• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.89-98
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• 1993

As the construction of nuclear power plants are increased, nuclear wastes disposal has been faced as a serious problem. If nuclear wastes are to be buried in the underground stratum, thermo-mechanical behavior of stratum must be analyzed, because high temperature distribution has a significant effect on tunnel and surrounding stratum. In this study, in order to analyze the structural behavior of the underground which is subject to concentrated heat sources, a coupling method of nonlinear finite elements and linear boundary elements is proposed. The nonlinear finite elements (NFE) are applied in the vicinity of nuclear depository where thermo-mechanical stress is concentrated. The boundary elements are also used in infinite domain where linear behavior is expected. Using the similar method as for the problem in mechanical field, the coupled nonlinear finite element-boundary element (NFEBE) is developed. It is found that NFEBE method is more efficient than NFE which considers nonlinearity in the whole domain for the nuclear wastes depository that is expected to exhibit local nonlinearity behavior. The effect of coefficients of the rock mass such as Poisson's ratio, elastic modulus, thermal diffusivity and thermal expansion coefficient is investigated through the developed method. As a result, it is revealed that the displacements around tunnel are largely dependent on the thermal expansion coefficients.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.660-665
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• 2006

This paper presents a finite element method to analyze the free and forced vibration of a hard disk drive (HDD) considering the flexibility of a spinning disk-spindle with fluid dynamic bearings (FDBs), an actuator with pivot bearings, an air bearing between head-disk interface and the base with complicated geometry. Finite element equation of each component is consistently derived with the satisfaction of the geometric compatibility of the internal boundary between each component. The spinning disk, hub and FDBs are modeled by annular sector elements, beam elements and stiffness and damping elements, respectively. The actuator am, E-block, suspension and base plate are modeled by tetrahedral elements. The pivot bearing in the actuator and the air bearing between head-disk interfaces are modeled by the stiffness element with five degrees of freedom and the axial stiffness, respectively. A global matrix equation obtained by assembling the finite element equations of each substructure is transformed to a state-space matrix-vector equation, and both damped natural frequencies and modal damping ratios are calculated by solving the associated eigenvalue problem with the restarted Arnoldi iteration method. Modal and shock testing are performed to show that the proposed method well predicts the vibration characteristics of a HDD.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.1021-1046
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• 2017

The assessment of slope stability is an essential task in geotechnical engineering. In this paper, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis (FEA) was employed to investigate the performance of different shear pin arrangements to increase the stability of a soil block resting on an inclined plane with a low-interface friction plane. In the numerical models, the soil block was modeled by volume elements with linear elastic perfectly plastic material in a drained condition, while the shear pins were modeled by volume elements with linear elastic material. Interface elements were used along the bedding plane (bedding interface element) and around the shear pins (shear pin interface element) to simulate the soil-structure interaction. Bedding interface elements were used to capture the shear sliding of the soil on the low-interface friction plane while shear pin interface elements were used to model the shear bonding of the soil around the pins. A failure analysis was performed by means of the gravity loading method. The results of the 3D FEA with the numerical models were compared to those with the physical models for all cases. The effects of the number of shear pins, the shear pin locations, the different shear pin arrangements, the thickness and the width of the soil block and the associated failure mechanisms were discussed.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.3-17
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• 2003

This paper deals with the problems and their possible solutions in the development of finite element for analysis of shell. Based on these solution schemes, a series of flat shell elements are established which show no signs of membrane locking and other defects even though the coarse meshes are used. In the element formulation, non-conforming displacement modes are extensively used for improvement of element behaviors. A number of numerical tests are performed to prove the validity of the solutions to the problems involved in establishing a series of high performance flat shell elements. The test results reveal among others that the high accuracy and fast convergence characteristics of the elements are obtainable by the use of various non-conforming modes and that the ‘Direct Modification Method’ is a very useful tool for non-conforming elements to pass the patch tests. Furthermore, hierarchical and higher order non-conforming modes are proved to be very efficient not only to make an element insensitive to the mesh distortion but also to remove the membrane locking. Some numerical examples are solved to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the presented elements to practical engineering shell problems.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.191-201
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• 2017

External pre-stressing is often used in strengthening or retrofitting of steel-concrete composite beams. In this way, a proper numerical model should be able to trace the completely nonlinear response of these structures at service and ultimate loads. A three dimensional finite element model based on shell elements for representing the concrete slab and the steel beam are used in this work. Partial interaction at the slab-beam interface can be taken into account by using special beam-column elements as shear connectors. External pre-stressed tendons are modeled by using one-dimensional catenary elements. Contact elements are included in the analysis to represent the slipping at the tendon-deviator locations. Validation of the numerical model is established by simulating seven pre-stressed steel-concrete composite beams with experimental results. The model predictions agree well with the experimental results in terms of collapse loads, path failures and cracking lengths at negative moment regions due to service loads. Finally, the accuracy of some simplified formulas found in the specialized literature to predict cracking lengths at interior supports at service loading and for the evaluation of ultimate bending moments is also examined in this work.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.275-291
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• 2015

