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The paper presents a general method of large strain determination over the deformed surface of a sheet metal stamping. It is demonstrated that the conventional degenerated shell element with two normal rotation degrees of freedom is not suitable for large deformation, especially when large element rotation is present. This inaccuracy is primarily caused by the fact that the displacement field description used in the degenerated shell element is only a first-order approximation with respect to the two rotation degrees of freedom, and is therefore suitable only for small rotation angles. The new method presented in this paper replaces the two rotation DOFs with three new degrees of freedom to describe the rotation of the surface normal so that the element deformation can be accurately described with no limitation on the amount of deformation and rotation involved. The advantages of this new method are: (i) a linear and accurate expression of the displacement field in terms of nodal DOFs is obtained; (ii) the formulation is easily incorporated into any existing degenerated shell elements; (iii) the strain calculation is accurate for any amount of element rigid body rotation; (iv) if the method is used in surface grid analysis, the algorithm will not only provide correct surface strains, but also their variation through the thickness direction, i.e. the bending deformation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyramidal elements are necessary to effect the transition from tetrahedral to hexahedral elements, a common requirement in practical finite element applications. However, existing pyramidal transition elements suffer from degeneracy or other numerical difficulties, requiring, at the least, warnings and care in their use. This paper presents a general technique for the construction of nodal basis functions on pyramidal finite elements. General forms for basis functions of arbitrary order are presented. The basis functions so derived are fully conformal and free of degeneracy. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a hybrid-Trefftz four-node quadrilateral element model is formulated for Helmholtz problem. In this model, two Helmholtz approximations are defined. The first approximation is obtained by nodal interpolation, and the second approximation is truncated from a Trefftz solution set. A hybrid variational functional is employed to enforce the equality of and other necessary conditions on the two approximations. From the numerical tests, it can be seen that the hybrid model is markedly more accurate than the conventional finite element model. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a new Chebyshev-type method free from second derivative. An analysis of convergence shows that the new method has fourth-order convergence. Per iteration, the method requires one evaluation of the function and two of its first derivative and therefore this method has the efficiency index equal to 1.587. Numerical examples show that the method has definite practical utility. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a stabilization method for the Stokes problem, using equal-order interpolation of the pressure and velocity, which avoids the use of the mesh size parameter in the stabilization term. We show that our approach is stable for equal-order interpolation in the case of piecewise linear and piecewise quadratic polynomials on triangles. In the case of linear polynomials, we retrieve a well-known idea of using mass lumping as a stabilization mechanism. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simulation of multiphysics problems is a common task in applied research and industry. Often a multiphysics solver is built by connecting several single-physics solvers into a network. In this paper, we develop a basic adaptive methodology for such multiphysics solvers. The adaptive methodology is based on a posteriori error estimates that capture the influence of the discretization errors in the different solvers on a given functional output. These estimates are derived using duality-based techniques. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weakly compressible and advection approximations of incompressible isothermal flows were developed and tested in (Commun. Numer. Methods Eng. 2006; 22:831–847). In this paper, we extend the method to solve equations governing incompressible thermal flows. The emphasis is again on the reconstruction of unconditionally stable numerical scheme such that, restriction on time steps, projection procedures, solution of linear system of algebraic equations and staggered grids are completely avoided in its implementation. These features are achieved by combining a low-Mach asymptotic in compressible flow equations with a semi-Lagrangian method for the weakly compressible approach. The time integration is carried out using an explicit Runge–Kutta with variable stages. The method is applied to the natural convection flows in a squared cavity for both steady and transient computations. The numerical results demonstrate high resolution of the proposed method and confirm its capability to provide accurate and efficient simulations for thermal flow problems. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of corotational triangular shell elements, the objective of this paper is to show that for certain stability problems it is interesting to choose a local element frame invariant to the element node ordering. Two methods of obtaining such a local frame are presented. These two methods, already proposed by other authors, are reformulated. For the first one, based on the minimisation of local nodal displacements, it is shown that the iterative process can be avoided. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The standard boundary node method (BNM) uses a (meshless) diffuse interpolation (in terms of neighbouring scattered boundary points) for the primary variables. The method is not ‘truly meshless’, however, since cells on the boundary of a body are used for integration. This paper presents a ‘pure’ version of the BNM in which integration cells are dispensed with. Instead (overlapping), regions of influence (ROIs) of boundary nodes are used for integration. Initial results for 2-D potential theory, presented here, are encouraging. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One version of the stochastic finite element method involves representing the solution with respect to a basis in the space of random variables and evaluating the co-ordinates of the solution with respect to this basis by relying on Hilbert space projections. The approach results in an explicit dependence of the solution on certain statistics of the data. The error in evaluating these statistics, which is directly related to the amount of available data, can be propagated into errors in computing probabilistic measures of the solution. This provides the possibility of controlling the approximation error, due to limitations in the data, in probabilistic statements regarding the performance of the system under consideration. In addition to this error associated with data resolution, is added the more traditional error, associated with mesh resolution. This latter also contributes to polluting the estimated probabilities associated with the problem. The present paper will develop the above concepts and indicate how they can be coupled in order to yield a more meaningful and useful measure of approximation error in a given problem. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, a quasi-analytic method for solving structural optimization problems has been developed by co-ordinated use of mathematical transformations, high-quality approximation and a two-level approximation strategy. The method which has the advantages of both generality in applications and high efficiency in computations is especially of benefit to large practical design problems. Several typical examples of different sorts have been optimized to test its power. