing the null-field integral formulation in conjunction with degenerate kernels, tensor rotation and Fourier series. In the proposed approach, all kernel functions are expanded into degenerate (separable) forms and all boundary densities are represented by using Fourier series. By uniformly collocating points on the real boundary and taking finite terms of Fourier series, a linear algebraic system can be constructed. The direct searching approach is adopted to determine the natural frequency through the singular value decomposition (SVD). After determining the unknown Fourier coefficients, the corresponding mode shape is obtained by using the boundary integral equations for domain points. The result of the annular plate, as a special case, is compared with the analytical solution to verify the validity of the present method. For the cases of circular plates with an eccentric hole or multiple circular holes, eigensolutions obtained by the present method are compared well with those of the existing approximate analytical method or finite element method (ABAQUS). Besides, the effect of eccentricity of the hole on the natural frequency and mode is also considered. Moreover, the inherent problem of spurious eigenvalue using the integral formulation is investigated and the SVD updating technique is adopted to suppress the occurrence of spurious eigenvalues. Excellent accuracy, fast rate of convergence and high computational efficiency are the main features of the present method thanks to the semi-analytical procedure.     

A numerical procedure for multiple circular holes and elastic inclusions in a finite domain with a circular boundary

This paper describes a numerical procedure for solving two-dimensional elastostatics problems with multiple circular holes and elastic inclusions in a finite domain with a circular boundary. The inclusions may have arbitrary elastic properties, different from those of the matrix, and the holes may be traction free or loaded with uniform normal pressure. The loading can be applied on all or part of the finite external boundary. Complex potentials are expressed in the form of integrals of the tractions and displacements on the boundaries. The unknown boundary tractions and displacements are approximated by truncated complex Fourier series. A linear algebraic system is obtained by using Taylor series expansion without boundary discretization. The matrix of the linear system has diagonal submatrices on its diagonal, which allows the system to be effectively solved by using a block Gauss-Seidel iterative algorithm.     

Direct boundary integral procedure for a Boltzmann viscoelastic plane with circular holes and elastic inclusions

A direct boundary integral method in the time domain is presented to solve the problem of an infinite, isotropic Boltzmann viscoelastic plane containing a large number of randomly distributed, non-overlapping circular holes and perfectly bonded elastic inclusions. The holes and inclusions are of arbitrary size and the elastic properties of all of the inclusions can, in general, be different. The method is based on a direct boundary integral approach for the problem of an infinite elastic plane containing multiple circular holes and elastic inclusions described by Crouch and Mogilevskaya [1], and a time marching strategy for viscoelastic analysis described by Mesquita and Coda [2–8]. Benchmark problems and numerical examples are included to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the method.     

Complex hypersingular integral equation for the piece-wise homogeneous half-plane with cracks

New complex hypersingular integral equation (CHSIE) is derived for the half-plane containing the inclusions (which can have the different elastic properties), holes, notches and cracks of the arbitrary shape. This equation is obtained by superposition of the equations for each homogeneous region in a half-plane. The last equations follow from the use of complex analogs of Somigliana's displacement and stress identities (SDI and SSI) and Melan's fundamental solution (FS) written in a complex form. The universal numerical algorithm suggested before for the analogous problem for a piece-wise homogeneous plane is extended on case of a half plane. The unknown functions are approximated by complex Lagrange polynomials of the arbitrary degree. The asymptotics for the displacement discontinuities (DD) at the crack tips are taken into account. Only two types of the boundary elements (straight segments and circular arcs) are used to approximate the boundaries. All the integrals involved in CHSIE are evaluated in a closed form. A wide range of elasticity problems for a half-plane with cracks, openings and inclusions are solved numerically.     

Complex variable boundary integral method for linear viscoelasticity: Part II—application to problems involving circular boundaries

Complex variable integral equations for linear viscoelasticity derived in Part I [Huang Y, Mogilevskaya SG, Crouch SL. Complex variable boundary integral method for linear viscoelasticity. Part I—basic formulations. Eng Anal Bound Elem 2006; in press, doi:10.1016/j.enganabound.2005.12.007.] are employed to solve the problem of an infinite viscoelastic plane containing a circular hole. The viscoelastic material behaves as a Boltzmann model in shear and its bulk response is elastic. Constant or time-dependent stresses are applied at the boundary of the hole, or, if desired, at infinity. Time-dependent variables on the circular boundary (displacements or tractions in the direct formulation of the complex variable boundary integral method or unknown complex density functions in the indirect formulations) are represented by truncated complex Fourier series with time-dependent coefficients and all the space integrals involved are evaluated analytically. Analytical Laplace transform and its inversion are adopted to accomplish the evaluation of the associated time convolutions. Several examples are given to demonstrate the validity and reliability of the method. Generalization of the approach to the problems with multiple holes is discussed.     

