Mesh-free analysis of cracks in isotropic functionally graded materials

This paper presents a Galerkin-based meshless method for calculating stress-intensity factors (SIFs) for a stationary crack in two-dimensional functionally graded materials of arbitrary geometry. The method involves an element-free Galerkin method (EFGM), where the material properties are smooth functions of spatial coordinates and two newly developed interaction integrals for mixed-mode fracture analysis. These integrals can also be implemented in conjunction with other numerical methods, such as the finite element method (FEM). Five numerical examples including both mode-I and mixed-mode problems are presented to evaluate the accuracy of SIFs calculated by the proposed EFGM. Comparisons have been made between the SIFs predicted by EFGM and available reference solutions in the literature, generated either analytically or by FEM using various other fracture integrals or analyses. A good agreement is obtained between the results of the proposed meshless method and the reference solutions.     

Two-dimensional stress analysis of functionally graded solids using the MLPG method with radial basis functions

The meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method is used for analysing two-dimensional (2D) static and dynamic deformations of functionally graded materials (FGMs) with material response modelled as either linear elastic or as linear viscoelastic. The multiquadric radial basis function (RBF) is employed to approximate the trial solution. Results are computed with two different choices of test functions, namely a fourth-order spline weight function, and a Heaviside step function, each having a compact support. No background mesh is used to numerically evaluate integrals appearing in the weak formulation of the problem, thus the method is truly meshless. A benefit of using RBFs is that they possess the Kronecker delta property; thus it is easy to satisfy essential boundary conditions. For five problems, the computed results are found to match well with those either from their analytical solutions or numerical solutions of other researchers who employed different algorithms. For a dynamic problem, the Laplace-transform technique is utilised. The numerical examples illustrate that displacements and stress distributions in a structure made of an FGM differ considerably from those at the corresponding points in the same structure made of a homogeneous material. Thus, the inhomogeneity in material properties can be exploited to optimise stress distribution, minimise deflection and reduce the maximum stress.     

The meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) approach for solving problems in elasto-statics

 The meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) approach is an effective method for solving boundary value problems, using a local symmetric weak form and shape functions from the moving least squares approximation. In the present paper, the MLPG method for solving problems in elasto-statics is developed and numerically implemented. The present method is a truly meshless method, as it does not need a “finite element mesh”, either for purposes of interpolation of the solution variables, or for the integration of the energy. All integrals in the formulation can be easily evaluated over regularly shaped domains (in general, spheres in three-dimensional problems) and their boundaries. The essential boundary conditions in the present formulation are imposed by a penalty method, as the essential boundary conditions can not be enforced directly when the non-interpolative moving least squares approximation is used. Several numerical examples are presented to illustrate the implementation and performance of the present MLPG method. The numerical examples show that the present MLPG approach does not exhibit any volumetric locking for nearly incompressible materials, and that high rates of convergence with mesh refinement for the displacement and energy norms are achievable. No post-processing procedure is required to compute the strain and stress, since the original solution from the present method, using the moving least squares approximation, is already smooth enough.     

Three dimensional static and dynamic analysis of thick functionally graded plates by the meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method

In this paper, three dimensional (3D) static and dynamic analysis of thick functionally graded plates based on the Meshless Local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) is presented. Using the kinematics of a three-dimensional continuum, the local weak form of the equilibrium equations is derived. A weak formulation for the set of governing equations is transformed into local integral equations on local sub-domains using a Heaviside step function as test function. In this case, governing equations corresponding to the stiffness matrix do not involve any domain integration or singular integrals. Nodal points are distributed in the 3D analyzed domain and each node is surrounded by a cubic sub-domain to which a local integral equation is applied. The meshless approximation based on the three-dimensional Moving Least-Square (MLS) is employed as shape function to approximate the field variable of scattered nodes in the problem domain. The Newmark time integration method is used to solve the system of coupled second-order ODEs. Effective material properties of the plate, made of two isotropic constituents with volume fractions varying only in the thickness direction, are computed using the Mori–Tanaka homogenization technique. Numerical examples for solving the static and dynamic response of elastic thick functionally graded plates are demonstrated. As a result, the distributions of the deflection and stresses through the plate thickness are presented for different material gradients and boundary conditions. The effects of the volume fractions of the constituents on the centroidal deflection are also investigated. The numerical efficiency of the proposed meshless method is illustrated by the comparison of results obtained from previous literatures.     

