The accurate finite element analysis of subregions of large structures is difficult to carry out because of uncertainties about how the rest of the structure influences the boundary conditions and loadings of the subregion model. This dissertation describes the theoretical development and computer implementation of a new approach to this problem of modeling subregions. This method, the specified boundary stiffness/force (SBSF) method, results in accurate displacement and stress solutions as the boundary loading and the interaction between the stiffness of the subregion and the rest of the structure are taken into account. This method is computationally efficient because each time that the subregion model is analyzed, only the equations involving the degrees of freedom within the subregion model are solved. Numerical examples are presented which compare this method to some of the existing methods for subregion analysis on the basis of both accuracy of results and computational efficiency. The SBSF method is shown to be more accurate than another approximate method, the specified boundary displacement (SBD) method and to require approximately the same number of computations for the solution. For one case, the average error in the results of the SBD method was +2.75% while for the SBSF method the average error was -0.3%. The comparisons between the SBSF method and the efficient and exact zooming methods demonstrate that the SBSF method is less accurate than these methods but is computationally more efficient. In one example, the error for the exact zooming method was -0.9% while for the SBSF method it was -3.7%. Computationally, the exact zooming method requires almost 185% more operations than the SBSF method. Similar results were obtained for the comparison of the efficient zooming method and the SBSF method. Another use of the SBSF method is in the analysis of design changes which are incorporated into the subregion model but not into the parent model. In one subregion model a circular hole was changed to an elliptical hole. The boundary forces and stiffnesses from the parent model with the circular hole were used in the analysis of the modified subregion model. The results of the analysis of the most refined mesh in this example had an error of only -0.52% when compared to the theoretical result for the modified geometry. The results of the research presented in this dissertation indicate that the SBSF method is better suited to the analysis of subregions than the other methods documented in the literature. The method is both accurate and computationally efficient as well as easy to use and implement. The SBSF method can also be extended to the accurate analysis of subregion models with design changes which are not incorporated into the parent model. / Ph. D.

Šiame darbe susisteminti ir palyginti pagrindiniai grunto standumo koeficientų nustatymo metodai. Aprašoma metodika, kaip iš grunto santykinio tankio galima apskaičiuoti dinaminį bei statinį tamprumo modulius. Pateikiamos šių grunto parametrų koreliacinės priklausomybės. Eksperimentiniais tyrimais įrodyta, kad silpnuose gruntuose egzistuoja netiesinė grunto tamprumo modulio priklausomybė nuo šalia grunto esančios priekrovos. Priekrovą traktuojant kaip tiesiškai priklausančią nuo gylio, išvesta tamprumo modulio silpnuose gruntuose priklausomybė nuo gylio. Rezervuarų skaičiavimui buvo pasinaudota 2 panašių konstrukcijų skaičiavimo metodikomis (tunelių metodika bei vamzdžių m.). Taip pat pasinaudota СНиП 2.06.09-84 tunelių projektavimo nurodymais. Konstrukcija sumodeliuota projektavimo programomis Robot Structural Analysis Pro, SCAD, Plaxis 2D. Taip pat pateiktas patobulintas modelis, atramas išskirstant į ploto vienetą, autoriaus nuomone, tinkamesnėmis plonasienėms mažo standumo konstrukcijoms. Skaičiuotiniuose modeliuose įvertinami visi pagrindiniai rezervuarų konstrukciniai elementai: galiniai kupolai, lengvosios sąstandos, špangautai. Laboratoriniais bandymais nustatytos ir įvertintos polimerinio kompozito konstrukcinės savybės: virtualus tamprumo modulis, Puasono koeficientas, valkšnumo koeficientas bei senėjimo faktorius. Išvadose apibendrinami rezultatai, taip pat suformuojami pasiūlymai, naudingi tolesniems tiriamiesiems darbams, bei panašių konstrukcijų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Main methods to determine subgrade reaction is systemized in this master thesis work. Determination of static and dynamic deformation modulus, when relative soil density is known, are also familiarized. Correlation between the parameters is given in section 2. Experiments were made to prove that there is a link between deformation modulus and surcharge. If surcharge depends linearly from depth, then a function was created to predict deformation modulus values in weak soil when depth varies. 2 similar construction (pipes and tunnels) methods were used to design a buried tank. Design model was created by these design programs: Robot Structural Analysis Pro, SCAD, and PLAXIS 2D. An additional tank modelling method has been suggested by the author. Supports were assigned in plane instead of in a straight line. The updated model seems to better fit for low stiffness construction materials like GRP composites. In these design models all common tank structural elements were included: longitude domes, light and heavy stiffeners, orthotropic material. Main design parameters like virtual elastic modulus, Poisson ratio, creep factor, factor of durability. Results are summarized in conclusions. Suggestions were provided to help future researchers and designers with this kind of problems: structural design of composite polymer structures, design of buried thin-shelled tanks and evaluation of deformation modulus.