A time domain direct boundary integral method for a viscoelastic plane with circular holes and elastic inclusions

This paper considers the problem of an infinite, isotropic viscoelastic plane containing an arbitrary number of randomly distributed, non-overlapping circular holes and isotropic elastic inclusions. The holes and inclusions are of arbitrary size. All inclusions are assumed to be perfectly bonded to the material matrix but the elastic properties of the inclusions can be different from one another. The Kelvin model is employed to simulate the viscoelastic plane. The numerical approach combines a direct boundary integral method for a similar problem of an infinite elastic plane containing multiple circular holes and elastic inclusions described in [Crouch SL, Mogilevskaya SG. On the use of Somigliana's formula and Fourier series for elasticity problems with circular boundaries. Int J Numer Methods Eng 2003;58:537–578], and a time-marching strategy for viscoelastic material analysis described in [Mesquita AD, Coda HB, Boundary integral equation method for general viscoelastic analysis. Int J Solids Struct 2002;39:2643–2664]. Several numerical examples are given to verify the approach. For benchmark problems with one inclusion, results are compared with the analytical solution obtained using the correspondence principle and analytical Laplace transform inversion. For an example with two holes and two inclusions, results are compared with numerical solutions obtained by commercial finite element software—ANSYS. Benchmark results for a more complicated example with 25 inclusions are also given.     

Interactions between N circular cylindrical inclusions in a piezoelectric matrix

Summary This paper studies the interactions between N randomly-distributed cylindrical inclusions in a piezoelectric matrix. The inclusions are assumed to be perfectly bounded to the matrix, which is subjected to an anti-plane shear stress and an in-plane electric field at infinity. Based on the complex variable method, the complex potentials in the matrix and inside the inclusions are first obtained in form of power series, and then approximate solutions for electroelastic fields are derived. Numerical examples are presented to discuss the influences of the inclusion array, inclusion size and inclusion properties on couple fields in the matrix and inclusions. Solutions for the case of an infinite piezoelectric matrix with N circular holes or an infinite elastic matrix containing N circular piezoelectric fibers can also be obtained as special cases of the present work. It is shown that the electroelastic field distribution in a piezoelectric material with multiple inclusions is significantly different from that in the case of a single inclusion.     

Null-field approach for the antiplane problem with elliptical holes and/or inclusions

In this paper, we extend the successful experience of solving an infinite medium containing circular holes and/or inclusions subject to remote shears to deal with the problem containing elliptical holes and/or inclusions. Arbitrary location, different orientation, various size and any number of elliptical holes and/or inclusions can be considered. By fully employing the elliptical geometry, fundamental solutions were expanded into the degenerate kernel by using an addition theorem in terms of the elliptic coordinates and boundary densities are described by using the eigenfunction expansion. The difference between the proposed method and the conventional boundary integral equation method is that the location point can be exactly distributed on the real boundary without facing the singular integral and calculating principal value. Besides, the boundary stress can be easily calculated free of the Hadamard principal values. It is worthy of noting that the Jacobian terms exist in the degenerate kernel, boundary density and contour integral; however, these Jacobian terms would cancel each other out and the orthogonal property is preserved in the process of contour integral. This method belongs to one kind of meshless methods since only collocation points on the real boundary are required. In addition, the solution is regarded as semi-analytical form because error purely attributes to the number of truncation term of eigenfunction. An exact solution for a single elliptical inclusion is also derived by using the proposed approach and the results agree well with Smith’s solutions by using the method of complex variables. Several examples are revisited to demonstrate the validity of our method.     

An irregular-shaped inclusion with imperfect interface in antiplane elasticity

Despite extensive studies of inclusions with simple shape, little effort has been devoted to inclusions of irregular shape. In this study, we consider an inclusion of irregular shape embedded within an infinite isotropic elastic matrix subject to antiplane shear deformations. The inclusion–matrix interface is assumed to be imperfect characterized by a single, non-negative, and constant interface parameter. Using complex variable techniques, the analytic function that is defined within the irregular-shaped inclusion is expanded into a Faber series, and in conjunction with the Fourier series, a set of linear algebraic equations for a finite number of unknown coefficients is determined. With this approach and without imposing any constraints on the stress distribution, a semi-analytical solution is derived for the elastic fields within the irregular-shaped inclusion and the surrounding matrix. The method is illustrated using three examples and verified, when possible, with existing solutions. The results from the calculations reveal that the stress distribution within the inclusion is highly non-uniform and depends on the inclusion shape and the weak mechanical contact at the inclusion/matrix boundary. In fact, the results illustrate that the imperfect interface parameter significantly influences the stress distribution.     

