This paper presents the capabilities of ABAQUS finite-element program [1] in modelling sandwich beams and plates resting on deformable foundations. Specific systems of sandwich beams and plates separated by an elastic core layer were subjected to the action of point and distributed moving loads. A few theoretical examples are provided to present different techniques of modelling the foundations and the moving loads. The effects of the boundary conditions and of the foundation parameters on the deflections of the analysed structures are also presented.

The formulation of a plate finite element with so called ‘physical’ shape functions is revisited. The derivation of the ‘physical’ shape functions is based on Hencky-Bollé theory of moderately thick plates. The considered finite element was assessed in the past, and the tests showed that the solution convergence was achieved in a wide range of thickness to in-plane dimensions ratios. In this paper a holistic correctness assessment is presented, which covers three criteria: the ellipticity, the consistency and the inf-sup conditions. Fulfilment of these criteria assures the existence of a unique solution, and a stable and optimal convergence to the correct solution. The algorithms of the numerical tests for each test case are presented and the tests are performed for the considered formulation. In result it is concluded that the finite element formulation passes every test and therefore is a good choice for modeling plate structural elements regardless of their thickness.

This study was carried out on the background of Sutong Bridge project based on fracture mechanics, aiming at analyzing the growth mechanism of fatigue cracks of a bridge under the load of vehicles. Stress intensity factor (SIF) can be calculated by various methods. Three steel plates with different kinds of cracks were taken as the samples in this study. With the combination of finite element analysis software ABAQUS and the J integral method, SIF values of the samples were calculated. After that, the extended finite element method in the simulation of fatigue crack growth was introduced, and the simulation of crack growth paths under different external loads was analyzed. At last, we took a partial model from the Sutong Bridge and supposed its two dangerous parts already had fine cracks; then simulative vehicle load was added onto the U-rib to predict crack growth paths using the extended finite element method.

The present paper addresses the analysis of structural vibration transmission in the presence of structural joints. The problem is tackled from a numerical point of view, analyzing some scenarios by using finite element models. The numerical results obtained making use of this process are then compared with those evaluated using the EN 12354 standard vibration reduction index concept. It is shown that, even for the simplest cases, the behavior of a structural joint is complex and evidences the frequency dependence. Comparison with results obtained by empirical formulas reveals that those of the standards cannot accurately reproduce the expected behavior, and thus indicate that alternative complementary calculation procedures are required. A simple methodology to estimate the difference between numerical and standard predictions is here proposed allowing the calculation of an adaptation term that makes both approaches converge. This term was found to be solution-dependent, and thus should be evaluated for each structure.

This paper presents a numerical investigation of the effects of lamination orientation on the fracture behaviour of rectangular steel wires for civil engineering applications using finite element (FE) analysis. The presence of mid-thickness across-the-width lamination changes the cup and cone fracture shape exhibited by the lamination-free wire to a V-shaped fracture with an opening at the bottom/pointed end of the V-shape at the mid-thickness across-the-width lamination location. The presence of mid-width across-the-thickness lamination changes the cup and cone fracture shape of the lamination-free wire without an opening to a cup and cone fracture shape with an opening at the lamination location. The FE fracture behaviour prediction approach adopted in this work provides an understanding of the effects of lamination orientation on the fracture behaviour of wires for civil engineering applications which cannot be understood through experimental investigations because it is impossible to machine laminations in different orientations into wire specimens.

The paper presents a spatial model of the satellite antenna with an arbitrary number of flexible arms. Such a system is an example of an open kinematic chain with a tree-like structure. The modification of the rigid finite element method is used to discretise flexible links. The equations of motion are derived from the Lagrange equations and the motion of the system is described using joint coordinates and homogenous transformations. Numerical simulations have been carried out to analyse how the method of extending the arms influences the dynamics of the system.

