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An Efficient Adaptive PD Formulation for Complex Microstructures
No full textThe computational costs of newly developed numerical simulation play a critical role in their acceptance within both academic use and industrial employment. Normally, the refinement of a method in the area of interest reduces the computational cost. This is unfortunately not true for most nonlocal simulation, since refinement typically increases the size of the material point neighborhood. Reducing the discretization size while keep- ing the neighborhood size will often require extra consideration. Peridy- namic (PD) is a newly developed numerical method with nonlocal nature. Its straightforward integral form equation of motion allows simulating dy- namic problems without any extra consideration required. The formation of crack and its propagation is known as natural to peridynamic. This means that discontinuity is a result of the simulation and does not demand any post-processing. As with other nonlocal methods, PD is considered an expensive method. The refinement of the nodal spacing while keeping the neighborhood size (i.e., horizon radius) constant, emerges to several nonphysical phenomena.
This research aims to reduce the peridynamic computational and imple- mentation costs. A novel refinement approach is introduced. The pro- posed approach takes advantage of the PD flexibility in choosing the shape of the horizon by introducing multiple domains (with no intersections) to the nodes of the refinement zone. It will be shown that no ghost forces will be created when changing the horizon sizes in both subdomains. The approach is applied to both bond-based and state-based peridynamic and verified for a simple wave propagation refinement problem illustrating the efficiency of the method. Further development of the method for higher dimensions proves to have a direct relationship with the mesh sensitivity of the PD. A method for solving the mesh sensitivity of the PD is intro- duced. The application of the method will be examined by solving a crack propagation problem similar to those reported in the literature.
New software architecture is proposed considering both academic and in- dustrial use. The available simulation tools for employing PD will be collected, and their advantages and drawbacks will be addressed. The challenges of implementing any node base nonlocal methods while max- imizing the software flexibility to further development and modification
will be discussed and addressed. A software named Relation-Based Sim- ulator (RBS) is developed for examining the proposed architecture. The exceptional capabilities of RBS will be explored by simulating three dis- tinguished models. RBS is available publicly and open to further develop- ment. The industrial acceptance of the RBS will be tested by targeting its performance on one Mac and two Linux distributions
A Cyclic Multi-Stage Implementation of the Full-Waveform Inversion for the Identification of Anomalies in Dams
No full textFor the safe and efficient operation of dams, frequent monitoring and maintenance are required. These are usually expensive, time consuming, and cumbersome. To alleviate these issues, we propose applying a wave-based scheme for the location and quantification of damages in dams.
To obtain high-resolution “interpretable” images of the damaged regions, we drew inspiration from non-linear full-multigrid methods for inverse problems and applied a new cyclic multi-stage full-waveform inversion (FWI) scheme. Our approach is less susceptible to the stability issues faced by the standard FWI scheme when dealing with ill-posed problems. In this paper, we first selected an optimal acquisition setup and then applied synthetic data to demonstrate the capability of our approach in identifying a series of anomalies in dams by a mixture of reflection and transmission tomography. The results had sufficient robustness, showing the prospects of application in the field of non-destructive testing of dams
Horoskopos: a virtual planetarium for astrology
No full textThis report details the development of Horoskopos, a virtual planetarium for astrology. This project was an attempt to develop a learning tool for studying astrological concepts as connected to observational astronomy. The premise that astrology and observational astronomy were once inseparable from each other in ancient times guided the conceptualization of this tool as an interactive planetarium. The main references were existing software and applications for visualization in astrology and astronomy. Professional astrology teachers were consulted in order to understand better the state of astrological teaching and learning, as well as existing tools and practice. Horoskopos was built using the Unity3D development interface, which is based on the C# programming language. It also relied on the Swiss Ephemeris coding interface from Astrodienst. The development process was experimental and many of the needed skills were developed as needed. Usability tests were performed as new features were added to the interface. The final version of Horoskopos is fully usable, with many interactive visualization features and a defined visual identity. It was validated together with professional astrologers for its effectiveness in concept and visualization
Urban Agoraphobia: The pursuit of security within confined community ties. Urban-ethnographic analysis on gated housing developments of Guadalajara, Mexico.
