The conventional finite element models (FEM) of problems in structural
mechanics are based on the principles of virtual work and the total potential
energy. In these models, the secondary variables, such as the bending moment
and shear force, are post-computed and do not yield good accuracy. In addition,
in the case of the Timoshenko beam theory, the element with lower-order equal
interpolation of the variables suffers from shear locking. In both Euler-Bernoulli
and Timoshenko beam theories, the elements based on weak form Galerkin
formulation also suffer from membrane locking when applied to geometrically
nonlinear problems. In order to alleviate these types of locking, often reduced
integration techniques are employed. However, this technique has other
disadvantages, such as hour-glass modes or spurious rigid body modes. Hence,
it is desirable to develop alternative finite element models that overcome the
locking problems. Least-squares finite element models are considered to be
better alternatives to the weak form Galerkin finite element models and,
therefore, are in this study for investigation. The basic idea behind the least-squares finite element model is to compute the residuals due to the
approximation of the variables of each equation being modeled, construct
integral statement of the sum of the squares of the residuals (called least-squares
functional), and minimize the integral with respect to the unknown parameters
(i.e., nodal values) of the approximations. The least-squares formulation helps to
retain the generalized displacements and forces (or stress resultants) as
independent variables, and also allows the use of equal order interpolation
functions for all variables.
In this thesis comparison is made between the solution accuracy of finite
element models of the Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theories based on
two different least-square models with the conventional weak form Galerkin
finite element models. The developed models were applied to beam problems
with different boundary conditions. The solutions obtained by the least-squares
finite element models found to be very accurate for generalized displacements
and forces when compared with the exact solutions, and they are more accurate
in predicting the forces when compared to the conventional finite element
models.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-12-7241 |
| Date | 2009 December 1900 |
| Creators | Raut, Ameeta A. |
| Contributors | Reddy, Junuthula N. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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