Dry electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) are widely used for purification of exhaust gases in industrial applications. Maintenance of their high efficiency depends primarily on periodical cleaning of the collecting electrodes (CEs). Dust removal (regeneration of CEs) is realized by inducing periodical vibrations of the electrodes. The paper presents results of vibration modelling of a system of CEs; the results were obtained by means of the finite element method, the hybrid finite element method, the finite strip method and a model formulated using Abaqus. Numerical results are compared with those obtained from experimental measurements. Conclusions concerning numerical effectiveness and exactness of the methods are formulated and reasons for differences are discussed.

Magnetic properties of silicon iron electrical steel are determined by using standardized measurement setups and distinct excitation parameters. Characteristic values for magnetic loss and magnetization are used to select the most appropriate material for its application. This approach is not sufficient, because of the complex material behavior inside electrical machines, which can result in possible discrepancies between estimated and actual machine behavior. The materials’ anisotropy can be one of the problems why simulation and measurement are not in good accordance.With the help of a rotational single sheet tester, the magnetic material can be tested under application relevant field distribution. Thereby, additional effects of hysteresis and anisotropy can be characterized for detailed modelling and simulation.

The present paper is devoted to the discussion and review of the non-destructive testing methods mainly based on vibration and wave propagation. In the first part, the experimental methods of actuating and analyzing the signal (vibration) are discussed. The piezoelectric elements, fiber optic sensors and Laser Scanning Doppler Vibrometer (SLDV) method are described. Effective detecting of the flaws needs very accurate theoretical models. Thus, the numerical methods, e.g. finite element, spectral element method and numerical models of the flaws in isotropic and composite materials are presented. Moreover, the detection of the damage in structures, which are subjected to cyclic or static loads, is based on the analyzing of the change in natural frequency of the whole structure, the change of internal impedance of the material and the change in guided waves propagating through the investigated structure. All these cases are characterized in detail. At the end of this paper, several applications of the structural health monitoring systems in machine design and operation are presented.

Over the years laser welding has evolved as a fabrication process capable of overcoming the limitations of conventional joining methodologies. It facilitates the welding of diverse range of materials like metals, non-metals, polymers etc. Laser transmission welding is a technique employed for fabricating intricate shapes/contours in polymers with better precision compared to the other conventional processes. Nylon6, a synthetic semi-crystalline polymer is utilized as an engineering thermoplastic due to its high strength and temperature resistant properties. In the earlier researches, various welding techniques were employed for the fabrication of polymers and metals keeping the laser beam stagnant, and much emphasis was given only to temperature distribution along the different axes and limited attention was given to residual stress analysis. Therefore, in this research work, a three-dimensional time-dependent model using a moving laser beam is used to fabricate unreinforced Nylon6 specimens.

A numerical method is developed for estimating the acoustic power of any baffled planar structure, which is vibrating with arbitrary surface velocity profile. It is well known that this parameter may be calculated with good accuracy using near field data, in terms of an impedance matrix, which is generated by the discretization of the vibrating surface into a number of elementary radiators. Thus, the sound pressure field on the structure surface can be determined by a combination of the matrix and the volume velocity vector. Then, the sound power can be estimated through integration of the acoustic intensity over a closed surface. On the other hand, few works exist in which the calculation is done in the far field from near field data by the use of radiation matrices, possibly because the numerical integration becomes complicated and expensive due to large variations of directivity of the source. In this work a different approach is used, based in the so-called Propagating Matrix, which is useful for calculating the sound pressure of an arbitrary number of points into free space, and it can be employed to estimate the sound power by integrating over a finite number of pressure points over a hemispherical surface surrounding the vibrating structure. Through numerical analysis, the advantages/disadvantages of the current method are investigated, when compared with numerical methods based on near field data. A flexible rectangular baffled panel is considered, where the normal velocity profile is previously calculated using a commercial finite element software. However, the method can easily be extended to any arbitrary shape. Good results are obtained in the low frequency range showing high computational performance of the method. Moreover, strategies are proposed to improve the performance of the method in terms of both computational cost and speed.

