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The derivation and implementation of an asynchronous direct time integration scheme for domain-decomposed finite element models is presented. To maximize clarity in the description of the proposed asynchronous integration, the scheme is restricted to the linear-elastic stress wave propagation case. The proposed method allows the integration of individual subdomains with independent time steps. There is no requirement for an integer time steps ratio of the interacting domains while maintaining zero interface energy. The subdomains are connected by the condition of the continuity of the acceleration field at the interface. In addition, the a posteriori technique is applied to satisfy the continuity of the displacement and velocity fields. Another important contribution of this paper lies in the description of the implementation — we offer the reader a general description of the implementation of the case of any number of subdomains with any number of constraints between them, while the basics of the algorithm are explained on a single domain pair. The functionality of the asynchronous integrator is verified by solving selected problems and comparing with analytical solutions and experimental measurements obtained using a Split Hopkinson pressure bar setup.

This paper presents a stabilization technique for the finite element modelling of contact-impact problems of elastic bars via a bi-penalty method for enforcing contact constraints while employing an explicit predictor–corrector time integration algorithms. The present proposed method combines three salient features in carrying out explicit transient analysis of contact-impact problems: the addition of a penalty term associated with a kinetic energy expression of gap constraints, in addition to the conventional internal energy penalty term of the gap constraints; an explicit integration method that alleviates spurious oscillations; and, a judicious selection of two penalty parameters such that the stable time steps of the resulting explicit method is least compromised. Numerical experiments have been carried out with three explicit methods: the standard central difference method, the stabilized predictor–corrector method (Wu, 2003 [50]) and a method for mitigating spurious oscillations (Park et al., 2012 [44]) as applied to simulate one-dimensional contact-impact problems of the Signorini problem and the impact of two elastic bars. Results indicate that the proposed method can maintain the contact-free stability limit of the central difference and yield improved accuracy compared with existing bi-penalty methods.

This work presents an efficient and accuracy-improved time explicit solution methodology for the simulation of contact-impact problems with finite elements. The proposed solution process combines four different existent techniques. First, the contact constraints are modeled by a bipenalty contact-impact formulation that incorporates stiffness and mass penalties preserving the stability limit of contact-free problems for efficient explicit time integration. Second, a method of localized Lagrange multipliers is employed, which facilitates the partitioned governing equations for each substructure along with the completely localized contact penalty forces pertaining to each free substructure. Third, a method for the direct construction of sparse inverse mass matrices of the free bodies in contact is combined with the localized Lagrange multipliers approach. Finally, an element-by-element mass matrix scaling technique that allows the extension of the time integration step is adopted to improve the overall performance of the algorithm. A judicious synthesis of the four numerical techniques has resulted in an increased stable explicit step-size that boosts the performance of the bipenalty method for contact problems. Classical contact-impact numerical examples are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

A variational framework is employed to generate inverse mass matrices for isogeometric analysis (IGA). As different dual bases impact not only accuracy but also computational overhead, several dual bases are extensively investigated. Specifically, locally discontinuous biorthogonal basis functions are evaluated in detail for B-splines of high continuity and Bézier elements with a standard C0 continuous finite element structure. The boundary conditions are enforced by the method of localized Lagrangian multipliers after generating the inverse mass matrix for completely free body. Thus, unlike inverse mass matrix methods without employing the method of Lagrange multipliers, no modifications in the reciprocal basis functions are needed to account for the boundary conditions. Hence, the present method does not require internal modifications of existing IGA software structures. Numerical examples show that globally continuous dual basis functions yield better accuracy than locally discontinuous biorthogonal functions, but with much higher computational overhead. Locally discontinuous dual basis functions are found to be an economical alternative to lumped mass matrices when combined with mass parameterization. The resulting inverse mass matrices are tested in several vibration problems and applied to explicit transient analysis of structures

A multistep explicit time integration algorithm is presented for tracking the propagation of discontinuous stress waves in heterogeneous solids whose subdomain-to-subdomain critical time step ratios range from tens to thousands. The present multistep algorithm offers efficient and accurate computations for tracking discontinuous waves propagating through such heterogeneous solids. The present algorithm, first, employs the partitioned formulation for representing each subdomain, whose interface compatibility is enforced via the method of the localized Lagrange multipliers. Second, for each subdomain, the governing equations of motion are decomposed into the extensional and shear components so that tracking of waves of different propagation speeds is treated with different critical step sizes to significantly reduce the computational dispersion errors. Stability and accuracy analysis of the present multistep time integration is performed with one-dimensional heterogeneous bar. Analyses of the present algorithm are also demonstrated as applied to the stress wave propagation in one-dimensional heterogeneous bar and in heterogeneous plain strain problems.

An efficient method for generating the mass matrix inverse of structural dynamic problems is presented, which can be tailored to improve the accuracy of target frequency ranges and/or wave contents. The present method bypasses the use of biorthogonal construction of a kernel inverse mass matrix that requires special procedures for boundary conditions and free edges or surfaces and constructs the free-free inverse mass matrix using the standard FEM procedure. The various boundary conditions are realized by the the method of localized Lagrange multipliers. In particular, the present paper constructs the kernel inverse matrix by using the standard FEM elemental mass matrices. It is shown that the accuracy of the present inverse mass matrix is almost identical to that of a conventional consistent mass matrix or a combination of lumped and consistent mass matrices. Numerical experiments with the proposed inverse mass matrix are conducted to validate its effectiveness when applied to vibration analysis of bars, beams, and plain stress problems.

An efficient method for generating the mass matrix inverse is presented, which can be tailored to improve the accuracy of target frequency ranges and/or wave contents. The present method bypasses the use of biorthogonal construction of a kernel inverse mass matrix that requires special procedures for boundary conditions and free edges or surfaces, and constructs the free-free inverse mass matrix employing the standard FEM procedure. The various boundary conditions are realized by the method of localized Lagrange multipliers. Numerical experiments with the proposed inverse mass matrix method are carried out to validate the effectiveness proposed technique when applied to vibration analysis of bars and beams. A perfect agreement is found between the exact inverse of the mass matrix and its direct inverse computed through biorthogonal basis functions.