Structural engineers have used finite element methods for the design of reinforced concrete plate type structures for decades. The theory behind this method is well researched, however, there is still a lack of direction on how to use the information obtained from this type of analysis to practically design reinforced concrete structures for strength and serviceability criteria. The literature study reviews the analysis of concrete plate type structures using traditional and finite element methods and highlights the difference between linear and non-linear finite element analysis. It is apparent that when designing and detailing using a FE analysis, a great deal is left up to engineering judgement, especially in areas of the structures where peak load effects (singularities) are experienced. In this thesis these peak areas are investigated, in an effort to provide insight into the actual behaviour of the structure as opposed to the theoretical results obtained from a FE analysis. The research consists of both numerical, (linear and non-linear FE analyses) and practical experimental work performed on different types of concrete plate type structures, including concrete pad foundations and simply supported flat slabs. The response to loading, i.e: cracking characteristics, softening of the concrete, moment redistribution, variation of the strain in reinforcement across the section, and deflection is observed and discussed. The results show that the traditional simplified methods are adequate with respect to overall strength. Finite element peaks or singularities may be averaged or smoothed without compromising durability and serviceability. Suggestions on how the reinforcement obtained from linear finite element methods be detailed are given. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Civil Engineering / unrestricted

The user programmable features (UPF) of the finite element code ANSYS® are used to generate a customized ANSYS-executable including a more general creep behaviour of materials and a damage module. The numerical approach for the creep behaviour is not restricted to a single creep law (e.g. strain hardening model) with parameters evaluated from a limited stress and temperature range. Instead of this strain rate - strain relations can be read from external creep data files for different temperature and stress levels. The damage module accumulates a damage measure based on the creep strain increment and plastic strain increment of the load step and the current fracture strains for creep and plasticity (depending on temperature and stress level). If the damage measure of an element exceeds a critical value this element is deactivated. Examples are given for illustration and verification of the new program modules.

To provide the average golfer with more consistent results, manufacturers have continued to improve the available equipment. This has led to larger club-heads, with larger ?sweet spots?, different shaft thickness for different swing styles, and the use of advanced materials, such as graphite and titanium, for the construction. The development of improved equipment, which utilizes advanced materials, has spurred the need for advanced scientific analysis using a variety of techniques. Among the most prevalent of these methods are finite element analysis and experimental modal analysis, and use of these techniques in examining a golf club is the focus of this research. The primary goals of this work are the development and correlation of an appropriate finite element model, the characterization of the hands-free boundary condition and the examination of the club golf dynamic response. To accomplish these objectives, the physical parameters of the golf club are determined to develop the finite element model. The analysis of natural frequencies and mode shapes correlate well with the results extracted from experimental modal analysis for the free-free and clamped-free boundary conditions. With the correlation established, a third boundary condition, hands-free, is tested experimentally to ascertain the effects of the golfer?s grip on the boundary conditions. With the FEA model confirmed, a nonlinear dynamic response of the club during the down-swing is investigated using the nonlinear solver in Algor, and the club-head position relative to the shaft is predicted. / Master of Science

PIPE5 is a two-dimensional finite element analysis program for buried structure analysis. The program has gone through several changes over the years. Some of the features that were added in the latest revision are stress stiffening, corotational formulation, bandwidth minimization, residual monitoring, and dynamic memory allocation. Some parts of the program were also rewritten to make them clearer and improve their performance. After the modifications several comparisons were made to other programs and earlier versions of the program to test the accuracy of the program in its latest form.

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The main objective of this research is to use IGA as an efficient and robust alternative for numerical simulation of unsaturated seepage problems. Moreover, this research develops an IGA-based probabilistic framework that can properly account for the variability of soil hydraulic properties in the simulations. In the first part, IGA is used in a deterministic framework to solve a head-based form of Richards’ equation. It is shown that IGA is able to properly simulate changes in pore pressure at the soils interface. In the second part of this research, a new probabilistic framework, named random IGA (RIGA), is developed. A joint lognormal distribution function is used with IGA to perform Monte Carlo simulations. The results depict the statistical outputs relating to seepage quantities and pore water pressure. It is shown that pore water pressure, flow rate, etc. change considerably with respect to standard deviation and correlation of the model parameters.

This paper describes the design methodology of a cast magnesium subframe of a Subaru BRZ using finite element analysis in which the design objective was light-weighting. A simulation based design using Solidworks and ABAQUS was experimentally validated. The final design was developed by optimizing weight and the geometry through multiple iterations of finite element analysis. The fundamentals of this computational design process were to create a way to develop a working physical prototype. Once the design was completed, it was sand cast using an AZ91 magnesium alloy. Experimental validation was performed to confirm the computational results. Through this simulation based design process, the modified subframe weighed 40% less than the original weight, while remaining as strong as the stock subframe.

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