Resulting Sensitivity Equations Research Articles

Adjoint-based optimization of displacement ventilation flow

We demonstrate the use of the ‘Direct-Adjoint-Looping method’ for the identification of optimal buoyancy-driven ventilation flows governed by Boussinesq equations. We use the incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, derive the corresponding adjoint equations and solve the resulting sensitivity equations with respect to inlet conditions. We focus on a displacement ventilation scenario with a steady plume due to a line source. Subject to an enthalpy flux constraint on the incoming flow, we identify boundary conditions leading to ‘optimal’ temperature distributions in the occupied zone. Our results show that depending on the scaled volume and momentum flux of the inlet flow, qualitatively different flow regimes may be obtained. The numerical optimal results agree with analytically obtained optimal inlet conditions available from classical plume theory in an ‘intermediate’ regime of strong stratification and two-layer flow.

Elastic-wave sensitivity propagation

Effective and reliable reservoir monitoring is critically important for optimizing oil/gas production and ensuring safe geologic carbon sequestration. It requires an optimal sensor deployment that uses a minimum number of sensors to record the most significant information resulting from reservoir property changes. Conventional monitoring survey designs are typically based on seismic-wavefield illumination analyses, which cannot alone determine the best receiver locations for effective and reliable monitoring of reservoir property changes. We propose a new approach for designing seismic monitoring surveys by analyzing the sensitivities of elastic waves with respect to reservoir geophysical property changes. The method is based on differentiating the elastic-wave equations with respect to geophysical parameters. The resulting sensitivity equations are solved simultaneously with the elastic-wave equations using a finite-difference scheme. Numerical studies confirm that time-lapse seismic survey designs based on elastic-wave sensitivity analysis can be totally different from those based on elastic-wavefield illuminations. For time-lapse seismic monitoring, receivers should be placed at locations where elastic-wave sensitivities are significant. Modeling of elastic-wave sensitivity propagation provides a fundamental tool for effective seismic monitoring survey designs.

Continuum shape sensitivity analysis of mixed-mode fracture using fractal finite element method

This paper presents a new fractal finite element based method for continuum-based shape sensitivity analysis for a crack in a homogeneous, isotropic, and two-dimensional linear-elastic body subject to mixed-mode (modes I and II) loading conditions. The method is based on the material derivative concept of continuum mechanics, and direct differentiation. Unlike virtual crack extension techniques, no mesh perturbation is needed in the proposed method to calculate the sensitivity of stress-intensity factors. Since the governing variational equation is differentiated prior to the process of discretization, the resulting sensitivity equations predicts the first-order sensitivity of J-integral or mode-I and mode-II stress-intensity factors, K I and K II, more efficiently and accurately than the finite-difference methods. Unlike the integral based methods such as J-integral or M-integral no special finite elements and post-processing are needed to determine the first-order sensitivity of J-integral or K I and K II. Also a parametric study is carried out to examine the effects of the similarity ratio, the number of transformation terms, and the integration order on the quality of the numerical solutions. Four numerical examples which include both mode-I and mixed-mode problems, are presented to calculate the first-order derivative of the J-integral or stress-intensity factors. The results show that first-order sensitivities of J-integral or stress-intensity factors obtained using the proposed method are in excellent agreement with the reference solutions obtained using the finite-difference method for the structural and crack geometries considered in this study.

A continuum shape sensitivity method for fracture analysis of isotropic functionally graded materials

This paper presents a new continuum shape sensitivity method for calculating mixed-mode stress-intensity factors for a stationary crack in two-dimensional, linear- elastic, isotropic FGMs with arbitrary geometry. The method involves the material derivative concept taken from continuum mechanics, the mutual potential energy release rate, and direct differentiation. Since the governing variational equation is differentiated prior to discretization, resulting sensitivity equations are independent of approximate numerical techniques, such as the finite element method, boundary element method, mesh-free method, or others. The discrete form of the mutual potential energy release rate is simple and easy to calculate, as it only requires multiplication of displacement vectors and stiffness sensitivity matrices. By judiciously selecting the velocity field, the method only requires displacement response in a subdomain close to the crack tip, thus making the method computationally efficient. Seven finite-element based numerical examples, which comprise mode-I and mixed-mode deformations and/or single or multiple interacting cracks, are presented to evaluate the accuracy of the fracture parameters calculated by the proposed method. Comparisons have been made between stress-intensity factors predicted by the proposed method and available reference solutions in the literature, generated either analytically or numerically using various other fracture integrals or analyses. Excellent agreement is obtained between the results of the proposed method and previously obtained solutions. Therefore, shape sensitivity analysis provides an attractive alternative to fracture analysis of cracks in homogeneous and non-homogeneous materials.

