Kirchhoff Love Research Articles

Energy absorption characteristics and auxetic effect of novel elliptic-arc re-entrant honeycomb structures

The novel elliptical-arc re-entrant honeycomb (ERH) is designed by substituting the straight inclined struts within the re-entrant honeycomb with elliptical-arc struts. To assess its performance effectively, the study established the 3D equivalent Cauchy model (3D-ECM) and 2D equivalent Kirchhoff–Love model (2D-EKM) using the variational asymptotic method. The equivalent properties derived from the unit-cell constitutive model were integrated into the equivalent models for macroscopic analysis. Through 3D printing experiments and numerical simulations, the model’s accuracy in predicting the compression behaviors and auxetic effects of various uni- and multi-cellular ERHs under uniaxial compression, as well as the three-point bending behaviors of ERH panels were confirmed. In addition, this model substantially simplifies the modeling process, leading to a 8-fold increase in computational efficiency. Parametric analyses demonstrated that the ERH structure can uphold a beneficial auxetic effect while achieving lightweight and high strength characteristics when the axial ratio of the ellipse equals 1.25. Furthermore, ERH structures outperform arc-shaped re-entrant and regular re-entrant honeycombs in energy absorption and specific energy absorption capacity. These findings offer valuable insights for the preliminary design and optimization of ERH structures.

Plate and beam moment-field formulation

Governing equations of the linear elastic Euler–Bernoulli beam and pure bending Kirchhoff–Love plate are developed in a pure stress form with the evolution of the bending moments fields. In the case of elastodynamics, the governing equations are used to find mode restrictions of vibration within both structures. These vibration restrictions are then compared with the solutions found through the displacement formulation finding both forms to give the same solution under the same boundary conditions. The waves are assumed to be harmonic with only spatial contributions being examined, validating the stress approach. More advanced cases involving anisotropic and non-classical boundary conditions are also explored to demonstrate further implications of following the stress evolution. Elastostatic plates are examined under the compatibility conditions to be met for moment fields to possess uniqueness and to show the CLM (Cherkaev–Lurie–Milton) invariance of the inhomogeneous plane-stress problem.

Exploring the Multiplication of Resonant Modes in Off-Center-Driven Chladni Plates from Maximum Entropy States

In this study, the resonant characteristics of the off-center-driven Chladni plates were systematically investigated for the square and equilateral triangle shapes. Experimental results reveal that the number of the resonant modes is considerably increased for the plates under the off-center-driving in comparison to the on-center-driving. The Green’s functions derived from the nonhomogeneous Helmholtz equation are exploited to numerically analyze the information entropy distribution and the resonant nodal-line patterns. The experimental resonant modes are clearly confirmed to be in good agreement with the maximum entropy states in the Green’s functions. Furthermore, the information entropy distribution of the Green’s functions can be used to reveal that more eigenmodes can be triggered in the plate under the off-center-driving than the on-center-driving. By using the multiplication of the resonant modes in the off-center-driving, the dispersion relation between the experimental frequency and the theoretical wave number can be deduced with more accuracy. It is found that the deduced dispersion relations agree quite well with the Kirchhoff–Love plate theory.

Nonlinear Control System for Flat Plate Structures Considering Interference Based on Operator Theory and Optimization Method

In recent years, vibration control utilizing smart materials has garnered considerable attention. In this paper, we aim to achieve vibration suppression of a plate structure with a tail-fin shape by employing piezoelectric actuators—one of the smart materials. The plate structure is rigorously modeled based on the Kirchhoff–Love plate theory, while the piezoelectric actuators are formulated in accordance with the Prandtl–Ishlinskii model. This research proposed a control system that addresses the interference effects arising during vibration control by dividing multiple piezoelectric elements into two groups and implementing MIMO control. The efficacy of the proposed control method was validated through simulations and experiments.

