An orthotropic damage model for masonry walls with consistent damage evolution laws

This research presents a constitutive model for the macro scale simulation of masonry structures. The model is containing an orthotropic plane stress assumption, which appears as an appropriate assumption for the in-plane analysis of masonry walls. The material model is based upon damage mechanics, split into tensile and compression parts. The novelty herewith is the consistent mapping of the damage evolution laws. Aim of this research is to develop a simple but accurate constitutive law, suitable to simulate large scale structures and buildings with reasonable computational costs. The developments are presented and compared with available literature examples from laboratory testings.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Realization of CAD-integrated shell simulation based on isogeometric B-Rep analysis

An entire design-through-analysis workflow solution for isogeometric B-Rep analysis (IBRA), including both the interface to existing CADs and the analysis procedure, is presented. Possible approaches are elaborated for the full scope of structural analysis solvers ranging from low to high isogeometric simulation fidelity. This is based on a systematic investigation of solver designs suitable for IBRA. A theoretically ideal IBRA solver has all CAD capabilities and information accessible at any point, however, realistic scenarios typically do not allow this level of information. Even a classical FE solver can be included in the CAD-integrated workflow, which is achieved by a newly proposed meshless approach. This simple solution eases the implementation of the solver backend. The interface to the CAD is modularized by defining a database, which provides IO capabilities on the base of a standardized data exchange format. Such database is designed to store not only geometrical quantities but also all the numerical information needed to realize the computations. This feature allows its use also in codes which do not provide full isogeometric geometrical handling capabilities. The rough geometry information for computation is enhanced with the boundary topology information which implies trimming and coupling of NURBS-based entities. This direct use of multi-patch trimmed CAD geometries follows the principle of embedding objects into a background parametrization. Consequently, redefinition and meshing of geometry is avoided. Several examples from illustrative cases to industrial problems are provided to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach and to explain in detail the proposed exchange formats.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Modularisation Strategies for Individualised Precast Construction—Conceptual Fundamentals and Research Directions

Modular precast construction is a methodological approach to reduce environmental impacts and increase productivity when building with concrete. Constructions are segmented into similar precast concrete elements, prefabricated with integrated quality control, and assembled just-in-sequence on site. Due to the automatised prefabrication, inaccuracies are minimised and the use of high-performance materials is enabled. As a result, the construction process is accelerated, and the modules can be designed to be lightweight and resource-efficient. This contribution presents the fundamentals of modular constructions made from precast concrete components. Then, to elaborate the requirements of a contemporary modular precast construction, the historic developments are described. Further, concepts and technical processes–comprehensible to non-expert readers–are introduced to formalise the discussion about the current state-of-the-art methods. Three case studies treating ongoing research are introduced and related to the conceptual fundamentals. The research is evaluated with regard to current barriers and future directions. In conclusion, modular precast construction is able to reduce emissions and increase productivity in the sector if researchers and firms coordinate the development of suitable technologies that bring value to critical stakeholders

Partitioned strong coupling of discrete elements with large deformation structural finite elements to model impact on highly flexible tension structures

This article presents a staggered approach to couple the interaction of very flexible tension structures with large deformations, described with the finite element method (FEM), and objects undergoing large, complex, and arbitrary motions discretized with particle methods, in this case the discrete element method (DEM). The quantitative solution quality and convergence rate of this partitioned approach is highly time step dependent. Thus, the strong coupling approach is presented here, where the convergence is achieved in an iterative manner within each time step. This approach helps increase the time step size significantly, decreases the overall computational costs, and improves the numerical stability. Moreover, the proposed algorithm enables the application of two independent, standalone codes for simulating DEM and structural FEM as blackbox solvers. Systematic evaluations of the newly proposed iterative coupling scheme with respect to accuracy, robustness, and efficiency as well as cross comparisons between strong and weak FEM-DEM coupling approaches are performed. Additionally, the approach is validated against the rest position of an impacting object, and further examples with objects impacting highly flexible protection structures are presented. Here, the protection nets are described with nonlinear structural finite elements and the impacting objects as DEM elements. To allow the interested reader to independently reproduce the results, detailed code and algorithm descriptions are included in the appendix.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Realization of CAD-integrated shell simulation based on isogeometric B-Rep analysis

An entire design-through-analysis workflow solution for isogeometric B-Rep analysis (IBRA), including both the interface to existing CADs and the analysis procedure, is presented. Possible approaches are elaborated for the full scope of structural analysis solvers ranging from low to high isogeometric simulation fidelity. This is based on a systematic investigation of solver designs suitable for IBRA. A theoretically ideal IBRA solver has all CAD capabilities and information accessible at any point, however, realistic scenarios typically do not allow this level of information. Even a classical FE solver can be included in the CAD-integrated workflow, which is achieved by a newly proposed meshless approach. This simple solution eases the implementation of the solver backend. The interface to the CAD is modularized by defining a database, which provides IO capabilities on the base of a standardized data exchange format. Such database is designed to store not only geometrical quantities but also all the numerical information needed to realize the computations. This feature allows its use also in codes which do not provide full isogeometric geometrical handling capabilities. The rough geometry information for computation is enhanced with the boundary topology information which implies trimming and coupling of NURBS-based entities. This direct use of multi-patch trimmed CAD geometries follows the principle of embedding objects into a background parametrization. Consequently, redefinition and meshing of geometry is avoided. Several examples from illustrative cases to industrial problems are provided to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach and to explain in detail the proposed exchange formats.Peer Reviewe