Unknown Tractions Research Articles

Extension of the boundary integral method for different boundary conditions in steady-state Stokes flows

PurposeThe boundary integral method (BIM) provides unparalleled computational efficiency for solving problems wherever it is applicable. For Stokes flows, the BIM in its current form can only be applied to a limited class of problems that generally comprises boundaries with either specified velocity or stress. This study aims to radically extend the applicability by developing a general method within the BIM framework that can handle periodic, symmetry, zero normal-velocity gradient and the specified pressure boundary conditions. This study is limited in scope to steady-state flows.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed method introduces a set of points near the boundary for the symmetry, zero normal-velocity gradient and specified pressure boundary conditions. The formulation for the first two boundary conditions use a spatial discretization procedure within the BIM framework to arrive at a set of equations for the unknowns. The specified pressure boundary condition warrants the decomposition of the unknown traction term into simpler components before the discretization procedure can be executed. Though the new methodology is illustrated in detail for two-dimensional rectangular domains, it can be generalized to more complex three-dimensional cases. This will be the subject for future investigations.FindingsThe current endeavor has successfully demonstrated the incorporation of the above boundary conditions through simple Stokes flow problems like plane channel flow, flow through ribbed duct and plane wall jet. The predicted results matched adequately with either analytical solutions or with available literature data.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first time that the exit boundary conditions like zero normal-velocity gradient and specified pressure have been formulated within the BIM for Stokes flows. These boundary conditions are extremely powerful and the current research initiative has the potential to dramatically increase the range of applicability of the BIM for Stokes flow simulations.

Deep-green inversion to extract traction-separation relations at material interfaces

The traction-separation relationship of an interface is a critical component to understand and model the delamination behavior of multi-layer composites in situations where large scale bridging is active. Limited by current experimental techniques, the extraction of traction-separation relationships often relies on inverse approaches, where far field measurements are used as input data. In this article, a data-driven model based on Green’s function embedded neural networks is proposed (namely Deep Green Inversion, or DGI), where the input consists of far field displacement fields while the output is the desired but initially unknown tractions and separations on the interface. Specifically, Green’s functions are embedded as loss function terms along with other terms based on mean squared error and the field equations associated with loaded elastic bodies. The approach is first verified via analytical solutions to a simply supported beam subject to end moments and a non-uniform traction applied to a portion of one boundary of the beam. Hyperparameter training is included in order to elucidate the influence of weight factors that are applied to the different constraints that are considered. The developed approach is then successfully validated for mode-I and mixed-mode cohesive zone extraction problems using only far-field displacement synthetic data that are generated from numerical solutions to the problems. As part of the validation process and consideration of any limitations of the approach, the amount of displacement data required to produce robust traction-separation relations is deliberated. The tractions and separations within the cohesive zone are extracted with an average global error of 9.06 % and local error of 9.24%, using only 55–60% of the available experimental data. The proposed approach is then applied to double cantilever beam experiments with six different types of interaction between the beams, where the input displacement fields are obtained using digital image correlation. The traction-separation relationships extracted via the DGI neural network developed here agree very well with the results obtained via a direct extraction approach. These results suggest that the proposed approach is quite general, considering the range of traction-separation relations that were explored.

Mixed dimensional isogeometric FE-BE coupling analysis for solid–shell structures

In this paper, the collocation-based isogeometric boundary element method (IGABEM) is combined with the isogeometric Reissner–Mindlin shell elements to conduct the mixed dimensional solid–shell coupling analysis. On the basis of taking advantages of the geometric smoothness and exactness of isogeometric analysis (IGA), this method can reduce the computational scale of the solid part and eliminate the procedure of constructing analysis-suitable volumetric discretizations. In addition, this method only needs to provide the surface CAD (computer-aided design) meshes of the whole coupling model, so it has great potential in achieving close link with CAD systems. For the coupling implementation, the stiffness formula of BE subdomains is formed by condensing the unknown tractions, which simplifies the implementation of coupling constraints. That is to say, only the displacement compatibility equations on the interface are required, without explicitly establishing the traction equilibrium conditions. Two coupling approaches are developed and studied. One is the collocation-based direct strict kinematic coupling based on the deformation hypothesis of the shell across the section, and another is the weak coupling formulation in an integral sense based on work equality. The accuracy and convergence properties of the presented coupling method are investigated through numerical examples including a complex impeller blade.