Thermal transport of flexural phonons in a rectangular plate

The quantum thermal transport of elastic excitations through a two-dimensional elastic waveguide between two thermal reservoirs is studied. We solve the classical Kirchhoff–Love equation for rectangular plates and explore the dispersion relation for both the symmetric and antisymmetric solutions. Then, we study the phonon transport of these modes within the second quantization framework by analyzing the mean quadratic displacement, from which the energy density current, the temperature field, and conductance are determined. We identify the relevant modes contributing to thermal transport and explore the average temperature difference to reach the high-temperature limit. We expect our results to pave the way for understanding phonon-mediated thermal transport in two-dimensional mesoscopic quantum devices.

Magneto-Thermoelastic Principal Parameter Resonance of a Functionally Graded Cylindrical Shell with Axial Tension

The principal parameter resonance of a ferromagnetic functionally graded (FG) cylindrical shell under the action of axial time-varying tension in magnetic and temperature fields is investigated. The temperature dependence of physical parameters for functionally graded materials (FGMs) is considered. Meanwhile, the tension bending coupling effect is eliminated by introducing the physical neutral surface. The kinetic and strain energies are gained with the Kirchhoff–Love shell theory. Based on the nonlinear magnetization characteristics of ferromagnetic materials, the electromagnetic force acting on the shell is calculated. The nonlinear vibration equations are obtained through Hamilton’s principle. Afterward, the vibration equations are discretized and solved by Galerkin and multiscale methods, respectively. The stability criterion for steady-state motion is established utilizing Lyapunov stability theory. After example analysis, the effects of magnetic field intensity, temperature and power law index on the static deflection are elucidated. Subsequently, the impacts of these parameters, as well as axial tension, on the amplitude-frequency characteristics, resonance amplitude, and multiple solution regions are discussed explicitly. Results indicate that the stiffness can be enhanced due to the generation of static deflection. The amplitude decreases with increasing magnetic field intensity, temperature, and power law index. When the magnetic field intensity surpasses a threshold, the resonance phenomenon disappears.

The Immersed Boundary Conformal Method for Kirchhoff–Love and Reissner–Mindlin shells

This work utilizes the Immersed Boundary Conformal Method (IBCM) to analyze linear elastic Kirchhoff–Love and Reissner–Mindlin shell structures within an immersed domain framework. Immersed boundary methods involve embedding complex geometries within a background grid, which allows for great flexibility in modeling intricate shapes and features despite the simplicity of the approach. The IBCM method introduces additional layers conformal to the boundaries, allowing for the strong imposition of Dirichlet boundary conditions and facilitating local refinement. In this study, the construction of boundary layers is combined with high-degree spline-based approximation spaces to further increase efficiency. The Nitsche method, employing non-symmetric average operators, is used to couple the boundary layers with the inner patch, while stabilizing the formulation with minimal penalty parameters. High-order quadrature rules are applied for integration over cut elements and patch interfaces. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed formulation, highlighting its potential for complex shell structures modeled through Kirchhoff–Love and Reissner–Mindlin theories. These tests include the generation of conformal interfaces, the coupling of Kirchhoff–Love and Reissner–Mindlin theories, and the simulation of a cylindrical shell with a through-the-thickness crack.

Stochastic Dynamic Buckling Analysis of Cylindrical Shell Structures Based on Isogeometric Analysis

In this paper, we extend our previous work on the dynamic buckling analysis of isogeometric shell structures to the stochastic situation where an isogeometric deterministic dynamic buckling analysis method is combined with spectral-based stochastic modeling of geometric imperfections. To be specific, a modified Generalized-α time integration scheme combined with a nonlinear isogeometric Kirchhoff–Love shell element is used to simulate the buckling and post-buckling problems of cylindrical shell structures. Additionally, geometric imperfections are constructed based on NURBS surface fitting, which can be naturally incorporated into the isogeometric analysis framework due to its seamless CAD/CAE integration feature. For stochastic analysis, the method of separation is adopted to model the stochastic geometric imperfections of cylindrical shells based on a set of measurements. We tested the accuracy and convergence properties of the proposed method with a cylindrical shell example, where measured geometric imperfections were incorporated. The ABAQUS reference solutions are also presented to demonstrate the superiority of the inherited smooth and high-order continuous properties of the isogeometric approach. For stochastic dynamic buckling analysis, we evaluated the buckling load variability and reliability functions of the cylindrical shell with 500 samples generated based on seven nominally identical shells reported in the geometric imperfection data bank. It is noted that the buckling load variability in the cylindrical shell obtained with static nonlinear analysis is also presented to show the differences between dynamic and static buckling analysis.

