Radial Integration Method Research Articles

Dynamic analysis of cracked thick composite shells by the Boundary Element Method

This article presents a numerical formulation based on the Boundary Element Method for the transient dynamic analysis of cracked thick symmetrical composite shells. The integral formulation uses the static fundamental solutions for thick orthotropic symmetric plates and the anisotropic plain elasticity fundamental solution. Domain integrals associated to distributed loads, curvature and inertial terms are evaluated employing the Radial Integration Method. The crack was modeled using the sub-region method. The developed formulation is implemented computationally and validated through the analysis of several proposed examples. The obtained results demonstrate the validity and robustness of the developed formulation.

Precise integration boundary element method for solving nonlinear transient heat conduction problems with temperature dependent thermal conductivity and heat capacity

The precise integration boundary element method (PIBEM) is used to solve nonlinear transient heat conduction problems with temperature dependent thermal conductivity and heat capacity in this article. At first, a boundary-domain integral equation can be obtained by using the fundamental solution for steady linear heat conduction problems. Secondly, the domain integrals are converted into boundary integrals by using the radial integration method to get a pure boundary integral equation, which can retain the advantage of dimension reduction of the boundary element method. Then, after discretization, a first-order nonlinear differential equation system in time is obtained, and the precise integration method with predictor-corrector technique is used to solve the system of nonlinear equations. In the end, several numerical examples are presented to verify the accuracy and stability of the presented method. The results obtained by the presented method are less affected by the time step size and satisfactory results can be obtained even for a large time step size.

Addressing arbitrary body forces in 2D elasticity coupling the Radial Basis Integration Method with boundary elements

A boundary-domain integral formulation inevitably arises when the boundary element method (BEM) is applied for solving the differential equation that governs linear elastostatic problems with body forces. Although the domain integrals introduced by the body forces can be evaluated using internal cells this destroys the boundary-only meshing feature of BEM and makes the integration processes inefficient. This paper shows that these problems can be solved more efficiently without using internal cells by the Radial Basis Integration Method (RBIM) which employs a meshless quadrature obtained by performing boundary-only offline computations. Using RBIM, weakly singular domain integrals can be computed via a simple selective quadrature procedure, whereas, strong singular domain integrals may be computed using two schemes: The first, is based on the same selective quadrature procedure, and the second is based on the singularity separation scheme. The present method, unlike classical radial integration method (RIM), does not have problems in calculating integrals in concave or multiple-connected domains. The results obtained in some 2D linear elastostatic problems with arbitrary body forces show that this method can be as accurate as RIM but less time-consuming than the latter. This method could be applied to other engineering problems involving source terms.

An enriched radial integration method for evaluating domain integrals in transient boundary element analysis

Accurate evaluation of domain integrals is crucial for the overall accuracy of the boundary element method (BEM), particularly when dealing with dynamic problems and those involving body forces. The radial integration method (RIM) is a well-established and effective technique for computing domain integrals in boundary element analysis. When calculating domain integrals in transient problems, the integrand of time-dependent kernels tends to near-singularity and may oscillate rapidly as the time step decreases. To overcome this issue, an efficient non-linear coordinate transformation, combined with an element subdivision technique, is presented in this paper to enhance the computational accuracy of the domain integrals. Significant improvement in the computational accuracy of domain integrals, particularly with small time steps, can be achieved. Several representative examples are presented and discussed to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the present method.

A modified RI-IGABEM with only weakly singular integral for viscoelastic analysis

In this paper, an improved isogeometric boundary element method based on radial integration method (RI-IGABEM) is proposed to solve the viscoelastic problems. Prony series are utilized to discretize the stress with the two most recent time-step strains. The boundary integral equation (BIE) for the viscoelastic problems is derived. The domain integral related to stress is decomposed into the linear combination of two sub-integrals by volumetric–deviatoric split. The radial integration method (RIM) is applied to transform all the domain integrals into equivalent boundary integrals. The present method has several advantages. Firstly, the present method eliminates the need for stress calculation at each time step, thus avoiding the error accumulation associated with the traction recovery method (TRM). Secondly, the BIE for the viscoelastic problems contains only weakly singular integrals. In addition, we provide an analytical solution for the radial component of the equivalent boundary integrals, which is transformed using RIM. To sum up, the present method improves the accuracy and efficiency of RI-IGABEM by reducing the required computational steps, eliminating error accumulation, and providing analytical solutions for certain integrals. Numerical examples demonstrate that the proposed RI-IGABEM is an efficient and accurate method suitable for viscoelastic problems.

