• Journal of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.31-50
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• 1996

In this paper, a finite element analysis based on the local approach concept to fracture in the continuum damage mechanics is performed to analyze ductile fracture in two dimensional quasi-static state. First an isotropic damage model based on the generalized concept of effective stress is proposed for structural materials in the context of large deformation. In this model, the stiffness degradation is taken as a measure of damage and so, the fracture phenomenon can be explained as the critical deterioration of stiffness at a material point. The modified Riks' continuation technique is used to solve incremental iterative equations. Crack propagation is achieved by removing critically damaged elements. The mesh size sensitivity analysis and the simulation of the well known shearing mode failure in plane strain state are carried out to verify the present formulation. As numerical examples, an edge cracked plate and the specimen with a circular hole under plane stress are taken. Load-displacement curves and successively fractured shapes are shown. From the results, it can be concluded that the proposed model based on the local approach concept in the continuum damage mechanics may be stated as a reasonable tool to explain ductile fracture initiation and crack propagation.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• 제5권3호
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• pp.229-265
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• 2012

Hygroexpansion of wood is a known and undesired characteristic in civil engineering. When wood is exposed to changing environmental humidity, it adsorbs or desorbs moisture and warps. The resulting distortions or - at restrained conditions - cracks are a major concern in timber engineering. We herein present a multiscale model for prediction of the macroscopic hygroexpansion behavior of individual pieces of softwood from their microstructure, demonstrated for spruce. By applying poromicromechanics, we establish a link between the swelling pressure, driving the hygroexpansion of wood at the nanoscale, and the resulting macroscopic dimensional changes. The model comprises six homogenization steps, which are performed by means of continuum micromechanics, the unit cell method and laminate theory, all formulated in a poromechanical framework. Model predictions for elastic properties of wood as functions of the moisture content closely approach corresponding experimental data. As for the hygroexpansion behavior, the swelling pressure has to be back-calculated from macroscopic hygroexpansion data. The good reproduction of the anisotropy of wood hygroexpansion, based on only a single scalar calibration parameter, underlines the suitability of the model. The multiscale model constitutes a valuable tool for studying the effect of microstructural features on the macroscopic behavior and for assessing the hygroexpansion behavior at smaller length scales, which are inaccessible to experiments. The model predictions deliver input parameters for the analysis of timber at the structural scale, therewith enabling to optimize the use of timber and to prevent moisture-induced damage or failure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제53권3호
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• pp.481-495
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• 2015

Many hydropower stations in southwest China are located in regions of brittle rock mass with high geo-stresses. Under these conditions deep fractured zones often occur in the sidewalls of the underground caverns of a power station. The theory and methods of fracture and damage mechanics are therefore adopted to study the phenomena. First a flexibility matrix is developed to describe initial geometric imperfections of a jointed rock mass. This model takes into account the area and orientation of the fractured surfaces of multiple joint sets, as well as spacing and density of joints. Using the assumption of the equivalent strain principle, a damage constitutive model is established based on the brittle fracture criterion. In addition the theory of fracture mechanics is applied to analyze the occurrence of secondary cracks during a cavern excavation. The failure criterion, for rock bridge coalescence and the damage evolution equation, has been derived and a new sub-program integrated into the FLAC-3D software. The model has then been applied to the stability analysis of an underground cavern group of a hydropower station in Sichuan province, China. The results of this method are compared with those obtained by using a conventional elasto-plastic model and splitting depth calculated by the splitting failure criterion proposed in a previous study. The results are also compared with the depth of the relaxation and fracture zone in the surrounding rock measured by field monitoring. The distribution of the splitting zone obtained both by the proposed model and by the field monitoring measurements are consistent to the validity of the theory developed herein.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제62권2호
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• pp.225-236
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• 2017