Discrete differential geometry-based model for nonlinear analysis of axisymmetric shells

In this paper, we propose a novel one-dimensional (1D) discrete differential geometry (DDG)-based numerical method for geometrically nonlinear mechanics analysis (e.g., buckling and snapping) of axisymmetric shell structures. Our numerical model leverages differential geometry principles to accurately capture the complex nonlinear deformation patterns exhibited by axisymmetric shells. By discretizing the axisymmetric shell into interconnected 1D elements along the meridional direction, the in-plane stretching and out-of-bending potentials are formulated based on the geometric principles of 1D nodes and edges under the Kirchhoff–Love hypothesis, and elastic force vector and associated Hessian matrix required by equations of motion are later derived based on symbolic calculation. Through extensive validation with available theoretical solutions and finite element method (FEM) simulations in literature, our model demonstrates high accuracy in predicting the nonlinear behavior of axisymmetric shells. Importantly, compared to the classical theoretical model and three-dimensional (3D) FEM simulation, our model is highly computationally efficient, making it suitable for large-scale real-time simulations of nonlinear problems of shell structures such as instability and snap-through phenomena. Moreover, our framework can easily incorporate complex loading conditions, e.g., boundary nonlinear contact and multi-physics actuation, which play an essential role in the use of engineering applications, such as soft robots and flexible devices. This study demonstrates that the simplicity and effectiveness of the 1D discrete differential geometry-based approach render it a powerful tool for engineers and researchers interested in nonlinear mechanics analysis of axisymmetric shells, with potential applications in various engineering fields.

Wave excited motion of a body floating on water confined between a semi-infinite ice sheet and a side wall

In this paper, we investigate the diffraction and radiation coupling problem of a floating body confined between a fixed wall and a semi-infinite ice sheet under the action of incident waves. Based on the linear water wave theory and Kirchhoff Love elastic thin plate assumption, the ice sheet is considered as an elastic beam, and the boundary conditions of fluid boundaries covered by the ice sheet are obtained. Dividing flow domains with different upper surfaces, the eigenfunction expansion method was used to obtain the velocity potential expansion equations for each sub-domain. Then, through the matching conditions at the interface of sub-domains, a system of equations was constructed to solve the unknown coefficients of the expansion equations. The influence of the existence of the ice sheet on the diffraction and radiation motion of the floating body is analyzed. The effects of changes in the draft and open water width of the floating body on the wave excitation force and hydrodynamic coefficient of the floating body are discussed. The influence of the reflection effect of the ice sheet on the added mass and damping coefficient of the floating body has been discovered, especially the changes and oscillation rules of their extreme points. This research achievement provides theoretical support for the safety design of floating structures in frozen harbors.

Static and Dynamic Characteristics of 3D-Printed Orthogonal Hybrid Honeycomb Panels with Tunable Poisson’s Ratio

