J. Joseph¹, Y. C. Lu¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.37, No.1, pp. 39-57, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.037.039

Abstract Aligned carbon nanotubes structures are emerging new materials that have demonstrated superior mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties and have the huge potential for a wide range of applications. In contrast with traditional materials whose microstructures are relatively "fixed", the aligned carbon nanotube materials have highly "tunable" structures. Therefore, it is crucial to have a rational strategy to design and evaluate the architectures and geometric factors to help process the optimal nanotube materials. Astructural mechanics based computational modeling is used for designing the aligned carbon nanotubes structures. Part 1 of the papers presents the theory of More >

C. Wang¹, W. Gao¹, C.W. Yang¹, C.M. Song¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.25, No.1, pp. 19-46, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2011.025.019

Abstract The random interval response and probabilistic interval reliability of structures with a mixture of random and interval properties are studied in this paper. Structural stiffness matrix is a random interval matrix if some structural parameters and loads are modeled as random variables and the others are considered as interval variables. The perturbation-based stochastic finite element method and random interval moment method are employed to develop the expressions for the mean value and standard deviation of random interval structural displacement and stress responses. The lower bound and upper bound of the mean value and standard deviation More >

Yihua Xiao¹, Xu Han^1,2, Dean Hu¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.23, No.1, pp. 9-34, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2011.023.009

Abstract For impact computations, it is efficient to model small and large deformation regions by Finite Element Method (FEM) and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), respectively. However, it requires an effective algorithm to couple FEM and SPH calculations. To fulfill this requirement, an alternative coupling algorithm is presented in this paper. In the algorithm, the coupling between element and particle regions are achieved by treating elements as imaginary particles and applying equivalent tractions to element sides on coupling interfaces. In addition, an adaptive coupling technique is proposed based on the algorithm to improve the computational efficiency of More >

Wenqing Wang¹, Thomas Schnicke², Olaf Kolditz³

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.21, No.3, pp. 217-236, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2011.021.217

Abstract This work focuses on parallel finite element simulation of thermal hydraulic and mechanical (THM) coupled processes in porous media, which is a common phenomenon in geological applications such as nuclear waste repository and CO2 storage facilities. The Galerkin finite element method is applied to solve the derived partial differential equations. To deal with the coupling terms among the equations, the momentum equation is solved individually in a monolithic manner, and moreover their solving processes are incorporated into the solving processes of nonisothermal hydraulic equation and heat transport equation in a staggered manner. The computation task… More >

Zhuo-Jia Fu^1,2, Wen Chen¹, Qing-Hua Qin^2,3

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.21, No.3, pp. 187-208, 2011, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2011.021.187

Abstract This paper presents a hybrid finite element model (FEM) with a new type of general solution as interior trial functions, named as HGS-FEM. A variational functional corresponding to the proposed general solution is then constructed for deriving the element stiffness matrix of the proposed element model and the corresponding existence of extremum is verified. Then the assumed intra-element potential field is constructed by a linear combination of novel general solutions at the points on the element boundary under consideration. Furthermore, the independent frame field is introduced to guarantee the intra-element continuity. The present scheme inherits More >

X. H. Du¹, X. P. Shen¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.20, No.3, pp. 225-242, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.020.225

Abstract Aim of this paper is to estimate the integrity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) prestressed storage tank under seismic influence. The coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) analysis technique is used to simulate the fluid-structure interaction between LNG and the cylinder of LNG prestressed storage tank. The 3-D model of LNG has been dispersed by Eulerian mesh that is different from traditional analysis method which is called the added mass method. Meanwhile, both of the 3-D models of prestressed rebar and concrete structure are dispersed by Lagrangian mesh. Following conclusions are obtained: 1) Natural frequency of the whole… More >

S. N.V.R.K. Kurapati¹, Y. C. Lu¹, F. Yang²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.20, No.1, pp. 1-18, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.020.001

Abstract The spherical indentation of elastic film /substrate structures is analyzed using the finite element method. The load-displacement curves of the film /substrate structures of various configurations are obtained and analyzed. A generalized power law relation is established, which can be used to analyze the load-displacement curve of elastic film /substrate systems under spherical indentations. The indentation load is dependent on the modulus ratio of the film to the substrate and film thickness. A semi-analytical expression for the power of the power law relation is also obtained as a function of the normalized film thickness and More >

Lutz Nasdala¹ , Andreas Kempe¹ and Raimund Rolfes¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.19, No.1, pp. 57-104, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.019.057

Abstract In order to understand the underlying mechanisms of inelastic material behavior and nonlinear surface interactions, which can be observed on macroscale as damping, softening, fracture, delamination, frictional contact etc., it is necessary to examine the molecular scale. Force fields can be applied to simulate the rearrangement of chemical and physical bonds. However, a simulation of the atomic interactions is very costly so that classical molecular dynamics (MD) is restricted to structures containing a low number of atoms such as carbon nanotubes. The objective of this paper is to show how MD simulations can be integrated… More >

Jun Xu^1,2, Yibing Li¹, Xi Chen^2,3, Yuan Yan^2,3, Dongyun Ge^4,1, Bohan Liu¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.18, No.2, pp. 183-212, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.018.183

Abstract The crack pattern in a PVB laminated windshield upon head impact is of considerable interest because it contains important information on energy mitigation, pedestrian protection, and accident reconstruction. We carry out a systematic numerical study based on the extended finite element method (XFEM), to investigate the effects of various material and system variables, including the impact speed, effective head mass, PVB interlayer material thickness and property, windshield curvature, aspect ratio and size, boundary constraint, impact angle and off-center impact, on the parameters characterizing the resulting crack pattern, i.e. the crack length, crack angle and circumferential More >

Fei Jia¹, Xiu-Peng Zheng^1,2, Yan-Ping Cao^1,3, Xi-Qiao Feng¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.18, No.2, pp. 105-120, 2010, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2010.018.105

Abstract Recently, a novel technique based on the wrinkling of a bilayer composite film resting on a compliant substrate was proposed to measure the elastic moduli of thin films. In this paper, this technique is studied via theoretical analysis and finite element simulations. We find that under an applied compressive strain, the composite system may exhibit various buckling modes, depending upon the applied compressive strain, geometric and material parameters of the system. The physical mechanisms underlying the occurrence of the two most typical buckling modes are analyzed from the viewpoint of energy. When the intermediate layer More >