Estudio del comportamiento de inclusiones esféricas en un cilindro bajo traccion

In the present paper the behaviour of a hyperelastic body is studied, considering the presence of one, two and more spherical inclusions, under the effect of an external tension load. The inclusions are modeled as nonlinear elastic bodies that undergo small strains. For the material constitutive relation, a relatively new type of model is used, wherein the strains (linearized strain) are assumed to be nonlinear functions of the stresses. In particular, it is used a function such that the strains are always small, independently of the magnitude of the external loads. In order to simplify the problem, the hyperelastic medium and the inclusions are modelled as axial-symmetric bodies. The finite element method is used to obtain results for these boundary value problems. The objective of using these new models for elastic bodies in the case of the inclusions is to study the behaviour of such bodies in the case of concentration of stresses, which happens near the interface with the surrounding matrix. From the results presented in this paper, it is possible to observe that despite the relatively large magnitude for the stresses, the strains for the inclusions remain small, which would be closer to the actual behaviour of real inclusions made of brittle materials, which cannot show large strains.En el presente art\'iculo se estudia el comportamiento de un s\'olido hiper-el\'astico con una, dos y m\'as inclusiones esf\'ericas, bajo el efecto de una carga externa de tracci\'on. Las inclusiones se modelan como s\'olidos el\'asticos con comportamiento no-lineal y que presentan peque\~nas deformaciones, usando un nuevo modelo propuesto recientemente en la literatura, en donde las deformaciones (caso infinitesimal) se expresan como funciones no-lineales de las tensiones. En particular, se consideran expresiones para dichas funciones que aseguran que las deformaciones est\'an limitadas en cuanto a su magnitud independientemente de la magnitud de las cargas externas. Como una forma de simplificar el problema, el medio hiper-el\'astico y las inclusiones se modelan como s\'olidos axil-sim\'etricos. El m\'etodo de elementos finitos es usado para obtener resultados para estos problemas de valor de frontera. El objetivo del uso de los nuevos modelos para cuerpos elásticos para el caso de las inclusiones, es estudiar el comportamiento de dichos cuerpos en el caso de concentración de tensiones, lo cual ocurre cerca de la zona de interface con la matriz. De los resultados mostrados en este trabajo, es posible apreciar que a pesar de los valores relativamente altos para las tensiones, las deformaciones se mantienen pequeñas, lo cual sería mucho más cercano al comportamiento esperado en la realidad, cuando se trabaja con inclusiones hechas de un material frágil, el cual no puede mostrar grandes deformaciones

Veamy: an extensible object-oriented C++ library for the virtual element method

This paper summarizes the development of Veamy, an object-oriented C++ library for the virtual element method (VEM) on general polygonal meshes, whose modular design is focused on its extensibility. The linear elastostatic and Poisson problems in two dimensions have been chosen as the starting stage for the development of this library. The theory of the VEM, upon which Veamy is built, is presented using a notation and a terminology that resemble the language of the finite element method (FEM) in engineering analysis. Several examples are provided to demonstrate the usage of Veamy, and in particular, one of them features the interaction between Veamy and the polygonal mesh generator PolyMesher. A computational performance comparison between VEM and FEM is also conducted. Veamy is free and open source software

A volume-averaged nodal projection method for the Reissner-Mindlin plate model

We introduce a novel meshfree Galerkin method for the solution of Reissner-Mindlin plate problems that is written in terms of the primitive variables only (i.e., rotations and transverse displacement) and is devoid of shear-locking. The proposed approach uses linear maximum-entropy approximations and is built variationally on a two-field potential energy functional wherein the shear strain, written in terms of the primitive variables, is computed via a volume-averaged nodal projection operator that is constructed from the Kirchhoff constraint of the three-field mixed weak form. The stability of the method is rendered by adding bubble-like enrichment to the rotation degrees of freedom. Some benchmark problems are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and performance of the proposed method for a wide range of plate thicknesses

A volume-averaged nodal projection method for the Reissner-Mindlin plate model

We introduce a novel meshfree Galerkin method for the solution of Reissner-Mindlin plate problems that is written in terms of the primitive variables only (i.e., rotations and transverse displacement) and is devoid of shear-locking. The proposed approach uses linear maximum-entropy approximations and is built variationally on a two-field potential energy functional wherein the shear strain, written in terms of the primitive variables, is computed via a volume-averaged nodal projection operator that is constructed from the Kirchhoff constraint of the three-field mixed weak form. The stability of the method is rendered by adding bubble-like enrichment to the rotation degrees of freedom. Some benchmark problems are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and performance of the proposed method for a wide range of plate thicknesses

Consistent and stable meshfree Galerkin methods using the virtual element decomposition