By adjusting the two wall angles of the orthogonal hybrid honeycomb (OHH), the tunable Poisson’s ratio change from negative to positive values and the variation in stiffness can be achieved. To effectively analyze its static and dynamic characteristics, a two-dimensional equivalent Kirchhoff–Love model (2D-EKM) is established based on the variational asymptotic method (VAM).This model aids in effectively addressing the complexity arising from anisotropy. The obtained equivalent orthotropic properties are validated through unit-cell uniaxial compression tests and three-point bending experiments on 3D-printed specimens. The numerical simulation results suggest that the VAM-based 2D-EKM can predict the in-plane and out-of-plane static behaviors of OHH panels, with a maximum error below 10%. Particularly in the dynamic analysis of a four-sided fixed OHH panel, the analysis time required by 2D-EKM is only 0.37% of that needed for the 3D FE model. The OHH-ZPR panel exhibits exceptional resistance to deformation, with a maximum deformation under in-plane tension reaching only 27% of that in the OHH-PPR panel. Moreover, each 1% increase in the height–length ratio results in a respective increase of 275.62% and 281.93% in equivalent bending stiffness along both directions. This highlights that enhancing this ratio effectively boosts the fundamental frequency compared to the elastic modulus ratio, effectively prevents low-frequency resonance occurrences, and offers vital insights for the design and optimization of OHH panels.

Static and dynamic stabilities of modified gradient elastic Kirchhoff–Love plates

The static and dynamic stabilities of modified gradient elastic Kirchhoff–Love plates (MGEKLPs), which incorporate two length-scale parameters related to strain gradient and rotation gradient effects, are comprehensively analyzed under various load forms and boundary conditions (BCs). The study of static stability employs static balance method and an improved energy method by introducing higher-order deformation gradients and corresponding energy terms. Utilizing the variational method, a sixth-order fundamental buckling differential equation for MGEKLPs under both transverse and in-plane loads is derived, serving as the foundation for the static balance method. The static stability analysis of MGEKLPs examines the combined effects of strain and rotation gradients on size-dependent critical buckling loads. Building on generalized strain energy with higher-order deformation energy, the energy method of classical elastic thin plate model is enhanced and applied to the static stability analysis of MGEKLPs. This approach enables the investigation of static stability without being constrained by the need to solve complex differential equations, making it applicable to various BCs and load scenarios. While static stability provides a description of stable state of an elastic system, dynamic stability offers a more scientific and rigorous analysis. The dynamic stability of simplified gradient elastic Kirchhoff–Love plates (SGEKLPs) with curved edges and different BCs is further investigated by combining the generalized strain energy with Lyapunov’s second stability method, presenting the dynamic stability criterion in the form of norms. A strict description of the dynamic stability of a SGEKLP over the entire time domain is provided for different supporting conditions, including case where all edges are supported and case with free edges. The analysis of size-dependent static and dynamic stabilities offers theoretical guidance for designing elastic thin plates with microstructures.

Shape optimization of non-matching isogeometric shells with moving intersections

While shape optimization using isogeometric shells exhibits appealing features by integrating design geometries and analysis models, challenges arise when addressing computer-aided design (CAD) geometries comprised of multiple non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS) patches, which are common in practice. The intractability stems from surface intersections within these CAD models. In this paper, we develop an approach for shape optimization of non-matching isogeometric shells incorporating intersection movement. Separately parametrized NURBS surfaces are modeled using Kirchhoff–Love shell theory and coupled using a penalty-based formulation. The optimization scheme allows shell patches to move without preserving relative location with other members during the shape optimization. This flexibility is achieved through an implicit state function, and analytical sensitivities are derived for the relative movement of shell patches. The introduction of differentiable intersections expands the design space and overcomes challenges associated with large mesh distortion, particularly when optimal shapes involve significant movement of patch intersections in physical space. Throughout optimization iterations, all members within the shell structures maintain the NURBS geometry representation, enabling efficient integration of analysis and design models. The optimization approach leverages the multilevel design concept by selecting a refined model for accurate analysis from a coarse design model while maintaining the same geometry. We adopt several example problems to verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme and demonstrate its applicability to the optimization of the internal stiffeners of an aircraft wing.

Adaptive methods with [formula omitted] splines for multi-patch surfaces and shells

We introduce an adaptive isogeometric method for multi-patch surfaces and Kirchhoff–Love shell structures with hierarchical splines characterized by C1 continuity across patches. We extend the construction of smooth hierarchical splines from the multi-patch planar setting to analysis suitable G1 surfaces. The adaptive scheme to solve fourth order partial differential equations is presented in a general framework before showing its application for the numerical solution of the bilaplacian and the Kirchhoff–Love model problems. A selection of numerical examples illustrates the performance of hierarchical adaptivity on different multi-patch surface configurations.