Probabilistic methods have been widely used in structural engineering to model uncertainties in loads and structural properties. The subjects of structural reliability analysis, random vibrations, and structural system identification have been extensively developed and provide the basic framework for developing rational design and maintenance procedures for engineering structures. One of the crucial requirements for successful application of probabilistic methods in these contexts is that one must have access to adequate amount of empirical data to form acceptable probabilistic models for the uncertain variables. When this requirement is not met, it becomes necessary to explore alternative methods for uncertainty modeling. Such efforts have indeed been made in structural engineering, albeit to a much lesser extent as compared to efforts expended in developing probabilistic methods. The alternative frameworks for uncertainty modeling include methods based on the use of interval analysis, convex function representations, theory of fuzzy variables, polymorphic models for uncertainties, and hybrid models which combine two or more of alternative modeling frameworks within the context of a given problem. The work reported in this thesis lies in the broad area of research of modeling uncertainties using non-probabilistic and combined non-probabilistic and probabilistic methods. The thesis document is organized into 5 chapters and 6 annexures. A brief overview of alternative frameworks for uncertainty modeling and their mathematical basis are provided in chapter 1. This includes discussion on modeling of uncertainties using intervals and issues related to uncertainty propagation using interval algebra; details of convex function models and relevance of optimization tools in characterizing uncertainty propagation; discussion on fuzzy variables and their relation to intervals and convex functions; and, issues arising out of treating uncertainties using combined probabilistic and non-probabilistic methods. The notion of aleatoric and epistemic uncertainties is also introduced and a brief mention of polymorphic models for uncertainty, which aim to accommodate alternative forms of uncertainty within a single mathematical model, is made. A review of literature pertaining to applications of non-probabilistic and combined probabilistic and non-probabilistic methods for uncertainty modeling in structural engineering applications is presented in chapter 2. The topics covered include: (a) solutions of simultaneous algebraic equations, eigenvalue problems, ordinary differential equations, and the extension of finite element models to include non-probabilistic uncertainties, (b) issues related to methods for arriving at uncertainty models based on empirical data, and (c) applications to problems of structural safety and structural optimization. The review identifies scope for further research into the following aspects: (a) development of methods for arriving at optimal convex function models for uncertain variables based on limited data and embedding the models thus developed into problems of structural safety assessment, and (b) treatment of inverse problems arising in structural safety based design and optimization which takes into account possible use of combined probabilistic and non-probabilistic modeling frameworks. Chapter 3 considers situations when adequate empirical data on uncertain variables is lacking thereby necessitating the use of non-probabilistic approaches to quantify uncertainties. The study discusses such situations in the context of structural safety assessment. The problem of developing convex function and fuzzy set models for uncertain variables based on limited data and subsequent application in structural safety assessment is considered. Strategies to develop convex set models for limited data based on super-ellipsoids with minimum volume and Nataf’s transformation based method are proposed. These models are shown to be fairly general (for instance, approximations to interval based models emerge as special cases). Furthermore, the proposed convex functions are mapped to a unit multi-dimensional sphere. This enables the evaluation of a unified measure of safety, defined as the shortest distance from the origin to the limit surface in the transformed standard space, akin to the notion used in defining the Hasofer- Lind reliability index. Also discussed are issues related to safety assessment when mixed uncertainty modeling approach is used. Illustrative examples include safety assessment of an inelastic frame with uncertain properties. The study reported in chapter 4 considers a few inverse problems of structural safety analysis aimed at the determination of system parameters to ensure a target level of safety and (or) to minimize a cost function for problems involving combined probabilistic and non-probabilistic uncertainty modeling. Development of load and resistance factor design format, in problems with combined uncertainty models, is also presented. We employ super-ellipsoid based convex function/fuzzy variable models for representing non-probabilistic uncertainties. The target safety levels are taken to be specified in terms of indices defined in standard space of uncertain variables involving standard normal random variables and (or) unit hyper-spheres. A class of problems amenable for exact solutions is identified and a general procedure for dealing with more general problems involving nonlinear performance functions is developed. Illustrations include studies on inelastic frame with uncertain properties. A summary of contributions made in the thesis, along with a few suggestions for future research, are presented in chapter 5. Annexure A-F contain the details of derivation of alternative forms of safety measures, Newton Raphson’s based methods for optimization used in solutions to inverse problems, and details of combining Matlab based programs for uncertainty modeling with Abaqus based models for structural analysis.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:37:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Affonso Sergio Fambrini.pdf: 879435 bytes, checksum: 27908de096588b4f51a7a198b37249f7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-09 / This work is based on research conducted by the group that studied the preferred orientation of crystallographic planes of polycrystalline materials by a systematic carefull analysis of the mathematical equations envolved. It aims to continue the X rays diffraction study on the crystallographic texture in polycrystalline metallic materials by a systematic carefull analysis of the mathematical equations envolved. For this purpose we used the GSAS (General Structural Analysis System) a package free software, created by scientists Allen C. Larson and Robert B. Von Dreele in 1991, which uses the Rietveld method to analyze data collected by neutrons or X rays diffraction, text repeated in the footnote. The equations used in this work were established in the study of crystallography and are provided in the GSAS manual. / Este trabalho está baseado em pesquisa realizada pelo grupo que estudou a orientação preferencial dos planos cristalográficos de materiais policristalinos. Ele tem como objetivo desvendar as equações envolvidas e dar continuidade ao estudo por difração por raios X da textura cristalográfica em um material metálico policristalino. Para isso foi utilizado o GSAS (Estrutura Geral de Sistema de Análise) que é um pacote de programação livre de cristalografia, criado pelos cientistas Allen C. Larson e Robert B. Von Dreele em 1991, o qual utiliza o método de Rietveld para fazer análise de dados coletados por difração de nêutrons e de raios X. Para atingir o objetivo deste trabalho, que é analisar os planos de orientação preferencial, partiu-se de equações complexas que foram estabelecidas no estudo de cristalografia e são fornecidas no manual GSAS.

