Search results for "boundary element method"
showing 10 items of 170 documents
A Grain-Scale Model of Inter-Granular Stress Corrosion Cracking in Polycrystals
2017
In this contribution, we propose a cohesive grain-boundary model for hydrogen-assisted inter-granular stress corrosion cracking at the grain-scale in 3D polycrystalline aggregates. The inter-granular strength is degraded by the presence of hydrogen and this is accounted for by employing traction-separation laws directly depending on hydrogen concentration, whose diffusion is represented at this stage through simplified phenomenological relationships. The main feature of the model is that all the relevant mechanical fields are represented in terms of grain-boundary variables only, which couples particularly well with the employment of traction-separation laws.
A microstructural model for homogenisation and cracking of piezoelectric polycrystals
2019
Abstract An original three-dimensional generalised micro-electro-mechanical model for computational homogenisation and analysis of degradation and micro-cracking of piezoelectric polycrystalline materials is proposed in this study. The model is developed starting from a generalised electro-mechanical boundary integral representation of the micro-structural problem for the individual bulk grains and a generalised cohesive formulation is employed for studying intergranular micro-damage initiation and evolution into intergranular micro-cracks. To capture the electro-mechanical coupling at the evolving damaging intergranular interfaces, standard mechanical cohesive laws are enriched with suitab…
Grain-boundary modelling of hydrogen assisted intergranular stress corrosion cracking
2018
Abstract A novel hybrid strategy for modelling intergranular hydrogen embrittlement in polycrystalline microstructures is proposed. The technique is based on a grain-boundary integral representation of the polycrystalline micro-mechanics, numerically solved by the boundary element method, coupled with an explicit finite element model of the intergranular hydrogen diffusion. The intergranular interaction between contiguous grains in the aggregate is modelled through extrinsic cohesive-frictional traction-separation laws, whose parameters depend on the concentration of intergranular hydrogen, which diffuses over the interface according to the Fick’s second law, inducing the weakening of the i…
Numerical analysis of a piezoelectric structural health monitoring system for composite flange-skin delamination detection
2013
Abstract In this paper, a piezoelectric based Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system is proposed to detect skin/stiffener debonding and delamination cracks proper of laminated composite structures. The SHM system is analyzed by means of a boundary element code implemented in the framework of piezoelectricity. The multidomain technique, coupled with an interface spring model, is used to model laminated composite structures as well as the bonding between the host delaminated structure and the piezoelectric sensor. Static sensitivity analyses are firstly performed on a drop-ply delaminated structure in order to identify a suitable configuration for the sensor. Then, the dynamic electromecha…
Dual boundary element model of 3D piezoelectric smart structures
2017
In this paper, the application of the dual boundary element method (DBEM) in the field of structural health monitoring (SHM) is explored. The model involves a 3D host structure, which is formulated by the DBEM in the Laplace domain, and 3D piezoelectric transducers, whose finite element model is derived from the electro-mechanical behaviour of piezoelectricity. The piezoelectric transducers and the host structure are coupled together via BEM variables. The practicability of this method in active sensing applications is demonstrated through comparisons with established FEM and parametric studies.
A Multiscale Approach to Polycrystalline Materials Damage and Failure
2014
A two-scale three-dimensional approach for degradation and failure in polycrystalline materials is presented. The method involves the component level and the grain scale. The damage-induced softening at the macroscale is modelled employing an initial stress boundary element approach. The microscopic degradation is explicitly modelled associating Representative Volume Elements (RVEs) to relevant points of the macro continuum and employing a cohesive-frictional 3D grain-boundary formulation to simulate intergranular degradation and failure in the Voronoi morphology. Macro-strains are downscaled as RVEs' periodic boundary conditions, while overall macro-stresses are obtained upscaling the micr…
Electroelastic Analysis of Piezoelectric Composite Laminates by Boundary Integral Equations
2004
A boundary integral representation for the electroelastic state in piezoelectric composite laminates subjected to axial extension, bending, torsion, shear/bending, and electric loadings is proposed. The governing equations are presented in terms of electromechanical generalized variables by the use of a suitable matrix notation. Thus, the three-dimensional electroelasticity solution for piezoelectric composite laminates is generated from a set of two partially coupled differential equations defined on the cross section of each individual ply within the laminate. These ply equations are linked through the interface conditions, which allow restoration of the model of the laminate as a whole. …
Boundary element modeling and analysis of adhesive bonded structural joints
2007
In this paper, a boundary element technique for modeling and analysis of adhesive bonded structural joints is presented. The formulation is developed in the framework of the anisotropic elasticity and attention is focused on the application to composite structural joints built with the splicing concept technique. To model and analyze composite bonded joints a multidomain implementation of the boundary element method has been used. It has been proven well suited and very effective for the characterization of the mechanical behavior of spliced joints, allowing the analysis of the high gradient stress and strain fields near the splice lines as well as the prediction of the overall distribution…
Micro-cracking of brittle polycrystalline materials with initial damage
2016
In this paper, the effect of pre-existing damage on brittle micro-cracking of polycrystalline materials is explored. The behaviour of single and multiple cracks randomly distributed within a grain scale polycrystalline aggregate is investigated using a recently developed grain boundary 3D computational framework. Each grain is modelled as a single crystal anisotropic domain. Opening, sliding and/or contact at grain boundaries are modelled using nonlinear cohesive-frictional laws. The polycrystalline micro-morphologies are generated using Voronoi tessellation algorithms in combination with a regularisation scheme to avoid the presence of unnecessary small geometrical entities (edges and face…