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At least 1,189 records · Page 66

Non-linear analysis of symmetric structures with unsymmetric boundary conditions

Two computational techniques are developed analytically to generate global approximation vectors for use in the nonlinear large-deflection analysis of symmetric structures with asymmetric boundary conditions. One method is based on linear combinations of FEM-generated symmetric and antisymmetric vector components, while the other employs a preconditioned-conjugate-gradient technique. The derivation of the procedures is explained in detail, and their effectiveness is evaluated in sample computations for an elliptic toroid and a cylindrical panel; the results are presented in tables and graphs and characterized.

Noor, Ahmed K.↗

Residual strength of thin panels with cracks

The previous design philosophies involving safe life, fail-safe and damage tolerance concepts become inadequate for assuring the safety of aging aircraft structures. For example, the failure mechanism for the Aloha Airline accident involved the coalescence of undetected small cracks at the rivet holes causing a section of the fuselage to peel open during flight. Therefore, the fuselage structure should be designed to have sufficient residual strength under worst case crack configurations and in-flight load conditions. Residual strength is interpreted as the maximum load carrying capacity prior to unstable crack growth. Internal pressure and bending moment constitute the two major components of the external loads on the fuselage section during flight. Although the stiffeners in the form of stringers, frames and tear straps sustain part of the external loads, the significant portion of the load is taken up by the skin. In the presence of a large crack in the skin, the crack lips bulge out with considerable yielding; thus, the geometric and material nonlinearities must be included in the analysis for predicting residual strength. Also, these nonlinearities do not permit the decoupling of in-plane and out-of-plane bending deformations. The failure criterion combining the concepts of absorbed specific energy and strain energy density addresses the aforementioned concerns. The critical absorbed specific energy (local toughness) for the material is determined from the global specimen response and deformation geometry based on the uniaxial tensile test data and detailed finite element modeling of the specimen response. The use of the local toughness and stress-strain response at the continuum level eliminates the size effect. With this critical parameter and stress-strain response, the finite element analysis of the component by using STAGS along with the application of this failure criterion provides the stable crack growth calculations for residual strength predictions.

Madenci, Erdogan↗

Three-Dimensional, Subsonic, Turbulent Juncture Region Flow

CMC3DPNS predicts three-dimensional, subsonic, turbulent aerodynamic juncture region flow. Versatile program for comprehensive flow-field analysis applies finite-element methodology to nonlinear field problems. Order-ofmagnitude analysis of subsonic, three-dimensional, steady time-averaged NavierStokes equations for semibounded aerodynamic juncture geometries yields para bolic Navier-Stokes equations. CMC3DPNS solves these equations to predict juncture-region flow.

Baker, A. J.↗

Design of bonded joints in composite materials

The primary form of joining high strength advanced composite materials is adhesive bonded joints. The stepped bonded joint is an efficient configuration where the adhesive and composite matrix are co-cured. A design procedure for this type of joint is described along with the analysis technique upon which it is based. A modified elastic analysis accounts for the nonlinear behavior of the adhesive. A computer program with minimum running time and simplified input is utilized for analysis and becomes an efficient link in an iterative design procedure. Comparisons between analytical results and test results are shown. Material properties which are needed for design and methods of measuring these properties are discussed.

Corvelli, N.↗

A new BEM formulation for two- and three-dimensional elastoplasticity using particular integrals

New two- and three-dimensional BEM formulations are developed for elastoplastic stress analysis. These new procedures differ from previous work in that volume integration is not required to incorporate the nonlinear effects in the analysis. Instead, initial stress rates are introduced in the BEM system via particular integrals. The present formulation is implemented in a general-purpose multi-region system, and examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and versatility of the method.