POD method for solving elastodynamics problems of functionally gradient materials based on radial integration boundary element method

Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are widely utilized due to their excellent mechanical properties, prompting a need to explore the dynamic response of FGMs. To accurately and efficiently analyze elastodynamics problems, the radial integration boundary element method (RIBEM) is coupled with the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method in this paper. The POD method can transform a high-dimensional model into a low-dimensional system with high precision. Using the basic solution (Kelvin solution), the governing partial differential equation for the linear elastic dynamics problem of FGMs is transformed into a boundary-domain integral equation. The radial integration method is employed to convert the domain integral arising from material inhomogeneity and inertia terms into an equivalent boundary integral. This establishes a solution for the elastic dynamics problem of FGMs without the need for internal grid RIBEM. The Newmark time integration scheme is applied to solve the second-order ordinary differential equations. The displacement field obtained by RIBEM is utilized to construct the snapshots matrix, from which the POD reduced-order model is established. Numerical examples validate that the POD method significantly reduces the model's order, enhancing computational efficiency while also demonstrating the high accuracy of the POD method.

Spectral-infinite-element simulations of seismic wave propagation in self-gravitating, rotating 3-D Earth models

SUMMARY Although observation of gravity perturbations induced by earthquakes is possible, simulation of seismic wave propagation in a self-gravitating, rotating Earth model with 3-D heterogeneity is challenging due to the numerical complexities associated with the unbounded Poisson/Laplace equation that governs gravity perturbations. Therefore, gravity perturbations are generally omitted, and only the background gravity is taken into account using the so-called Cowling approximation. However, gravity perturbations may be significant for large earthquakes (Mw ≥ 6.0) and long-period responses. In this study, we develop a time-domain solver based on the spectral-infinite-element approach, which combines the spectral element method inside the Earth domain with a mapped-infinite-element method in the infinite space outside. This combination allows us to solve the complete, coupled momentum-gravitational equations in a fully discretized domain while accommodating complex 3-D Earth models. We compute displacement and gravity perturbations considering various Earth models, including Preliminary Reference Earth Model and S40RTS and conduct comprehensive benchmarks of our method against the spherical harmonics normal-mode approach and the direct radial integration method. Our 3-D simulations accommodate topography, bathymetry, rotation, ellipticity and oceans. Results show that our technique is accurate and stable for long simulations. Our method provides a new scope for incorporating earthquake-induced gravity perturbations into source and adjoint tomographic inversions.

A Fast Reduced-Order Model for Radial Integration Boundary Element Method Based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition in the Non-Uniform Coupled Thermoelastic Problems

To efficiently address the challenge of thermoelastic coupling in functionally graded materials, we propose an approach that combines the radial integral boundary element method (RIBEM) with proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). This integration establishes a swift reduced-order model to transform the high-dimensional system of equations into a more manageable, low-dimensional counterpart. The implementation of this reduced-order model offers the potential for rapid numerical simulations of functionally graded materials (FGMs) under thermal shock loading. Initially, the RIBEM is utilized to resolve the thermal coupling issue within the FGMs. From these solutions, a snapshot matrix is constructed, capturing the solved temperature and displacement fields. Subsequently, the POD modes are established and a POD reduced-order model is constructed for the boundary element format of the thermally coupled problem. Finally, a system of low-order discrete differential equations is solved. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the results obtained from the reduced-order model closely align with those of the full-order model, even when considering variations in structural parameters or impact loads. Thus, the introduction of the reduced-order model not only guarantees solution accuracy but also significantly enhances computational efficiency.

