Development of an integrated BEM approach for hot fluid structure interaction

The progress made toward the development of a boundary element formulation for the study of hot fluid-structure interaction in Earth-to-Orbit engine hot section components is reported. The convective viscous integral formulation was derived and implemented in the general purpose computer program GP-BEST. The new convective kernel functions, in turn, necessitated the development of refined integration techniques. As a result, however, since the physics of the problem is embedded in these kernels, boundary element solutions can now be obtained at very high Reynolds number. Flow around obstacles can be solved approximately with an efficient linearized boundary-only analysis or, more exactly, by including all of the nonlinearities present in the neighborhood of the obstacle. The other major accomplishment was the development of a comprehensive fluid-structure interaction capability within GP-BEST. This new facility is implemented in a completely general manner, so that quite arbitrary geometry, material properties and boundary conditions may be specified. Thus, a single analysis code (GP-BEST) can be used to run structures-only problems, fluids-only problems, or the combined fluid-structure problem. In all three cases, steady or transient conditions can be selected, with or without thermal effects. Nonlinear analyses can be solved via direct iteration or by employing a modified Newton-Raphson approach

Development of BEM for ceramic composites

It is evident that for proper micromechanical analysis of ceramic composites, one needs to use a numerical method that is capable of idealizing the individual fibers or individual bundles of fibers embedded within a three-dimensional ceramic matrix. The analysis must be able to account for high stress or temperature gradients from diffusion of stress or temperature from the fiber to the ceramic matrix and allow for interaction between the fibers through the ceramic matrix. The analysis must be sophisticated enough to deal with the failure of fibers described by a series of increasingly sophisticated constitutive models. Finally, the analysis must deal with micromechanical modeling of the composite under nonlinear thermal and dynamic loading. This report details progress made towards the development of a boundary element code designed for the micromechanical studies of an advanced ceramic composite. Additional effort has been made in generalizing the implementation to allow the program to be applicable to real problems in the aerospace industry

Probabilistic fracture mechanics by boundary element method

In this work, a new boundary element method is presented for the Probabilistic Fracture Mechanics analysis. The method developed allows the probabilistic analysis of cracked structure accomplished by the dual boundary element method (DBEM), in which the traction integral equation is used on one of the crack faces as opposed to the usual displacement integral equation. The stress intensity factors and their first order derivatives are evaluated for mode-I and mixed-mode fracture problems. A new boundary element formulation is derived and implemented to evaluate the design variables sensitivities. This method involves the solution of matrix systems formed by the direct differentiation of the discretised dual boundary element equations with respect to the each random parameter. The derivatives of fracture parameters with respect to design variables are calculated using implicit differentiation method (IDM) in DBEM for mode-I and mixed-mode fracture problems. The gradient of performance function is determined analytically and the total derivative method (TDM) is used in probabilistic fatigue crack growth problems. The randomness in the geometry, material property and the applied stress are considered in 2-D fracture problems; while initial crack size, final crack size, material property and applied stress are considered in fatigue crack growth. Uncertainties in other aspects of the problem can be included. First-Order Reliability Method (FORM) is used for predicting the reliability of cracked structures. The Hasofer Lind Rackwitz Fiessler algorithm is used to find the most probable point, referred as reliability index. Finally, the validation and applications of the stochastic boundary element coupled with FORM are presented. Numerical calculations are shown to be in good agreement either with the analytical solution or Monte Carlo Simulation