Transient thermoelastic deformations of 2-D functionally graded beams under nonuniformly convective heat supply

Numerical solutions obtained by the meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method are presented for transient thermoelastic deformations of functionally graded (FG) beams. The MLPG method is a truly meshless approach, and neither the nodal connectivity nor the background mesh is required for solving the initial-boundary-value problem. In this study, the MLPG weak formulations associated with the governing equations of the transient-state thermal equilibrium and quasi-static mechanical equilibrium are given. The penalty method is adopted to efficiently enforce the essential boundary conditions, and the test function is chosen to equal the weight function of the moving least squares approximation. An example is demonstrated for an FG beam with thermoelastic moduli varying exponentially through the thickness direction under a nonuniformly convective heat supply. Results obtained from the MLPG method are found to agree well with those by the analytical solution. The nonhomogeneity of the material properties on the thermo-mechanical response of the FG beam is investigated. It is shown that temperature and deformation fields of FG beams in a transient state differ substantially from those at the steady state. Besides that, the rate of change of the heat supply on the transient responses is also delineated.     

An interaction integral method for analysis of cracks in orthotropic functionally graded materials

This paper presents two new interaction integrals for calculating stress-intensity factors (SIFs) for a stationary crack in two-dimensional orthotropic functionally graded materials of arbitrary geometry. The method involves the finite element discretization, where the material properties are smooth functions of spatial co-ordinates and two newly developed interaction integrals for mixed-mode fracture analysis. These integrals can also be implemented in conjunction with other numerical methods, such as meshless method, boundary element method, and others. Three numerical examples including both mode-I and mixed-mode problems are presented to evaluate the accuracy of SIFs calculated by the proposed interaction integrals. Comparisons have been made between the SIFs predicted by the proposed interaction integrals and available reference solutions in the literature, generated either analytically or by finite element method using various other fracture integrals or analyses. An excellent agreement is obtained between the results of the proposed interaction integrals and the reference solutions. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award No. CMS-9900196. The NSF program director was Dr. Ken Chong.     

Analysis of functionally graded plates by meshless method: A purely analytical formulation

Functionally graded plates under static and dynamic loads are investigated by the local integral equation method (LIEM) in this paper. Plate bending problem is described by the Reissner moderate thick plate theory. The governing equations for the functionally graded material with respect to the neutral plane are presented in the Laplace transform domain and therefore the in-plane and bending problems are uncoupled. Both isotropic and orthotropic material properties are considered. The local integral equation method is developed with the locally supported radial basis function (RBF) interpolation. As the closed forms of the local boundary integrals are obtained, there are no domain or boundary integrals to be calculated numerically in this approach. The solutions of the nodal values for the entire plate are obtained by solving a set of linear algebraic equation system with certain boundary conditions. Details of numerical procedures are presented and the accuracy and convergence characteristics of the method are examined. Several examples are presented for the functionally graded plates under static and dynamic loads and the accuracy for proposed method has been observed compared with 3D analytical solutions.     

Static and dynamic deformations of thick functionally graded elastic plates by using higher-order shear and normal deformable plate theory and meshless local Petrov–Galerkin method

Static deformations, and free and forced vibrations of a thick rectangular functionally graded elastic plate are analyzed by using a higher-order shear and normal deformable plate theory (HOSNDPT) and a meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method. All components of the stress tensor are computed from equations of the plate theory. The plate material, made of two isotropic constituents, is assumed to be macroscopically isotropic with material properties varying in the thickness direction only. Effective material moduli are computed by using the Mori–Tanaka homogenization technique. Computed results for static and free vibration problems are found to agree well with their analytical solutions. The response of the plate to impulse loads is also computed for different volume fractions of the two constituents. Contributions of the work include the use of the HOSNDPT and the MLPG method for the analysis of functionally graded plates.     

