This thesis focuses on the development and convergence study of finite element methods for eigenvalue analysis of arbitrarily shaped domains with multi-material and material-void interfaces. Such configurations can be found in problems with evolving discontinuities and interfaces as in fluid-structure interaction or topology optimization problems. The differential equations considered in this thesis include the elliptic operator, Timoshenko beam and Mindlin plate. The compatibility conditions at the interface are weakly imposed using either Nitsche's method or Lagrange multipliers. The variational statements are derived for each case. The analysis results are benchmarked using Galerkin finite element discretization with bodyitted grids. Nitsche's method shows a direct dependence on a penalty term and for Lagrange multipliers method, additional degrees of freedom are added to the solution vector. The convergence rate of the discretized forms is computationally determined and is shown to be optimal for both Timoshenko beams and Mindlin plates.

The aerospace industry is increasingly coming to the conclusion that physics-based high-fidelity models need to be used as early as possible in the design of its products. At the preliminary design stage of wing structures, though highly desirable for its high accuracy, a detailed finite element analysis(FEA) is often not feasible due to the prohibitive preparation time for the FE model data and high computation cost caused by large degrees of freedom. In view of this situation, often equivalent beam models are used for the purpose of obtaining global solutions. However, for wings with low aspect ratio, the use of equivalent beam models is questionable, and using an equivalent plate model would be more promising. An efficient method, Equivalent Plate Analysis or simply EPA, using an equivalent plate model, is developed in the present work for studying the static and free-vibration problems of built-up wing structures composed of skins, spars, and ribs. The model includes the transverse shear effects by treating the built-up wing as a plate following the Reissner-Mindlin theory (FSDT). The Ritz method is used with the Legendre polynomials being employed as the trial functions. Formulations are such that there is no limitation on the wing thickness distribution. This method is evaluated, by comparing the results with those obtained using MSC/NASTRAN, for a set of examples including both static and dynamic problems. The Equivalent Plate Analysis (EPA) as explained above is also used as a basis for generating other efficient methods for the early design stage of wing structures, such that they can be incorporated with optimization tools into the process of searching for an optimal design. In the search for an optimal design, it is essential to assess the structural responses quickly at any design space point. For such purpose, the FEA or even the above EPA, which establishes the stiffness and mass matrices by integrating contributions spar by spar, rib by rib, are not efficient enough. One approach is to use the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), or simply called Neural Network (NN) as a means of simulating the structural responses of wings. Upon an investigation of applications of NN in structural engineering, methods of using NN for the present purpose are explored in two directions, i.e. the direct application and the indirect application. The direct method uses FEA or EPA generated results directly as the output. In the indirect method, the wing inner-structure is combined with the skins to form an "equivalent" material. The constitutive matrix, which relates the stress vector to the strain vector, and the density of the equivalent material are obtained by enforcing mass and stiffness matrix equities with regard to the EPA in a least-square sense. Neural networks for these material properties are trained in terms of the design variables of the wing structure. It is shown that this EPA with indirect application of Neural Networks, or simply called an Equivalent Skin Analysis (ESA) of the wing structure, is more efficient than the EPA and still fairly good results can be obtained. Another approach is to use the sensitivity techniques. Sensitivity techniques are frequently used in structural design practices for searching the optimal solutions near a baseline design. In the present work, the modal response of general trapezoidal wing structures is approximated using shape sensitivities up to the second order, and the use of second order sensitivities proved to be yielding much better results than the case where only first order sensitivities are used. Also different approaches of computing the derivatives are investigated. In a design space with a lot of design points, when sensitivities at each design point are obtained, it is shown that the global variation in the design space can be readily given based on these sensitivities. / Ph. D.