Over the past two decades, meshfree methods have undergone significant development as a numerical tool to solve partial differential equations (PDEs). In contrast to finite elements, the basis functions in meshfree methods are smooth (nonpolynomial functions), and they do not rely on an underlying mesh structure for their construction. These features render meshfree methods to be particularly appealing for higher-order PDEs and for large deformation simulations of solid continua. However, a deficiency that still persists in meshfree Galerkin methods is the inaccuracies in numerical integration, which affects the consistency and stability of the method. Several previous contributions have tackled the issue of integration errors with an eye on consistency, but without explicitly ensuring stability. In this paper, we draw on the recently proposed virtual elementmethod, to present a formulation that guarantees both the consistency and stability of the approximate bilinear form.We adopt maximum-entropy meshfree basis functions, but other meshfree basis functions can also be used within this framework. Numerical results for several two-dimensional and three-dimensional elliptic (Poisson and linear elastostatic) boundary-value problems that demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed formulation are presented.National Science Foundation grant CMMI-1334783 to the University of California at Davis

Linear smoothing over arbitrary polytopes

The conventional constant strain smoothing technique yields less accurate solutions that other techniques such as the conventional polygonal finite element method [1, 2]. In this work, we propose a linear strain smoothing scheme that improves the accuracy of linear and quadratic approximations over convex poly- topes. The method relies on sub-division of the polytope into simplical subcells; however instead of using a constant smoothing function, we employ a linear smoothing function over each subcell. This gives a new definition for the strain to compute the stiffness matrix. The convergence properties and accuracy of the proposed scheme are discussed by solving few benchmark problems. Numerical results show that the proposed linear strain smoothing scheme makes the approximation based on polytopes able to deliver the optimal convergence rate as in traditional quadrilateral and hexahedral finite elements. The accuracy is also improved, and all the methods tested pass the patch test to machine precision

Modal Strain Energy-Based Debonding Assessment of Sandwich Panels Using a Linear Approximation with Maximum Entropy

Sandwich structures are very attractive due to their high strength at a minimum weight, and, therefore, there has been a rapid increase in their applications. Nevertheless, these structures may present imperfect bonding or debonding between the skins and core as a result of manufacturing defects or impact loads, degrading their mechanical properties. To improve both the safety and functionality of these systems, structural damage assessment methodologies can be implemented. This article presents a damage assessment algorithm to localize and quantify debonds in sandwich panels. The proposed algorithm uses damage indices derived from the modal strain energy method and a linear approximation with a maximum entropy algorithm. Full-field vibration measurements of the panels were acquired using a high-speed 3D digital image correlation (DIC) system. Since the number of damage indices per panel is too large to be used directly in a regression algorithm, reprocessing of the data using principal component analysis (PCA) and kernel PCA has been performed. The results demonstrate that the proposed methodology accurately identifies debonding in composite panels

Linear smoothed polygonal and polyhedral finite elements

It was observed in [1, 2] that the strain smoothing technique over higher order elements and arbitrary polytopes yields less accurate solutions than other techniques such as the conventional polygonal finite element method. In this work, we propose a linear strain smoothing scheme that improves the accuracy of linear and quadratic approximations over convex polytopes. The main idea is to subdivide the polytope into simplicial subcells and use a linear smoothing function in each subcell to compute the strain. This new strain is then used in the computation of the stiffness matrix. The convergence properties and accuracy of the proposed scheme are discussed by solving few benchmark problems. Numerical results show that the proposed linear strain smoothing scheme makes the approximation based on polytopes to deliver improved accuracy and pass the patch test to machine precision

Linear smoothing over arbitrary polytopes for compressible and nearly incompressible linear elasticity

We present a displacement based approach over arbitrary polytopes for compressible and nearly incompressible linear elastic solids. In this approach, a volume-averaged nodal projection operator is constructed to project the dilatational strain into an approximation space of equal or lower-order than the approximation space for the displacement field, resulting in a locking-free method. The formulation uses the usual Wachspress interpolants over arbitrary polytopes and the stability of the method is ensured by the addition of bubble like functions. The smoothed strains are evaluated based on the linear smoothing procedure. This further softens the bilinear form allowing the procedure to search for a solution satisfying the divergence- free condition. The divergence-free condition of the proposed approach is verified through systematic numerical study. The formulation delivers optimal convergence rates in the energy and L2-norms. Inf-sup tests are presented to demonstrated the stability of the formulation

A nodal integration scheme for meshfree Galerkin methods using the virtual element decomposition

In this article, we present a novel nodal integration scheme for meshfree Galerkin methods, which draws on the mathematical framework of the virtual element method. We adopt linear maximum-entropy basis functions for the discretization of field variables, although the proposed scheme is applicable to any linear meshfree approximant. In our approach, the weak form integrals are nodally integrated using nodal representative cells that carry the nodal displacements and state variables such as strains and stresses. The nodal integration is performed using the virtual element decomposition, wherein the bilinear form is decomposed into a consistency part and a stability part that ensure consistency and stability of the method. The performance of the proposed nodal integration scheme is assessed through benchmark problems in linear and nonlinear analyses of solids for small displacements and small-strain kinematics. Numerical results are presented for linear elastostatics and linear elastodynamics and viscoelasticity. We demonstrate that the proposed nodally integrated meshfree method is accurate, converges optimally, and is more reliable and robust than a standard cell-based Gauss integrated meshfree method.University of Rome Tor Vergata Mission Sustainability Programme: SPY-E81I18000540005. Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT), CONICYT FONDECYT: 1181192, 1181506. Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR), Research Projects of National Relevance (PRIN): 2017L7X3CS 004