Basic Studies on the Crashworthiness of Structural Elements

Investigation of the effects of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells on bone union and regeneration in the necrosed bone by biomechanical test and the finite element method

In the tensile strength analysis, the failure criterion and materials stiffness degradation rule were proposed and the X-cor sandwich’s failure modes were also clarified. According to the failure criterion we used the elements with stiffness degradation and their distributions in the finite element model to simulate the types and propagation path of the failure and the failure mechanisms of X-cor sandwich were explained. The finite element analysis indicates during the tension firstly the interfaces between resin regions and Z-pin tips fail and the failure mode is Z-pin pull-out from the face-sheets. The finite element simulated results are in good agreement with the experimental results, the error range is -11.6%~9.7%. The comparison results show the failure criterion and stiffness degradation rule are reasonable and this method can be used to predict the X-cor sandwich’s tensile strength.

In order to assess the discretization error of a finite element solution, asymptotic solutions for predicted natural frequencies of two-dimensional elastic solid vibration problems in the finite element analysis are presented in this paper. Since the asymptotic solution is more accurate than the original finite element solution, it can be viewed as an alternative solution against which the original finite element solution can be compared. Consequently, the discretization error of the finite element solution can be evaluated. Due to the existence of two kinds of two-dimensional problems in engineering practice, both the plane stress problem and the plane strain problem have been considered and the corresponding asymptotic formulae for predicted natural frequencies of two-dimensional solids by the finite element method have been derived from the fact that a discretized finite element system approaches a continuous one if the finite element size approaches zero. It has been demonstrated, from the related numerical results of three examples, that the present asymptotic solution, which can be obtained by simply using the corresponding formula without any further finite element calculation, is indeed more accurate than the original finite element solution so that it can be considered as a kind of corrected solution for the discretization error estimation of a finite element solution.

In this study, control samples of pine (Pinus slyvestris L.), beech (Fagus orientalis L.) and oak (Quercus petreae L.) species were obtained by using fi ber reinforced finger corner joints. Teknobont 200 epoxy and polyvinyl (PVAc) adhesives were used as glue. Bearing in mind the critical loads that may affect their use, experimental samples were tested under diagonal loads. Experimental samples were also analyzed by a computer program using the finite element method (FEM). Finally, experimental data were compared with the results of FEM. The comparisons clearly showed that experimental results and finite element solutions (SAP2000 V17) including semi-rigid connections are in good agreement. As a structural analysis program in furniture engineering designs, FEM can be preferred in terms of reliability and cost.

The experimental study of structural vibration is often performed to determine the modal parameters of a structure or to verify the theoretical models and predictions.The first phase of this research involved the experimental determination of the modal properties of a rectangular steel tank with different levels of water.The natural frequencies obtained from the experiments were compared to those calculated by the analytical models.In the second phase, a finite element analysis is carried out.The numerical results are compared with the experimental values, and a very good agreement between experimental and numerical results was obtained.

Real-world groundwater modeling deals with heterogeneous and anisotropic aquifer systems. Numerical models, particularly the finite difference and finite element methods, are extensively used for modeling such a complex aquifer system. The finite difference method is an age-old straightforward approach, whereas the finite element method is more idealistic, relatively new, and has emerged as a popular approach. The unique advantages with the finite element method are (i) an irregular-shaped domain can be discretized into elements with a matching boundary, (ii) a node can be connected with the neighboring nodes in any direction. Thus, the finite element analysis allows water/solute to flow more freely toward the surrounding nodes along nodal links. On the other hand, the mathematical formulation of the finite element technique follows a set of rules step by step. Conventionally, this idealistic approach uses shape functions and integration techniques to develop element matrices, which, in turn, are assembled to form the global matrix. This conventional global matrix was found to be inconsistent with the basic partial differential equation representing the mass balance in a nodal domain as a control volume. As a result, the matrix solution, particularly for nonlinear problems (e.g., vadose zone flow, density dependent flow, and so forth) becomes unstable and computationally burdensome. To overcome the limitations of the conventional finite element method for real-world groundwater modeling, a new approach, called the direct-formulation finite element (DFFE) method, has been developed. In this approach, a two-dimensional model domain is discretized into triangular elements. Element matrices are formed directly based on flow principles and material properties of elements without using shape functions and integration process. The DFFE method is robust. The global matrix is consistent, and the solution is stable and efficient. The results obtained from this approach were found in a good agreement with that obtained from analytical and other widely used models.

