• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.295-305
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• 2023

This study introduces a smoothed finite-element implementation into the phase-field framework. In recent years, the phase-field method has recieved considerable attention in crack initiation and propagation since the method needs no further treatment to express the crack growth path. In the phase-field method, high strain-energy accuracy is needed to capture the complex crack growth path; thus, it is obtained in the framework of the smoothed finite-element method. The salient feature of the smoothed finite-element method is that the finite element cells are divided into sub-cells and each sub-cell is rebuilt as a smoothing domain where smoothed strain energy is calculated. An adaptive quadtree refinement is also employed in the present framework to avoid the computational burden. Numerical experiments are performed to investigate the performance of the proposed approach, compared with that of the finite-element method and the reference solutions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.3
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• pp.311-324
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• 2023

Herein, we present effective polygonal finite elements to which the strain-smoothed element (SSE) method is applied. Recently, the SSE method has been developed for conventional triangular and quadrilateral finite elements; furthermore, it has been shown to improve the performance of finite elements. Polygonal elements enable various applications through flexible mesh handling; however, further development is still required to use them more effectively in engineering practice. In this study, piecewise linear shape functions are adopted, the SSE method is applied through the triangulation of polygonal elements, and a smoothed strain field is constructed within the element. The strain-smoothed polygonal elements pass basic tests and show improved convergence behaviors in various numerical problems.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.159-169
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• 2019

This work presents the three-dimensional extended strain smoothing approach in the framework of finite element method, so-called smoothed finite element method (S-FEM) for quasi-incompressible hyperelastic materials undergoing the large deformations. The proposed method is known that the incompressible limits, such as over-estimation of stiffness and distorted mesh sensitivity, can be overcome in two dimensions. Therefore, in this paper, the idea of Cell-based, Edge-based and Node-based strain smoothing approaches is extended to three-dimensions. The construction of subcells and smoothing domains for each methods are explained. The smoothed strain-displacement matrix and the stiffness matrix are obtained on each smoothing domain in the same manner with two-dimensional S-FEM. Various numerical tests are studied to demonstrate the validity and accuracy of 3D-S-FEM. The obtained results are compared with analytical solutions to express the efficacy of the methods.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.767-793
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• 2011

An efficient edge-based smoothed finite element method (ES-FEM) has been recently developed for solving solid mechanics problems. The ES-FEM uses triangular elements that can be generated easily for complicated domains. In this paper, the complexity study of the ES-FEM based on triangular elements is conducted in detail, which confirms the ES-FEM produces higher computational efficiency compared to the FEM. Therefore, the ES-FEM offers an excellent platform for adaptive analysis, and this paper presents an efficient adaptive procedure based on the ES-FEM. A smoothing domain based energy (SDE) error estimate is first devised making use of the features of the ES-FEM. The present error estimate differs from the conventional approaches and evaluates error based on smoothing domains used in the ES-FEM. A local refinement technique based on the Delaunay algorithm is then implemented to achieve high efficiency in the mesh refinement. In this refinement technique, each node is assigned a scaling factor to control the local nodal density, and refinement of the neighborhood of a node is accomplished simply by adjusting its scaling factor. Intensive numerical studies, including an actual engineering problem of an automobile part, show that the proposed adaptive procedure is effective and efficient in producing solutions of desired accuracy.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.241-259
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• 2013

This paper presents the optimum load-speed diagram evaluation for a linear micromotor, including multitude cantilever piezoelectric bimorphs, briefly. Each microbeam in the mechanism can be actuated in both axial and flexural modes simultaneously. For this design, we consider quasi-static and linear conditions, and a relatively new numerical method called the smoothed finite element method (S-FEM) is introduced here. For this purpose, after finding an optimum volume fraction for piezoelectric layers through a standard numerical method such as quadratic finite element method, the relevant load-speed curves of the optimized micromotor are examined and compared by deterministic topology optimization (DTO) design. In this regard, to avoid the overly stiff behavior in FEM modeling, a numerical method known as the cell-based smoothed finite element method (CS-FEM, as a branch of S-FEM) is applied for our DTO problem. The topology optimization procedure to find the optimal design is implemented using a solid isotropic material with a penalization (SIMP) approximation and a method of moving asymptotes (MMA) optimizer. Because of the higher efficiency and accuracy of S-FEMs with respect to standard FEMs, the main micromotor characteristics of our final DTO design using a softer CS-FEM are substantially improved.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-39
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• 2016