The dynamic analysis of axisymmetric bodies with damping effects using the modified radial integration boundary elements method (MRIBEM)

This paper investigates the elastodynamic analysis of axisymmetric bodies under axisymmetric dynamic loads using the modified radial integration boundary elements method (MRIBEM). Purposely, the governing integral equations have been developed in cylindrical coordinates by employing the three-dimensional (3D) static fundamental solution. The axisymmetric bodies can be modeled as a two-dimensional (2D) problem, which is much simpler than 3D analysis and only requires a one-dimensional boundary mesh. In the proposed formulation, the effects of inertial and damping forces appear as 2D domain integrals. The domain variables are approximated using global radial basis functions (RBFs), and the modified radial integration method (MRIM) is employed to deal with the domain integral as the main idea of the present research. Various sample problems are provided in order to illustrate the capability of the presented method for analyzing axisymmetric bodies with concave geometry and damping effect under different types of transient loads. The Newmark and Houbolt methods were applied for time marching, and their efficiency was examined. The results of the present study were also validated by the axisymmetric FEM formulation and other available references.

A reduced-order modeling for thermo-mechanical coupling analyses by using radial integration boundary element method

In order to efficiently solve thermo-mechanical coupling problems, this work combines the radial integration boundary element method (RIBEM) and the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) to construct a fast reduced-order model. This model transforms high-dimensional systems into low-dimensional ones, enabling faster computation of thermo-mechanical coupling problems under thermal loads. Firstly, RIBEM is employed to solve coupled thermoelastic dynamic problems under thermal shock loads. Domain integrals are converted to boundary integrals using the radial integration method, establishing a purely boundary element algorithm without internal cells. Subsequently, finite difference techniques are applied to calculate the discretized algebraic equations, and the obtained field variables are used as a snapshot matrix to establish POD modes and construct the POD reduced-order model. Numerical examples demonstrate that the results of the reduced-order model are essentially consistent with the full-order model across various physical parameters and boundary conditions. Therefore, this reduced-order model significantly improves computational efficiency while maintaining high accuracy, especially when solving large-scale problems.

Buckling analysis of thin plates using direct interpolation boundary element method

The present study employs the direct integration boundary element method (DIBEM) to analyze the buckling behavior of thin plates. Unlike conventional approaches, this method eliminates the need for domain discretization or specialized solutions. Furthermore, it constitutes a continuation from the previous research in Doval et al. (2013), which employed the radial integration method for the same investigation.To showcase the efficacy of the proposed approach, it is utilized in the stability analysis of both perforated and non-perforated plates. The findings are then compared against analytical responses, in the case of non-perforated plates, and finite element method results, for perforated plates.Moreover, the use of boundary elements reduces the size of the eigenvalue problem involved in stability analysis, as compared to finite elements, provided that only the domain and a few internal points are needed for discretization.Overall, this paper presents a novel and effective approach to the analysis of buckling plates.

Band structures analysis of fluid–solid phononic crystals using wavelet‐based boundary element method and frequency‐independent fundamental solutions

AbstractA novel method of combination of wavelet‐based boundary element method (WBEM) with frequency‐independent fundamental solutions is proposed to determine the band structures of fluid–solid phononic crystals (PCs) with square and triangular lattices. Integral equations established are based on the frequency‐independent fundamental solutions, which can avoid nonlinear eigenvalue problems and reduce computing time. Domain integral terms arising from the use of frequency‐independent fundamental solutions are handled with the radial integration method (RIM) and dual reciprocity method (DRM), respectively. The results show the lower precision in high frequency domain of using RIM to handle domain integral terms than that of using DRM, which can be solved by increasing Gauss point. The B‐spline wavelet on the interval and wavelet coefficients are applied to approximate the physical boundary conditions. It is proved that coupling conditions between matrix and scatterers and Bloch theorem are also applicable to wavelet coefficients. Some small matrix entries generated by wavelet vanishing moment characteristics are truncated by the provided matrix compression technique, and the influence of compressed matrices on the results is studied. Furthermore, the final Eigen equations constructed are modified to avoid numerical instability. Some examples are provided to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method.

