Evaluation of iterative methods for solving nonlinear scalar equations

This study is aimed at performing a comprehensive numerical evalua-tion of the iterative solution techniques without memory for solving non-linear scalar equations with simple real roots, in order to specify the most efficient and applicable methods for practical purposes. In this regard, the capabilities of the methods for applicable purposes are be evaluated, in which the ability of the methods to solve different types of nonlinear equations is be studied. First, 26 different iterative methods with the best performance are reviewed. These methods are selected based on performing more than 46000 analyses on 166 different available nonlinear solvers. For the easier application of the techniques, consistent mathematical notation is employed to present reviewed approaches. After presenting the diverse methodologies suggested for solving nonlinear equations, the performances of the reviewed methods are evaluated by solving 28 different nonlinear equations. The utilized test functions, which are selected from the re-viewed research works, are solved by all schemes and by assuming different initial guesses. To select the initial guesses, endpoints of five neighboring intervals with different sizes around the root of test functions are used. Therefore, each problem is solved by ten different starting points. In order to calculate novel computational efficiency indices and rank them accu-rately, the results of the obtained solutions are used. These data include the number of iterations, number of function evaluations, and convergence times. In addition, the successful runs for each process are used to rank the evaluated schemes. Although, in general, the choice of the method de-pends on the problem in practice, but in practical applications, especially in engineering, changing the solution method for different problems is not feasible all the time, and accordingly, the findings of the present study can be used as a guide to specify the fastest and most appropriate solution technique for solving nonlinear problems

A New Triangular Hybrid Displacement Function Element for Static and Free Vibration Analyses of Mindlin-Reissner Plate

A new 3-node triangular hybrid displacement function Mindlin- Reissner plate element is developed. Firstly, the modified variational functional of complementary energy for Mindlin-Reissner plate, which is eventually expressed by a so-called displacement function F, is proposed. Secondly, the locking-free formulae of Timoshenko’s beam theory are chosen as the deflection, rotation, and shear strain along each element boundary. Thirdly, seven fundamental analytical solutions of the displacement function F are selected as the trial functions for the assumed resultant fields, so that the assumed resultant fields satisfy all governing equations in advance. Finally, the element stiffness matrix of the new element, denoted by HDF-P3-7β, is derived from the modified principle of complementary energy. Together with the diagonal inertia matrix of the 3-node triangular isoparametric element, the proposed element is also successfully generalized to the free vibration problems. Numerical results show that the proposed element exhibits overall remarkable performance in all benchmark problems, especially in the free vibration analyses

Review on computational methods for Lyapunov functions

Lyapunov functions are an essential tool in the stability analysis of dynamical systems, both in theory and applications. They provide sufficient conditions for the stability of equilibria or more general invariant sets, as well as for their basin of attraction. The necessity, i.e. the existence of Lyapunov functions, has been studied in converse theorems, however, they do not provide a general method to compute them. Because of their importance in stability analysis, numerous computational construction methods have been developed within the Engineering, Informatics, and Mathematics community. They cover different types of systems such as ordinary differential equations, switched systems, non-smooth systems, discrete-time systems etc., and employ di_erent methods such as series expansion, linear programming, linear matrix inequalities, collocation methods, algebraic methods, set-theoretic methods, and many others. This review brings these different methods together. First, the different types of systems, where Lyapunov functions are used, are briefly discussed. In the main part, the computational methods are presented, ordered by the type of method used to construct a Lyapunov function

A bending element for isotropic, multilayered and piezoelectric plates

In this paper, a new 12-node triangular element is developed for the analysis of composite plates. Moreover, the stress-strain relations of laminated bending plates, along with the characteristics of composite and piezoelectric materials have also been investigated. Following this, a finite element formulation for smart composite bending plates is proposed. The capability of the suggested element in analyzing both composite plates and smart ones is studied via numerical examples. These analyses demonstrate that the proposed element is capable of yielding accurate results for the given problems. In addition, it is also concluded that in comparison to the elements developed by other researchers, this new formulation leads to more precise outcomes