• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.105-116
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• 2017

In this paper, the optimal extended homotopy analysis method (OEHAM) is introduced to deal with the damped Duffing resonator driven by a van der Pol oscillator, which can be described as a complex Multi-Degree-of-Freedom (MDOF) nonlinear coupling system. Ecumenically, the exact solutions of the MDOF nonlinear coupling systems are difficult to be obtained, thus the development of analytical approximation becomes an effective and meaningful approach to analyze these systems. Compared with traditional perturbation methods, HAM is more valid and available, and has been widely used for nonlinear problems in recent years. Hence, the method will be chosen to study the system in this article. In order to acquire more suitable solutions, we put forward HAM to the OEHAM. For the sake of verifying the accuracy of the above method, a series of comparisons are introduced between the results received by the OEHAM and the numerical integration method. The results in this article demonstrate that the OEHAM is an effective and robust technique for MDOF nonlinear coupling systems. Besides, the presented methods can also be broadly used for various strongly nonlinear MDOF dynamical systems.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.347-365
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• 2014

The main objective of this paper is to develop an innovative methodology for the vibration suppression control of the multiple degrees-of-freedom (MDOF) flexible structure. The proposed structure represented in this research as a clamped-free-free-free truss type plate is rotated by motors. The controller has two loops for tracking and vibration suppression. In addition to stabilizing the actual system, the proposed feedback control is based on a genetic algorithm (GA) to seek the primary optimal control gain for tracking and stabilization purposes. Moreover, input shaping is introduced for the control scheme that limits motion-induced elastic vibration by shaping the reference command. Experimental results are presented, demonstrating that, in the control loop, roll and yaw angles track control and elastic mode stabilization. It was also demonstrated that combining the input shaper with the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) feedback method has been shown to yield improved performance in controlling the flexible structure system. The broad range of problems discussed in this research is valuable in civil, mechanical, and aerospace engineering for flexible structures with MDOM motion.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.243-257
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• 2007

A numerically efficient superelement is proposed as a low degree of freedom model for dynamic analysis of rotating tapered beams. The element uses a combination of polynomials and trigonometric functions as shape functions in what is also called the Fourier-p approach. Only a single element is needed to obtain good modal frequency prediction with the analysis and assembly time being considerably less than for conventional elements. The superelement also allows an easy incorporation of polynomial variations of mass and stiffness properties typically used to model helicopter and wind turbine blades. Comparable results are obtained using one superelement with only 14 degrees of freedom compared to 50 conventional finite elements with cubic shape functions with a total of 100 degrees of freedom for a rotating cantilever beam. Excellent agreement is also shown with results from the published literature for uniform and tapered beams with cantilever and hinged boundary conditions. The element developed in this work can be used to model rotating beam substructures as a part of complete finite element model of helicopters and wind turbines.

• Interaction and multiscale mechanics
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.273-289
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• 2011

The vibration response of the bridges under the moving vehicular load is of importance for engineers to estimate the serviceability of existing bridges and to design new bridges. This paper deals with the three dimensional vibration analysis of prestressed concrete bridges under moving vehicles. The prestressed bridges are modeled by four-node isoparametric flat shell elements with the transverse shearing deformation taken into account. The usual five degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) per node of the element are appended with a drilling DOF to accommodate the transformation of the local stiffness and mass matrices to the global coordinates. The vehicle is modeled as a single or two-DOF system. A single-span prestressed Tee beam and two-span prestressed box-girder bridge are studied as the two numerical examples. The effects of prestress forces on the natural frequencies and dynamic responses of the bridges are investigated.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.73 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2020

Finite elements based on the partition of unity (PU) approximation have powerful capabilities for p-adaptivity and solutions with high smoothness without remeshing of the domain. Recently, the PU approximation was successfully applied to the three-node shell finite element, properly eliminating transverse shear locking and showing excellent convergence properties and solution accuracy. However, the enrichment with the PU approximation results in a significant increase in the number of degrees of freedom; therefore, it requires greater computational cost, thus making it less suitable for practical engineering. To circumvent this disadvantage, we propose a new strategy to decrease the total number of degrees of freedom in the existing PU-based shell element, without loss of optimal convergence and accuracy. To alleviate the locking phenomenon, we use the method of mixed interpolation of tensorial components and perform convergence studies to show the accuracy and capability of the proposed shell element. The excellent performances of the new shell elements are illustrated in three benchmark problems.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.87-97
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• 2004