The three-dimensional (3-D) variation of stresses of the single lap joint (SLJ) made from hard steel and epoxy (AV119) under tensile loading is studied using 3-D FE (finite element) analysis. The peel (tension) stress, direct shear (in-plane shear) stress and transverse shear (out-of-plane shear) stress are the responsible for opening (mode-I), sliding (mode-II) and tearing (mode-III) mode of failures, respectively, are computed in the overlap region of the joint. Thin adhesive layer used to join the upper (lap) adherend and the lower (strap) adherend is modelled by surface to surface contact elements. The nonlinear material properties of adhesive and adherend (stress and strain graph obtained from the experiments) are input to the finite element programme. The results show that the variations of peel stress and shear stresses in the overlap region are very complicated in nature and hence a 3-D FE analysis is recommended to have a clear visualisation of these stress variations. The peel stress among all the failure-inducing stresses at the overlap ends are dominant and important for adhesive bonded joint as adhesives are weaker than the stronger adherends. The results of the 3-D FE analysis of the SLJ are in good agreement with the experimental results. This research work is may be considered as detail study of the stress distributions in the vulnerable region of the joint under tensile loading.KeywordsSingle lap jointStructural adhesive bondingHard steelFE analysisAdhesion failureVCCT

Ultimate state assessment of medium-thick composite cylindrical pressure shells based on progressive damage

The objective of this paper is to investigate the confinement coefficient of concrete-filled square stainless steel tubular (CFSSST) stub columns under axial loading. A fine finite 3D solid element model was established, which utilized a constitutive model of stainless steel considering the strain-hardening characteristics and a triaxial plastic-damage constitutive model of concrete with features of the parameter certainty under axial compression. The finite element analysis results revealed that the increased ultimate bearing capacity of CFSSST stub columns compared with their carbon steel counterparts was mainly due to that the composite action of CFSSST stub columns is stronger than that of carbon steel counterparts. A further parametric study was carried out based on the verified model, and it was found that the stress contribution of the stainless steel tube is higher than the carbon steel tube. The stress nephogram was simplified reasonably in accordance with the limit state of core concrete and a theoretical formula was proposed to estimate the ultimate bearing capacity of square CFSSST stub columns using superposition method. The predicted results showed satisfactory agreement with both the experimental and FE results. Finally, the comparisons of the experimental and predicted results using the proposed formula and the existing codes were illustrated.

A method of solution for crack problems which utilizes integral equations in the infinite domain coupled to the finite element method in the finite domain has been used to analyze asymmetrical cracks. An important feature of this method is that a single finite element discretization without crack-tip mesh refinement may be used to study almost any type of crack geometry, including curved cracks, branched cracks, and multiple cracks. Once the finite element mesh is constructed, the parametric studies needed for most fatigue life analyses can be run very quickly. Two example applications of the method will be presented. In the first application, the stress intensity factors for a single off-center crack in a rectangular plate were calculated and the hybrid method results compared with the results from finite element analyses, weight function studies, and the stress intensity handbook. In the second application, the hybrid method is used to determine the crack growth path in a thermally loaded plate. The path is found to be in good agreement with experimental results.