Henry, Donald P., Jr.↗

Revealing the Drag Instability in One-fluid Nonideal Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of a 1D Isothermal C-shock

C-type shocks are believed to be ubiquitous in turbulent molecular clouds thanks to ambipolar diffusion. We investigate whether the drag instability in 1D isothermal C-shocks, inferred from the local linear theory of Gu & Chen, can appear in nonideal magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Two C-shock models (with narrow and broad steady-state shock widths) are considered to represent the typical environment of star-forming clouds. The ionization-recombination equilibrium is adopted for the one-fluid approach. In the 1D simulation, the inflow gas is continuously perturbed by a sinusoidal density fluctuation with a constant frequency. The perturbations clearly grow after entering the C-shock region until they start being damped at the transition to the post-shock region. We show that the profiles of a predominant Fourier mode extracted locally from the simulated growing perturbation match those of the growing mode derived from the linear analysis. Moreover, the local growth rate and wave frequency derived from the predominant mode generally agree with those from the linear theory. Therefore, we confirm the presence of the drag instability in simulated 1D isothermal C-shocks. We also explore the nonlinear behavior of the instability by imposing larger-amplitude perturbations to the simulation. We find that the drag instability is subject to wave steepening, leading to saturated perturbation growth. Issues concerning local analysis, nonlinear effects, one-fluid approach, and astrophysical applications are discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Identification of limit cycles in multi-nonlinearity, multiple path systems

A method of analysis which identifies limit cycles in autonomous systems with multiple nonlinearities and multiple forward paths is presented. The FORTRAN code for implementing the Harmonic Balance Algorithm is reported. The FORTRAN code is used to identify limit cycles in multiple path and nonlinearity systems while retaining the effects of several harmonic components.

Mitchell, J. R.↗

Nonlinear stability and control study of highly maneuverable high performance aircraft, phase 2

Research leading to the development of new nonlinear methodologies for the adaptive control and stability analysis of high angle of attack aircraft such as the F-18 is discussed. The emphasis has been on nonlinear adaptive control, but associated model development, system identification, stability analysis, and simulation were studied in some detail as well. Studies indicated that nonlinear adaptive control can outperform linear adaptive control for rapid maneuvers with large changes in angle of attack. Included here are studies on nonlinear model algorithmic controller design and an analysis of nonlinear system stability using robust stability analysis for linear systems.

Mohler, R. R.↗

Postbuckling analysis using a general purpose code

A new capability for solving postbuckling problems in shell structures is described. The matrix theory to adapt Newton's method to nonlinear finite element shell analysis is outlined first. The matrix theory is directed at writing consistent linear algebratic equations for problems where the tangent stiffness matrix is singular or nearly singular. The matrix theory suggests a change of variables as part of the usual iterative procedure in Newton's method. The change of variables is shown to be feasible for introduction into the algorithm programmed in general purpose codes for finite element analysis of structures. Numerical results from a new option that has been programmed in an existing general purpose code are presented. The analysis of shell structures for collapse and for branching at bifurcation loads is illustrated by the numerical examples.

Thurston, G. A.↗

Heart rate dynamics before spontaneous onset of ventricular fibrillation in patients with healed myocardial infarcts

The traditional methods of analyzing heart rate (HR) variability have failed to predict imminent ventricular fibrillation (VF). We sought to determine whether new methods of analyzing RR interval variability based on nonlinear dynamics and fractal analysis may help to detect subtle abnormalities in RR interval behavior before the onset of life-threatening arrhythmias. RR interval dynamics were analyzed from 24-hour Holter recordings of 15 patients who experienced VF during electrocardiographic recording. Thirty patients without spontaneous or inducible arrhythmia events served as a control group in this retrospective case control study. Conventional time- and frequency-domain measurements, the short-term fractal scaling exponent (alpha) obtained by detrended fluctuation analysis, and the slope (beta) of the power-law regression line (log power - log frequency, 10(-4)-10(-2) Hz) of RR interval dynamics were determined. The short-term correlation exponent alpha of RR intervals (0.64 +/- 0.19 vs 1.05 +/- 0.12; p <0.001) and the power-law slope beta (-1.63 +/- 0.28 vs -1.31 +/- 0.20, p <0.001) were lower in the patients before the onset of VF than in the control patients, but the SD and the low-frequency spectral components of RR intervals did not differ between the groups. The short-term scaling exponent performed better than any other measurement of HR variability in differentiating between the patients with VF and controls. Altered fractal correlation properties of HR behavior precede the spontaneous onset of VF. Dynamic analysis methods of analyzing RR intervals may help to identify abnormalities in HR behavior before VF.