No full textThe Gated Community (GC) phenomenon in Latin American cities has become an inherent element of their urban development, despite academical debate, their approach thrives within the housing market; not surprisingly, as some of the premises on which GCs are based, namely safety, control and supervision intersperse seamlessly with the insecure conditions of the contexts from which they arise. The current security crisis in Mexico, triggered in 2006 by the so-called war on drugs, has reached its peak with the highest insecurity rates in decades, representing a unique chance to study these interactions. Although the leading term of this research, Urban Agoraphobia, implies a causal dichotomy between the rise in the sense of fear amongst citizens and housing confinement as lineal consequence, I acknowledge that GCs represent a complex phenomenon, a hub of diverse factors and multidimensional processes held on four fundamental levels: global, social, individual and state-related. The focus of this dissertation is set on the individual plane and contributes, from the analysis of the GC’s resident’s perspective, experiences and perceptions, to a debate that has usually been limited to the scrutiny of other drivers, disregarding the role of dweller’s underlying fears, motivations and concerns. Assuming that the current ruling security model in Mexico tends to empower its commodification rather than its collective quality, this research draws upon the use of a methodological triangulation, along conceptual and contextual analyses, to test the hypothesis that insecurity plays an increasingly major role, leading citizens into the belief that acquiring a household in a controlled and surveilled community represents a counterweight against the feared environment of the open city. The focus of the analysis lies on the internal hatch of community ties as potential palliative for the provision of a sense of security, aiming to transcend the unidimensional discourse of GCs as defined mainly by their defensive apparatus. Residents’ perspectives acquired through ethnographical analyses may provide the chance to gain an essential view into a phenomenon that further consolidates without a critical study of its actual implications, not only for Mexican cities, but also for the Latin American and global contexts
Optimierung der Nachbehandlung von Waschbetonoberflächen
No full textDer Nachbehandlung eines Fahrbahndeckenbetons kommt zum Erzielen eines hohen Frost-Tausalz-Widerstandes der fertigen Betondecke eine besondere Bedeutung zu. Bei der Waschbetonbauweise erfolgt die Nachbehandlung in mehreren Schritten. Eine erste Nachbehandlung gewährleistet den Verdunstungsschutz des Betons bis zum Zeitpunkt des Ausbürstens des verzögerten Oberflächenmörtels. Daran schließt sich die zweite Nachbehandlung an, in der Regel durch Aufsprühen eines flüssigen Nachbehandlungsmittels.
Der zweite Nachbehandlungsschritt ist entscheidend für den Frost-Tausalz-Widerstand der Betondecke. Im Rahmen eines Forschungsprojektes wurde daher untersucht, inwiefern durch eine Optimierung der zweiten Nachbehandlung der Frost-Tausalz-Widerstand von Waschbetonoberflächen erhöht werden kann, insbesondere bei Verwendung hüttensandhaltiger Zemente. Schon durch eine einmalige Nassnachbehandlung wurde eine deutlich höherer Widerstand der Waschbetons gegen Frost-Tausalz-Angriff erzielt
Generalized Beam Theory for the analysis of thin-walled circular pipe members
No full textThe detailed structural analysis of thin-walled circular pipe members often requires the use of a shell or solid-based finite element method. Although these methods provide a very good approximation of the deformations, they require a higher degree of discretization which causes high computational costs. On the other hand, the analysis of thin-walled circular pipe members based on classical beam theories is easy to implement and needs much less computation time, however, they are limited in their ability to approximate the deformations as they cannot consider the deformation of the cross-section.
This dissertation focuses on the study of the Generalized Beam Theory (GBT) which is both accurate and efficient in analyzing thin-walled members. This theory is based on the separation of variables in which the displacement field is expressed as a combination of predetermined deformation modes related to the cross-section, and unknown amplitude functions defined on the beam's longitudinal axis. Although the GBT was initially developed for long straight members, through the consideration of complementary deformation modes, which amend the null transverse and shear membrane strain assumptions of the classical GBT, problems involving short members, pipe bends, and geometrical nonlinearity can also be analyzed using GBT. In this dissertation, the GBT formulation for the analysis of these problems is developed and the application and capabilities of the method are illustrated using several numerical examples. Furthermore, the displacement and stress field results of these examples are verified using an equivalent refined shell-based finite element model.
The developed static and dynamic GBT formulations for curved thin-walled circular pipes are based on the linear kinematic description of the curved shell theory. In these formulations, the complex problem in pipe bends due to the strong coupling effect of the longitudinal bending, warping and the cross-sectional ovalization is handled precisely through the derivation of the coupling tensors between the considered GBT deformation modes. Similarly, the geometrically nonlinear GBT analysis is formulated for thin-walled circular pipes based on the nonlinear membrane kinematic equations. Here, the initial linear and quadratic stress and displacement tangent stiffness matrices are built using the third and fourth-order GBT deformation mode coupling tensors.