Mixed boundary value problems in power-law functionally graded circular annulus

The present work proposes a semi-analytical technique for solution of mixed boundary value problem in functionally graded circular annulus wherein shear modulus varies radially in power-law form while Poisson’s ratio is constant. The technique relies on two main steps. In the first step, corresponding to terms in periodic Fourier series applied individually as traction along the annulus surface, stress and displacement field in the annulus is computed harnessing Airy stress functions approach. In the second step, leveraging the strain–displacement relations in polar co-ordinates, mixed boundary conditions are rendered in terms of displacement all along the annulus surface. Assuming the unknown traction along the annulus surface in terms of periodic Fourier series with finite terms, the modified displacement boundary condition, family of solution from the first step and orthogonality of sine and cosine functions is used to generate a system of simultaneous linear equations for the series coefficients. Knowing the coefficients of periodic Fourier series, stress and displacement field can be computed everywhere in the annulus. The first step is digitized in terms of MAPLE functions, exhaustively validated through traction distribution comprising of normal, shear traction on part of the boundary and pair of equal and diametrically opposite point load along the boundary. The second step is corroborated through a problem where the inner surface is subjected to a specified traction distribution and mixed boundary conditions exist along the outer surface in the form of complete constraint along a part and traction-free condition elsewhere.

Dynamic interaction between elastic plate and transversely isotropic poroelastic medium

In this paper, dynamic response of an elastic circular plate, under axisymmetric time-harmonic vertical loading, resting on a transversely isotropic poroelastic half-space is investigated. The plate-half-space contact surface is assumed to be smooth and fully permeable. The discretization techniques are employed to solve the unknown normal traction at the contact surface based on the solution of flexibility equations. The vertical displacement of the plate is represented by an admissible function containing a set of generalized coordinates. Solutions for generalized coordinates are obtained by establishing the equation of motion of the plate through the application of Lagrange’s equations of motion. Selected numerical results corresponding to the deflections of a circular plate, with different degrees of flexibility, resting on a transversely isotropic poroelastic half-space are presented.

High‐precision control of tracked field robots in the presence of unknown traction coefficients

AbstractAccurate steering through crop rows that avoids crop damage is one of the most important tasks for agricultural robots utilized in various field operations, such as monitoring, mechanical weeding, or spraying. In practice, varying soil conditions can result in off‐track navigation due to unknown traction coefficients so that it can cause crop damage. To address this problem, this paper presents the development, application, and experimental results of a real‐time receding horizon estimation and control (RHEC) framework applied to a fully autonomous mobile robotic platform to increase its steering accuracy. Recent advances in cheap and fast microprocessors, as well as advances in solution methods for nonlinear optimization problems, have made nonlinear receding horizon control (RHC) and receding horizon estimation (RHE) methods suitable for field robots that require high‐frequency (milliseconds) updates. A real‐time RHEC framework is developed and applied to a fully autonomous mobile robotic platform designed by the authors for in‐field phenotyping applications in sorghum fields. Nonlinear RHE is used to estimate constrained states and parameters, and nonlinear RHC is designed based on an adaptive system model that contains time‐varying parameters. The capabilities of the real‐time RHEC framework are verified experimentally, and the results show an accurate tracking performance on a bumpy and wet soil field. The mean values of the Euclidean error and required computation time of the RHEC framework are equal to 0.0423 m and 0.88 ms, respectively.

A nearest-neighbour discretisation of the regularized stokeslet boundary integral equation

The method of regularized stokeslets is extensively used in biological fluid dynamics due to its conceptual simplicity and meshlessness. This simplicity carries a degree of cost in computational expense and accuracy because the number of degrees of freedom used to discretise the unknown surface traction is generally significantly higher than that required by boundary element methods. We describe a meshless method based on nearest-neighbour interpolation that significantly reduces the number of degrees of freedom required to discretise the unknown traction, increasing the range of problems that can be practically solved, without excessively complicating the task of the modeller. The nearest-neighbour technique is tested against the classical problem of rigid body motion of a sphere immersed in very viscous fluid, then applied to the more complex biophysical problem of calculating the rotational diffusion timescales of a macromolecular structure modelled by three closely-spaced non-slender rods. A heuristic for finding the required density of force and quadrature points by numerical refinement is suggested. Matlab/GNU Octave code for the key steps of the algorithm is provided, which predominantly use basic linear algebra operations, with a full implementation being provided on github. Compared with the standard Nyström discretisation, more accurate and substantially more efficient results can be obtained by de-refining the force discretisation relative to the quadrature discretisation: a cost reduction of over 10 times with improved accuracy is observed. This improvement comes at minimal additional technical complexity. Future avenues to develop the algorithm are then discussed.

