Abstract

The paper addresses the problem of tensile and mixed‐mode cracking within the so‐called smeared crack approach. Because lack of point‐wise convergence on stresses is deemed as the main difficulty to be overcome in the discrete problem, a (stabilized) mixed formulation with continuous linear strain and displacement interpolations is used. The necessary convergence rate can be proved for such a formulation, at least in the linear problem. Two standard local isotropic Rankine damage models with strain‐softening, differing in the definition of the damage criteria, are used as discrete constitutive model. Numerical examples demonstrate the application of the proposed formulation using linear triangular P1P1 and bilinear quadrilateral Q1Q1 mixed elements. The results obtained do not suffer from spurious mesh‐bias dependence without the use of auxiliary tracking techniques.

Abstract

Green functions (F.G.) are defined as the response of a medium to a unit point load and are widely used to solve boundary value problems. Unfortunately, in structural analysis, its use is limited and they are only used indirectly and with another name in the calculation of influence lines and in the formulation of the virtual work method. This article presents the Green functions stiffness method, which is a novel methodology to obtain the analytical or exact response of two dimensional frames, which mixes the stiffnes method and the Green functions, the latter used for the calculation of displacement fields. In particular, the formulation will be carried out for bar elements (subjected to axial force), beam elements (subjected to shear force and bending moment), beam over flexible foundation elements (subjected to shear force and bending moment) and two dimensional frames (subjected to axial force, cutting force and bending moment). This formulation has as its main property that it can be used to compute the analytic reponse for any external load distribution and minimizes the number of elements to be used in discretizations. In addition, the equivalence of this formulation with that obtained by an “exact” implementation of the finite element method is presented.

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Accurate dynamic simulations of 3D fiber-reinforced materials in lightweight structures motivate our research activities. In order to accomplish this, the material reinforcement is performed by fiber rovings with a separate bending stiffness, which can be modelled by a second-order gradient of the deformation mapping (see Reference [10]). With an independent field for the gradient of the right Cauchy-Green tensor, we extend the thermoelastic Cauchy continuum for fiber-matrix composites with single fibers. In addition, we use accurate higherorder energy-momentum schemes in combination with mixed finite element methods to obtain numerically stable long-term dynamic simulations and locking free meshes. Therefore, we introduce additional independent fields of well-known as well as new mixed finite elements within a variational-based space-time finite element method and adapt it to the new material formulation. We use Cook's cantilever beam as representative numerical example. We primarily analyze the influence of the fiber bending stiffness as well as the spatial and time convergence up to cubic order, but also look at the influence of Fourier's heat conduction in the matrix and fiber families.

Abstract

Abstract

This paper deals with the question of strain localization associated with materials which exhibit softening due to tensile straining. A standard local isotropic Rankine damage model with strain-softening is used as exemplary constitutive model. Both the irreducible and mixed forms of the problem are examined and stability and solvability conditions are discussed. Lack of uniqueness and convergence difficulties related to the strong material nonlinearities involved are also treated. From this analysis, the issue of local discretization error in the pre-localization regime is deemed as the main difficulty to be overcome in the discrete problem. Focus is placed on low order finite elements with continuous strain and displacement fields (triangular P1P1 and quadrilateral Q1Q1), although the presented approach is very general. Numerical examples show that the resulting procedure is remarkably robust: it does not require the use of auxiliary tracking techniques and the results obtained do not suffer from spurious mesh-bias dependence.

Abstract

This paper presents the application of a stabilized mixed strain/displacement finite element formulation for the solution of nonlinear solid mechanics problems involving compressible and incompressible plasticity. The variational multiscale stabilization introduced allows the use of equal order interpolations in a consistent way. Such formulation presents two advantages when compared to the standard, displacement based, irreducible formulation: (a) it provides enhanced rate of convergence for the strain (and stress) field and (b) it is able to deal with incompressible situations. The first advantage also applies to the comparison with the mixed pressure/displacement formulation. The paper investigates the effect of the improved strain and stress fields in problems involving strain softening and localization leading to failure, using low order finite elements with continuous strain and displacement fields (P1P1 triangles or tetrahedra and Q1Q1quadrilaterals, hexahedra, and triangular prisms) in conjunction with an associative frictional Drucker–Prager plastic model. The performance of the strain/displacement formulation under compressible and nearly incompressible deformation patterns is assessed and compared to a previously proposed pressure/displacement formulation. Benchmark numerical examples show the capacity of the mixed formulation to predict correctly failure mechanisms with localized patterns of strain, virtually free from any dependence of the mesh directional bias. No auxiliary crack tracking technique is necessary.

Abstract

The development of slip lines, due to strain localization, is a common cause for failure of soil in many circumstances investigated in geotechnical engineering. Through the use of numerical methods – like finite elements – many practitioners are able to take into account complex geometrical and physical conditions in their analyses. However, when dealing with shear bands, standard finite elements display lack of precision, mesh dependency and locking. This paper introduces a (stabilized) mixed finite element formulation with continuous linear strain and displacement interpolations. Von Mises and Drucker–Prager local plasticity models with strain softening are considered as constitutive law. This innovative formulation succeeds in overcoming the limitations of the standard formulation and provides accurate results within the vicinity of the shear bands, specifically without suffering from mesh dependency. Finally, 2D and 3D numerical examples demonstrate the accuracy and robustness in the computation of localization bands, without the introduction of additional tracking techniques as usually required by other methods.

Abstract

This paper presents the 2D and 3D numerical analysis of pullout tests on steel anchorages in concrete blocks using standard and mixed finite elements. A novel (stabilized) mixed formulation in the variables of total strain ε and displacements u is introduced to overcome the intrinsic deficiencies of the standard displacement-based one in the context of localization of strains, such as mesh dependency. The quasi-brittle behavior of concrete is described through an elastoplastic constitutive law with a local Rankine yielding criterion. The proposed formulation is shown to be a reliable and accurate tool, sensitive to the physical parameters of the pullout tests, but objective with respect to the adopted FE mesh. Furthermore, the mixed ε/u finite element is able to capture the correct failure mechanism with relatively coarse discretizations. At the same time, the spurious behavior of the standard formulation is not alleviated by mesh-refinement.