A SIMPLE AND EFFICIENT MIXED FINITE ELEMENT FOR AXISYMMETRIC SHELL ANALYSIS

An efficient, perhaps simplest, three-noded mixed finite element is proposed for axisymmetric shell analysis. The key feature in the present formulation is to start with a better variational principle in which the independent unknowns are only the quantities that can be prescribed at the shell edges. If the consistency for field approximations is satisfied, no other numerical consideration is necessary in the present element. Several examples confirm the satisfactory numerical behaviour of the present mixed element.     

A mixed finite element formulation for plate problems

A mixed triangular finite element model has been developed for plate bending problems in which effects of shear deformation are included. Linear distribution for all variables is assumed and the matrix equation is obtained through Reissner's variational principle. In this model, interelement compatibility is completely satisfied whereas the governing equations within the element are satisfied ‘in the mean’. A detailed error analysis is made and convergence of the scheme is proved. Numerical examples of thin and moderately thick plates are presented.     

Alternate hybrid stress finite element models

Alternate hybrid stress finite element models in which the internal equilibrium equations are satisfied on the average only, while the equilibrium equations along the interelement boundaries and the static boundary conditions are adhered to exactly a priori, are developed. The variational principle and the corresponding finite element formulation, which allows the standard direct stiffness method of structural analysis to be used, are discussed. Triangular elements for a moderately thick plate and a doubly-curved shallow thin shell are developed. Kinematic displacement modes, convergence criteria and bounds for the direct flexibility-influence coefficient are examined.     

A quasi-incompressible and quasi-inextensible element formulation for transversely isotropic materials

The contribution presents a new finite element formulation for quasi-inextensible and quasi-incompressible finite hyperelastic behavior of transeversely isotropic materials and addresses its computational aspects. The material formulation is presented in purely Eulerian setting and based on the additive decomposition of the free energy function into isotropic and anisotropic parts, where the former is further decomposed into isochoric and volumetric parts. For the quasi-incompressible response, the Q1P0 element formulation is outlined briefly, where the pressure-type Lagrange multiplier and its conjugate enter the variational formulation as an extended set of variables. Using the similar argumentation, an extended Hu-Washizu–type mixed variational potential is introduced, where the volume averaged fiber stretch and fiber stress are additional field variables. Within this context, the resulting Euler-Lagrange equations and the element formulation resulting from the extended variational principle are derived. The numerical implementation exploits the underlying variational structure, leading to a canonical symmetric structure. The efficiency of the proposed approached is demonstrated through representative boundary value problems. The superiority of the proposed element formulation over the standard Q1 and Q1P0 element formulation is studied through convergence analyses. The proposed finite element formulation is modular and exhibits very robust performance for fiber reinforced elastomers in the inextensibility limit.     

Formulation and numerical exploitation of mixed variational principles for coupled problems of Cahn–Hilliard‐type and standard diffusion in elastic solids

This work develops variational principles for the coupled problem of standard and extended Cahn–Hilliard‐type species diffusion in solids undergoing finite elastic deformations. It shows that the coupled problem of diffusion in deforming solids, accounting for phenomena like swelling, diffusion‐induced stress generation and possible phase segregation caused by the diffusing species, is related to an intrinsic mixed variational principle. It determines the rates of deformation and concentration along with the chemical potential, where the latter plays the role of a mixed variable. The principle characterizes a canonically compact model structure, where the three governing equations involved, that is, the mechanical equilibrium condition, the mass balance for the species content and a microforce balance that determines the chemical potential, appear as the Euler equation of a variational statement. The existence of the variational principle underlines an inherent symmetry of the coupled deformation–diffusion problem. This can be exploited in the numerical implementation by the construction of time‐discrete and space‐discrete incremental potentials, which fully determine the update problems of typical time stepping procedures. The mixed variational principles provide the most fundamental approach to the monolithic finite element solution of the coupled deformation–diffusion problem based on low‐order basis functions. They induce in a natural format the choice of symmetric solvers for Newton‐type iterative updates, providing a speedup and reduction of data storage when compared with non‐symmetric implementations. This is a strong argument for the use of the developed variational principles in the computational design of deformation–diffusion problems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finite deformation formulation of a shell element for problems of sheet metal forming

