Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation Coupled Deformation Modes

Author(s):  
Bassam A. Hussein ◽  
Hiroyuki Sugiyama ◽  
Ahmed A. Shabana

The finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) leads to beam and plate models that relax the assumption of the classical Euler-bernoulli and Timoshenko beam and Mindlin plate theories. In these more general models, the cross section is allowed to deform and it is no longer treated as a rigid surface. The coupling between the bending and cross section deformations leads to the new ANCF-coupled deformation modes that are examined in this study. While these coupled deformation can be source of numerical and convergence problems when thin and stiff beam models are considered, the inclusion of the effect of these modes in the dynamic model is necessary in the case of very flexible structures. In order to examine the effect of these coupled deformation modes in this investigation, three different large deformation dynamic beam models are discussed. Two of these models, which differ in the way the beam elastic forces are calculated in the absolute nodal coordinate formulation, allow for systematically eliminating the coupled deformation modes, while the third allows for including these modes. The first of these models is based on a general continuum mechanics approach that leads to a model that includes the ANCF-coupled deformation modes; while the second and third methods that can be used to eliminate the coupled deformation modes are based on the elastic line approach and the Hellinger-Reissner principle. It is shown in this study that the inclusion of the ANCF-coupled deformation modes introduces geometric stiffening effects that can not be captured using other finite element models.

Author(s):  
Oleg N. Dmitrochenko ◽  
Bassam A. Hussein ◽  
Ahmed A. Shabana

The effect of the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF)–coupled deformation modes on the accuracy and efficiency when higher order three-dimensional beam and plate finite elements are used is investigated in this study. It is shown that while computational efficiency can be achieved in some applications by neglecting the effect of some of the ANCF-coupled deformation modes, such modes introduce geometric stiffening/softening effects that can be significant in the case of very flexible structures. As shown in previous publications, for stiff structures, the effect of the ANCF-coupled deformation modes can be neglected. For such stiff structures, the solution does not strongly depend on some of the ANCF-coupled deformation modes, and formulations that include these modes lead to numerical results that are in good agreement with formulations that exclude them. In the case of a very flexible structure, on the other hand, the inclusion of the ANCF-coupled deformation modes becomes necessary in order to obtain an accurate solution. In this case of very flexible structures, the use of the general continuum mechanics approach leads to an efficient solution algorithm and to more accurate numerical results. In order to examine the effect of the elastic force formulation on the efficiency and the coupling between different modes of deformation, three different models are used again to formulate the elastic forces in the absolute nodal coordinate formulation. These three methods are the general continuum mechanics approach, the elastic line (midsurface) approach, and the elastic line (midsurface) approach with the Hellinger–Reissner principle. Three-dimensional absolute nodal coordinate formulation beam and plate elements are used in this study. In the general continuum mechanics approach, the coupling between the cross section deformation and the beam centerline or plate midsurface displacement is considered, while in the approaches based on the elastic line and the Hellinger–Reissner principle, this coupling is neglected. In addition to the fully parametrized beam element used in this study, three different plate elements, two fully parametrized and one reduced order thin plate elements, are used. The numerical results obtained using different finite elements and elastic force formulations are compared in this study.


Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Sugiyama ◽  
Johannes Gerstmayr ◽  
Ahmed A. Shabana

In this investigation, the deformation modes defined in the finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation using several strain definitions are discussed. In order to accurately define strain components that can have easy physical interpretation, a material coordinate system is introduced to define the material element rotation and deformation. The results obtained in this study clearly show cross-section deformation modes eliminated when the number of the finite element nodal coordinates is systematically and consistently reduced. Using the procedure discussed in this paper, one can obtain a reduced order dynamic model, eliminate position vector gradients that introduce high frequencies to the solution of some problems, achieve the continuity of the remaining gradients at the nodal points, and obtain a formulation that automatically satisfies the principle of work and energy.


2006 ◽  
Vol 298 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 1129-1149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Sugiyama ◽  
Johannes Gerstmayr ◽  
Ahmed A. Shabana

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bassam A. Hussein ◽  
Hiroyuki Sugiyama ◽  
Ahmed A. Shabana

In the classical formulations of beam problems, the beam cross section is assumed to remain rigid when the beam deforms. In Euler–Bernoulli beam theory, the rigid cross section remains perpendicular to the beam centerline; while in the more general Timoshenko beam theory the rigid cross section is permitted to rotate due to the shear deformation, and as a result, the cross section can have an arbitrary rotation with respect to the beam centerline. In more general beam models as the ones based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF), the cross section is allowed to deform and it is no longer treated as a rigid surface. These more general models lead to new geometric terms that do not appear in the classical formulations of beams. Some of these geometric terms are the result of the coupling between the deformation of the cross section and other modes of deformations such as bending and they lead to a new set of modes referred to in this paper as the ANCF-coupled deformation modes. The effect of the ANCF-coupled deformation modes can be significant in the case of very flexible structures. In this investigation, three different large deformation dynamic beam models are discussed and compared in order to investigate the effect of the ANCF-coupled deformation modes. The three methods differ in the way the beam elastic forces are calculated. The first method is based on a general continuum mechanics approach that leads to a model that includes the ANCF-coupled deformation modes; while the second method is based on the elastic line approach that systematically eliminates these modes. The ANCF-coupled deformation modes eliminated in the elastic line approach are identified and the effect of such deformation modes on the efficiency and accuracy of the numerical solution is discussed. The third large deformation beam model discussed in this investigation is based on the Hellinger–Reissner principle that can be used to eliminate the shear locking encountered in some beam models. Numerical examples are presented in order to demonstrate the use and compare the results of the three different beam formulations. It is shown that while the effect of the ANCF-coupled deformation modes is not significant in very stiff and moderately stiff structures, the effect of these modes can not be neglected in the case of very flexible structures.


Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Sugiyama ◽  
Aki M. Mikkola ◽  
Ahmed A. Shabana

In this investigation, a nonlinear finite element method for the large deformation and rotation of cable problems is presented. This method is based on the finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation that guarantees the continuity of all the displacement gradients and leads to a constant mass matrix. The classical cable theory is first reviewed and the assumptions used in this linear theory are defined in order to demonstrate the basic differences between the linear theory and the nonlinear finite element formulation proposed in this paper for cable applications. The elastic cable forces in the absolute nodal coordinate formulation are obtained in this investigation using a general continuum mechanics approach that accounts for the effect of all geometric nonlinearities. It is shown in this investigation that the use of the general continuum mechanics approach leads to a simpler and more efficient formulation as compared to the use of the assumptions of the linear theory that employs a local finite element coordinate system. The results obtained using the absolute nodal coordinate formulation show a good agreement with the results obtained using the classical cable theory when linear cable problems are considered. The results of this investigation obtained using explicit numerical integration also show the potential of the proposed finite element formulation in the nonlinear analysis of cables that experience large rotations and large deformations. It is also shown that the use of perturbation methods to linearize the finite element equations of motion leads to modal characteristics results that are in a good agreement with the linear theory. The generalization of the procedure presented in this paper to three-dimensional cable problems is demonstrated and the computer implementation in multibody algorithms is discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 746-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Sugiyama ◽  
Aki M. Mikkola ◽  
Ahmed A. Shabana

In this investigation, a nonlinear finite element method for the large deformation and rotation of cable problems is presented. This method is based on finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation that guarantees the continuity of all displacement gradients and leads to a constant mass matrix. The classical cable theory is first reviewed and the assumptions used in this linear theory are defined in order to demonstrate the basic differences between the linear theory and the nonlinear finite element formulation proposed in this paper for cable applications. The elastic cable forces in the absolute nodal coordinate formulation are obtained using a general continuum mechanics approach that accounts for the effect of all geometric nonlinearities. It is shown in this investigation that the use of the general continuum mechanics approach leads to a simpler and more efficient formulation as compared to the use of the assumptions of the linear theory that employs a local finite element coordinate system. The results obtained using the absolute nodal coordinate formulation show a good agreement with the results obtained using the classical cable theory when linear cable problems are considered. In particular it is shown that the use of perturbation methods to linearize the finite element equations of motion leads to modal characteristics results that are in a good agreement with the linear theory. The results of this investigation obtained using explicit numerical integration also show the potential of the proposed finite element formulation in the nonlinear analysis of cables that experience large rotations and deformations. The generalization of the procedure presented in this paper to three-dimensional cable problems is demonstrated and the computer implementation in multibody algorithms is discussed.


1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 498-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcello Campanelli ◽  
Marcello Berzeri ◽  
Ahmed A. Shabana

Many flexible multibody applications are characterized by high inertia forces and motion discontinuities. Because of these characteristics, problems can be encountered when large displacement finite element formulations are used in the simulation of flexible multibody systems. In this investigation, the performance of two different large displacement finite element formulations in the analysis of flexible multibody systems is investigated. These are the incremental corotational procedure proposed in an earlier article (Rankin, C. C., and Brogan, F. A., 1986, ASME J. Pressure Vessel Technol., 108, pp. 165–174) and the non-incremental absolute nodal coordinate formulation recently proposed (Shabana, A. A., 1998, Dynamics of Multibody Systems, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge). It is demonstrated in this investigation that the limitation resulting from the use of the infinitesmal nodal rotations in the incremental corotational procedure can lead to simulation problems even when simple flexible multibody applications are considered. The absolute nodal coordinate formulation, on the other hand, does not employ infinitesimal or finite rotation coordinates and leads to a constant mass matrix. Despite the fact that the absolute nodal coordinate formulation leads to a non-linear expression for the elastic forces, the results presented in this study, surprisingly, demonstrate that such a formulation is efficient in static problems as compared to the incremental corotational procedure. The excellent performance of the absolute nodal coordinate formulation in static and dynamic problems can be attributed to the fact that such a formulation does not employ rotations and leads to exact representation of the rigid body motion of the finite element. [S1050-0472(00)00604-8]


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