Force sensing using 3D displacement measurements in linear elastic bodies

In cell traction microscopy, the mechanical forces exerted by a cell on its environment is usually determined from experimentally measured displacement by solving an inverse problem in elasticity. In this paper, an innovative numerical method is proposed which finds the "optimal" traction to the inverse problem. When sufficient regularization is applied, we demonstrate that the proposed method significantly improves the widely used approach using Green's functions. Motivated by real cell experiments, the equilibrium condition of a slowly migrating cell is imposed as a set of equality constraints on the unknown traction. Our validation benchmarks demonstrate that the numeric solution to the constrained inverse problem well recovers the actual traction when the optimal regularization parameter is used. The proposed method can thus be applied to study general force sensing problems, which utilize displacement measurements to sense inaccessible forces in linear elastic bodies with a priori constraints.

Formulation of Eshelby’s inclusion problem by BIEM (boundary integral equation method) and PDD (parametric dislocation dynamics)

Eshelby’s inclusion problem is implemented by boundary integral equation method (BIEM) and parametric dislocation dynamics (PDD), which are surface- and line-discretization approaches based on Green’s function method. In BIEM calculations, unknown constraint displacements at the inclusion boundary are deduced from surface integration associated with eigenstrain, and then unknown tractions are solved by a linear system of equations. Field quantities and strain energy are readily calculated by using the boundary tractions and displacements. In the meantime, inclusion stress by PDD is directly calculated by line integration over the dislocation elements, where the burgers vector satisfies geometrical argument of eigenstrain of inclusion. In particular, double line integral formula associated with dislocation interaction is utilized for elastic energy calculation. Computation efficiency of BIEM and PDD is mutually compared as a function of the number of Gauss integration points. Accuracy of field quantities and strain-energy of inclusion are verified by comparison of numerical results to analytical solutions.

그래핀의 모드 I 균열에 대한 분자동역학 해석으로부터 균열 선단 응집 법칙의 평가

In this paper, a novel approach to estimate cohesive laws for the mode I fracture of the graphene is presented by combining molecular dynamic simulations and an inverse algorithm based on field projection method and finite element method. The determination of crack-tip cohesive laws of the graphene based on continuum mechanics is a non-trivial inverse problem of finding unknown tractions and separations from atomic simulations. The displacements of molecular dynamic simulations in a region far away from the crack tip are transferred to finite element nodes by using moving least square approximation. Inverse analyses for extracting unknown cohesive tractions and separation behind the crack tip can be carried out by using conservation nature of the interaction J- and M-integrals with numerical auxiliary fields which are generated by systematically imposing uniform surface tractions element-by-element along the crack surfaces in finite element models. The preset method can be a very successful approach to extract crack-tip cohesive laws from molecular dynamic simulations as a scale bridging method.

Complex variables boundary element analysis of three-dimensional crack problems

Abstract This paper presents a new boundary element-based approach for solving three-dimensional problems of an elastic medium containing multiple cracks of arbitrary shapes. The medium could be loaded by far-field stress (for infinite domains), surface tractions (including those at the cracks surfaces), or point loads. Constant body forces are also allowed. The elastic fields outside of the cracks are represented by integral identities. Triangular elements are employed to discretize the boundaries. Integration over each element is performed analytically. In-plane components of the fields are combined in various complex combinations to simplify the integration. No singular integrals are involved since the limit, as the field point approaches the boundary, is taken after the integration. The collocation method is used to set up the system of linear algebraic equations to find the unknown boundary displacements and tractions. No special procedure is required to evaluate the fields outside of the boundaries, as the integration is performed before the limit is taken. Several numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the capacity of the method.