The Vibration Characteristics Analysis of Fiber-Reinforced Thin-Walled Conical–Cylindrical Composite Shells with Artificial Spring Technique

In this paper, the vibration characteristics (free vibration and forced vibration) of fiber-reinforced thin-walled conical–cylindrical composite shells (FTCCS) are analyzed by combining theory and experiment. Based on the classical shell theory and Kirchhoff–Love assumption, the overall structure of the FTCCS is theoretically modeled. The artificial spring technology is used to simulate the arbitrary boundary conditions at the joint, which is divided into a main spring and a secondary spring. At the same time, the displacement functions of the two sub-structure shells of the FTCCS are established by the orthogonal polynomial method, and the energy function of the FTCCS is constructed according to the continuity condition of the bolt joint. Then, the vibration characteristics of the FTCCS are solved using the Rayleigh–Ritz method and the modal superposition method. Finally, the TC300/epoxy resin-based fiber-reinforced thin-walled conical–cylindrical composite shells are selected as the research object, and the rationality of the mathematical model is verified by pulse, frequency sweeping and resonance excitation tests. The experimental results show that the errors between the natural frequency and the resonance displacement calculated by the theory and the experimental results are 1.75–4.76% and 3.79–9.28%, which confirms the rationality of the proposed model. By changing the length of the shell, the lamination angle and the semi-cone angle of the conical shell, the vibration characteristics parameters under different conditions are calculated to evaluate the influence of three physical parameters on the vibration characteristics of the FTCCS.

Computationally-efficient locking-free isogeometric discretizations of geometrically nonlinear Kirchhoff–Love shells

Discretizations based on the Bubnov-Galerkin method and the isoparametric concept suffer from membrane locking when applied to Kirchhoff–Love shell formulations. Membrane locking causes not only smaller displacements than expected, but also large-amplitude spurious oscillations of the membrane forces. Continuous-assumed-strain (CAS) elements were originally introduced to remove membrane locking in quadratic NURBS-based discretizations of linear plane curved Kirchhoff rods (Casquero et al., CMAME, 2022). In this work, we propose CASs and CASns elements to overcome membrane locking in quadratic NURBS-based discretizations of geometrically nonlinear Kirchhoff–Love shells. CASs and CASns elements are interpolation-based assumed-strain locking treatments. The assumed strains have C0 continuity across element boundaries and different components of the membrane strains are interpolated at different interpolation points. CASs elements use the assumed strains to obtain both the physical strains and the virtual strains, which results in a global tangent matrix which is a symmetric matrix. CASns elements use the assumed strains to obtain only the physical strains, which results in a global tangent matrix which is a non-symmetric matrix. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, CASs and CASns elements are the first assumed-strain treatments to effectively overcome membrane locking in quadratic NURBS-based discretizations of geometrically nonlinear Kirchhoff–Love shells while satisfying the following important characteristics for computational efficiency: (1) No additional unknowns are added, (2) No additional systems of algebraic equations need to be solved, (3) The same elements are used to approximate the displacements and the assumed strains, (4) No additional matrix operations such as matrix inversions or matrix multiplications are needed to obtain the stiffness matrix, and (5) The nonzero pattern of the stiffness matrix is preserved. Analogously to the interpolation-based assumed-strain locking treatments for Lagrange polynomials that are widely used in commercial FEA software, the implementation of CASs and CASns elements only requires to modify the subroutine that computes the element residual vector and the element tangent matrix. The benchmark problems show that CASs and CASns elements, using either 2 × 2 or 3 × 3 Gauss–Legendre quadrature points per element, are effective locking treatments since these element types result in more accurate displacements for coarse meshes and excise the spurious oscillations of the membrane forces.

