Thi D. Dang¹, Bhavani V. Sankar²

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.26, No.3, pp. 169-188, 2008, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2008.026.169

Abstract In this paper the meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method is used in the micromechanical analysis of a unidirectional fiber composite. The methods have been extended to include shear loadings, thus permitting a more complete micromechanical analysis of the composite subjected to combined loading states. The MLPG formulation is presented for the analysis of the representative volume element (RVE) of the periodic composite containing material discontinuities. Periodic boundary conditions are imposed between opposite faces of the RVE. The treatment of periodic boundary conditions in the MLPG method is handled by using the multipoint constraint technique. Examples are presented to illustrate the… More >

Shu Li¹, S. N. Atluri²

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.26, No.1, pp. 61-74, 2008, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2008.026.061

Abstract The Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) "mixed collocation'' method is applied to the problem of topology-optimization of elastic structures. In this paper, the topic of compliance minimization of elastic structures is pursued, and nodal design variables which represent nodal volume fractions at discretized nodes are adopted. A so-called nodal sensitivity filter is employed, to prevent the phenomenon of checkerboarding in numerical solutions to the topology-optimization problems. The example results presented in the paper demonstrate the suitability and versatility of the MLPG "mixed collocation'' method, in implementing structural topology-optimization. More >

Q.W. Ma¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.23, No.2, pp. 75-90, 2008, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2008.023.075

Abstract In the MLPG_R (Meshless Local Petrove-Galerkin based on Rankine source solution) method, one needs a meshless interpolation scheme for an unknown function to discretise the governing equation. The MLS (moving least square) method has been used for this purpose so far. The MLS method requires inverse of matrix or solution of a linear algebraic system and so is quite time-consuming. In this paper, a new scheme, called simplified finite difference interpolation (SFDI), is devised. This scheme is generally as accurate as the MLS method but does not need matrix inverse and consume less CPU time to evaluate. Although this scheme… More >

J. Sladek¹, V. Sladek¹, Ch. Zhang², P. Solek³

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.22, No.3, pp. 217-234, 2007, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2007.022.217

Abstract A meshless method based on the local Petrov-Galerkin approach is proposed for the solution of boundary value problems for coupled thermo-electro-mechanical fields. Transient dynamic governing equations are considered here. To eliminate the time-dependence in these equations, the Laplace-transform technique is applied. Material properties of piezoelectric materials are influenced by a thermal field. It is leading to an induced nonhomogeneity and the governing equations are more complicated than in a homogeneous counterpart. Two-dimensional analyzed domain is subdivided into small circular subdomains surrounding nodes randomly spread over the whole domain. A unit step function is used as the test functions in the… More >

J. Sladek¹, V. Sladek¹, Ch. Zhang², P. Solek³, L. Starek³

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.19, No.3, pp. 247-262, 2007, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2007.019.247

Abstract A meshless method based on the local Petrov-Galerkin approach is proposed for crack analysis in two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) axisymmetric piezoelectric solids with continuously varying material properties. Axial symmetry of geometry and boundary conditions reduces the original 3-d boundary value problem into a 2-d problem. Stationary problems are considered in this paper. The axial cross section is discretized into small circular subdomains surrounding nodes randomly spread over the analyzed domain. A unit step function is used as the test functions in the local weak-form. Then, the derived local integral equations (LBIEs) involve only contour-integrals on the surfaces of subdomains.… More >

T. Jarak¹, J. Sorić¹, J. Hoster¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.18, No.3, pp. 235-246, 2007, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2007.018.235

Abstract A meshless computational method based on the local Petrov-Galerkin approach for the analysis of shell structures is presented. A concept of a three dimensional solid, allowing the use of completely 3-D constitutive models, is applied. Discretization is carried out by using both a moving least square approximation and polynomial functions. The exact shell geometry can be described. Thickness locking is eliminated by using a hierarchical quadratic approximation over the thickness. The shear locking phenomena in case of thin structures and the sensitivity to rigid body motions are minimized by applying interpolation functions of sufficiently high order. The numerical efficiency of… More >

Q.W. Ma¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.18, No.3, pp. 223-234, 2007, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2007.018.223

Abstract Two methods have been recently developed by the author and his group: one called MLPG_R (Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin method based on Rankine source solution) and the other called QALE-FEM (Quasi Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian Finite Element Method). The former is a meshless method developed from a general MLPG (Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin) method and is more computationally efficient than the general one when applied to modelling nonlinear water waves. The later is a mesh-based method similar to a conventional finite element method (FEM) when discretizing the governing equations but different from the conventional one in managing the mesh. In this paper, they are… More >

Weiran Yuan¹, Pu Chen^1,2, Kaishin Liu^1,3

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.17, No.2, pp. 115-134, 2007, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2007.017.115

Abstract In this paper we propose a direct solution method for the quasi-unsymmetric sparse matrix (QUSM) arising in the Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin method (MLPG). QUSM, which is conventionally treated as a general unsymmetric matrix, is unsymmetric in its numerical values, but nearly symmetric in its nonzero distribution of upper and lower triangular portions. MLPG employs trial and test functions in different functional spaces in the local domain weak form of governing equations. Consequently the stiffness matrix of the resultant linear system is a QUSM. The new solver for QUSM conducts a two-level unrolling technique for LDU factorization method and can be… More >

Q.W. Ma¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.9, No.2, pp. 193-210, 2005, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2005.009.193

Abstract Recently, the MLPG (Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin Method) method has been successfully extended to simulating nonlinear water waves [Ma, (2005)]. In that paper, the author employed the Heaviside step function as the test function to formulate the weak form over local sub-domains, acquiring an expression in terms of pressure gradient. In this paper, the solution for Rankine sources is taken as the test function and the local weak form is expressed in term of pressure rather than pressure gradient. Apart from not including pressure gradient, velocity gradient is also eliminated from the weak form. In addition, a semi-analytical technique is developed… More >

U. Andreaus^1,3, R.C. Batra², M. Porfiri^{2, 3}

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.9, No.2, pp. 111-132, 2005, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2005.009.111

Abstract Structural health monitoring techniques based on vibration data have received increasing attention in recent years. Since the measured modal characteristics and the transient motion of a beam exhibit low sensitivity to damage, numerical techniques for accurately computing vibration characteristics are needed. Here we use a Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method to analyze vibrations of a beam with multiple cracks. The trial and the test functions are constructed using the Generalized Moving Least Squares (GMLS) approximation. The smoothness of the GMLS basis functions requires the use of special techniques to account for the slope discontinuities at the crack locations. Therefore, a… More >