Non-NASA Center↗

Finite dimensional approximation of a class of constrained nonlinear optimal control problems

An abstract framework for the analysis and approximation of a class of nonlinear optimal control and optimization problems is constructed. Nonlinearities occur in both the objective functional and in the constraints. The framework includes an abstract nonlinear optimization problem posed on infinite dimensional spaces, and approximate problem posed on finite dimensional spaces, together with a number of hypotheses concerning the two problems. The framework is used to show that optimal solutions exist, to show that Lagrange multipliers may be used to enforce the constraints, to derive an optimality system from which optimal states and controls may be deduced, and to derive existence results and error estimates for solutions of the approximate problem. The abstract framework and the results derived from that framework are then applied to three concrete control or optimization problems and their approximation by finite element methods. The first involves the von Karman plate equations of nonlinear elasticity, the second, the Ginzburg-Landau equations of superconductivity, and the third, the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible, viscous flows.

Gunzburger, Max D.↗

A geometrically nonlinear theory of shear deformable laminated composite plates and its use in the postbuckling analysis

This paper is devoted to the formulation of a higher-order, geometrically nonlinear theory of anisotropic symmetrically-laminated composite plates and to the analysis, in this context, of their postbuckling behavior. Special attention is given to the postbuckling analysis of plates made of transversely isotropic layers for which case, the influence played by the degree of transversal-isotropy of the layers as well as by the goemetrical parameters of the panel is investigated. Finally, the results obtained within the present higher-order theory are compared with their first order transverse shear deformation as well as with their classical (Kirchhoff) counterparts and a number of conclusions concerning their range of applicability and the influence of various parameters are presented.

Librescu, L.↗

Nonlinear response and failure characteristics of internally pressurized composite cylindrical panels

Results of an experimental and analytical study of the nonlinear response and failure characteristics of internally pressurized 4- to 16-ply-thick graphite-epoxy cylindrical panels are presented. Specimens with clamped boundaries simulating the skin between two frames and two stringers of a typical transport fuselage were tested to failure. Failure results of aluminum specimens are compared with the graphite-epoxy test results. The specimens failed at their edges where the local bending gradients and interlaminar stresses are maximum. STAGS nonlinear two-dimensional shell analysis computer code results are used to identify regions of the panels where the response is independent of the axial coordinate. A geometrically nonlinear one-dimensional cylindrical panel analysis was derived and used to determine panel response and interlaminar stresses. Inclusion of the geometric nonlinearity was essential for accurate prediction of panel response. The maximum stress failure criterion applied to the predicted tensile stress in the fiber direction agreed best with the experimentally determined first damage pressures.

Boitnott, R. L.↗

Nonlinear stability and control study of highly maneuverable high performance aircraft

The purpose was to develop and apply new nonlinear system methodologies to the stability analysis and adaptive control of high angle of attack (alpha) aircraft such as the F-18. Considerable progress is documented on nonlinear adaptive control and associated model development, identification, and simulation. The analysis considered linear and nonlinear, longitudinal, high alpha aircraft dynamics with varying degrees of approximation dependent on the purpose. In all cases, angle of attack or pitch rate was controlled primarily by a horizontal stabilizer. In most cases studied, a linear adaptive controller provided sufficient stability. However, it has been demonstrated by simulation of a simplified nonlinear model that certain large rapid maneuvers were not readily stabilized by the investigated linear adaptive control, but were controlled instead by means of a nonlinear time-series based adaptive control.

Mohler, R. R.↗

An introduction to chaos theory in CFD

The popular subject 'chaos theory' has captured the imagination of a wide variety of scientists and engineers. CFD has always been faced with nonlinear systems and it is natural to assume that nonlinear dynamics will play a role at sometime in such work. This paper will attempt to introduce some of the concepts and analysis procedures associated with nonlinear dynamics theory. In particular, results from computations of an airfoil at high angle of attack which exhibits a sequence of bifurcations for single frequency unsteady shedding through period doublings cascading into low dimensional chaos are used to present and demonstrate various aspects of nonlinear dynamics in CFD.

Pulliam, Thomas H.↗