Numerical methods are mostly used to predict the acoustic pressure inside duct systems. In this paper, the development of a numerical method based on the convected Helmholtz equation to compute the acoustic pressure inside an axisymmetric duct is presented. A validation of the proposed method was done by a comparison with the analytical formulation for simple cases of hard wall and lined ducts. The effect of the flow on the acoustic pressure inside these ducts was then evaluated by computing this field with different Mach numbers.

Titanium nitride (TiN) is regarded as a potential biomaterial for blood-contact applications. TiN thin films were fabricated by pulsed

laser deposition with the Nd:YAG laser on biologically applied polyurethane. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study of 250 nm thick films revealed columnar structure. Such films were observed to be brittle, which led to crack formation and secondary nucleation of microcolumn. TEM studies showed a kinetic mechanism of growth (columnar) in films of 250 nm thickness. It was stated that thinner films were much smoother and uniform than the thicker ones, which could be associated with the surface diffusion mechanism to appear. In order to improve the coatings elasticity, the thickness was reduced to 50 nm, which limited the deposition mechanism operation to the early stage. TEM cross-section observation revealed elastic properties of thin films. A biological test showed that TiN surface film produced on polyurethane is characterized by good biocompatibility and decreased surface affinity for cell adhesion. Films of 0.25 and 0.5 1m thick of TiN were selected for theoretical finite element modelling (FEM) using ADINA program. The micro cracks formation predicted in simulation was verified by phenomena observed in microstructure examinations.

The work presents a computer simulation realized with the ADINA program concerning nanoindendation test. A shape of nanoindenter was proposed to be similar to the real surgical tools. The theoretical model was used to predict phenomena which would appear in practice. The contribution of the TiN coating thickness to the implant rigid properties was simulated. Three types of extortion conditions could be considered, i.e., short contact with surgery tool (i); long continuous contact with natural tissue (ii); long cyclic contact with natural tissue (iii). In the first part of the work, the authors focused on the first type of extortion (i). The second part of the work is dedicated to the calculations of temperature impact to layer behaviour. Two layer thicknesses are considered i.e., 250 nm and 50 nm. The examined coatings find serious practical applications as a blood-contacting material in medicine. The coatings were subjected to transmission electron microscopy investigations. Columnar mechanism of film growth controlled by kinetic process is stated to operate for the considered range of layer thickness. Plasma temperature is observed to influence the substrate behaviour. Examinations of thinner layers, i.e. under 100nm, revealed higher degree of smoothness and uniformity, which could be related to the operation of the surface diffusion mechanism at the early stage of deposition. The physical explanation of TEM images was based on the finite element calculations of the temperature distribution using the ADINA program .

Some materials-related microstructural problems calculated using the phase-field method are presented. It is well known that the phase field method requires mesh resolution of a diffuse interface. This makes the use of mesh adaptivity essential especially for fast evolving interfaces and other transient problems. Complex problems in 3D are also computationally challenging so that parallel computations are considered necessary. In this paper, a parallel adaptive finite element scheme is proposed. The scheme keeps the level of node and edge for 2D and level of node and face for 3D instead of the complete history of refinements to facilitate derefinement. The information is local and exchange of information is minimized and also less memory is used. The parallel adaptive algorithms that run on distributed memory machines are implemented in the numerical simulation of dendritic growth and capillary-driven flows.

This paper presents numerical two-dimensional results for fine-grained concrete under quasi-static three-point bending at meso-scale. Concrete was modelled as a random heterogeneous three-phase material. The simulations for notched concrete beams were carried out with the standard finite element method using an isotropic damage constitutive model enhanced by a characteristic length of micro-structure by means of a non-local theory. The effect of the volume fraction, shape, size, statistical distribution and stiffness of aggregate was analysed. Moreover, the effect of the bond thickness, notch size and characteristic length of micro-structure on the material behaviour was numerically investigated. The FE results were compared with own laboratory test results and other meso-scale calculations for three-phase concrete elements.