The natural neighbour Petrov–Galerkin method for elasto‐statics

In this paper, an efficient and accurate meshless natural neighbour Petrov–Galerkin method (NNPG) is proposed to solve elasto‐static problems in two‐dimensional space. This method is derived from the generalized meshless local Petrov–Galerkin method (MLPG) as a special case. In the NNPG, the local supported trial functions are constructed based on the non‐Sibsonian interpolation and test functions are taken as the three‐node triangular FEM shape functions. The local weak forms of the equilibrium equation and the boundary conditions are satisfied in local polygonal sub‐domains. These sub‐domains are constructed with Delaunay tessellations and domain integrals are evaluated over included Delaunay triangles by using Gaussian quadrature scheme. As this method combines the advantages of natural neighbour interpolation with Petrov–Galerkin method together, no stiffness matrix assembly is required and no special treatment is needed to impose the essential boundary conditions. Several numerical examples are presented and the results show the presented method is easy to implement and very accurate for these problems. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

用局部Petrov-Galerkin方法求解不可压超弹性材料问题

用一种修正的无网格局部Petrov-Galerkin方法求解了不可压超弹性材料平面应力问题。在建立求解方程过程中,采用径向基函数耦合多项式构造近似函数,并以Heaviside分段函数作为加权函数简化了刚度矩阵的域积分,引入平面应力假设避免了材料不可压引起的数值求解困难。数值算例表明:该文方法求解不可压超弹性材料平面应力问题具有稳定性好、精度高的特点。     

A meshless method for two-dimensional diffusion equation with an integral condition

This paper presents a new approach based on the meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) and collocation methods to treat the parabolic partial differential equations with non-classical boundary conditions. In the presented method, the MLPG method is applied to the interior nodes while the meshless collocation method is applied to the nodes on the boundaries, and so the Dirichlet boundary condition is imposed directly. To treat the complicated integral boundary condition appearing in the problem, Simpson's composite numerical integration rule is applied. A time stepping scheme is employed to approximate the time derivative. Finally, two numerical examples are presented showing the behavior of the solution and the efficiency of the proposed method.     

层合板分析的无网格局部Petrov-Galerkin方法

基于Kirchhoff均匀各向异性板控制方程的等效积分弱形式和对挠度函数采用移动最小二乘近似函数进行插值, 进一步研究无网格局部Petrov-Galerkin方法在纤维增强对称层合板弯曲问题中的应用。该方法不需要任何形式的网格划分, 所有的积分都在规则形状的子域及其边界上进行,其问题的本质边界条件采用罚因子法来施加。通过数值算例和与其他方法的结果比较, 表明无网格局部Petrov-Galerkin法求解层合薄板弯曲问题具有解的精度高、收敛性好等一系列优点。      

Three-dimensional static analysis of thick functionally graded plates by using meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method

In this paper, a version of meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method is developed to obtain three-dimensional (3D) static solutions for thick functionally graded (FG) plates. The Young's modulus is considered to be graded through the thickness of plates by an exponential function while the Poisson's ratio is assumed to be constant. The local symmetric weak formulation is derived using the 3D equilibrium equations of elasticity. Moreover, the field variables are approximated using the 3D moving least squares (MLS) approximation. Brick-shaped domains are considered as the local sub-domains and support domains. In this way, the integrations in the weak form and approximation of the solution variables are done more easily and accurately. The proposed approach to construct the shape and the test functions make it possible to introduce more nodes in the direction of material variation. Consequently, more precise solutions can be obtained easily and efficiently. Several numerical examples containing the stress and deformation analysis of thick FG plates with various boundary conditions under different loading conditions are presented. The obtained results have been compared with the available analytical and numerical solutions in the literature and an excellent consensus is seen.     