Shear deformable plate by SGBEM: Indirect “progenitor matrix” approach

The Mindlin-Reissner's formulation of shear deformable plate is addressed through the Symmetric Galerkin Boundary Element Method (SGBEM). The thick plate's elastic problem is resolved and fundamental solutions matrix is obtained. The application of Betti's theorem in the unlimited domain allows obtaining the Somigliana's Identities (S.I.s). The solving system is obtained by an indirect approach, i.e., through the “progenitor matrix”. The “progenitor matrix” allows simulating all possible plate's load conditions and is the starting point for an automatic calculation code. The coefficients are calculated through the theory of distributions, using double integrals without resorting to regularization techniques but by exploiting the expansion in power series of the Bessel functions present in the fundamental solutions.Particular attention is paid to the presence of domain loads, whose domain integral is transformed into a boundary one using the Radial Integral Method technique (RIM).These strategies lead to a robust procedure that allows obtaining good results even in the presence of boundary sparse discretization. This is demonstrated by the results of the examples carried out which, compared with the analytical solutions present in the literature, show a very good convergence.

WBEM-based analysis of band structures of solid-solid and fluid-fluid phononic crystals with frequency-independent fundamental solutions

A novel method is presented to determine the band structures of two-dimensional solid-solid and fluid-fluid phononic crystals (PCs) with square and triangular lattices using the wavelet-based boundary element method (WBEM). Both sweeping frequency technique and sweeping wave vector technique are used to determine the band structures of PCs. The fundamental solutions for integral equations established in primitive cell are independent of angular frequency, resulting in an avoidance of solving nonlinear eigenvalue problems and much reduction of computing time. The radial integration method and dual reciprocity method are respectively applied to handle the domain integral terms arising from the use of frequency-independent fundamental solutions, and to make the dimension reduction. The physical fields are approximated by B-spline wavelet on the interval and wavelet coefficients in wavelet space. It is proved that the wavelet coefficients still meet the relationship of their corresponding physical quantities, such as Bloch theorem. By means of the vanishing moment characteristic of wavelets, some small entries are produced in the system matrices which are further compressed into sparse ones, and the influence of sparse matrices on the results is discussed. Finally, the high computing speed and accuracy of the proposed method are shown in examples.

Isogeometric boundary element method for isotropic damage elastic mechanical problems

In this work, a complex isotropic damage mechanics structural model is developed using the isogeometric method to study the strain displacement and influence factors in isotropically damaged elastics. The proposed modeling method can be constructed dynamically by introducing control points and weight coefficients, which improves the accuracy and eliminates mesh errors, and the boundary element method is used for theoretical analysis and calculation of damage mechanics. For the description of irregular geometric models, the isogeometric method has unparalleled superiority. The isogeometric method can seamlessly connect the geometry generated by the advantages of CAD and CAE, and the combination of the two methods is very useful for the future extension of IGABEM to practical engineering applications. At the same time, we use the source point isolation method to establish the boundary-domain integral equations and use the radial integration method to solve the domain integrals. Compared with the traditional boundary element method, the isogeometric boundary element method makes the construction of complex models simple. The numerical results show that the numerical method has good stability and robustness, which provides strong support for further software integration.

Non-conforming coupling RI-IGABEM for solving multidimensional and multiscale thermoelastic–viscoelastic problems

In this paper, a novel non-conforming coupling radial integration IGABEM (RI-IGABEM) is proposed to solve the multidimensional and multiscale thermoelastic–viscoelastic​ problems. Firstly, the displacement and regularized strain boundary integral equations for the thermoviscoelastic problems are derived. Secondly, the time-dependent shear modulus is expressed in the form of Prony series, and the memory stress is calculated by using the genetic integral, which reduces computing costs. In addition, the radial integration method (RIM) is applied to transform the domain integrals related to body force, temperature and memory stress into equivalent boundary integrals through applied points, which not only allows IGABEM to retain the advantage of discretization only on the boundary, but also reduces the singularity of the integral. Moreover, the adaptive integral method based on hierarchical quadtree decomposition algorithm is proposed to deal with the nearly singular integrals more flexible and efficient at optimal computational cost. The modified surface traction recovery method (TRM) of the thermoviscoelastic mechanics is proposed to solve the strains of the boundary points, which allows us to avoid solving hypersingular integrals. Furthermore, we construct the displacement (or tractions) coupling constraints among the non-conforming interface meshes by a virtual knot insertion technique. The main advantages of this method are simplicity and robustness, as it is problem-independent and only depends on the NURBS meshes on both sides of the interface. Some 2D and 3D examples are applied to prove the accuracy and efficiency of the present method for the multiscale thermoelastic–viscoelastic problems.