Submitted diploma thesis deals about operational deformations in the cylinder unit of turbocharged diesel engine used in commercial vehicles. Introductory part analyses combustion engines computational modelling based on finite element method. The next step is the creation of computational models for thermal-structural analyses of the piston and engine block. In order to determine material characteristics of the head gasket, experiment is performed on the OEM gasket to determine its real behaviour under compressive load. The results shows strong nonlinear behaviour which justifies the decision of making such an experiment in the first place. The results of computational models are radial deformations of the piston and cylinder liners during load conditions. The last chapter deals with the application of these results to an advanced computational piston assembly dynamics model.

In this thesis, frontal subroutines are implemented to a plane frame analysis program for execution on the IBM PC. The resulting program solves for the unknown joint displacements of frame structures with large numbers of degrees of freedom by utilizing a peripheral back-up storage; which can not be analyzed directly in core. A comparison of the frontal solver and the out-of-core band solver is presented. / M.S.

There are many challenges facing the aerospace industry that can be addressed with new concepts, technologies, and materials. However, current design methods make it difficult to include these new ideas early in the design of aircraft. This is especially true in the structures discipline, which often uses weight-based methods based upon statistical regressions of historical data. A way to address this is to use physics-based structural analysis and design to create more detailed structural data. Thus, the overall research objective of this dissertation is to develop a physics-based structural analysis method to incorporate new concepts, technologies, and materials into the conceptual design phase. The design space of physics-based structural design problem is characterized as highly multimodal with numerous discontinuities; thus, a large number of alternatives must be explored. Current physics-based structural design methods tend to use high fidelity modeling and analysis tools that are computationally expensive. This dissertation proposes a modeling & simulation environment based on classical structural analysis methods. Using classical structural analysis will enable increased exploration of the design space by reducing the overall run time necessary to evaluate one alternative. The use of physics-based structural optimization using classical structural analysis is tested through experimentation. First the underlying hypotheses are tested in a canonical example by comparing different optimization algorithms ability to locate a global optimum identified through design space exploration. Then the proposed method is compared to a method based on higher fidelity finite element analysis as well as a method based on weight-based empirical data to validate the overall research objective.