A radial basis function approach in the meshless local Petrov-Galerkin method for Euler-Bernoulli beam problems

A meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method that uses radial basis functions rather than generalized moving least squares (GMLS) interpolations to develop the trial functions in the study of Euler-Bernoulli beam problems is presented. The use of radial basis functions (RBF) in meshless methods is demonstrated for C¹ problems for the first time. This interpolation choice yields a computationally simpler method as fewer matrix inversions and multiplications are required than when GMLS interpolations are used. Test functions are chosen as simple weight functions as in the conventional MLPG method. Patch tests, mixed boundary value problems, and problems with complex loading conditions are considered. The radial basis MLPG method yields accurate results for deflections, slopes, moments, and shear forces, and the accuracy of these results is better than that obtained using the conventional MLPG method.Lockheed Martin Space Operations     

Meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method in combination with finite element and boundary element approaches

The meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method is an effective truly meshless method for solving partial differential equations using moving least squares (MLS) interpolants. It is, however, computationally expensive for some problems. A coupled MLPG/finite element (FE) method and a coupled MLPG/boundary element (BE) method are proposed in this paper to improve the solution efficiency. A procedure is developed for the coupled MLPG/FE method and the coupled MLPG/BE method so that the continuity and compatibility are preserved on the interface of the two domains where the MLPG and FE or BE methods are applied. The validity and efficiency of the MLPG/FE and MLPG/BE methods are demonstrated through a number of examples. Received 6 June 2000     

A new MLPG method for elastostatic problems

This paper introduces a novel meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method by presenting a new test function as a schema to solve the elasto-static problems. It is seen that the four ordinary MLPG methods can also be approached using the present test function. Both the moving least square (MLS) and the direct method have been applied to the method to estimate the shape function and to impose the essential boundary conditions. The results of three studied elasto-static cases; “two dimensional cantilever beam”, “first mode fracture of a center-cracked strip” and “edge-cracked functionally graded strip” show that by using less number of nodes, the present work gives sufficiently more accurate results. Meanwhile the method can also unify various kinds of MPLGs and one may conclude that the model is a good replacement for other common approaches.     

薄板屈曲分析的局部Petrov-Galerkin方法

利用薄板控制微分方程的等效积分对称弱形式和对变量(挠度)采用移动最小二乘近似函数进行插值,研究了无网格局部Petrov-Galerkin方法在薄板屈曲问题中的应用。它不需要任何形式的网格划分,所有的积分都在规则形状的子域及其边界上进行,并用罚因子法施加本质边界条件。数值算例表明,无网格局部Petrov-Galerkin法不但能够求解弹性静力学问题,而且在求解弹性稳定性问题时仍具有收敛快,稳定性好,精度高的特点。     

Finite volume meshless local Petrov–Galerkin method in elastodynamic problems

A finite volume meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (FVMLPG) method is presented for elastodynamic problems. It is derived from the local weak form of the equilibrium equations by using the finite volume (FV) and the meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) concepts. By incorporating the moving least squares (MLS) approximations for trial functions, the local weak form is discretized, and is integrated over the local subdomain for the transient structural analysis. The present numerical technique imposes a correction to the accelerations, to enforce the kinematic boundary conditions in the MLS approximation, while using an explicit time-integration algorithm. Numerical examples for solving the transient response of the elastic structures are included. The results demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the present method for solving the elastodynamic problems.     

A modified meshless local Petrov–Galerkin method to elasticity problems in computer modeling and simulation

A modified meshless local Petrov–Galerkin (MLPG) method is presented for elasticity problems using the moving least squares (MLS) approximation. It is a truly meshless method because it does not need a mesh for the interpolation of the solution variables or for the integration of the energy. In this paper, a simple Heaviside test function is chosen to overcome the computationally expensive problems in the MLPG method. Essential boundary conditions are imposed by using a direct interpolation method based on the MLPG method establishes equations node by node. Numerical results in several examples show that the present method yielded very accurate solutions. And the sensitivity of the method to several parameters is also studied in this paper.     

A meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method for free and forced vibration analyses for solids

 The meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method is an effective truly meshless method for solving partial differential equations using moving least squares (MLS) interpolants and local weak forms. In this paper, a MLPG formulation is proposed for free and forced vibration analyses. Local weak forms are developed using weighted residual method locally from the dynamic partial differential equation. In the free vibration analysis, the essential boundary conditions are implemented through the direct interpolation form and imposed using orthogonal transformation techniques. In the forced vibration analysis, the penalty method is used in implementation essential boundary conditions. Two different time integration methods are used and compared in the forced vibration analyses using the present MLPG method. The validity and efficiency of the present MLPG method are demonstrated through a number of examples of two-dimensional solids. Received 9 October 2000