Vertical vibration of a rigid disc embedded in a poroelastic half-space in contact with a fluid half-space

This paper considers the problem of the vertical vibration of a rigid disc embedded in a poroelastic half-space in contact with a fluid half-space. A time-harmonic Green’s function for a vertical point force in a poroelastic half-space in contact with a fluid half-space is first derived. The fundamental solution is obtained using the boundary conditions at the plane passing through the point force and the boundary conditions at the poroelastic medium-fluid interface. The solution of the disc vibration problem is obtained by integrating the point force Green’s function over the contact area with unknown tractions, which are determined from the boundary conditions. The solution is expressed in terms of dual integral equations that are converted into a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind and are solved numerically. Selected numerical results for the vertical dynamic compliance coefficient are examined based on different poroelastic materials, embedment depth and frequency of excitation; moreover, the results are analyzed for two different cases, namely, with or without fluid overlying the poroelastic medium to demonstrate the effect of fluid. These results are helpful in understanding the dynamic response of foundations embedded in the seabed under seawater.

Inverse extraction of cohesive zone laws by field projection method using numerical auxiliary fields

SUMMARYThe cohesive zone law relates the cohesive tractions with the cohesive separations within the fracture process zone of a material and is used to quantify the strength and toughness of the material. Determining the material's cohesive zone law, however, is a nontrivial inverse problem of finding unknown tractions and separations from measurement data. Previously, a field projection method was established to extract the cohesive zone laws from far‐field data using interaction J‐integrals between the physical field of interest and auxiliary analytical probing fields. Here, we extend the universality of the field projection method and its ease of numerical implementation by using numerical auxiliary fields. These numerical fields are generated by systematically imposing uniform surface tractions element‐by‐element along the crack faces in finite element models. Then, interaction J‐ and M‐integrals between these auxiliary probing fields and the measurement field are used to reconstruct the traction and separation relationship along the crack faces. The effectiveness of this method in extracting the cohesive zone law from measured displacements in the far‐field region is demonstrated through numerical experiments. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

탄성체 경계 트랙션을 구하는 문제에서 상호 수직 기저 함수를 사용한 역문제 해석 방법의 개발

대부분의 구조해석 문제는 외부에서 주어진 하중에 대한 변형과 응력에 관심을 두고 있지만 많은 경우에서 표면 또는 내부에 주어진 응력이나 트랙션을 구하는 역문제 해석이 필요하게 된다. 본 연구에서는 구하고자 하는 트랙션에서 멀리 떨어진 영역의 변위를 측정하여 미지의 트랙션을 평가하는데 유한요소법을 사용한 역문제 수식화를 적용하였다. 일반적으로 역시스템의 불안정으로 인하여 측정 변위의 작은 오차는 해석 결과에 큰 영향을 주게 된다. 이와 같은 역시스템의 불안정성을 개선하기 위하여 본 연구에서는 구하고자 하는 트랙션에 가까운 단면의 변위를 Gram-Schmidt 수직화 기법을 통한 수직 기저함수 사용하여 예측하고 보다 안정된 역문제를 해석하는 방법을 개발하였고 장점들을 수치 예제를 통하여 보여주었다.

Particular Solutions of a Two-Dimensional Infinite Wedge for Various Boundary Conditions With Weak Singularity

The particular solutions of a two-dimensional infinite wedge for various boundary conditions with lnr weak singularity have been investigated in this paper. The relations of the weak singularities and the discontinuities of the first kind of the boundary variables at a corner of a two-dimensional elastic body have been established. By using the relations, the singular behaviors of the unknown boundary variables at a corner of an elastic body can be obtained before solving the boundary value problem by using the boundary element method (BEM). Especially, if the boundary conditions at a corner are displacements prescribed, the values of the unknown tractions at the corner can be determined in advance. Thus, the difficulty related to the multivalued tractions at a corner in BEM analysis for problems with boundary displacements prescribed has been overcome completely. In addition, more appropriate shape functions for the unknown boundary field variables of a corner element can be constructed, and the accuracy of the BEM may be greatly increased.

A study on the influence of measurement location and regularization on the evaluation of boundary tractions by inverse finite element method

This work is concerned with an inverse approach to determine boundary tractions from displacements measured on a remote surface. The influence of measurement location and regularization on the evaluation of unknown tractions is mainly investigated through numerical experiments. The finite element method is employed in the inversion process, and the Tikhonov and the truncated singular value decomposition techniques are used to regularize an ill-conditioned system. The analytical relation between measurement location and the conditioning of a spring inverse problem is presented in this paper. Numerical results show that the solutions of inverse problems using the finite element method are very sensitive to measurement location. In addition, the effects of regularization and noise added to measured displacements are discussed through numerical examples.

