Search results for "Ocean Engineering"
showing 10 items of 404 documents
An enhanced grain-boundary framework for computational homogenization and micro-cracking simulations of polycrystalline materials
2015
An enhanced three-dimensional (3D) framework for computational homogenization and intergranular cracking of polycrystalline materials is presented. The framework is aimed at reducing the computational cost of polycrystalline micro simulations, with an aim towards effective multiscale modelling. The scheme is based on a recently developed Voronoi cohesive-frictional grain-boundary formulation. A regularization scheme is used to avoid excessive mesh refinements often induced by the presence of small edges and surfaces in mathematically exact 3D Voronoi morphologies. For homogenization purposes, periodic boundary conditions are enforced on non-prismatic periodic micro representative volume ele…
Optimization and analysis of processes with moving materials subjected to fatigue fracture and instability
2013
We study systems of traveling continuum modeling the web as a thin elastic plate of brittle material, traveling between a system of supports at a constant velocity, and subjected to bending, in-plane tension and small initial cracks. We study crack growth under cyclic in-plane tension and transverse buckling of the web analytically. We seek optimal in-plane tension that maximizes a performance vector function consisting of the number of cycles before fracture, the critical velocity and process effectiveness. The present way of applying optimization in the studies of fracture and stability is new and affords an analytical tool for process analysis. peerReviewed
Coating fragmentation by branching cracks at large biaxial strain
2007
The fragmentation behaviour of a thin brittle coating attached to a ductile substrate subjected to equibiaxial quasi-static in-plane tension is studied. The experimentally observed cracking patterns are related to repetitively branching coating cracks. The fragmentation process is modelled by the rate equation approach. It is established that fragmentation by branching cracks leads to a qualitatively different fragment distribution compared to binary fragmentation. The fragmentation model is applied to identify crack branching and coating/substrate stress transfer parameters.
The interphase finite element
2011
Mesomodelling of structures made of heterogeneous materials requires the introduction of mechanical models which are able to simulate the interactions between the adherents. Among these devices is quite popular the zero thickness interface (ZTI) model where the contact tractions and the displacement discontinuities are the primary static and kinematic variables. In some cases the joint response depends also on the internal stresses and strains within the thin layer adjacent to the joint interfaces. The interphase model, taking into account these additional variables, represents a sort of enhanced ZTI. In this paper a general theoretical formulation of the interphase model is reported and an…
Optimality conditions for shakedown design of trusses
1995
This paper deals with optimal shakedown design of truss structures constituted by elastic perfectly plastic material. The design problem is formulated by means of a statical approach on the grounds of the shakedown lower bound theorem, and by means of a kinematical approach on the grounds of the shakedown upper bound theorem. In both cases two different types of design problem are formulated: one searches for the minimum volume design whose shakedown limit load is assigned; the other searches for the maximum shakedown limit load design whose volume is assigned. The Kuhn-Tucker equations of the four problems here above mentioned are found by utilizing a variational approach; these equations …
α-stable distributions for better performance of ACO in detecting damage on not well spaced frequency systems
2014
Abstract In this paper, the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is modified through α -stable Levy variables and applied to the identification of incipient damage in structural components. The main feature of the proposed optimization is an improved ability, which derives from the heavy tails of the stable random variable, to escape from local minima. This aspect is relevant since the objective function used for damage detection may have many local minima which render very challenging the search of the global minimum corresponding to the damage parameter. As the optimization is performed on the structural response and does not require the extraction of modal components, the method is pa…
Limit Analysis of Structures with Stochastic Strength Variations∗
1972
Abstract On the basis of a probabilistic fomulation of the fundamental theorems of “limit analysis,” a procedure is developed which allows, with a very limited amount of computing work, the determination of a domain containing the probability distribution curve of the collapse load factor of any structure that satisfies the usual conditions for validity of the limit analysis, but has randomly distributed limit strengths. Further improvements of the bounds thus obtained can be achieved by the equivalent of either the equilibrium or the kinematic methods of limit analysis.
Stochastic dynamics of linear elastic trusses in presence of structural uncertainties (virtual distortion approach)
2004
Structures involving uncertainties in material and/or in geometrical parameters are referred to as uncertain structures. Reliability analysis of such structures strongly depends on variation of parameters and probabilistic approach is often used to characterize structural uncertainties. In this paper dynamic analysis of linearly elastic system in presence of random parameter variations will be performed. In detail parameter fluctuations have been considered as inelastic, stress and parameter dependent superimposed strains. Analysis is then carried out via superposition principle accounting for response to external agencies and parameter dependent strains. Proposed method yields asymptotic s…
Approximate survival probability determination of hysteretic systems with fractional derivative elements
2018
Abstract A Galerkin scheme-based approach is developed for determining the survival probability and first-passage probability of a randomly excited hysteretic systems endowed with fractional derivative elements. Specifically, by employing a combination of statistical linearization and of stochastic averaging, the amplitude of the system response is modeled as one-dimensional Markovian Process. In this manner the corresponding backward Kolmogorov equation which governs the evolution of the survival probability of the system is determined. An approximate solution of this equation is sought by employing a Galerkin scheme in which a convenient set of confluent hypergeometric functions is used a…
First-passage problem for nonlinear systems under Lévy white noise through path integral method
2016
In this paper, the first-passage problem for nonlinear systems driven by $$\alpha $$ -stable Levy white noises is considered. The path integral solution (PIS) is adopted for determining the reliability function and first-passage time probability density function of nonlinear oscillators. Specifically, based on the properties of $$\alpha $$ -stable random variables and processes, PIS is extended to deal with Levy white noises with any value of the stability index $$\alpha $$ . Application to linear and nonlinear systems considering different values of $$\alpha $$ is reported. Comparisons with pertinent Monte Carlo simulation data demonstrate the accuracy of the results.