A couple of discretization schemes, based on an FE-like tessellation of the domain and polynomial reproducing, globally smooth shape functions, are considered and numerically explored to a limited extent. The first one among these is an existing scheme, the smooth DMS-FEM, that employs Delaunay triangulation or tetrahedralization (as approximate) towards discretizing the domain geometry employs triangular (tetrahedral) B-splines as kernel functions en route to the construction of polynomial reproducing functional approximations. In order to verify the numerical accuracy of the smooth DMS-FEM vis-à-vis the conventional FEM, a Mindlin-Reissner plate bending problem is numerically solved. Thanks to the higher order continuity in the functional approximant and the consequent removal of the jump terms in the weak form across inter-triangular boundaries, the numerical accuracy via the DMS-FEM approximation is observed to be higher than that corresponding to the conventional FEM. This advantage notwithstanding, evaluations of DMS-FEM based shape functions encounter singularity issues on the triangle vertices as well as over the element edges. This shortcoming is presently overcome through a new proposal that replaces the triangular B-splines by simplex splines, constructed over polygonal domains, as the kernel functions in the polynomial reproduction scheme. Following a detailed presentation of the issues related to its computational implementation, the new method is numerically explored with the results attesting to a higher attainable numerical accuracy in comparison with the DMS-FEM.

[pt] Este trabalho tem como objetivo principal estudar o comportamento de flambagem lateral de vigas através de modelos de elementos finitos baseados nas teorias de placas de Kirchhoff e de Mindlin–Reissner. Esses modelos foram combinados com efeitos de membrana, possibilitando a análise de cascas. Foi desenvolvido um código MATLAB para analisar cargas críticas estáticas e dinâmicas, modos de flambagem, frequências e modos de vibração de placas finas e espessas sujeitas a cargas conservativas e cargas não conservativas (também chamadas de seguidoras ou circulatórias). O programa ANSYS foi usado para validação e comparação. Para o cálculo das frequências naturais foram usadas as matrizes de massa e a matriz de rigidez. Para o cálculo da carga crítica estática com carga conservativa, implementa-se a matriz geométrica. Quando há carregamento seguidor não conservativo, é necessário adicionar uma matriz de correção de cargas que é uma matriz assimétrica, achando assim a carga crítica dinâmica, também denominada de flutter. Diferentes condições de contorno e diferentes carregamentos são aplicados em vigas e analisados os casos de flambagem lateral. Valores teóricos encontrados na literatura são comparados com os valores achados usando o método de elementos finitos. A instabilidade lateral de vigas esbeltas tem grande interesse prático, pois em alguns casos pode ocorrer o esgotamento da resistência da peça antes mesmo que seja atingido o estado limite último de flexão. Por isso, o tema flambagem lateral é mencionado em diversas normas nacionais e internacionais, tendo sido feitas algumas comparações com os resultados do programa implementado neste trabalho. / [en] The main objective of this paper is to present results on the lateral buckling of beams using finite elements based on Kirchhoff and Mindlin-Reissner Plate theories, merged with membrane elements in order to include the analysis of shells. A MATLAB code was developed to calculate static and dynamic critical loads, buckling modes, frequencies, and vibration modes of thin and thick plates subjected to conservative and non-conservative (also called follower or circulatory) loads. Mass and stiffness matrices are employed to determine natural frequencies. In the case of conservative loads, static critical loads are calculated by adding a so-called geometric matrix. However, in case of displacement-dependent applied forces, it is necessary to implement a matrix that will correct the loads, designated as load matrix. In the case of conservative forces, the load matrix is symmetric, and in the case of non-conservative forces, it is non-symmetric. In the latter case, the critical load usually will correspond to dynamic behavior designated as flutter. Different boundary conditions and loads are considered and several cases of lateral buckling are investigated. Theoretical values when found in the literature are compared with values determined by Finite Element Method (FEM). The lateral instability of slender beams is very important in practice, because in some situations it may occur prior to ultimate plastic limit state in bending. Therefore, lateral buckling is mentioned in a wide variety of national and international rules, and some comparisons with the results of the computer code developed herein are presented.