Longitudinally, the formulation of the coupled GBT element stiffness and mass matrices are presented using a beam-based finite element formulation. Furthermore, the formulated GBT elements are tested for shear and membrane locking problems and the limitations of the formulations regarding the membrane locking problem are discussed.Eine detaillierte Strukturanalyse dünnwandiger, kreisförmiger Rohrelemente erfordert oft die Verwendung von Schalenelementen in der Finite Elemente Methode. Diese Methode ermöglicht eine sehr gute Approximation des Verformungszustandes, erfordert jedoch einen hohen Grad der Diskretisierung, welcher wiederum einen hohen Rechenaufwand verursacht. Eine alternative Methode hierzu basiert auf klassischen Balkentheorien, welche eine einfache Modellierung ermöglichen und wesentlich geringeren Rechenaufwand erfordern. Diese weisen jedoch Einschränkungen bei der Approximation von Verformungen auf, da Querschnittsverformungen nicht berücksichtigt werden können.
Schwerpunkt dieser Dissertation ist eine Untersuchung der Verallgemeinerten Technischen Biegetheorie (VTB), die sowohl eine genaue als auch eine effiziente Analyse von dünnwandigen Tragwerkselementen ermöglicht. Diese Theorie basiert auf einer Trennung der Variablen, in der das Verschiebungsfeld als eine Kombination von vorbestimmten Verformungsmoden der Querschnitts und unbekannten Amplitudenfunktionen in Längsrichtung ausgedrückt wird. Obwohl die VTB ursprünglich für lange, gerade Elemente entwickelt wurde, können durch die Berücksichtigung komplementärer Verformungsmoden, welche die Null-Annahmen der klassischen VTB für Quer- und Schubmembrandehnung abändern, Probleme mit kurzen Elementen, Rohrbögen und geometrischer Nichtlinearität analysiert werden. In dieser Dissertation wird die VTB-Formulierung für die Analyse dieser Probleme entwickelt. Die Anwendung und Möglichkeiten der Methode werden anhand mehrerer numerischer Beispiele veranschaulicht, deren Verschiebungs- und Spannungsfeldanalysen anhand eines äquivalenten, verfeinerten, schalenbasierten Finite-Elemente-Modells verifiziert werden.
Die entwickelten statischen und dynamischen VTB-Formulierungen für Rohrbogenelemente basieren auf der linearen kinematischen Beschreibung der Theorie gekrümmter Schalen. In diesen Formulierungen wird das komplexe Problem in Rohrbögen aufgrund des starken Kopplungseffekts der Längsbiegung, der Verwölbung und der Querschnittsovalisierung durch die Herleitung der Kopplungstensoren zwischen den betrachteten VTB-Verformungsmoden präzise behandelt. In ähnlicher Weise wird die geometrisch nichtlineare VTB-Analyse für gerade Rohrelemente auf der Grundlage der nichtlinearen kinematischen Membrangleichungen formuliert. Die anfänglichen linearen und quadratischen Spannungs- und Verschiebungs-Tangentensteifigkeitsmatrizen werden dabei unter Verwendung der VTB-Kopplungstensoren dritter und vierter Ordnung aufgebaut.