The solution of elastodynamic problems using modified radial integration boundary element method (MRIBEM)

In this paper, the modified radial integration boundary elements method (MRIBEM) is applied to analyze two-dimensional (2D) elastodynamic problems. The boundary and domain variables are approximated by Lagrangian shape functions and global radial basis functions (RBFs), respectively. As a key idea of this study, the domain integrals that result from implying the inertia force effect are computed by means of a modified radial integration method (MRIM). With the MRIBEM, we are able to deal with problems with concave shapes when the domain variables are approximated by global RBFs by defining an auxiliary point or, in case of complex domain shapes, two or more auxiliary points as the origin for radial integration. Two-time marching schemes, i.e. Newmark method and the Houbolt method, are implemented for the solution of governing differential equations along time. The performance of the proposed method is examined in the solution of four numerical examples.

A cell-less boundary element method for a two-step thermoelastic analysis

A new cell-less boundary element method formulation is presented for two-step thermoelastic analyses. The first step is a steady-state thermal analysis. The second step is a thermoelastic analysis, using the temperature field obtained in the first step. Domain integrals involving internal heat sources and thermal strains, that appear in the governing boundary integral equations, are transformed to boundary by the radial integration method. Since temperature has been evaluated only at discrete points in the first step, meshfree techniques for defining shape functions are adopted to calculate temperature at numerical integration points during evaluation of radial integrations of the second step. Two classes of such techniques are considered: the moving least square procedure and the radial point interpolation method. Representative examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed formulation.

Coupling Heat Conduction and Radiation by an Isogeometric Boundary Element Method in 2-D Structures

We propose an efficient isogeometric boundary element method to address the coupling of heat conduction and radiation in homogeneous or inhomogeneous materials. The isogeometric boundary element method is used to construct irregular 2D models, which eliminate errors in model construction. The physical unknowns in the governing equations for heat conduction and radiation are discretized using an interpolation approximation, and the integral equations are finally solved by Newton–Raphson iteration; it is noteworthy that we use the radial integration method to convert the domain integrals to boundary integrals, and we combine the numerical schemes for heat conduction and radiation. The results of the three numerical cases show that the adopted algorithm can improve the computational accuracy and efficiency.

Wind disaster assessment of landfalling typhoons in different regions of China over 2004–2020

In this study, the wind disasters caused by typhoons that have led to landfall in China during 2004–2020 were investigated using the radial integral method of wind disaster assessment. The typhoon parameters were mainly obtained from China Meteorological Administration. Results from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center and Japan Meteorological Agency were also used as supplements to test the integrity, authenticity, and validity of the data. First, the two factors that influencing typhoon wind disasters, namely, typhoon intensity and spatial scale, were analyzed. The intensity of typhoons and the overall spatial scale were found to weaken and decrease, respectively, after landfall. Second, the applicability of the radial integral typhoon wind disaster assessment method to scenarios involving actual typhoons was verified for the first time using existing typhoon wind disaster measurement data. Furthermore, the radial integral method was used to study the change regularity of typhoon wind disasters before and after landfall in different regions of China. The wind disaster weakening of landfalls in the mainland was significant compared to that in islands. After a landfall on an island, wind disaster attenuated to 73.91% and 75.50% of the value before landfall. This result is consistent with the results obtained for hurricanes in the Northwest Pacific in previous years. Landfalls in mainland typhoon wind disasters attenuated to 54.38%. This result is consistent with the current results of hurricanes in the Northwest Pacific. This is because of the reduction in the attenuation rate after typhoons or hurricanes landfall due to changes in global climate and urbanization. However, the impact on island regions is smaller. The results of this study can facilitate the rapid assessment of typhoon wind disasters and can serve as guidelines for preventing typhoon wind disasters in inland impacted regions. Thus, this study contributes toward disaster prevention and mitigation in coastal areas, urban areas, and offshore wind farms.