An effective spectral collocation method for the direct solution of high-order ODEs

This paper reports a new Chebyshev spectral collocation method for directly solving high-order ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The construction of the Chebyshev approximations is based on integration rather than conventional differentiation. This use of integration allows the multiple boundary conditions to be incorporated more efficiently. Numerical results show that the proposed formulation significantly improves the conditioning of the system and yields more accurate results and faster convergence rates than conventional formulations

Computation of transient viscous flows using indirect radial basis function networks

In this paper, an indirect/integrated radial-basis-function network (IRBFN) method is further developed to solve transient partial differential equations (PDEs) governing fluid flow problems. Spatial derivatives are discretized using one- and two-dimensional IRBFN interpolation schemes, whereas temporal derivatives are approximated using a method of lines and a finite-difference technique. In the case of moving interface problems, the IRBFN method is combined with the level set method to capture the evolution of the interface. The accuracy of the method is investigated by considering several benchmark test problems, including the classical lid-driven cavity flow. Very accurate results are achieved using relatively low numbers of data points

Free vibration analysis of laminated composite plates based on FSDT using one-dimensional IRBFN method

This paper presents a new effective radial basis function (RBF) collocation technique for the free vibration analysis of laminated composite plates using the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT). The plates, which can be rectangular or non-rectangular, are simply discretised by means of Cartesian grids. Instead of using conventional differentiated RBF networks, one-dimensional integrated RBF networks (1D-IRBFN) are employed on grid lines to approximate the field variables. A number of examples concerning various thickness-to-span ratios, material properties and boundary conditions are considered. Results obtained are compared with the exact solutions and numerical results by other techniques in the literature to investigate the performance of the proposed method

Solving high-order partial differential equations with indirect radial basis function networks

This paper reports a new numerical method based on radial basis function networks (RBFNs) for solving high-order partial differential equations (PDEs). The variables and their derivatives in the governing equations are represented by integrated RBFNs. The use of integration in constructing neural networks allows the straightforward implementation of multiple boundary conditions and the accurate approximation of high-order derivatives. The proposed RBFN method is verified successfully through the solution of thin-plate bending and viscous flow problems which are governed by biharmonic equations. For thermally driven cavity flows, the solutions are obtained up to a high Rayleigh number

Numerical analysis of corrugated tube flow using RBFNs

This paper reports the application of neural networks for the numerical analysis of steady-state axisymmetric flow through an indefinitely long corrugated tube. Meshless global radial basis function networks (RBFNs) are employed to represent all dependent variables in the governing differential equations. For a better quality of approximation, the networks used here are constructed based on the integration process rather than the usual differentiation process. Multiple spaces of network weights for each variable are converted into the single space of nodal variable values, resulting in the square system of equations with usual size. The governing equations are discretized in the strong form by point collocation and the resultant nonlinear system is solved with trust-region methods. The corrugated tube flow of a Newtonian fluid, power-law fluid and Oldroyd-B fluid are considered. With relatively low numbers of data points, flow resistance predictions obtained are in good agreement with the benchmark solutions

An efficient BEM for numerical solution of the biharmonic boundary value problem

This paper presents an efficient BEM for solving biharmonic equations. All boundary values including geometries are approximated by the universal high order radial basis function networks (RBFNs) rather than the usual low order interpolations. Numerical results show that the proposed BEM is considerably superior to the linear/quadratic-BEM in terms of both accuracy and convergence rate

A second-order continuity domain-decomposition technique based on integrated Chebyshev polynomials for two-dimensional elliptic problems

This paper presents a second-order continuity non-overlapping domain decomposition (DD) technique for numerically solving second-order elliptic problems in two-dimensional space. The proposed DD technique uses integrated Chebyshev polynomials to represent the solution in subdomains. The constants of integration are utilized to impose continuity of the second-order normal derivative of the solution at the interior points of subdomain interfaces. To also achieve a C2 (C squared) function at the intersection of interfaces, two additional unknowns are introduced at each intersection point. Numerical results show that the present DD method yields a higher level of accuracy than conventional DD techniques based on differentiated Chebyshev polynomials

A stable and accurate control-volume technique based on integrated radial basis function networks for fluid-flow problems

Radial basis function networks (RBFNs) have been widely used in solving partial differential equations as they are able to provide fast convergence. Integrated RBFNs have the ability to avoid the problem of reduced convergence-rate caused by differentiation. This paper is concerned with the use of integrated RBFNs in the context of control-volume discretisations for the simulation of fluid-flow problems. Special attention is given to (i) the development of a stable high-order upwind scheme for the convection term and (ii) the development of a local high-order approximation scheme for the diffusion term. Benchmark problems including the lid-driven triangular-cavity flow are employed to validate the present technique. Accurate results at high values of the Reynolds number are obtained using relatively-coarse grids

A spectral collocation technique based on integrated Chebyshev polynomials for biharmonic problems in irregular domains

In this paper, an integral collocation approach based on Chebyshev polynomials for numerically solving biharmonic equations [N. Mai-Duy, R.I. Tanner, A spectral collocation method based on integrated Chebyshev polynomials for biharmonic boundary-value problems, J. Comput. Appl. Math. 201 (1) (2007) 30–47] is further developed for the case of irregularly shaped domains. The problem domain is embedded in a domain of regular shape, which facilitates the use of tensor product grids. Two relevant important issues, namely the description of the boundary of the domain on a tensor product grid and the imposition of double boundary conditions, are handled effectively by means of integration constants. Several schemes of the integral collocation formulation are proposed, and their performances are numerically investigated through the interpolation of a function and the solution of 1D and 2D biharmonic problems. Results obtained show that they yield spectral accuracy

An improved quadrilateral flat element with drilling degrees of freedom for shell structural analysis

This paper reports the development of a simple and efficient 4-node flat shell element with six degrees of freedom per node for the analysis of arbitrary shell structures. The element is developed by incorporating a strain smoothing technique into a flat shell finite element approach. The membrane part is formulated by applying the smoothing operation on a quadrilateral membrane element using Allman-type interpolation functions with drilling DOFs. The plate-bending component is established by a combination of the smoothed curvature and the substitute shear strain fields. As a result, the bending and a part of membrane stiffness matrices are computed on the boundaries of smoothing cells which leads to very accurate solutions, even with distorted meshes, and possible reduction in computational cost. The performance of the proposed element is validated and demonstrated through several numerical benchmark problems. Convergence studies and comparison with other existing solutions in the literature suggest that the present element is efficient, accurate and free of lockings