An elastic-plastic thin shell finite element suitable for problems of finite deformation in sheet metal forming is formulated. Hill's yield criterion for sheet materials of normal anisotropy is applied. A nonlinear shell theory in a form of an incremental variational principle and a quasi-conforming element technique are employed in the Lagrangian formulation. The shell element fulfills the inter-element C ¹ continuity condition in a variational sense and has a sufficient rank to allow finite stretching, rotation and bending of the shell element. The accuracy and efficiency of the finite element formulation are illustrated by numerical examples.     

Mixed finite element method for generalized convection-diffusion equations based on an implicit characteristic-based algorithm

Summary A mixed finite element method for generalized convection-diffusion equations is proposed. The primitive variable with its spatial gradient and the diffusion flux are interpolated as independent variables. The variational (weak) form of the governing equations is given on the basis of the extended Hu-Washizu three-field variational principle. The mixed element is formulated with stabilized one point quadrature scheme and particularly implicit characteristic-based algorithm for eliminating spurious numerical oscillations. The numerical results illustrate good performances in accuracy and efficiency of the proposed mixed element in comparison with standard finite element.     

Generalized mixed variational methods for Reissner plate and its applications

 Based on the mechanism of shear locking phenomenon and potential functional of Reissner plate bending problem, the generalized mixed variational principle for Reissner plate analysis is presented by parameterized Lagrange multiplier method. The proposed variational functional contains splitting factors which are able to adjust the shear potential energy and shear complementary energy components in it. The generalized mixed finite element formulation of bilinear quardrilateral element for Reissner plate bending analysis is established in terms of the new variational principle. The stiffness of the finite element model can be changed by the alteration of the splitting factors. Thus both the free of shear locking and higher accuracy are obtained by the choice of appropriate splitting factors. The most important is that this paper gives one self-adaptative way to choose the splitting factors for thin and moderately thick plates. This results in the comparative order of magnitude between the bending stiffness and shear stiffness for the arbitrary thickness. In the application of two-by-two exact Gaussian integration scheme to the proposed mixed element model, numerical examples show that free of locking is obtained even in the thin plate limit and high accuracy is given for moderately thick plate. Received: 15 January 2002 / Accepted: 10 September 2002 This work is partially supported by the National Nature Science Fund in China under Award No. 53978376     

STRESS- AND ROTATION-BASED HIERARCHIC MODELS FOR LAMINATED COMPOSITES

A hierarchic sequence of equilibrium models in terms of stresses assumed to be not a priori symmetric is derived for cylindrical bending of laminated composites, using first-order stress functions. The stress field of each hierarchic model satisfies a priori (i) the translational equilibrium equations and the stress boundary conditions of two-dimensional elasticity, and (ii) the continuity requirement for the transverse shear and normal stresses at the lamina interfaces. The levels of hierarchy correspond to the degree to which the two first-order compatibility equations and the rotational equilibrium equation of two-dimensional elasticity are satisfied. The numerical solution is based on Fraeijs de Veubeke's dual mixed variational principle, employing the p-version of the finite element method. The number of degrees of freedom is independent of the number of the layers in the laminate. Results are obtained directly for the stresses and rotations; the displacement field is obtained in the post-processing phase by integration. Numerical results with comparisons show the capability of the mathematical and numerical models proposed.     