The finite element method (FEM), discrete element method (DEM), and Discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) are among the standard numerical techniques applied in computational geo-mechanics. However, in some cases there no possibility for modelling by traditional finite analytical techniques or other mesh-based techniques. The solution presented in the current study as a completely Lagrangian and mesh-free technique is smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). This method was basically applied for simulation of fluid flow by dividing the fluid into several particles. However, several researchers attempted to simulate soil-water interaction, landslides, and failure of soil by SPH method. In fact, this method is able to deal with behavior and interaction of different states of materials (liquid and solid) and multiphase soil models and their large deformations. Soil indicates different behaviors when interacting with water, structure, instrumentations, or different layers. Thus, study into these interactions using the mesh based grids has been facilitated by mesh-less SPH technique in this work. It has been revealed that the fast development, computational sophistication, and emerge of mesh-less particle modeling techniques offer solutions for problems which are not modeled by the traditional mesh-based techniques. Also it has been found that the smoothed particle hydrodynamic provides advanced techniques for simulation of soil materials as compared to the current traditional numerical methods. Besides, findings indicate that the advantages of applying this method are its high power, simplicity of concept, relative simplicity in combination of modern physics, and particularly its potential in study of large deformations and failures.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.85-101
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• 2020

The optimal parameters for the fluid-structure interaction analysis using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) for fluids and finite elements for structures, respectively, are explored, and the effectiveness of the simulations with those parameters is validated by solving several open surface fluid problems. For the optimization of the Equation of State (EOS) and the simulation parameters such as the time step, initial particle spacing, and smoothing length factor, a dam-break problem and deflection of an elastic plate is selected, and the least squares analysis is performed on the simulation results. With the optimal values of the pivotal parameters, the accuracy of the simulation is validated by calculating the exerted force on a moving solid column in the open surface fluid. Overall, the SPH-FEM coupled simulation is very effective to calculate the fluid-structure interaction. However, the relevant parameters should be carefully selected to obtain accurate results.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.237-255
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• 2013

In this paper, a meshfree-enriched finite element method (ME-FEM) is introduced for the large deformation analysis of nonlinear path-dependent problems involving contact. In linear ME-FEM, the element formulation is established by introducing a meshfree convex approximation into the linear triangular element in 2D and linear tetrahedron element in 3D along with an enriched meshfree node. In nonlinear formulation, the area-weighted smoothing scheme for deformation gradient is then developed in conjunction with the meshfree-enriched element interpolation functions to yield a discrete divergence-free property at the integration points, which is essential to enhance the stress calculation in the stage of plastic deformation. A modified variational formulation using the smoothed deformation gradient is developed for path-dependent material analysis. In the industrial metal forming problems, the mortar contact algorithm is implemented in the explicit formulation. Since the meshfree-enriched element shape functions are constructed using the meshfree convex approximation, they pose the desired Kronecker-delta property at the element edge thus requires no special treatments in the enforcement of essential boundary condition as well as the contact conditions. As a result, this approach can be easily incorporated into a conventional displacement-based finite element code. Two elasto-plastic problems are studied and the numerical results indicated that ME-FEM is capable of delivering a volumetric locking-free and pressure oscillation-free solutions for the large deformation problems in metal forming analysis.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.246-258
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• 2016

The shield building of AP1000 was designed to protect the steel containment vessel of the nuclear reactor. Therefore, the safety and integrity must be ensured during the plant life in any conditions such as an earthquake. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of water in the water tank on the response of the AP1000 shield building when subjected to three-dimensional seismic ground acceleration. The smoothed particle hydrodynamics method (SPH) and finite element method (FEM) coupling method is used to numerically simulate the fluid and structure interaction (FSI) between water in the water tank and the AP1000 shield building. Then the grid convergence of FEM and SPH for the AP1000 shield building is analyzed. Next the modal analysis of the AP1000 shield building with various water levels (WLs) in the water tank is taken. Meanwhile, the pressure due to sloshing and oscillation of the water in the gravity drain water tank is studied. The influences of the height of water in the water tank on the time history of acceleration of the AP1000 shield building are discussed, as well as the distributions of amplification, acceleration, displacement, and stresses of the AP1000 shield building. Research on the relationship between the WLs in the water tank and the response spectrums of the structure are also taken. The results show that the high WL in the water tank can limit the vibration of the AP1000 shield building and can more efficiently dissipate the kinetic energy of the AP1000 shield building by fluid-structure interaction.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.1065-1075
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• 2017

In this study, high velocity impact tests along with modeling of material behavior and numerical analyses were conducted to predict the dispersion behavior of the debris resulting from a high velocity impact fracture. For the impact tests, two different materials were employed for both the projectile and the target plate - the first setup employed aluminum alloy while the second employed steel. The projectile impacts the target plate with a velocity of approximately 1 km/s were enforced to generate the impact damages in the aluminum witness plate through the fracture debris. It was confirmed that, depending on the material employed, the debris dispersion behavior as well as the dispersion radii on the witness plate varied. A numerical analysis was conducted for the same impact test conditions. The smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH)-finite element (FE) coupled technique was then applied to model the fracture and damage upon the debris. The experimental and numerical results for the diameters of the perforation holes in the target plate and the debris dispersion radii on the witness plate were in agreement within a 5％ error. In addition, the impact test using steel was found to be more threatening as proven by the larger debris dispersion radius.