In Längsrichtung wird die Formulierung der gekoppelten VTB-Element-Steifigkeits- und Massenmatrizen unter Verwendung einer balkenbasierten Finite-Elemente Formulierung dargestellt. Weiterhin werden die VTB-Elemente auf Schub- und Membran-Locking-Probleme getestet und die Einschränkungen der Formulierungen bezüglich des Membran-Locking-Problems diskutiert
Evaluation of Machine Learning and Web-Based Process for Damage Score Estimation of Existing Buildings
No full textThe seismic vulnerability assessment of existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings is a significant source of disaster mitigation plans and rescue services. Different countries evolved various Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) techniques and methodologies to deal with the devastating consequences of earthquakes on the structural characteristics of buildings and human casualties. Artificial intelligence (AI) methods, such as machine learning (ML) algorithm-based methods, are increasingly used in various scientific and technical applications. The investigation toward using these techniques in civil engineering applications has shown encouraging results and reduced human intervention, including uncertainties and biased judgment. In this study, several known non-parametric algorithms are investigated toward RVS using a dataset employing different earthquakes. Moreover, the methodology encourages the possibility of examining the buildings’ vulnerability based on the factors related to the buildings’ importance and exposure. In addition, a web-based application built on Django is introduced. The interface is designed with the idea to ease the seismic vulnerability investigation in real-time. The concept was validated using two case studies, and the achieved results showed the proposed approach’s potential efficienc
On the Verification of Beams Subjected to Lateral Torsional Buckling by Simplified Plastic Structural Analysis
No full textPlastic structural analysis may be applied without any difficulty and with little effort for structural member verifications with regard to lateral torsional buckling of doubly symmetric rolled I sections. Suchlike analyses can be performed based on the plastic zone theory, specifically using finite beam elements with seven degrees of freedom and 2nd order theory considering material nonlinearity. The existing Eurocode enables these approaches and the coming-up generation will provide corresponding regulations in EN 1993-1-14. The investigations allow the determination of computationally accurate limit loads, which are determined in the present paper for selected structural systems with different sets of parameters, such as length, steel grade and cross section types. The results are compared to approximations gained by more sophisticated FEM analyses (commercial software Ansys Workbench applying solid elements) for reasons of verification/validation. In this course, differences in the results of the numerical models are addressed and discussed. In addition, results are compared to resistances obtained by common design regulations based on reduction factors χlt including regulations of EN 1993-1-1 (including German National Annex) as well as prEN 1993-1-1: 2020-08 (proposed new Eurocode generation). Concluding, correlations of results and their advantages as well as disadvantages are discussed
Numerical Simulation Models for Thermoelastic Damping Effects
No full textFinite Element Simulations of dynamically excited structures are mainly influenced by the mass, stiffness, and damping properties of the system, as well as external loads. The prediction quality of dynamic simulations of vibration-sensitive components depends significantly on the use of appropriate damping models. Damping phenomena have a decisive influence on the vibration amplitude and the frequencies of the vibrating structure. However, developing realistic damping models is challenging due to the multiple sources that cause energy dissipation, such as material damping, different types of friction, or various interactions with the environment.
This thesis focuses on thermoelastic damping, which is the main cause of material damping in homogeneous materials. The effect is caused by temperature changes due to mechanical strains. In vibrating structures, temperature gradients arise in adjacent tension and compression areas. Depending on the vibration frequency, they result in heat flows, leading to increased entropy and the irreversible transformation of mechanical energy into thermal energy.
The central objective of this thesis is the development of efficient simulation methods to incorporate thermoelastic damping in finite element analyses based on modal superposition. The thermoelastic loss factor is derived from the structure's mechanical mode shapes and eigenfrequencies. In subsequent analyses that are performed in the time and frequency domain, it is applied as modal damping.
Two approaches are developed to determine the thermoelastic loss in thin-walled plate structures, as well as three-dimensional solid structures. The realistic representation of the dissipation effects is verified by comparing the simulation results with experimentally determined data. Therefore, an experimental setup is developed to measure material damping, excluding other sources of energy dissipation.
The three-dimensional solid approach is based on the determination of the generated entropy and therefore the generated heat per vibration cycle, which is a measure for thermoelastic loss in relation to the total strain energy. For thin plate structures, the amount of bending energy in a modal deformation is calculated and summarized in the so-called Modal Bending Factor (MBF). The highest amount of thermoelastic loss occurs in the state of pure bending. Therefore, the MBF enables a quantitative classification of the mode shapes concerning the thermoelastic damping potential.
The results of the developed simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results and are appropriate to predict thermoelastic loss factors. Both approaches are based on modal superposition with the advantage of a high computational efficiency. Overall, the modeling of thermoelastic damping represents an important component in a comprehensive damping model, which is necessary to perform realistic simulations of vibration processes.Die Finite-Elemente Simulation von dynamisch angeregten Strukturen wird im Wesentlich durch die Steifigkeits-, Massen- und Dämpfungseigenschaften des Systems sowie durch die äußere Belastung bestimmt. Die Vorhersagequalität von dynamischen Simulationen schwingungsanfälliger Bauteile hängt wesentlich von der Verwendung geeigneter Dämpfungsmodelle ab.