Effect of surface slip on Stokes flow past a spherical particle in infinite fluid and near a plane wall

The motion of a spherical particle in infinite linear flow and near a plane wall, subject to the slip boundary condition on both the particle surface and the wall, is studied in the limit of zero Reynolds number. In the case of infinite flow, an exact solution is derived using the singularity representation, and analytical expressions for the force, torque, and stresslet are derived in terms of slip coefficients generalizing the Stokes–Basset–Einstein law. The slip velocity reduces the drag force, torque, and the effective viscosity of a dilute suspension. In the case of wall-bounded flow, advantage is taken of the axial symmetry of the boundaries of the flow with respect to the axis that is normal to the wall and passes through the particle center to formulate the problem in terms of a system of one-dimensional integral equations for the first sine and cosine Fourier coefficients of the unknown traction and velocity along the boundary contour in a meridional plane. Numerical solutions furnish accurate predictions for (a) the force and torque exerted on a particle translating parallel to the wall in a quiescent fluid, (b) the force and torque exerted on a particle rotating about an axis that is parallel to the wall in a quiescent fluid, and (c) the translational and angular velocities of a freely suspended particle in simple shear flow parallel to the wall. For certain combinations of the wall and particle slip coefficients, a particle moving under the influence of a tangential force translates parallel to the wall without rotation, and a particle moving under the influence of a tangential torque rotates about an axis that is parallel to the wall without translation. For a particle convected in simple shear flow, minimum translational velocity is observed for no-slip surfaces. However, allowing for slip may either increase or decrease the particle angular velocity, and the dependence on the wall and particle slip coefficients is not necessarily monotonic.

A semi-analytical solution for multiple circular inhomogeneities in one of two joined isotropic elastic half-planes

The paper presents a semi-analytical method for solving the problem of two joined, dissimilar isotropic elastic half-planes, one of which contains a large number of arbitrary located, non-overlapping, perfectly bonded circular elastic inhomogeneities. In general, the inhomogeneities may have different elastic properties and sizes. The analysis is based on a solution of a complex singular integral equation with the unknown tractions at each circular boundary approximated by a truncated complex Fourier series. A system of linear algebraic equations is obtained by using a Taylor series expansion. Apart from round-off, the only errors introduced into the solution are due to truncation of the Fourier series. The resulting semi-analytical method allows one to calculate the elastic fields everywhere in the half-planes and inside the inhomogeneities. Numerical examples are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.

Motion of a spherical particle in film flow

The motion of a spherical particle suspended in gravity-driven film flow down an inclined plane is considered in the limit of vanishing Reynolds and Bond numbers where the free-surface deformation is infinitesimal. Taking advantage of the axially symmetry of the boundaries of the flow with respect to the axis that is normal to the wall and free surface and passes through the particle centre, the problem is formulated as a system of one-dimensional integral equations for the first Fourier coefficients of the unknown traction and velocity along the boundary contours in a meridional plane. It is found that the particle translational velocity scaled by the unperturbed velocity evaluated at the particle centre increases monotonically as the particle approaches the free-surface, whereas the corresponding angular velocity of rotation scaled by the unperturbed vorticity evaluated at the particle centre reaches a maximum at a certain intermediate position. The free-surface velocity vector field and deformation are displayed, the force and torque exerted on a spherical particle adhering to the wall are tabulated, and the associated flow pattern is discussed.

Computation of Stokes Flow due to the Motion or Presence of a Particle in a Tube

The computation of Stokes flow due to the motion or presence of a rigid particle in a fluid-filled tube with arbitrary geometry is discussed with emphasis on the induced upstream to downstream pressure change. It is proposed that expressing the pressure change as an integral over the particle surface involving (a) the a priori unknown traction, and (b) the velocity of the pure-fluid pressure-driven flow, simplifies the numerical implementation and ameliorates the effect of domain truncation. Numerical computations are performed based on the integral formulation in conjunction with a boundary-element method for a particle translating and rotating inside a cylindrical tube with a circular cross-section. The numerical results are consistent with previous asymptotic solutions for small particles, and complement available numerical solutions for particular types of motion