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an attempt is made to show the usefulness of computational quantifier elimination (CQE) techniques in computer algebra inside classical numerical methods in engineering for the derivation of feasibility (consistency) conditions in problems with weakly parametric linear inequality constraints (with the parameters appearing only in their right-hand sides). A simple, but non-trivial, straight edge-crack problem in fracture mechanics under linear inequality constraints both on the applied loading along the crack faces and on the value of the stress intensity factor at the crack tip (associated with the Green/weight function method, numerical approximations and classical numerical integration) is used for an elementary illustration of the proposed approach. In this application, the method used tries to imitate the theoretical principle of the linear programming methods. The manually obtained related result is expressed as a disjunction of conjunctions of inequalities (as is frequently the case in similar CQE problems), and concrete numerical results are also displayed. The related influence of various approximations and the application of the trapezoidal quadrature rule are also considered in some detail. Further possibilities could concern the application of the approach to other numerical methods in engineering (such as to the finite and the boundary element methods, to singular and hypersingular integral equation methods, etc.) combined with efficient algorithms for linear inequality constraints such as the old Fourier and the recent Weispfenning elimination methods. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the superconvergence of the Carey non-conforming element is considered. A superconvergence estimate on the centres of elements and some superconvergent recoveries on the three vertices and the three midpoints of edges of elements are also obtained for piecewise strongly regular triangulations. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dual reciprocity boundary element method traditionally uses the linear radial basis function r for interpolation. Recently, however, the use of the r function has been questioned both in relation to accuracy and in relation to the number and position of internal nodes required to obtain satisfactory solutions. Much research has been done in an attempt to fix criteria for choosing which approximation function should be used. One of the alternatives recently suggested is the augmented thin plate spline function, which consists of a thin plate spline function, r2 log(r), augmented with the first three terms of a Pascal triangle expansion. In this paper families of similar functions are obtained by augmenting radial basis functions with appropriate global expansions: these functions will be called hybrid approximate functions. It will be shown that using an appropriate hybrid function accurate results can be obtained for many body forces or pseudo body forces in elasticity without the need for internal nodes.© 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the problem of convection discretization by extension and application of numerical schemes used in compressible flows: SONIC-A, SONIC-B. UNO2, MUSCL and MINMOD to predict steady incompressible recirculating convection dominated flows. A new scheme, SONIC-Q, is proposed together with a third-order non-oscillatory practice for pressure interpolation in non-staggered grids. Finite-volume calculations of the Navier-Stokes equations of a standard 2D driven square cavity standard test case and the laminar flow over a fence using primitive variables and non-staggered grid systems have shown that the schemes are alternatives to the conventional ones used in general algorithms for incompressible re circulating flows. In general these composite high-order schemes have proved to be good candidates to overcome the problems of false-diffusion and unboundedness encountered in non-composite high-order upwind schemes used in incompressible flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that finite elements try to capture stresses within each discretized local region in a 'best-fit' sense. In the paper we examine the performance of a beam element based on a higher-order shear deformation theory and show that the best-fit paradigm accounts for the manner in which through-the-thickness displacement and stresses are modelled. An a priori prediction derived from the paradigm is confirmed by a carefully chosen numerical experiment. This provides a measure of the quality of approximation as well as another 'falsification' of the best-fit paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reveals the conditions under which the approximations of the normal vector and global coordinates of interior points of two segments on a smooth contour can fail using the C¹-continuous Overhauser elements. A new continuous modelling of the normal vector is developed using the standard Lagrange elements. The derivation is consistent with the assumptions employed in the boundary element method formulations of potential problems. Test numerical examples are considered in order to analyse the accuracy of the approximations based on the use of standard C0-continuous elements, Overhauser C1-continuous elements and the proposed 'smooth' C0 elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a procedure to generate boundary characteristic orthogonal polynomials (BCOPs) over a domain in Rn. The method is based upon the Gram-Schmidt process of orthogonalization. The orthogonal polynomial sequence (OPS) is generated from a set of linearly independent functions which satisfy the given boundary conditions. The procedure is illustrated by taking several examples in R², the most important case from the application point of view. Extensive numerical work has been carried out for simple domains like the circle, square and isosceles right-angled triangle. The following cases have been considered: (a) when the BCOPs vanish on the boundary; (b) when they and their normal derivatives vanish on the boundary; (c) when no conditions have been imposed on the boundary. The results for other geometries such as an ellipse, a parallelogram and an arbitrary triangle follow by some simple transformations. The procedure is also applicable to one-dimensional problems and can be easily extended to R³. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a new method has been presented to determine the optimum number of knots for cubic splines. The knot-finding process is based on the numerical integration of the input curve. The number and the location of the knots is determined automatically. The method has been applied to a test case and the performance has been compared with two other existing methods. It is shown that fewer knots are retained for the portions of the curve having small curvature whereas a larger number of knots is retained for highly curved portions. The computer time required by our method depends only upon the number of points in the input curve and does not depend upon the shape of the curve or the desired accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explicit finite-element programs, such as DYNA3D, are frequently used to solve large structural problems, such as automobile impacts, that involve tens of thousands of shell elements. Since the explicit finite-element programs do not use a stiffness matrix, the major cost of the calculation is the evaluation of the force vector. A significant part of that cost is the evaluation of the constitutive models. The standard algorithm for integrating J2 plasticity at the stress points is the radial return method. An iterative variation of radial return is commonly used to impose the zero normal stress condition within the shell elements. In this paper we explore several different non-iterative methods that impose the zero normal stress condition in an approximate manner. We show that the cost of the constitutive evaluation can be reduced by 25 per cent without introducing significant errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]