Vector interpolation functions which approximate electromagnetic vector fields are constructed in this thesis. These vector functions are to be used when the solution of Maxwell's equations involves an irrotational or solenoidal vector field. In addition the functions are chosen so that they can easily be used in the implementation of a finite element method. / Four bases are constructed. The first two span the spaces of solenoidal or irrotational two component vector polynomials of order one in two variables whereas the other two span the spaces of solenoidal or irrotational three component vector polynomials of order one in three variables. The vector polynomials are then used within the finite element method to approximate the two component current density J and electric field E over a conducting plate and the three component current density in a three dimensional wire.

A co-simulation methodology is explored whereby a finite element code and a multi-body dynamics code featuring flexible cantilevered beams can be coupled and interactively executed. The floating frame of reference formulation is used to develop the equations of motion. The floating frame is fixed at the blade root. Such a formulation results in ordinary differential equations without added algebraic constraints. A variety of loose coupling and tight coupling schemes are examined for this problem. To synchronize the coupling variables, a Gauss-Seidel type iterative algorithm is used. The resulting fixed-point iterations are accelerated using Aitken’s adaptive relaxation technique. The methodology is evaluated for FAST, a wind turbine aeroelastic simulation code developed by NREL. As with FAST, many multi-body codes which can model flexibility employ modal methods. A proposed addition for FAST to simulate flexible effects using a finite element method module offers a potential to include a variety of non-linearities and also provides possibilities for using a high-fidelity aerodynamics module. The coupling schemes are compared and their applicability and limitations for different scenarios are pointed out. Results validating the approach are provided.

No description available.

Cervical spine injury can range from minor to severe or fatal, where severe injuries can result in incomplete or complete quadriplegia. There are close to 45,000 Canadians currently affected by paralysis due to traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) with an estimated 1700 new cases each year. The majority of tSCI occur in automotive collisions, and current methods for injury prediction are limited to predicting the likelihood for occupant injury but lack the detail to predict the specific injury and location at the tissue level. This research focused on major injuries associated with high impact automotive collisions such as rollover type collisions. Although whiplash is an injury commonly associated with automotive collisions, it was not considered for this study based on the low risk of neurological impairment. The goal of this study was to develop a cervical spine segment finite element model capable of predicting severe injuries such as ligament tears, disc failure, and bone fracture. The segment models used in this study were developed from previous cervical spine segment models representative of a 50th percentile male. The segment models included the vertebrae, detailed representations of the disc annulus fibres and nucleus, and the associated ligaments. The original model was previously verified and validated under quasi-static loading conditions for physiological ranges of motion. To accomplish the objectives of this research, the original models were modified to include updated material properties with the ability to represent tissue damage corresponding to injuries. Additional verification of the model was required to verify that the new material properties provided a physically correct response. Progressive failure was introduced in the ligament elements to produce a more biofidelic failure response and a tied contact between the vertebral bony endplates and the disc was used to represent disc avulsion. To represent the onset of bone fracture, a critical plastic strain failure criterion was implemented, and elements exceeding this criterion were eroded. The changes made to the material models were based on experimental studies and were not calibrated to produce a specific result. After verifying the modifications were implemented successfully, the models were validated against experimental segment failure tests. Modes of loading investigated included tension, compression, flexion, extension and axial rotation. In each case, the simulated response of the segment was evaluated against the average failure load, displacement at failure, and the observed injuries reported in the experimental studies. Additionally, qualitative analysis of elevated stress locations in the model were compared to reported fracture sites. Overall, the simulations showed good agreement with the experimental failure values, and produced tissue failure that was representative of the observed tissue damage in the experimental tests. The results of this research have provided a solid basis for cervical spine segment level injury prediction. Some limitations include the current implementation of bone fracture under compressive loads, and failure within the annulus fibrosus fibres of the disc should be investigated for future models. In addition to material model modifications, further investigation into the kinetics and kinematics of the upper cervical spine segment are important to better understand the complex interactions between the bone geometry and ligaments. This would give insight into the initial positioning and expected response in subsequent models. Future research will include integrating the current segment-level failure criteria into a full cervical spine model for the purpose of predicting severe cervical spine injury in simulated crash scenarios, with future applications in sports injury prevention and protective equipment.

