• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.75 no.6
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• pp.685-699
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• 2020

Polygonal finite element provides a great flexibility in mesh generation of crack propagation problems where the topology of the domain changes significantly. However, the control of the discretization error in such problems is a main concern. In this paper, a polygonal-FEM is presented in modeling of crack propagation problems via an automatic adaptive mesh refinement procedure. The adaptive mesh refinement is accomplished based on the Zienkiewicz-Zhu error estimator in conjunction with a weighted SPR technique. Adaptive mesh refinement is employed in some steps for reduction of the discretization error and not for tracking the crack. In the steps that no adaptive mesh refinement is required, local modifications are applied on the mesh to prevent poor polygonal element shapes. Finally, several numerical examples are analyzed to demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy and robustness of the proposed computational algorithm in crack propagation problems.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.261-270
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• 2024

This paper proposes an effective method for optimizing the structure of functionally graded isotropic and incompressible linear elastic materials. The main emphasis is on utilizing a specialized polytopal composite finite element (PCE) technique capable of handling a broad range of materials, addressing common volumetric locking issues found in nearly incompressible substances. Additionally, it employs a continuum model for bi-directional functionally graded (BFG) material properties, amalgamating these aspects into a unified property function. This study thus provides an innovative approach that tackles diverse material challenges, accommodating various elemental shapes like triangles, quadrilaterals, and polygons across compressible and nearly incompressible material properties. The paper thoroughly details the mathematical formulations for optimizing the topology of BFG structures with various materials. Finally, it showcases the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method through numerous numerical examples.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 1992

In the h-version of F.E.M., all piecewisely smooth curved boundaries can be approximated by a sufficient number of straight-sided elements. However, in the p-version the size of the element is usually large and hence the probability of distortions is more. An attempt has been made to generate a curved boundary by using a transfinite interpolation technique to avoid the discretization errors. In the following sections, it will be shown how to construct transfinite interpolants both in h-version and in p-version over polygonal and nonpolygonal regions. Three numerical tests are shown to validate the applicability and superior capability of transfinite interpolation technique.