• Computers and Concrete
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• v.2 no.6
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• pp.455-479
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• 2005

This paper describes a 2D nonlinear finite element analysis (NLFEA) platform that combines heat flow analysis with realistic analysis of cracked reinforced concrete structures. The behavior models included in the structural analysis are mainly based on the Modified Compression Field Theory and the Distributed Stress Field Model. The heat flow analysis takes into account time-varying thermal loads and temperature-dependent material properties. The capability of 2D nonlinear transient thermal analysis is then implemented into a nonlinear finite element analysis program VecTor2(C) for 2D reinforced concrete membranes. Analyses of four numerical examples are performed using VecTor2, and results obtained indicate that the suggested nonlinear finite element analysis procedure is capable of modeling the complete response of a concrete structure to thermal and mechanical loads.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.5 no.5
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• pp.645-662
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• 1997

A nonlinear semi-three-dimensional layered finite element procedure is developed for cracking and failure analysis of reinforced concrete beams and the spandrel beam-column-slab connections of flat plates. The layered element approach takes the elasto-plastic failure behaviour and geometric nonlinearity into consideration. A strain-hardening plasticity concrete model and a smeared steel model are incorporated into the layered element formulation. Further, shear failure, transverse reinforcement, spandrel beams and columns are successfully modelled. The proposed method incorporating the nonlinear constitutive models for concrete and steel is implemented in a finite element program. Test specimens including a series of reinforced concrete beams and beam-column-slab connections of flat plates are analysed. Results confirm the effectiveness and accuracy of the layered procedure in predicting both flexural and shear cracking up to failure.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.17 no.4 s.88
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• pp.645-654
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• 2005

This paper presents a nonlinear finite element procedure for the analysis of reinforced and prestressed concrete shells using the four-node quadrilateral flat shell element with drilling rotational stiffness. A layered approach is used to discretize, through the thickness, the behavior of concrete, reinforcing bars and tendons. Using the smeared-crack method, cracked concrete is treated as an orthotropic nonlinear material. The steel reinforcement and tendon are assumed to be in a uni-axial stress state and to be smeared in a layer. The constitutive models, which cover the loading, unloading, and reloading paths, and the developed finite element procedure predicts with reasonable accuracy the behavior of reinforced and prestressed concrete shells subjected to different types of loading. The proposed numerical method fur nonlinear analysis of reinforced and prestressed concrete shells is verified by comparison with reliable experimental results.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.593-606
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• 2010

This paper presents a formulation to include the prestressing effects in available numerical models for the nonlinear material, instantaneous and long-term analysis of prestressed concrete shell structures, based on the displacement formulation of the finite element method. A four-node flat shell element is adopted for nonlinear analysis of prestressed concrete shells. This element was incorporated into an existing general-purpose finite element analysis program. A distinctive characteristic of the element is its capability to simulate the behavior of shells subjected to a variety of types of loading and drilling rotational stiffness. Consequently, the response of prestressed concrete shell structures can be predicted accurately using the proposed nonlinear finite element procedure.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.19-37
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• 2012

In this work, the iterative coupling of finite element and boundary element methods for the investigation of coupled fluid-fluid, solid-solid and fluid-solid wave propagation models is reviewed. In order to perform the coupling of the two numerical methods, a successive renewal of the variables on the common interface between the two sub-domains is performed through an iterative procedure until convergence is achieved. In the case of local nonlinearities within the finite element sub-domain, it is straightforward to perform the iterative coupling together with the iterations needed to solve the nonlinear system. In particular, a more efficient and stable performance of the coupling procedure is achieved by a special formulation that allows to use different time steps in each sub-domain. Optimized relaxation parameters are also considered in the analyses, in order to speed up and/or to ensure the convergence of the iterative process.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.155-174
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• 2008

A new approach for nonlinear finite element analysis of corroded reinforcements in RC structures is elaborated in the article. An algorithmic procedure for producing the tension-stiffening curve of RC elements taking into consideration most of effective parameters, e.g.: the rate of steel bar corrosion, bond-slip behavior, concrete cover and amount of reinforcement, is illustrated. This has been established on both experimental and analytical bases. This algorithm is implemented into a nonlinear finite element analysis program. The abilities of the resulted program have been studied by modeling some experimental specimens showing a reasonable agreement between the analytical and experimental findings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.223-236
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• 2002

The main objective of the present paper is to address a formal procedure for orthotropic steel plates design. The theme of the proposed approach is to recast the design procedure into a mathematical programming model. The objective function to be optimized is the total weight of the structure. The total weight is function of its layout parameters and structural element design variables. Mean while the proposed approach takes into consideration the strength and rigidity criteria in addition to other dimensional constraints. A nonlinear programming model is developed which consists of a nonlinear objective function and a set of implicit/explicit nonlinear constraints. A transformation method is adopted for minimization strategy, where the primal model constrained problem is transformed into a sequence of unconstrained minimization models. The search strategy is based on the well-known Fletcher/Powell algorithm. The finite element technique is adopted for discretization and analysis strategies. Mindlin theory is selected to simulate the finite element model and a selective reduced integration scheme is exploited to avoid a shear lock problem.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1590-1597
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• 2004

Three methods of design sensitivity analysis for structures such as numerical method, analytical method and semi-analytical method have been developed for the last three decades. Although analytical design sensitivity analysis can provide very exact result, it is difficult to implement into practical design problems. Therefore, numerical method such as finite difference method is widely used to simply obtain the design sensitivity in most cases. The numerical differentiation is sufficiently accurate and reliable fur most linear problems. However, it turns out that the numerical differentiation is inefficient and inaccurate in nonlinear design sensitivity analysis because its computational cost depends on the number of design variables and large numerical errors can be included. Thus the semi-analytical method is more suitable for complicated design problems. Moreover, semi-analytical method is easy to be performed in design procedure, which can be coupled with an analysis solver such as commercial finite element package. In this paper, implementation procedure fur the semi-analytical design sensitivity analysis outside of the commercial finite element package is studied and the computational technique is proposed for evaluating the partial differentiation of internal nodal force, so called pseudo-load. Numerical examples coupled with commercial finite element package are shown to verify usefulness of proposed semi-analytical sensitivity analysis procedure and computational technique for pseudo-load.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 1989

A procedure which may be useful in dealing with problems of half plane is considered. Boundary elements are combined with nonlinear finite elements to facilitate their merits. Boundary elements for semi-infinite region are composed using the Melan's solution for half plane. Nonlinear finite elements are used to model irregularity or nonhomogeneity of elasto-plastic materials, which is usual in underground structures. In order to verify the procedure, a shallow tunnel under internal pressure is analysed using the nonlinear finite element method and combined method. It is shown that the developed procedure is accurate enough compared with other method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.173-183
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• 1998

In the shape design of flexible structures, it is useful to predict the initial shape from the desirable large deformed shapes under some loading conditions. In this paper, we present a numerical procedure of an initial shape determination problem for hyperelastic materials which enables us to calculate an initial shape corresponding to the prescribed deformed shape and boundary condition. The present procedure is based on an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) finite element method for hyperelasticity, in which arbitrary change of shapes in both the initial and deformed states can be treated by considering the variation of geometric mappings in the equilibrium equation. Then the determination problem of the initial shape can be formulated as a nonlinear problem to solve the unknown initial shape for the specified deformed shape that satisfies the equilibrium equation. The present approach can be implemented easily to the finite element method by employing the isoparametric hypothesis. Some basic numerical results are also given to characterize the present procedure.