Objective To explore the establishment of 3D thoracic model by finite element methods, and study the mechanical mechanism of minimally invasive surgery for correcting the chest wall deformity, and provide personalized surgery solution in the future. Methods According to admission and exclusion criteria, we selected 10 cases of pectus carinatum that received chest CT scan. The finite element model of pectus carinatum was established and analyzed by Mimics, ABAQUS, etc. The validity of finite element method for chest wall was verified by comparing the sternal displacement between the simulated values and actual values with the same force. Results The 3D finite element model of pectus carinatum was successfully established and analyzed. The stress distribution of the 10 cases in the posterior ribs was mainly in the 1-6 ribs on both sides, mostly concentrated in the 4th to 6th ribs, and the stress was symmetrical on both sides. Statistical analysis showed that the displacement value of the sternum was correlated, and the validity of the model was verified. Conclusion Mimics, ABAQUS and other finite element modeling and analysis software can effectively establish the thoracic 3D finite element model and mechanical analysis, which can help the further development of personalized minimally invasive surgery for correcting chest wall deformities. Key words: Pectus carinatum; Chest wall deformity; Finite element analysis

Given the functional complexities of soft tissues and organs, it is clear that computational simulations are critical in their understanding and for the rational basis for the development of therapies and replacements. A key aspect of such simulations is accounting for their complex, nonlinear, anisotropic mechanical behaviors. While soft tissue material models have developed to the point of high fidelity, in-silico implementation is typically done using the finite element (FE) method, which remains impractically slow for translational clinical time frames. As a potential path toward addressing the development of high fidelity simulations capable of performing in clinically relevant time frames, we review the use of neural networks (NN) for soft tissue and organ simulation using two approaches. In the first approach, we show how a NN can learn the responses for a detailed meso-structural soft tissue material model. The NN material model not only reproduced the full anisotropic mechanical responses but also demonstrated a considerable efficiency improvement, as it was trained over a range of realizable fibrous structures. In the second approach, we go a step further with the use of a physics-based surrogate model to directly learn the displacement field solution without the need for raw training data or FE simulation datasets. In this approach we utilize a finite element mesh to define the domain and perform the necessary integrations, but not the finite element method (FEM) itself. We demonstrate with this approach, termed neural network finite element (NNFE), results in a trained NNFE model with excellent agreement with the corresponding "ground truth" FE solutions over the entire physiological deformation range on a cuboidal myocardium specimen. More importantly, the NNFE approach provided a significantly decreased computational time for a range of finite element mesh sizes. Specifically, as the FE mesh size increased from 2744 to 175,615 elements, the NNFE computational time increased from 0.1108 s to 0.1393 s, while the "ground truth" FE model increased from 4.541 s to 719.9 s, with the same effective accuracy. These results suggest that NNFE run times are significantly reduced compared with the traditional large-deformation-based finite element solution methods. We then show how a nonuniform rational B-splines (NURBS)-based approach can be directly integrated into the NNFE approach as a means to handle real organ geometries. While these and related approaches are in their early stages, they offer a method to perform complex organ-level simulations in clinically relevant time frames without compromising accuracy.

Finite element prediction with experimental validation of damage distribution in single trabeculae during three-point bending tests

Effects of ringed stiffener on the buckling behavior of cylindrical shells with cutout under axial compression: Experimental and numerical investigation

Este trabajo propone un método de elementos finitos (FE) para calcular la profundidad de penetración por corrosión (rcrit) en las armaduras de acero, necesaria para originar la aparición de la primera grieta visible en el recubrimiento de hormigón. El análisis por FE se ha llevado a cabo utilizando el programa comercial ANSYS. El método de FE obtenido se ha desarrollado en función del espesor del recubrimiento de hormigón libre (C), el diámetro de la armadura (D), la longitud de la zona anódica (L), y el tipo de hormigón. Los resultados obtenidos muestran una gran influencia de la corrosión localizada (pequeñas zonas anódicas frente a grandes zonas catódicas) en la predicción del valor de rcrit. Esta influencia sólo puede ser analizada tridimensionalmente. El modelo de FE propuesto se validó utilizando datos de la bibliografía. La originalidad del procedimiento propuesto radica en la consideración de la dirección longitudinal en el análisis, para tener en cuenta la extensión de la zona anódica. El tipo de corrosión tiene una gran dependencia de la relación entre C/L, ocasionando corrosión uniforme para valores entre 0,02 < C/L < 0,1, y originando corrosión localizada para valores entre 0,5 < C/L < 4,0.