Elastostatics

In this chapter, we are going to describe the main features as well as the basic steps of the Boundary Element Method (BEM) as applied to elastostatic problems and to compare them with other numerical procedures. As we shall show, it is easy to appreciate the adventages of the BEM, but it is also advisable to refrain from a possible unrestrained enthusiasm, as there are also limitations to its usefulness in certain types of problems. The number of these problems, nevertheless, is sufficient to justify the interest and activity that the new procedure has aroused among researchers all over the world. Briefly speaking, the most frequently used version of the BEM as applied to elastostatics works with the fundamental solution, i.e. the singular solution of the governing equations, as an influence function and tries to satisfy the boundary conditions of the problem with the aid of a discretization scheme which consists exclusively of boundary elements. As in other numerical methods, the BEM was developed thanks to the computational possibilities offered by modern computers on totally "classical" basis. That is, the theoretical grounds are based on linear elasticity theory, incorporated long ago into the curricula of most engineering schools. Its delay in gaining popularity is probably due to the enormous momentum with which Finite Element Method (FEM) penetrated the professional and academic media. Nevertheless, the fact that these methods were developed before the BEM has been beneficial because de BEM successfully uses those results and techniques studied in past decades. Some authors even consider the BEM as a particular case of the FEM while others view both methods as special cases of the general weighted residual technique. The first paper usually cited in connection with the BEM as applied to elastostatics is that of Rizzo, even though the works of Jaswon et al., Massonet and Oliveira were published at about the same time, the reason probably being the attractiveness of the "direct" approach over the "indirect" one. The work of Tizzo and the subssequent work of Cruse initiated a fruitful period with applicatons of the direct BEM to problems of elastostacs, elastodynamics, fracture, etc. The next key contribution was that of Lachat and Watson incorporating all the FEM discretization philosophy in what is sometimes called the "second BEM generation". This has no doubt, led directly to the current developments. Among the various researchers who worked on elastostatics by employing the direct BEM, one can additionallly mention Rizzo and Shippy, Cruse et al., Lachat and Watson, Alarcón et al., Brebbia el al, Howell and Doyle, Kuhn and Möhrmann and Patterson and Sheikh, and among those who used the indirect BEM, one can additionally mention Benjumea and Sikarskie, Butterfield, Banerjee et al., Niwa et al., and Altiero and Gavazza. An interesting version of the indirct method, called the Displacement Discontinuity Method (DDM) has been developed by Crounh. A comprehensive study on various special aspects of the elastostatic BEM has been done by Heisse, while review-type articles on the subject have been reported by Watson and Hartmann. At the present time, the method is well established and is being used for the solution of variety of problems in engineering mechanics. Numerous introductory and advanced books have been published as well as research-orientated ones. In this sense, it is worth noting the series of conferences promoted by Brebbia since 1978, wich have provoked a continuous research effort all over the world in relation to the BEM. In the following sections, we shall concentrate on developing the direct BEM as applied to elastostatics

Development of BEM for ceramic composites

Progress is summarized in the development of a boundary element code BEST3D, designed for the micromechanical studies of advanced ceramic composites. Additional effort was made in generalizing the implementation to allow the program to be applicable to real problems in the aerospace industry

Solution for a problem of linear plane elasticity with mixed boundary conditions on an ellipse by the method of boundary integrals

AbstractA numerical boundary integral scheme is proposed for the solution of the system of field equations of plane, linear elasticity in stresses for homogeneous, isotropic media in the domain bounded by an ellipse under mixed boundary conditions. The stresses are prescribed on one half of the ellipse, while the displacements are given on the other half. The method relies on previous analytical work within the Boundary Integral Method [1,2].The considered problem with mixed boundary conditions is replaced by two subproblems with homogeneous boundary conditions, one of each type, having a common solution. The equations are reduced to a system of boundary integral equations, which is then discretized in the usual way and the problem at this stage is reduced to the solution of a rectangular linear system of algebraic equations. The unknowns in this system of equations are the boundary values of four harmonic functions which define the full elastic solution inside the domain, and the unknown boundary values of stresses or displacements on proper parts of the boundary.On the basis of the obtained results, it is inferred that the tangential stress component on the fixed part of the boundary has a singularity at each of the two separation points, thought to be of logarithmic type. A tentative form for the singular solution is proposed to calculate the full solution in bulk directly from the given boundary conditions using the well-known Boundary Collocation Method. It is shown that this addition substantially decreases the error in satisfying the boundary conditions on some interval not containing the singular points.The obtained results are discussed and boundary curves for unknown functions are provided, as well as three-dimensional plots for quantities of practical interest. The efficiency of the used numerical schemes is discussed, in what concerns the number of boundary nodes needed to calculate the approximate solution

Development of an integrated BEM approach for hot fluid structure interaction

A comprehensive boundary element method is presented for transient thermoelastic analysis of hot section Earth-to-Orbit engine components. This time-domain formulation requires discretization of only the surface of the component, and thus provides an attractive alternative to finite element analysis for this class of problems. In addition, steep thermal gradients, which often occur near the surface, can be captured more readily since with a boundary element approach there are no shape functions to constrain the solution in the direction normal to the surface. For example, the circular disc analysis indicates the high level of accuracy that can be obtained. In fact, on the basis of reduced modeling effort and improved accuracy, it appears that the present boundary element method should be the preferred approach for general problems of transient thermoelasticity