A Galerkin boundary integral method for multiple circular elastic inclusions

The problem of an infinite, isotropic elastic plane containing an arbitrary number of circular elastic inclusions is considered. The analysis procedure is based on the use of a complex singular integral equation. The unknown tractions at each circular boundary are approximated by a truncated complex Fourier series. A system of linear algebraic equations is obtained by using the classical Galerkin method and the Gauss–Seidel algorithm is used to solve the system. Several numerical examples are considered to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Construction of Green's function using null-field integral approach for Laplace problems with circular boundaries

A null-field approach is employed to derive the Green's function for boundary value problems stated for the Laplace equation with circular boundaries. The kernel function and boundary density are expanded by using the degenerate kernel and Fourier series, respectively. Series-form Green's function for interior and exterior problems of circular boundary are derived and plotted in a good agreement with the closed-form solution. The Poisson integral formula is extended to an annular case from a circle. Not only an eccentric ring but also a half-plane problem with an aperture are demonstrated to see the validity of the present approach. Besides, a half-plane problem with a circular hole subject to Dirichlet and Robin boundary conditions and a half-plane problem with a circular hole and a semi-circular inclusion are solved. Good agreement is made after comparing with the Melnikov's results.     

求解水下非圆弹性环声散射问题的一种半解析方法

基于传递矩阵法、齐次扩容精细积分法和复数矢径虚拟边界谱方法 ,提出了一种求解水下非圆弹性环声散射问题的半解析方法。该方法具有以下几个优点 :(1)采用复数矢径虚拟边界谱方法 ,不仅能保证在全波数域内Helmholtz外问题解的唯一性 ,而且由于虚拟源强密度函数采用 Fourier级数展开 ,克服了用单元离散解法不能用于较高频率范围的缺点 ;(2 )采用齐次扩容精细积分法求解非圆弹性环的状态微分方程 ,其计算结果具有很高的精度 ;(3)耦合方程不需要交错迭代求解 ,提高了计算效率。文中给出了两个典型非圆弹性环在平面声波激励下的声散射算例 ,计算结果表明本文方法是一种求解二维非圆弹性环声散射问题非常有效的半解析法。     

Stress intensity factors for a surface-breaking crack in a half-plane subject to contact loading

Modes I and II stress intensity factors are derived for a crack breaking the surface of a half-plane which is subject to various forms of contact loading. The method used is that of replacing the crack by a continuous distribution of edge dislocations and assume the crack to be traction-free over its entire length. A traction free crack is achieved by cancelling the tractions along the crack site that would be present if the half-plane was uncracked. The stress distribution for an elastic uncracked half-plane subject to an indenter of arbitrary profile in the presence of friction is derived in terms of a single Muskhelishvili complex stress function from which the stresses and displacements in either the half-plane or indenter can be determined. The problem of a cracked half-plane reduces to the numerical solution of a singular integral equation for the determination of the dislocation density distribution from which the modes I and II stress intensity factors can be obtained. Although the method of representing a crack by a continuous distribution of edge dislocations is now a well established procedure, the application of this method to fracture mechanics problems involving contact loading is relatively new. This paper demonstrates that the method of distributed dislocations is well suited to surface-breaking cracks subject to contact loading and presents new stress intensity factor results for a variety of loading and crack configurations.     

Bipolar coordinates,image method and the method of fundamental solutions for Green’s functions of Laplace problems containing circular boundaries

Green’s functions of Laplace problems containing circular boundaries are solved by using analytical and semi-analytical approaches. For the analytical solution, we derive the Green’s function using the bipolar coordinates. Based on the semi-analytical approach of image method, it is interesting to find that the two frozen images for the eccentric annulus using the image method are located on the two foci in the bipolar coordinates. This finding also occurs for the cases of a half plane with a circular hole and an infinite plane containing two circular holes. The image method can be seen as a special case of the method of fundamental solutions, which only at most four unknown strengths are required to be determined. The optimal locations of sources in the method of fundamental solutions can be captured using the image method and they are dependent on the source location and the geometry of problems. Three illustrative examples were demonstrated to verify this point. Results are satisfactory.     

Study on harbor resonance and focusing by using the null-field BIEM

In this paper, the resonance of a circular harbor is studied by using the semi-analytical approach. The method is based on the null-field boundary integral equation method in conjunction with degenerate kernels and the Fourier series. The problem is decomposed into two regions by employing the concept of taking free body. One is a circular harbor, and the other is a problem of half-open sea with a coastline subject to the impermeable (Neumann) boundary condition. It is interesting to find that the SH wave impinging on the hill can be formulated by the same mathematical model. After finding the analogy between the harbor resonance and hill scattering, focusing of the water wave inside the harbor as well as focusing in the hill scattering are also examined. Finally, two numerical examples, circular harbor problems of 60° and 180° opening entrance, are both used to verify the validity of the present formulation.