The purpose of this work is to predict ductile fracture of structural steel under extremely low cyclic loading experienced in earthquake. A cumulative damage model is proposed on the basis of an existing damage model originally aiming to predict fracture under monotonic loading. The cumulative damage model assumes that damage does not grow when stress triaxiality is below a threshold and fracture occurs when accumulated damage reach unit. The model was implemented in ABAQUS software. The cumulative damage model parameters for steel base metal, weld metal and heat affected zone were calibrated, respectively, through testing and finite element analyses of notched coupon specimens. The damage evolution law in the notched coupon specimens under different loads was compared. Finally, in order to examine the engineering applicability of the proposed model, the fracture performance of beam-column welded joints reported by previous researches was analyzed based on the cumulative damage model. The analysis results show that the cumulative damage model is able to successfully predict the cracking location, fracture process, the crack initiation life, and the total fatigue life of the joints.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국전산유체공학회 2008년도 12th Asian Congress of Fluid Mechanics
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• pp.73.6-74
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• 2008

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.431-447
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• 2006

A new incremental finite element model is developed to simulate the frictional contact of elastic bodies. The incremental convex programming method is exploited, in the framework of finite element approach, to recast the variational inequality principle of contact problem in a discretized form. The non-classical friction model of Oden and Pires is adopted, however, the friction effect is represented by an equivalent non-linear stiffness rather than additional constraints. Different parametric studies are worked out to address the versatility of the proposed model.

• Wind and Structures
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• 제9권5호
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• pp.357-367
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• 2006

Unsteady 3D Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) solver is used to simulate the turbulent flow past an isolated prismatic cylinder at Re=37,400. The aspect ratio of height to base width of the body is 5. The turbulence closure is achieved through a non-linear $k-{\varepsilon}$ model. The applicability of this model to predict unsteady forces associated with this flow is examined. The study shows that the present URANS solver with standard wall functions predicts all the major unsteady phenomena showing closer agreement with experiment. This investigation concludes that URANS simulations with the non-linear $k-{\varepsilon}$ model as a turbulence closure provides a promising alternative to LES with view to study flows having complex features.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제7권4호
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• pp.335-353
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• 2014

The softening hyperelastic model based on the strain energy limitation is of clear concepts and simple forms to describe the failure of materials. In this study, a linear and a nonlinear softening hyperelastic model are proposed to characterize the deformation and the failure in granular materials by introducing a softening function into the shear part of the strain energy. A method to determine material parameters introduced in the models is suggested. Based on the proposed models the numerical examples focus on bearing capacity and strain localization of granular materials. Compared with Volokh softening hyperelasticity and classical Mohr-Coulomb plasticity, our proposed models are able to capture the typical characters of granular materials such as the strain softening and the critical state. In addition, the issue of mesh dependency of the proposed models is investigated.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제80권5호
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• pp.553-562
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• 2021

In this paper, a hybrid scaled boundary finite element and finite volume method (SBFEM-FVM) is proposed for simulating hydraulic-fracture propagation in brittle concrete materials. As a semi-analytical method, the scaled boundary finite element method is introduced for modelling concrete crack propagation under both an external force and water pressure. The finite volume method is employed to model the water within the crack and consider the relationship between the water pressure and the crack opening distance. The cohesive crack model is used to analyse the non-linear fracture process zone. The numerical results are compared with experimental data, indicating that the F-CMOD curves and water pressure changes under different loading conditions are approximately the same. Different types of water pressure distributions are also studied with the proposed coupled model, and the results show that the internal water pressure distribution has an important influence on crack propagation.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.325-337
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• 2014

The strength and buckling problem of a five layer sandwich beam under axial compression or bending is presented. Two faces of the beam are thin aluminium sheets and the core is made of aluminium foam. Between the faces and the core there are two thin binding glue layers. In the paper a mathematical model of the field of displacements, which includes a share effect and a bending moment, is presented. The system of partial differential equations of equilibrium for the five layer sandwich beam is derived on the basis of the principle of stationary total potential energy. The equations are analytically solved and the critical load is obtained. For comparison reasons a finite element model of the beam is formulated. For the case of bended beam the static analysis has been performed to obtain the stress distribution across the height of the beam. For the axially compressed beam the buckling analysis was carried out to determine the buckling load and buckling shape. Moreover, experimental investigations are carried out for two beams. The comparison of the results obtained in the analytical and numerical (FEM) analysis is shown in graphs and figures. The main aim of the paper is to present an analytical model of the five layer beam and to compare the results of the theoretical, numerical and experimental analyses.