No description available.

Direct solution for three dimensional electric or magnetic field vectors throughout the frequency spectrum is accomplished by a finite element formulation which includes displacement and conduction currents, and requires no special treatment for material interfaces. Analysis of bus bar and Bath cube eddy current problems demonstrate the capabilities of the method. / Spurious components in solutions to vector field problems are shown to corrupt deterministic solutions. These corruptions are identifiable with spurious modes familiar to high frequency modal analysis. Spectrally correct mixed order finite elements are demonstrated to retrieve accuracy in deterministic analyses. / The formulation may be limited by computer round-off at matrix assembly which affects the solenoidality of vector fields. Furthermore, extreme values encountered in low frequency eddy current analysis lead to ill conditioning and unreliable solutions. These numerical instabilities are overcome by parametric adjustment of permittivities. Error estimates are established to monitor inaccuracies introduced by permittivity adjustment.

No description available.

The aim of this thesis is to compare various simulation models of orthogonal cutting process with each other as well as with various experiments. The effects of several process parameters, such as friction and separation criterion, on the results are analyzed. As simulation tool, commercial implicit finite element codes MSC.Marc, Deform2D and the explicit code Thirdwave AdvantEdge are used. Separation of chip from the workpiece is achieved either only with continuous remeshing or by erasing elements according to the damage accumulated. From the results cutting and thrust forces, shear angle, chip thickness and contact length between the chip and the rake face of the tool can be estimated. For verification of results several cutting experiments are performed at different cutting conditions, such as rake angle and feed rate. Results show that commercial codes are able to simulate orthogonal cutting operations within reasonable limits. Friction is found to be the most critical parameter in the simulation, since good agreement can be achieved for individual process variables by tuning it. Therefore, simulation results must be assessed with all process variables and friction parameter should be tuned according to the shear angle results. Plain damage model seems not appropriate for separation purposes of machining simulations. On the other hand, although remeshing gives good results, it leads to the misconception of crack generation at the tip of the tool. Therefore, a new separation criterion is necessary to achieve both good physical modeling and prediction of process variables.

This PhD thesis presents research aims to improving the dynamic modelling of coupled plate structures across a wide frequency range by using analytical, statistical and experimental methods. The analytical waveguide method is used to model the flexural displacement of coupled plate structures which are simply supported along two parallel edges. A method of quickly predicting the average energy level in a plate from details of the waveguide model is described, and used for comparison with SEA models. The Poynting and Impedance methods of predicting the energy flow in coupled plate structures are investigated. Transmission coefficients for coupled plate structures are evaluated using the analytical waveguide method for both semi-infinite and finite coupled plate structures. Finite transmission coefficients have traditionally been more difficult to evaluate due to the presence of a reverberant field, but in this work a novel method of separating the reverberant field using a scattering matrix method is presented. The transmission coefficients for semi-infinite and finite structures are then compared for L-shaped plates. A modal transmission coefficient is also defined and for the cases considered, and is used to develop an alternative method of deriving the transmission coefficient in a finite structure. Frequency averaged transmission coefficients are also considered, and the transmission coefficients derived for finite and semi-infinite structures are found to be very similar after frequency averaging. Statistical Energy Analysis models of coupled plates are evaluated using transmission coefficients derived from waveguide models. The results of the SEA models are compared to those predicted by the analytical waveguide method. A modal transmission coefficient based SEA model is also investigated. In an attempt to validate the numerical work presented in this thesis, experiments have been conducted. Using a wave extraction technique, both the wave amplitudes and plate properties have been evaluated from experimental data, and are subsequently used to experimentally measure the transmission coefficient for two plates coupled at different angles.

Bibliography: leaves 140-149 / x, 148 leaves : ill ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1989