A continuum shape sensitivity method for fracture analysis of orthotropic functionally graded materials

This paper presents a new continuum shape sensitivity method for calculating the mixed-mode stress-intensity factors of a stationary crack in two-dimensional, linear-elastic, orthotropic functionally graded materials with arbitrary geometry. The method involves the material derivative concept taken from continuum mechanics, the mutual potential energy release rate, and direct differentiation. Since the governing variational equation is differentiated prior to discretization, resulting sensitivity equations are independent of approximate numerical techniques, such as the finite element method, boundary element method, mesh-free method, or others. The discrete form of the mutual potential energy release rate is simple and easy to calculate, as it only requires multiplication of displacement vectors and stiffness sensitivity matrices. By judiciously selecting the velocity field, the method only requires displacement response in a subdomain close to the crack tip, thus making the method computationally efficient. Three finite-element based numerical examples, which comprise mode-I and mixed-mode deformations, are presented to evaluate the accuracy of the fracture parameters calculated by the proposed method. Comparisons have been made between stress-intensity factors predicted by the proposed method and available reference solutions in the literature, generated either analytically or numerically using various other fracture integrals or analyses. Excellent agreement is obtained between the results of the proposed method and previously obtained solutions. Therefore, shape sensitivity analysis provides an attractive alternative to fracture analysis of cracks in homogeneous and non-homogeneous orthotropic materials.

Continuum shape sensitivity and reliability analyses of nonlinear cracked structures

A new method is proposed for shape sensitivity analysis of a crack in a homogeneous, isotropic, and nonlinearly elastic body subject to mode I loading conditions. The method involves the material derivative concept of continuum mechanics, domain integral representation of the J-integral, and direct differentiation. Unlike virtual crack extension techniques, no mesh perturbation is required in the proposed method. Since the governing variational equation is differentiated before the process of discretization, the resulting sensitivity equations are independent of any approximate numerical techniques. Based on the continuum sensitivities, the first-order reliability method was employed to perform probabilistic analysis. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate both the sensitivity and reliability analyses. The maximum difference between the sensitivity of stress-intensity factors calculated using the proposed method and the finite-difference method is less than four percent. Since all gradients are calculated analytically, the reliability analysis of cracks can be performed efficiently.

Continuum Shape Sensitivity analysis of a mode-I fracture in functionally graded materials

This paper presents a new method for conducting a continuum shape sensitivity analysis of a crack in an isotropic, linear-elastic, functionally graded material. This method involves the material derivative concept from continuum mechanics, domain integral representation of the J-integral and direct differentiation. Unlike virtual crack extension techniques, no mesh perturbation is needed to calculate the sensitivity of stress-intensity factors. Since the governing variational equation is differentiated prior to the process of discretization, the resulting sensitivity equations are independent of approximate numerical techniques, such as the meshless method, finite element method, boundary element method, or others. In addition, since the J-integral is represented by domain integration, only the first-order sensitivity of the displacement field is needed. Several numerical examples are presented to calculate the first-order derivative of the J-integral, using the proposed method. Numerical results obtained using the proposed method are compared with the reference solutions obtained from finite-difference methods for the structural and crack geometries considered in this study.