Current aircraft noise guidelines are based primarily on outdoor sound levels. However, human perception is highly related to indoor response, particularly for residences. A research project has been conducted that provides insight into how typical residential dwelling envelopes affect sound transmitted indoors. A focus has been placed on the effect of residential dwelling envelopes on subsonic civil aircraft noise. Typical construction types across the United States have been identified and used to develop model predictions of outdoor-to-indoor transmission loss. While it was initially hypothesized that these construction types could be grouped by climate region, it was found that these constructions are better grouped according to their outermost construction layer. Further, the impact of systematically altering construction variables (such as the construction materials used and the ratio of window area to wall area) has been investigated. Results will be used to better understand trends for expected noise reduction for typical construction types around the United States. Additionally, comparisons have been made between the effect of older and more modern wall construction techniques on whole-house performance.

Thesis (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Structural analysis is examined in order to identify its essential information requirements, its fundamental tasks, and the essential functionalities that applications which support it should provide. The special characteristics of the information content of structural analysis and the algorithms that operate on it are looked into and exploited to devise data structures and utilities that provide proper support of the analysis task within a local environment, while presenting the opportunity to be extended to the context of a distributed network-based collaboratory as well. Aspects regarding the distribution of analysis parameters and methods are analysed and alternatives are evaluated. The extentions required to adapt the local data structures and utilities for use in a distributed communication network are developed and implemented in pilot form. Examples of collaborative analysis are shown, and an evaluation of the overhead involved in distributed work is performed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 'n Ondersoek van die struktuuranalise-taak word uitgevoer waarin die kerninligtingsbehoeftes en fundamentele take daarvan, asook die vereisde funksionaliteit van toepassings wat dit ondersteun bepaal word. Die besondere eienskappe van struktuuranalise-inligting en die algoritmes wat daarop inwerk word ondersoek en benut om data strukture en metodes te ontwikkel wat die analise-taak goed ondersteun in In lokale omgewing, en wat terselfdertyd die moontlikheid bied om sodanig uitgebrei te word dat dit ook die taak in 'n verspreide samewerkingsgroepering kan ondersteun. Aspekte van die verspreiding van analiseparameters en metodes word ondersoek en alternatiewe oplossings word evalueer. Die uitbreidings wat nodig is om die datastrukture en metodes van die lokale omgewing aan te pas vir gebruik in verspreide kommunikasienetwerke word ontwikkel en in loodsvorm toegepas. Voorbeelde van samewerking-gebasseerde analise word getoon, en die oorhoofse koste verbonde aan analise in 'n verdeelde omgewing word evalueer.

Thesis (MScEng (Civil Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / In the inverse finite element method (iFEM), given a finite element model of a structure and imperfect displacement measurements, the external loads acting on the structure can be assessed. The basic idea behind iFEM is the optimization of a quadratic cost function of the difference between the measured and estimated values, with a high cost corresponding to a high precision of the measurements. In the present research it is firstly shown how the iFEM theory was broadened to accommodate for strain measurements through the construction of cost matrices to express the cost associated with the estimation of the response. The main focus of the research falls however on the influence that the measurement set-up has on the quality of the iFEM estimates. Only a limited number of measurements may be available, therefore it is essential to plan the measurement set-up carefully to obtain the highest quality of estimates. The number of measurements and the precision required to obtain a realistic result from an iFEM analysis is also a factor which plays a role and varies for different types of measurements. A numerical method for systematic sensitivity study of the measurements set-up without involving the actual measurement data, is presented. Two examples consisting of structures with both displacement measurements and strain measurements being taken, are presented. It illustrates how the sensitivity study method can be used to plan a more effective measurement set-up.