Search results for "Finite elements"

Non linear analysis of 3D elastoplastic framed structures

2014

Thermal optimization of the Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead breeding zone layout design regarding TBR enhancement

2017

Abstract Within the framework of EUROfusion R&D activities, CEA-Saclay has carried out an investigation of the thermal and mechanical performances of alternative designs intended to enhance the Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR) of the Helium-Cooled Lithium Lead (HCLL) Breeding Blanket (BB) for DEMO. Neutronic calculations performed on the 2014 DEMO HCLL baseline predicted a value of TBR equal to 1.07, lower than the required value of 1.1, necessary to ensure the tritium self-sufficiency of the breeding blanket taking into account uncertainties. In order to reach the TBR target, the strategy of the steel amount reduction inside the HCLL module breeding zone (BZ) has been followed by suppressing s…

A review on some discrete variational techniques for the approximation of essential boundary conditions

2022

We review different techniques to enforce essential boundary conditions, such as the (nonhomogeneous) Dirichlet boundary condition, within a discrete variational framework, and especially techniques that allow to account for them in a weak sense. Those are of special interest for discretizations such as geometrically unfitted finite elements or high order methods, for instance. Some of them remain primal, and add extra terms in the discrete weak form without adding a new unknown: this is the case of the boundary penalty and Nitsche techniques. Others are mixed, and involve a Lagrange multiplier with or without stabilization terms. For a simple setting, we detail the different associated for…

Comparison between the MHFEM formulation and a 2nd spatial order FV formulation of the linear groundwater flow problem

2008

Mixed and Mixed Hybrid Finite Elements (MHFE) methods have been widely used in the last decade for simulation of groundwater flow problem, petroleum reservoir problems, potential flow problems, etc. The main advantage of these methods is that, unlike the classical Galerkin approach, they guarantee local and global mass balance, as well the flux continuity between inter-element sides. The simple shape of the control volume, where the mass conservation is satisfied, makes also easier to couple this technique with a Finite Volume technique in the time splitting approach for the solution of advection-dispersion problems. In the present paper a new second spatial approximation order Finite Volum…

From single fiber to macro-level mechanics: A structural finite-element model for elastomeric fibrous biomaterials

2014

In the present work, we demonstrate that the mesoscopic in-plane mechanical behavior of membrane elastomeric scaffolds can be simulated by replication of actual quantified fibrous geometries. Elastomeric electrospun polyurethane (ES-PEUU) scaffolds, with and without particulate inclusions, were utilized. Simulations were developed from experimentally-derived fiber network geometries, based on a range of scaffold isotropic and anisotropic behaviors. These were chosen to evaluate the effects on macro-mechanics based on measurable geometric parameters such as fiber intersections, connectivity, orientation, and diameter. Simulations were conducted with only the fiber material model parameters a…

A numerical study on the effect of the interface material model on the tensile behaviour of FRCM strips

2019

Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) composites are becoming increasingly popular for strengthening masonry structures for which the compatibility of the inorganic matrix with the chemical and physical properties of the support makes it advantageous to adopt such systems. However, despite the large use of FRCMs for strengthening applications, the characterization and modelling of the mechanical response in tension of these systems is an open issue. In fact, the constitutive tensile law of the composite shows to be affected by different variables, such as the clamping system adopted during tensile test, the gauge length used for recording strains, the monitoring of the number of yarns…

Guided Wave Propagation in a Plate Edge and Application to NDI of Rail Base

2012

The analysis of guided wave propagation in a plate edge can be useful for some applications, such as for the inspection of the rail base. Here guided waves generated by a laser beam hitting, on the inclined surface, a solid media with trapezoidal cross-section have been studied. We have found that, for the geometry investigated, two guided waves propagate along both free surfaces of the plate, with same velocity and frequency. The analysis of the trajectories of the two material points, due to waves propagation, shows that the wave packets can be identified as Rayleigh waves. The presence of S0 Lamb mode, with low frequency and low amplitude, has been revealed too. As an example of a possib…

Multi-physical modelling of Reverse ElectroDialysis

2016

Energy extraction from salinity gradients (salinity gradient power, SGP) represents a novel and valuable renewable energy source. Among the existing SGP technologies, reverse electrodialysis (RED) is the oldest and one of the most promising. RED is a membrane-based electrochemical process that directly converts the salinity gradient energy into electric current. More precisely, in a RED unit two solutions at different concentration flow in two series of alternated channels, which are formed by piling two alternated series of cation and anion exchange membranes (CEMs and AEMs, respectively). The chemical potential difference between the two solutions generates an electric potential differenc…

Monotonic solution of flow and transport problems in heterogeneous media using Delaunay unstructured triangular meshes

2013

Transport problems occurring in porous media and including convection, diffusion and chemical reactions, can be well represented by systems of Partial Differential Equations. In this paper, a numerical procedure is proposed for the fast and robust solution of flow and transport problems in 2D heterogeneous saturated media. The governing equations are spatially discretized with unstructured triangular meshes that must satisfy the Delaunay condition. The solution of the flow problem is split from the solution of the transport problem and it is obtained with an approach similar to the Mixed Hybrid Finite Elements method, that always guarantees the M-property of the resulting linear system. The…

Residual a posteriori error estimation for frictional contact with Nitsche method

2023

We consider frictional contact problems in small strain elasticity discretized with finite elements and Nitsche method. Both bilateral and unilateral contact problems are taken into account, as well as both Tresca and Coulomb models for the friction. We derive residual a posteriori error estimates for each friction model, following [Chouly et al, IMA J. Numer. Anal. (38) 2018, pp. 921-954]. For the incomplete variant of Nitsche, we prove an upper bound for the dual norm of the residual, for Tresca and Coulomb friction, without any extra regularity and without a saturation assumption. Numerical experiments allow to assess the accuracy of the estimates and their interest for adaptive meshing …