Wideband Vibro-Acoustic Coupling Investigation in Three Dimensions Using Order-Reduced Isogeometric Finite Element/Boundary Element Method

This study introduces an innovative model-order reduction (MOR) technique that integrates boundary element and finite element methodologies, streamlining the analysis of wideband vibro-acoustic interactions within aquatic and aerial environments. The external acoustic phenomena are efficiently simulated via the boundary element method (BEM), while the finite element method (FEM) adeptly captures the dynamics of vibrating thin-walled structures. Furthermore, the integration of isogeometric analysis within the finite element/boundary element framework ensures geometric integrity and maintains high-order continuity for Kirchhoff–Love shell models, all without the intermediary step of meshing. Foundational to our reduced-order model is the application of the second-order Arnoldi method coupled with Taylor expansions, effectively eliminating the frequency dependence of system matrices. The proposed technique significantly enhances the computational efficiency of wideband vibro-acoustic coupling analyses, as demonstrated through numerical simulations.

Mathematical modelling of stability problems for thin transversally graded cylindrical shells

The objects of consideration are thin linearly elastic Kirchhoff–Love-type open circular cylindrical shells having a functionally graded macrostructure and a tolerance-periodic microstructure in circumferential direction. The first aim of this contribution is to formulate and discuss a new mathematical averaged non-asymptotic model for the analysis of selected stability problems for such shells. As a tool of modelling we shall apply the tolerance averaging technique. The second aim is to derive and discuss a new mathematical averaged asymptotic model. This model will be formulated using the consistent asymptotic modelling procedure. The starting equations are the well-known governing equations of linear Kirchhoff–Love second-order theory of thin elastic cylindrical shells. For the functionally graded shells under consideration, the starting equations have highly oscillating, non-continuous and tolerance-periodic coefficients in circumferential direction, whereas equations of the proposed models have continuous and slowly-varying coefficients. Moreover, some of coefficients of the tolerance model equations depend on a microstructure size. It will be shown that in the framework of the tolerance model not only the fundamental cell-independent, but also the new additional cell-dependent critical forces can be derived and analysed.

Study on fracture of hyperelastic Kirchhoff-Love plates and shells by phase field method

Thin walled structures such as plates and shells are widely used in many engineering fields. To Predict its fracture behavior is of great significance for integrity design and strength evaluation of engineering structures. Numerical simulation of the fracture behavior of hyperelastic plates and shells is a challenge due to complex kinematic description, hyperelastic constitutive relationship, geometric nonlinearity and the degradation on elastic parameter caused by fracture damage. Combining Kirchhoff Love (K-L) shell theory with the fracture phase field method, and numerically discretizing the first and second order partial derivatives of displacement field and phase field by using T-splines and meeting the requirements of K-L plate and shell theory for the C1 continuity of the shape function, a model for the isogeometric analysis numerical formulation of the phase field fracture in hyperelastic K-L plates and shells is established. The fracture failure behavior of hyperelastic K-L plates and shells under the uniform load and displacement load is simulated, and the effect of the Gaussian curvature on the fracture behavior of hyperelastic K-L shells is studied. The simulation results show that the present numerical scheme can effectively capture the complex crack propagation path of plates and shells under the uniform load, and the displacement field can effectively reflect the crack distribution of materials. The thin shell with negative Gaussian curvature shows the excellent fracture performance under the internal pressure, and can withstand the greater internal pressure.

Non-coercive problems for elastic plates with thin junction

We consider a non-coercive boundary value problem for two elastic Kirchhoff–Love plates connected to each other by a thin junction. The non-coercivity of the problem is due to the Neumann-type conditions imposed at the external boundaries of the plates. A solution existence is proved for suitable given external forces. Passages to limits are justified as a rigidity parameter of the junction tends to infinity and to zero. We prove that the model corresponding to the first limit case describes an equilibrium of elastic plates with a thin rigid junction; the second limit model fits to the equilibrium state of two elastic plates independent of each other.