Finite Element Simulation of Dense Wire Packings

A finite element program is presented to simulate the process of packing and coiling elastic wires in two- and three-dimensional confining cavities. The wire is represented by third order beam elements and embedded into a corotational formulation to capture the geometric nonlinearity resulting from large rotations and deformations. The hyperbolic equations of motion are integrated in time using two different integration methods from the Newmark family: an implicit iterative Newton-Raphson line search solver, and an explicit predictor-corrector scheme, both with adaptive time stepping. These two approaches reveal fundamentally different suitability for the problem of strongly self-interacting bodies found in densely packed cavities. Generalizing the spherical confinement symmetry investigated in recent studies, the packing of a wire in hard ellipsoidal cavities is simulated in the frictionless elastic limit. Evidence is given that packings in oblate spheroids and scalene ellipsoids are energetically preferred to spheres.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl

A variable kinematic doubly-curved MITC9 shell element for the analysis of laminated composites

The present article considers the linear static analysis of composite shell structures with double-curvature geometry by means of a shell finite element with variable through-the-thickness kinematic. The refined models used are grouped in the Unified Formulation by Carrera (CUF) and they permit the distribution of displacements and stresses along the thickness of the multilayered shell to be accurately described. The shell element has nine nodes and the mixed interpolation of tensorial components (MITC) method is used to contrast the membrane and shear locking phenomenon. The governing equations are derived from the principle of virtual displacement (PVD) and the finite element method (FEM) is employed to solve them. Cross-ply spherical shells with simply-supported edges and subjected to bi-sinusoidal pressure are analyzed. Various laminations, thickness ratios, and curvature ratios are considered. The results, obtained with different theories contained in the CUF, are compared with both the elasticity solutions given in the literature and the analytical solutions obtained using the CUF and the Navier's method. From the analysis, one can conclude that the shell element based on the CUF is very efficient and its use is mandatory with respect to the classical models in the study of composite structures. Finally, shells with different lamination, boundary conditions, and loads are also analyzed using high-order layer-wise theories in order to provide FEM benchmark solution

Polar decomposition based corotational framework for triangular shell elements with distributed loads

A polar decomposition based corotational formulation for deriving geometrically nonlinear triangular shell elements is proposed. This formulation is novel in two aspects. (1) Original formulas for the projector operator and its variation are presented, leading to simple algorithms for the computation of the nodal residual vector and of the consistent tangent stiffness tensor. (2) For the first time in the context of a corotational kinematic description, a rigorous treatment of distributed dead and follower loads is performed, thoroughly accounting for the various contributions entailed in the residual vector and in the tangent stiffness. Numerical simulations of popular benchmark problems are reported, showing the effectiveness of the proposed approach. An accessible and adaptable MATLAB toolkit implementing the present formulation is provided as supplementary material

Non-linear vibrations of three-layer beams with viscoelastic cores I. Theory

Approximate equations of motion are developed for large amplitude motions of three-layer axially restrained unsymmetrical beams with viscoelastic cores. The external force consists of a constant plus an oscillatory term. The combination of this form of forcing and the large amplitude motions cause the beam to respond at multiples of the forcing frequency. This can lead to difficulties in the complex modulus approach to viscoelasticity. These are overcome here through use of hereditary integrals and their relationships with complex moduli. Theoretical results on the frequency response of clamped, symmetrical beams are compared with earlier experimental work. On the whole, reasonable agreement is found.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21772/1/0000166.pd

Inelastic behavior of shells

Issued as Annual report, and Final report, Project no. E-23-62

An investigation of simple finite elements via the Hu-washizu theorem

Issued as Progress reports [nos. 1-3], Report, and Final report, Project E-20-65