Adherence between reinforcement and the surrounding concrete is usually ignored in finite element analysis (FEA) of reinforced concrete (RC) members. However, load transition between the reinforcement and surrounding concrete effects RC members' behavior a great deal. In this study, the effects of bond-slip on the FEA of RC members are examined. In the analyses, three types of bond-slip modeling methods (perfect bond, contact elements and spring elements) and three types of reinforcement modeling methods (smeared, one dimensional line and three dimensional solid elements) were used. Bond-slip behavior between the reinforcement and surrounding concrete was simulated with cohesive zone materials (CZM) for the first time. The bond-slip relationship was identified experimentally using a beam bending test as suggested by RILEM. The results obtained from FEA were compared with the results of four RC beams that were tested experimentally. Results showed that, in FE analyses, because of the perfect bond occurrence between the reinforcement and surrounding concrete, unrealistic strains occurred in the longitudinal reinforcement. This situation greatly affected the load deflection relationship because the longitudinal reinforcements dominated the failure mode. In addition to the spring elements, the combination of a bonded contact option with CZM also gave closer results to the experimental models. However, modeling of the bond-slip relationship with a contact element was quite difficult and time consuming. Therefore bond-slip modeling is more suitable with spring elements.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.235-243
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• 2019

The discontinuous Galerkin method (DGM) has become widely used as it possesses several qualities, such as a natural ability to dealing with discontinuities. DGM has its major success related to fluid mechanics. Its major importance is the ability to deal with discontinuities and still provide high order of approximation. That is an important advantage when simulating cracking propagation. No remeshing is necessary during the propagation, since the crack path follows the interface of elements. However, DGM comes with the drawback of an increased number of degrees of freedom when compared to the classical continuous finite element method. Thus, it seems a natural approach to combine them in the same simulation obtaining the advantages of both methods. This paper proposes the application of the combined continuous-discontinuous Galerkin method (CDGM) to crack propagation. An important engineering problem is the simulation of crack propagation in concrete structures. The problem is characterized by discontinuities that evolve throughout the domain. Crack propagation is simulated using CDGM. Discontinuous elements are placed in regions with discontinuities and continuous elements elsewhere. The cohesive zone model describes the fracture process zone where softening effects are expressed by cohesive zones in the interface of elements. Two numerical examples demonstrate the capacities of CDGM. In the first example, a plain concrete beam is submitted to a three-point bending test. Numerical results are compared to experimental data from the literature. The second example deals with a full-scale ground slab, comparing the CDGM results to numerical and experimental data from the literature.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.393-404
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• 2023

This paper presents the application of hybrid-simulation-based adapter elements for the non-linear two-scale analysis of reinforced concrete frames with masonry infills under seismic-like demands. The approach provides communication and distribution of the computations carried out by two or more remote or locally distributed numerical models connected through the OpenFresco Framework. The modeling consists of a global analysis formed by macro-elements to represent frames and walls, and to reduce global degrees of freedom, portions of the structure that require advanced analysis are substituted by experimental elements and dimensional couplings acting as interfaces with their respective sub-assemblies. The local sub-assemblies are modeled by solid finite elements where the non-linear behavior of concrete matrix and masonry infill adopt a continuum damage representation and the reinforcement steel a discrete one, the conditions at interfaces between concrete and masonry are considered through a contact model. The methodology is illustrated through the analysis of a frame-wall system subjected to lateral loads comparing the results of using macro-elements, finite element model and experimental observations. Finally, to further assess and validate the methodology proposed, the paper presents the pushover analysis of two more complex structures applying both modeling scales to obtain their corresponding capacity curves.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.591-604
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• 2001

In this paper, a finite element with embedded displacement discontinuity which eliminates the need for remeshing of elements in the discrete crack approach is applied for the progressive fracture analysis of concrete structures. A finite element formulation is implemented with the extension of the principle of virtual work to a continuum which contains internal displacement discontinuity. By introducing a discontinuous displacement shape function into the finite element formulation, the displacement discontinuity is obtained within an element. By applying either a nonlinear or an idealized linear softening curve representing the fracture process zone (FPZ) of concrete as a constitutive equation to the displacement discontinuity, progressive fracture analysis of concrete structures is performed. In this analysis, localized progressive fracture simultaneous with crack closure in concrete structures under mixed mode loading is simulated by adopting the unloading path in the softening curve. Several examples demonstrate the capability of the analytical technique for the progressive fracture analysis of concrete structures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.54-59
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• 1999

High-speed electronic digital computers have enabled engineers to employ various numerical discretization techniques for solutions of complex problems. The Finite Element Method is one of the such technique. The Finite Element Method is one of the numerical analysis based on the concepts of fundamental mathematical approximation. Three dimensional plate structures used often in partition of ship, box girder and frame are analyzed by Finite Element Method. In design of structures, the static deflections, stress concentrations and dynamic deflections must be considered. However, these problem belong to geometrically nonlinear mechanical structure analysis. The analysis of each element is independent, but coupling occurs in assembly process of elements. So, to overcome such a difficulty the shell theory which includes transformation matrix and a fictitious rotational stiffness is taken into account. Also, the Mindlin's theory which is considered the effect of shear deformation is used. The Mindlin's theory is based on assumption that the normal to the midsurface before deformation is "not necessarily normal to the midsurface after deformation", and is more powerful than Kirchoff's theory in thick plate analysis. To ensure that a small number of element can represent a relatively complex form of the type which is liable to occur in real, rather than in academic problem, eight-node quadratic isoparametric elements are used. are used.