A novel approach for displacement and stress monitoring of sandwich structures based on the inverse Finite Element Method

Modeling of wet stirred media mill processes is challenging since it requires the simultaneous modeling of the complex multiphysics in the interactions between grinding media, the moving internal agitator elements, and the grinding fluid. In the present study, a multiphysics model of an HIG5 pilot vertical stirred media mill with a nominal power of 7.5 kW is developed. The model is based on a particle-based coupled solver approach, where the grinding fluid is modeled with the particle finite element method (PFEM), the grinding media are modeled with the discrete element method (DEM), and the mill structure is modeled with the finite element method (FEM). The interactions between the different constituents are treated by loose (or weak) two-way couplings between the PFEM, DEM, and FEM models. Both water and a mineral slurry are used as grinding fluids, and they are modeled as Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, respectively. In the present work, a novel approach for transferring forces between grinding fluid and grinding media based on the Reynolds number is implemented. This force transfer is realized by specifying the drag coefficient as a function of the Reynolds number. The stirred media mill model is used to predict the mill power consumption, dynamics of both grinding fluid and grinding media, interparticle contacts of the grinding media, and the wear development on the mill structure. The numerical results obtained within the present study show good agreement with experimental measurements.

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Shape Sensing of a Complex Aeronautical Structure with Inverse Finite Element Method

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21041388 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 1388

Author(s):

Daniele Oboe ◽

Luca Colombo ◽

Claudio Sbarufatti ◽

Marco Giglio

Keyword(s):

Finite Element Method ◽

Finite Element ◽

Boundary Conditions ◽

Strain Field ◽

Element Analysis ◽

Inverse Finite Element Method ◽

Shape Sensing ◽

Definition Of ◽

High Level ◽

Element Method

The inverse Finite Element Method (iFEM) is receiving more attention for shape sensing due to its independence from the material properties and the external load. However, a proper definition of the model geometry with its boundary conditions is required, together with the acquisition of the structure’s strain field with optimized sensor networks. The iFEM model definition is not trivial in the case of complex structures, in particular, if sensors are not applied on the whole structure allowing just a partial definition of the input strain field. To overcome this issue, this research proposes a simplified iFEM model in which the geometrical complexity is reduced and boundary conditions are tuned with the superimposition of the effects to behave as the real structure. The procedure is assessed for a complex aeronautical structure, where the reference displacement field is first computed in a numerical framework with input strains coming from a direct finite element analysis, confirming the effectiveness of the iFEM based on a simplified geometry. Finally, the model is fed with experimentally acquired strain measurements and the performance of the method is assessed in presence of a high level of uncertainty.

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Structural Damage Identification Based on Integrated Utilization of Inverse Finite Element Method and Pseudo-Excitation Approach

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21020606 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 606

Author(s):

Tengteng Li ◽

Maosen Cao ◽

Jianle Li ◽

Lei Yang ◽

Hao Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Finite Element Method ◽

Finite Element ◽

Structural Damage ◽

Damage Identification ◽

Displacement Measurement ◽

Engineering Practice ◽

Position Measurement ◽

Inverse Finite Element Method ◽

Pseudo Excitation ◽

Element Method

The attempt to integrate the applications of conventional structural deformation reconstruction strategies and vibration-based damage identification methods is made in this study, where, more specifically, the inverse finite element method (iFEM) and pseudo-excitation approach (PE) are combined for the first time, to give rise to a novel structural health monitoring (SHM) framework showing various advantages, particularly in aspects of enhanced adaptability and robustness. As the key component of the method, the inverse finite element method (iFEM) enables precise reconstruction of vibration displacements based on measured dynamic strains, which, as compared to displacement measurement, is much more adaptable to existing on-board SHM systems in engineering practice. The PE, on the other hand, is applied subsequently, relying on the reconstructed displacements for the identification of structural damage. Delamination zones in a carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminate are identified using the developed method. As demonstrated by the damage detection results, the iFEM-PE method possesses apparently improved accuracy and significantly enhanced noise immunity compared to the original PE approach depending on displacement measurement. Extensive parametric study is conducted to discuss the influence of a variety of factors on the effectiveness and accuracy of damage identification, including the influence of damage size and position, measurement density, sensor layout, vibration frequency and noise level. It is found that different factors are highly correlated and thus should be considered comprehensively to achieve optimal detection results. The application of the iFEM-PE method is extended to better adapt to the structural operational state, where multiple groups of vibration responses within a wide frequency band are used. Hybrid data fusion is applied to process the damage index (DI) constructed based on the multiple responses, leading to detection results capable of indicating delamination positions precisely.

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