In gradient-dependent plasticity theory, the yield strength depends on the Laplacian of an equivalent plastic strain measure (hardening parameter), and the consistency condition results in a differential equation with respect to the plastic multiplier. The plastic multiplier is then discretized in addition to the usual discretization of the displacements, and the consistency condition is solved simultaneously with the equilibrium equations. The disadvantage is that the plastic multiplier requires a Hermitian interpolation that has four degrees of freedom at each node. Instead of using a Hermitian interpolation, in this article, a 3-node incompatible (trigonometric) interpolation is proposed for the plastic multiplier. This incompatible interpolation uses only the function values of each node, but it is continuous across element boundaries and its second-order derivatives exist within the elements. It greatly reduces the degrees of freedom for a problem, and is shown through a numerical example on localization to yield good results.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.261-276
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• 2002

A novel, 6-node, two-dimensional mixed finite element (FE) model has been developed to analyze laminated composite beams by using the minimum potential energy principle. The model has been formulated by considering four degrees of freedom (two displacement components u, w and two transverse stress components ${\sigma}_z$, $\tau_{xz}$) per node. The transverse stress components have been invoked as nodal degrees of freedom by using the fundamental elasticity equations. Thus, the present mixed finite element model not only ensures the continuity of transverse stress and displacement fields through the thickness of the laminated beams but also maintains the fundamental elasticity relationship between the components of stress, strain and displacement fields throughout the elastic continuum. This is an important feature of the present formulation, which has not been observed in various mixed formulations available in the literature. Results obtained from the model have been shown to be in excellent agreement with the elasticity solutions for thin as well as thick laminated composite beams. A few results for a cross-ply beam under fixed support conditions are also presented.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.105-122
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• 2001

A new three-dimensional 13-node hexahedral element with rotational degrees of freedom, which is designated as MR-H13 element, is presented. The proposed element is established by adding five nodes to one of the six faces of basic 8-node hexahedral element. The new element can be effectively used in the connection between the refined mesh and the coarser mesh. The derivation of the current element in this paper is based on the variational principles in which the rotation and skew-symmetric stress are introduced as independent variables. Numerical examples show that the performance of the new element is satisfactory.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.79-90
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• 2004

A high precision shear deformable triangular element has been proposed for bending analysis of triangular plate. The element has twelve nodes at the three sides and four nodes inside the element. Initially the element has thirty-five degrees of freedom, which has been reduced to thirty by eliminating the degrees of freedom of the internal nodes through static condensation. Plates having different boundary conditions, side ratios (b/a) and thickness ratios (h/a = 0.001, 0.1 and 0.2) have been analyzed using the proposed shear locking free element. Concentrated and uniformly distributed transverse loads have been used for the analysis. The formulation is made based on first order shear deformation theory. For validation of the present element and formulation few results of thin triangular plate have been compared with the analytical solutions. Results for thick plate have been presented as new results.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.213-229
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• 2003

A high precision shear deformable triangular element has been proposed for free vibration analysis of composite trapezoidal plates. The element has twelve nodes at the three sides and four nodes inside the element. Initially the element has fifty-five degrees of freedom, which has been reduced to forty-eight by eliminating the degrees of freedom of the internal nodes through static condensation. Plates having different side ratios (b/a), boundary conditions, thickness ratios (h/a=0.01, 0.1 and 0.2), number of layers and fibre angle orientations have been analyzed by the proposed shear locking free element. Trapezoidal laminate with concentrated mass at the centre has also been analyzed. An efficient mass lumping scheme has been recommended, where the effect of rotary inertia has been included. For validation of the present element and formulation few results of isotropic trapezoidal plate and square composite laminate have been compared with those obtained from open literatures. The numerical results for composite trapezoidal laminate have been given as new results.