Dämpfungsphänomene haben einen wesentlichen Einfluss auf die Schwingungsamplitude, die Frequenz und teilweise sogar die Existenz von Vibrationen. Allerdings ist die Entwicklung von realitätsnahen Dämpfungsmodellen oft schwierig, da eine Vielzahl von physikalischen Effekten zur Energiedissipation während eines Schwingungsvorgangs führt. Beispiele hierfür sind die Materialdämpfung, verschiedene Formen der Reibung sowie vielfältige Wechselwirkungen mit dem umgebenden Medium.
Diese Dissertation befasst sich mit thermoelastischer Dämpfung, die in homogenen Materialien die dominante Ursache der Materialdämpfung darstellt. Der thermoelastische Effekt wird ausgelöst durch eine Temperaturänderung aufgrund mechanischer Spannungen. In der schwingenden Struktur entstehen während der Deformation Temperaturgradienten zwischen benachbarten Regionen unter Zug- und Druckbelastung. In Abhängigkeit von der Vibrationsfrequenz führen diese zu Wärmeströmen und irreversibler Umwandlung mechanischer in thermische Energie.
Die Zielstellung dieser Arbeit besteht in der Entwicklung recheneffizienter Simulationsmethoden, um thermoelastische Dämpfung in zeitabhängigen Finite-Elemente Analysen, die auf modaler Superposition beruhen, zu integrieren. Der thermoelastische Verlustfaktor wird auf der Grundlage der mechanischen Eigenformen und -frequenzen bestimmt. In nachfolgenden Analysen im Zeit- und Frequenzbereich wird er als modaler Dämpfungsgrad verwendet.
Zwei Ansätze werden entwickelt, um den thermoelastischen Verlustfaktor in dünn-wandigen Plattenstrukturen, sowie in dreidimensionalen Volumenbauteilen zu simulieren. Die realitätsnahe Vorhersage der Energiedissipation wird durch die Verifizierung an experimentellen Daten bestätigt. Dafür wird ein Versuchsaufbau entwickelt, der eine Messung von Materialdämpfung unter Ausschluss anderer Dissipationsquellen ermöglicht.
Für den Fall der Volumenbauteile wird ein Ansatz verwendet, der auf der Berechnung der Entropieänderung und damit der erzeugte Wärmeenergie während eines Schwingungszyklus beruht. Im Verhältnis zur Formänderungsenergie ist dies ein Maß für die thermoelastische Dämpfung. Für dünne Plattenstrukturen wird der Anteil an Biegeenergie in der Eigenform bestimmt und im sogenannten modalen Biegefaktor (MBF) zusammengefasst. Der maximale Grad an thermoelastischer Dämpfung kann im Zustand reiner Biegung auftreten, sodass der MBF eine quantitative Klassifikation der Eigenformen hinsichtlich ihres thermoelastischen Dämpfungspotentials zulässt.
Die Ergebnisse der entwickelten Simulationsmethoden stimmen sehr gut mit den experimentellen Daten überein und sind geeignet, um thermoelastische Dämpfungsgrade vorherzusagen. Beide Ansätze basieren auf modaler Superposition und ermöglichen damit zeitabhängige Simulationen mit einer hohen Recheneffizienz. Insgesamt stellt die Modellierung der thermoelastischen Dämpfung einen Baustein in einem umfassenden Dämpfungsmodell dar, welches zur realitätsnahen Simulation von Schwingungsvorgängen notwendig ist
Influence of loading sequence on wind induced fatigue assessment of bolts in TV-tower connection block
No full textBolted connections are widely employed in structures like transmission poles, wind turbines, and television (TV) towers. The behaviour of bolted connections is often complex and plays a significant role in the overall dynamic characteristics of the structure. The goal of this work is to conduct a fatigue lifecycle assessment of such a bolted connection block of a 193 m tall TV tower, for which 205 days of real measurement data have been obtained from the installed monitoring devices. Based on the recorded data, the best-fit stochastic wind distribution for 50 years, the decisive wind action, and the locations to carry out the fatigue analysis have been decided. A 3D beam model of the entire tower is developed to extract the nodal forces corresponding to the connection block location under various mean wind speeds, which is later coupled with a detailed complex finite element model of the connection block, with over three million degrees of freedom, for acquiring stress histories on some pre-selected bolts. The random stress histories are analysed using the rainflow counting algorithm (RCA) and the damage is estimated using Palmgren-Miner's damage accumulation law. A modification is proposed to integrate the loading sequence effect into the RCA, which otherwise is ignored, and the differences between the two RCAs are investigated in terms of the accumulated damage