scholarly journals Level Set-Based Extended Finite Element Modeling of the Response of Fibrous Networks Under Hygroscopic Swelling

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Samantray ◽  
R. H. J. Peerlings ◽  
E. Bosco ◽  
M. G. D. Geers ◽  
T. J. Massart ◽  
...  

Abstract Materials like paper, consisting of a network of natural fibers, exposed to variations in moisture, undergo changes in geometrical and mechanical properties. This behavior is particularly important for understanding the hygro-mechanical response of sheets of paper in applications like digital printing. A two-dimensional microstructural model of a fibrous network is therefore developed to upscale the hygro-expansion of individual fibers, through their interaction, to the resulting overall expansion of the network. The fibers are modeled with rectangular shapes and are assumed to be perfectly bonded where they overlap. For realistic networks, the number of bonds is large, and the network is geometrically so complex that discretizing it by conventional, geometry-conforming, finite elements is cumbersome. The combination of a level-set and XFEM formalism enables the use of regular, structured grids in order to model the complex microstructural geometry. In this approach, the fibers are described implicitly by a level-set function. In order to represent the fiber boundaries in the fibrous network, an XFEM discretization is used together with a Heaviside enrichment function. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed approach successfully captures the hygro-expansive properties of the network with fewer degrees-of-freedom compared to classical FEM, preserving desired accuracy.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 4839
Author(s):  
Nana Duan ◽  
Xinyu Ma ◽  
Shaocong Lu ◽  
Weijie Xu ◽  
Shuhong Wang

In this paper, the improved extended finite element method (XFEM) for analyzing the three-dimensional (3D) electric field is presented. The interface between two media is described by using a four-dimensional (4D) level set function. For elements with multiple interfaces, the local level set method is used to improve the accuracy. By using weak discontinuous enrichment function and moving level set function, the interpolation function is modified. The new interpolation function makes it unnecessary to repeat the mesh generation when a moving interface occurs. The cost of calculation is greatly reduced. The reliability of 3D improved XFEM in the electric field is verified through numerical calculation examples of single bubble, multi-bubbles, and moving deformed bubble in liquid nitrogen.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Sun ◽  
Xinchao Meng ◽  
Jiucheng Xu ◽  
Shiguang Zhang

When the level set algorithm is used to segment an image, the level set function must be initialized periodically to ensure that it remains a signed distance function (SDF). To avoid this defect, an improved regularized level set method-based image segmentation approach is presented. First, a new potential function is defined and introduced to reconstruct a new distance regularization term to solve this issue of periodically initializing the level set function. Second, by combining the distance regularization term with the internal and external energy terms, a new energy functional is developed. Then, the process of the new energy functional evolution is derived by using the calculus of variations and the steepest descent approach, and a partial differential equation is designed. Finally, an improved regularized level set-based image segmentation (IRLS-IS) method is proposed. Numerical experimental results demonstrate that the IRLS-IS method is not only effective and robust to segment noise and intensity-inhomogeneous images but can also analyze complex medical images well.


Author(s):  
Guangfa Yao

Immersed boundary method has got increasing attention in modeling fluid-solid body interaction using computational fluid dynamics due to its robustness and simplicity. It usually simulates fluid-solid body interaction by adding a body force in the momentum equation. This eliminates the body conforming mesh generation that frequently requires a very labor-intensive and challenging task. But accurately tracking an arbitrary solid body is required to simulate most real world problems. In this paper, a few methods that are used to track a rigid solid body in a fluid domain are briefly reviewed. A new method is presented to track an arbitrary rigid solid body by solving a transformation matrix and identifying it using a level set function. Knowing level set function, the solid volume fraction can be derived if needed. A three-dimensional example is used to study a few methods used to represent and solve the transformation matrix, and demonstrate the presented new method.


2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Solomon C. Yim

Flow systems with highly nonlinear free/moving surface motion are common in engineering applications, such as wave impact and fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems. In order to reveal the dynamics of such flows, as well as provide a reduced-order modeling (ROM) for large-scale applications, we propose a proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) technique that couples the velocity flow field and the level-set function field, as well as a proper normalization for the snapshots data so that the low-dimensional components of the flow can be retrieved with a priori knowledge of equal distribution of the total variance between velocity and level-set function data. Through numerical examples of a sloshing problem and a water entry problem, we show that the low-dimensional components obtained provide an efficient and accurate approximation of the flow field. Moreover, we show that the velocity contour and orbits projected on the space of the reduced basis greatly facilitate understanding of the intrinsic dynamics of the flow systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolando Yera ◽  
Luisina Forzani ◽  
Carlos Gustavo Méndez ◽  
Alfredo E. Huespe

PurposeThis work presents a topology optimization methodology for designing microarchitectures of phononic crystals. The objective is to get microstructures having, as a consequence of wave propagation phenomena in these media, bandgaps between two specified bands. An additional target is to enlarge the range of frequencies of these bandgaps.Design/methodology/approachThe resulting optimization problem is solved employing an augmented Lagrangian technique based on the proximal point methods. The main primal variable of the Lagrangian function is the characteristic function determining the spatial geometrical arrangement of different phases within the unit cell of the phononic crystal. This characteristic function is defined in terms of a level-set function. Descent directions of the Lagrangian function are evaluated by using the topological derivatives of the eigenvalues obtained through the dispersion relation of the phononic crystal.FindingsThe description of the optimization algorithm is emphasized, and its intrinsic properties to attain adequate phononic crystal topologies are discussed. Particular attention is addressed to validate the analytical expressions of the topological derivative. Application examples for several cases are presented, and the numerical performance of the optimization algorithm for attaining the corresponding solutions is discussed.Originality/valueThe original contribution results in the description and numerical assessment of a topology optimization algorithm using the joint concepts of the level-set function and topological derivative to design phononic crystals.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document