Finite element Lagrange multiplier formulation for size-dependent skew-symmetric couple-stress planar elasticity

We develop a variational principle based on recent advances in couple-stress theory and the introduction of an engineering mean curvature vector as energy conjugate to the couple stresses. This new variational formulation provides a base for developing a couple-stress finite element approach. By considering the total potential energy functional to be not only a function of displacement, but of an independent rotation as well, we avoid the necessity to maintain C¹ continuity in the finite element method that we develop here. The result is a mixed formulation, which uses Lagrange multipliers to constrain the rotation field to be compatible with the displacement field. Interestingly, this formulation has the noteworthy advantage that the Lagrange multipliers can be shown to be equal to the skew-symmetric part of the force-stress, which otherwise would be cumbersome to calculate. Creating a new consistent couple-stress finite element formulation from this variational principle is then a matter of discretizing the variational statement and using appropriate mixed isoparametric elements to represent the domain of interest. Finally, problems of a hole in a plate with finite dimensions, the planar deformation of a ring, and the transverse deflection of a cantilever are explored using this finite element formulation to show some of the interesting effects of couple stress. Where possible, results are compared to existing solutions to validate the formulation developed here.     

Treatment of internal constraints by mixed finite element methods: Unification of concepts

A general method to generate assumed stress and strain fields within the context of mixed finite element methods is presented. The assumed fields are constructed in such a way that internal constraints are satisfied a priori. Consequently, the locking behaviour commonly observed in finite element solutions of problems with internal constraints is avoided. To this end, the assumed stress and strain fields are constructed to satisfy a priori the homogeneous part of the equilibrium equations, thus avoiding Fraeijs de Veubeke's limitation principle. Results obtained using the proposed methodology on a nearly incompressible plane strain problem and thin plate application using a shear deformable theory are indicated.     

Partial mixed 3-D element for the analysis of thick laminated composite structures

For the analysis of thick laminated composite structures this paper proposes a partial mixed 3-D element. The variational principle of this new element is obtained by modifying the Hellinger–Reissner principle. The functional of the present stationary principle is constructed by treating three displacements (u, v, w) and two transverse shear stresses (τ_xz, τ_yz) as independent of each other. Hence the nodal variables of the present mixed element contain three displacements and two transverse shear stresses. The other stresses (σ_x, σ_y, τ_xy, σ_z) are computed from the assumed displacement field and nodal displacement field and nodal displacements. The present element can satisfy the requirements of (1)transverse shear stress continuity between laminate layers and (2)boundary conditions of free transverse shear stresses on the top and bottom surfaces. These requirements are violated by conventional displacement finite elements. Since the stiffness matrix of the present element is formulated by combining a displacement model and a mixed model, it is definite, rather than indefinite as for the conventional mixed elements. Also, these two transverse shear stresses are part of the solution variables and are solved directly together with displacements. Examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of this proposed partial mixed 3-D element in the analysis of thick laminated composite structures.     

A mixed 3D finite element for modelling thick plates

Based on the Hellinger-Reissner variational principle, we formulate a mixed 3-d finite element for plate bending. This element is used to model thick plates and alleviates the problem of shear-locking in plates with large length/thickness ratios. The computer code which was used here, is available.     

Primal and mixed upwind finite element approximations of control advection-diffusion problems

Control advection-diffusion problems are formulated via variational inequalities and effective upwind finite element approximations are studied. The method of local subdifferentials is applied to model and dualize control constraints, as well as to produce global primal and mixed variational formulations. Upwind finite element schemes are derived, satisfying the discrete maximum principle and the conservation of mass law. The numerical resolution methods used are iterative algorithms of the Uzawa type, which are formulated and analyzed. Some numerical experiments are presented for a model discrete problem.     

Formulation and numerical treatment of incompressibility constraints in large strain elastic–plastic analysis

The present paper is concerned with an efficient framework for a nonlinear finite element procedure for the rate‐independent finite strain analysis of solids undergoing large elastic‐isochoric plastic deformations. The formulation relies on the introduction of a mixed‐variant metric deformation tensor which will be multiplicatively decomposed into a plastic and an elastic part. This leads to the definition of an appropriate logarithmic strain measure which can be additively decomposed into the exact isochoric (deviatoric) and volumetric (spheric) strain measures. This fact may be seen as the basic idea in the formulation of appropriate mixed finite elements which guarantee the accurate computation of isochoric strains. The mixed‐variant logarithmic elastic strain tensor provides a basis for the definition of a local isotropic hyperelastic stress response whereas the plastic material behavior is assumed to be governed by a generalized J₂ yield criterion and rate‐independent isochoric plastic strain rates are computed using an associated flow rule. On the numerical side, the computation of the logarithmic strain tensors is based on higher‐order Padé approximations. To be able to take into account the plastic incompressibility constraint a modified mixed variational principle is considered which leads to a quasi‐displacement finite element procedure. Finally, the numerical solution of finite strain elastic‐plastic problems is presented to demonstrate the efficiency and the accuracy of the algorithm. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A mixed formulation of C0-linear triangular plate/shell element—the role of edge shear constraints

