by Wong Yiu Kwong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Bibliography: leaves 82-83.

In this PhD some key computational and algorithmic aspects of the Combined Finite Discrete Element Method (FDEM) are critically evaluated and either alternative novel or improved solutions have been proposed, developed and tested. In particular, two novel algorithms for contact detection have been developed. Also a comparative study of different contact detection algorithms has been made. The scope of this work also included large and grand scale FDEM problems that require intensive use of CPU; thus, novel parallelization solutions for grand scale FDEM problems have been developed and implemented using the MPI (Message Passing Interface) based domain decomposition. In this context a special attention is paid to the rapidly developing multi-core desktop architectures. The proposed novel solutions have been intensively validated and verified and demonstrated using various problems from literature.

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For a graph G = (V;E), a pebble distribution is defined as a mapping of the vertex set in to the integers, where each vertex begins with f(v) pebbles. A pebbling move takes two pebbles from some vertex adjacent to v and places one pebble on v. A rubbling move takes one pebble from each of two vertices that are adjacent to v and places one pebble on v. A vertex x is reachable under a pebbling distribution f if there exists some sequence of rubbling and pebbling moves that places a pebble on x. A pebbling distribution where every vertex is reachable is called a rubbling configuration. The t-restricted optimal rubbling number of G is the minimum number of pebbles required for a rubbling configuration where no vertex is initially assigned more than t pebbles. Here we present results on the 1-restricted optimal rubbling number and the 2- restricted optimal rubbling number.

A labeling of a graph is an assignment of a natural number to each vertex of a graph. Graceful labelings are very important types of labelings. The study of graceful labelings is very difficult and little has been shown about such labelings. Vertex-relaxed graceful labelings of graphs are a class of labelings that include graceful labelings, and their study gives an approach to the study of graceful labelings. In this thesis we generalize the congruence approach of Rosa to obtain new criteria for vertex-relaxed graceful labelings of graphs. To do this, we generalize Faulhaber’s Formula, which is a famous result about sums of powers of integers.

In this thesis, we provide an algorithm for constructing strongly eutactic lattices from vertex transitive graphs. We show that such construction produces infinitely many strongly eutactic lattices in arbitrarily large dimensions. We demonstrate our algorithm on the example of the famous Petersen graph using Maple computer algebra system. We also discuss some additional examples of strongly eutactic lattices obtained from notable vertex transitive graphs. Further, we study the properties of the lattices generated by product graphs, complement graphs, and line graphs of vertex transitive graphs. This thesis is based on the research paper written by the author jointly with L. Fukshansky, D. Needell and J. Park.

The Fibonomial coefficients are a generalization of the binomial coefficients with a rather nice combinatorial interpretation. While the ordinary binomial coefficients count lattice paths in a grid, the Fibonomial coefficients count the number of ways to draw a lattice path in a grid and then Fibonacci-tile the regions above and below the path in a particular way. We may forgo a literal tiling interpretation and, instead of the Fibonacci numbers, use an arbitrary function to count the number of ways to "tile" the regions of the grid delineated by the lattice path. When the function is a combinatorial sequence such as the Lucas numbers or the q-numbers, the total number of "tilings" is some multiple of a generalized binomial coefficient corresponding to the sequence chosen.

The associahedron has appeared in numerous contexts throughout the field of mathematics. By representing the associahedron as a poset of tubings, Michael Carr and Satyan L. Devadoss were able to create a gener- alized version of the associahedron in the graph-associahedron. We seek to create an alternative generalization of the associahedron by considering a particle-collision model. By extending this model to what we dub the 2- associahedron, we seek to further understand the space of generalizations of the associahedron.

The discrete gradient method is proposed as a novel numerical tool to perform solid mechanics analysis directly on point-cloud models without converting the models into a finite element mesh. This method does not introduce continuous approximation of the primary unknown field variables; instead, it computes the gradients of the field variables at a node using discrete differentials involving a set of neighboring nodes. The discrete gradients are substituted into Galerkin weak from to derive the algebraic governing equations for further analysis. Therefore, the formulation renders a completely discrete computation that can conduct mechanical analysis on point-cloud representations of patient-specific organs without resorting to finite element method. Since the method is prone to rank-deficient instability, a stabilized scheme is developed by employing penalty that involves a minor modification to the method. The difference between nodal strain and subcell strain is penalized to prevent the appearance of zero average strain. This dissertation delineates the theoretical underpins of the method and provides a detailed description of its implementation in two and three-dimensional elasticity problem. Several benchmark numerical tests are presented to demonstrate the accuracy, convergence, and capability of dealing with compressibility and incompressibility constraint without severe locking. An efficient method is also developed to automatically extract point-cloud models from medical images. Two and three-dimensional examples of biomedical applications are presented too.

This thesis develops and tests a two-dimensional discrete dynamic model for the simulation of granular flows in silos and hoppers. The granular material considered is assumed to be an assembly of viscoelastic discs and the motion of such a particle system is shown to be governed by a set of nonlinear first order ordinary differential equations. This system of equations is then solved numerically using the centered finite difference scheme. Based on the model presented, a computer program has been developed and used to analyse the flow behaviour of granular materials during filling and emptying of a silo. The results show that the discrete dynamic model developed is capable of modelling granular flows in silos, particularly predicting wall pressures and analysing flow blockage.