Continuum shape sensitivity analysis of a mixed-mode fracture in functionally graded materials

This paper presents two new methods for conducting a continuum shape sensitivity analysis of a crack in an isotropic, linear-elastic functionally graded material. These methods involve the material derivative concept from continuum mechanics, domain integral representation of interaction integrals, known as the M-integral, and direct differentiation. Unlike virtual crack extension techniques, no mesh perturbation is needed to calculate the sensitivity of stress–intensity factors. Since the governing variational equation is differentiated prior to the process of discretization, the resulting sensitivity equations are independent of approximate numerical techniques, such as the meshless method, finite element method, boundary element method, or others. Three numerical examples are presented to calculate the first-order derivative of the stress–intensity factors. The results show that first-order sensitivities of stress intensity factors obtained using the proposed method are in excellent agreement with the reference solutions obtained using the finite-difference method for the structural and crack geometries considered in this study.

Shape Sensitivity Analysis of Linear-Elastic Cracked Structures Under Mode-I Loading

A new method is presented for shape sensitivity analysis of a crack in a homogeneous, isotropic, and linear-elastic body subject to mode-I loading conditions. The method involves the material derivative concept of continuum mechanics, domain integral representation of the J-integral, and direct differentiation. Unlike virtual crack extension techniques, no mesh perturbation is needed in the proposed method. Since the governing variational equation is differentiated prior to the process of discretization, the resulting sensitivity equations are independent of any approximate numerical techniques, such as the finite element method, boundary element method, or others. Since the J-integral is represented by domain integration, only the first-order sensitivity of displacement field is needed. Two numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed method. The results show that the maximum difference in calculating the sensitivity of J-integral by the proposed method and reference solutions by analytical or finite-difference methods is less than three percent.

Shape sensitivity analysis in mixed-mode fracture mechanics

This paper presents a new method for continuum-based shape sensitivity analysis for a crack in a homogeneous, isotropic, and linear-elastic body subject to mixed-mode (modes I and II) loading conditions. The method is based on the material derivative concept of continuum mechanics, domain integral representation of an interaction integral, and direct differentiation. Unlike virtual crack extension techniques, no mesh perturbation is needed in the proposed method to calculate the sensitivity of stress-intensity factors. Since the governing variational equation is differentiated prior to the process of discretization, the resulting sensitivity equations are independent of approximate numerical techniques, such as the finite element method, boundary element method, meshless methods, or others. In addition, since the interaction integral is represented by domain integration, only the first-order sensitivity of the displacement field is needed. Two numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed method. The results show that the maximum difference in the sensitivity of stress-intensity factors calculated using the proposed method and reference solutions obtained by analytical or finite-difference methods is less than four percent.

Shape sensitivity and reliability analyses of linear-elastic cracked structures

This paper presents a new method for continuum-based shape sensitivity and reliability analyses of a crack in a homogeneous, isotropic, and linear-elastic body subject to mode-I loading. The method involves the material derivative concept of continuum mechanics, domain integral representation of the J-integral, and direct differentiation. Unlike virtual crack extension techniques, no mesh perturbation is needed in the proposed sensitivity analysis method. Since the governing variational equation is differentiated prior to the process of discretization, the resulting sensitivity equations are independent of any approximate numerical techniques, such as the finite element method, boundary element method, or others. Numerical results show that the maximum error in calculating the sensitivity of Jusing the proposed method is less than three percent. Based on continuum sensitivities, the first-order reliability method was formulated to conduct probabilistic fracture-mechanics analysis. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed sensitivity equations for probabilistic analysis. Since all gradients are calculated analytically, the reliability analysis of cracks can be performed efficiently.

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SENSITIVITY COEFFICIENT EQUATIONS FOR HEAT CONDUCTION PROBLEMS

Methods are discussed for computing the sensitivity of the temperature field to changes in material properties and initial boundary condition parameters for heat conduction problems. The most general method is to derive sensitivity equations by differentiating the energy equation with respect to the parameter of interest and solving the resulting sensitivity equations numerically. An example problem in which there are 12 parameters of interest is presented and the resulting sensitivity equations and associated boundary initial conditions are derived. The sensitivity equations are implemented in a general-purpose unstructured-grid control-volume finite-element code. Numerical results are presented for thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity sensitivity coefficients for heat conduction in a 2-D orthotropic body. The numerical results are compared with the analytical solution to demonstrate that the numerical sensitivity method is second-order accurate as the mesh is refined spatially.