A simple and effective linear C⁰-triangular element for plates and shells is developed on the basis of the Hellinger-Reissner mixed variational principle with independently assumed stress and displacement fields. Two main features are emphasized in this development concerning the assumed transverse shear stress field. Firstly, this assumption results in edge-type penalty constraints in the thin plate/shell regimes. Secondly, the element is used in the form of a four-triangle, cross-diagonal macroelement mesh. As a result, the element is shown to be free from shear locking in thin plate/shell applications, and it satisfied all the appropriate patch tests required for Kirchhoff plate models. In addition, the element exhibits good overall convergence properties in a variety of test problems for plates and shells. Finally, from the computational standpoint, the element is very efficient since all stiffness component matrices are derived in explicit forms.     

压电材料修正后的H-R混合变分原理及其层合板的精确法

将三维弹性体的Hellinger-Reissner(H-R)混合变分原理引入到具有机-电耦合效应的压电材料静力学问题中,建立了压电材料修正后的H-R混合变分原理,通过变分运算和分部积分得到了压电材料的状态向量方程。给出了四边简支的压电材料层合板静力学状态向量方程的精确求解方法,数值实例的结果证明了方法是正确性的。这里的理论和求解方法同样适应于纯弹性材料板和压电材料板混合的层合板静力学问题的分析。变分原理将有利于压电材料问题相应的半解析法或有限元法的推导。     

Variational r‐adaption in elastodynamics

We develop a variational r‐adaptive finite element framework for solid dynamic applications and explore its conceptual links with the theory of dynamic configurational forces. The central idea underlying the proposed approach is to allow Hamilton's principle of stationary action to determine jointly the evolution of the displacement field and the discretization of the reference configuration of the body. This is accomplished by rendering the action stationary with respect to the material and spatial nodal coordinates simultaneously. However, we find that a naive consistent Galerkin discretization of the action leads to intrinsically unstable solutions. Remarkably, we also find that this unstable behavior is eliminated when a mixed, multifield version of Hamilton's principle is adopted. Additional features of the proposed numerical implementation include the use of uncoupled space and time discretizations; the use of independent space interpolations for velocities and deformations; the application of these interpolations over a continuously varying adaptive mesh; and the application of mixed variational integrators with independent time interpolations for velocities and nodal parameters. The accuracy, robustness and versatility of the approach are assessed and demonstrated by way of convergence tests and selected examples. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A hybrid element formulation for the three‐dimensional penalty finite element analysis of incompressible fluids

This work presents a hybrid element formulation for the three‐dimensional penalty finite element analysis of incompressible Newtonian fluids. The formulation is based on a mixed variational statement in which velocity and stresses are treated as independent field variables. The main advantage of this formulation is that it bypasses the use of ad hoc techniques such as selective reduced integration that are commonly used in penalty‐based finite element formulations, and directly yields high accuracy for the velocity and stress fields without the need to carry out smoothing. In addition, since the stress degrees of freedom are condensed out at an element level, the cost of solving for the global degrees of freedom is the same as in a standard penalty finite element method, although the gain in accuracy for both the velocity and stress (including the pressure) fields is quite significant. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A mixed finite element model for use in potential flow problems

A generalized variational principle is presented, which leads to a modified finite element approach for three-dimensional field problems. Both, potential function and velocity field, are approximated by expansions which are continuous across the inter-element boundaries. The rapid convergence of this mixed model is shown by two examples.