Error analysis of finite element results on plates with nonuniform grids
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Publications and source records attributed to Sistla, Rajaram.
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Discrete Dirac delta functions in two dimensions and the governing plate differential equations are used to produce continuous approximations from discrete finite-element data on nonuniform grids. The resulting continuous approximation when compared to the discrete data provides an error analysis. Moreover, the continuous approximation can be differentiated to compute continuous stresses needed for component failure prediction. Stresses can then be calculated accurately at boundaries and at interfaces where finite-element analysis alone may not provide reliable results. The continuous solution along with the differential equations also provides a residual error which is used in the error analysis. This is a unique feature of this approach. Two application examples of the procedure are provided. One example involves the linear response of a clamped square plate under uniform transverse load. Results from finite-element analysis and the continuous solution from the present analysis are compared to a closed-form elasticity solution. The continuous solution is used in a Zienkiewicz-Zhu error estimator to assess the performance of the present analysis. The continuous solution is observed to dramatically correct the finite-element results. In a second example, results for the nonlinear response of a stiffened panel are compared to the finite-element solution.
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The accurate calculation of stresses at boundaries and interfaces where FEM analysis may be unreliable is presently undertaken by an error analysis that derives a continuous approximation to discrete finite-element data, which can be differentiated to compute continuous stresses for component-failure predictions. An evaluation is conducted of this approximation in the context of the nonlinear PDEs. A novel interpolation formula which is a simple modification of the double Fourier sine series is used to reduce truncation errors near the rectangular plate boundary by means of an 'extended grid'. Results are presented from a FEM solution, a conventional double-Fourier series' continuous approximation, and a solution applying interpolation on the extended grid, which yields superior convergence properties near the plate boundaries.
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This paper is one of a series on error analysis and correction of finite element solutions for plates and shells. The error analysis in the earlier papers used half-range double Fourier sine series for numerical harmonic analysis. The half-range formulas are simple to apply, but they can be inaccurate near the ends of the ranges of the independent variables. The Gibbs' phenomenon exhibited by half-range sine series in one independent variable has a two-dimensional analog; a classic example is the Navier solution in a double half-range sine series for the simply supported plate under a uniform load. A simple change of variables is introduced in the paper to improve the accuracy of the double Fourier sine series without adding complexity to the numerical analysis. The change of variables is applied to the problem of approximating a transverse load that is tabulated on a rectangular grid. A solution based on the change of variables is compared with results from the Navier solution for the simply supported plate problem and finite element results for the same problem.
A computer code is now available for estimating the error in results from the STAGS finite element code for a shell unit consisting of a rectangular orthotropic plate. This memorandum contains basic information about the computer code EAC (Error Analysis and Correction) and describes the connection between the input data for the STAGS shell units and the input data necessary to run the error analysis code. The STAGS code returns a set of nodal displacements and a discrete set of stress resultants; the EAC code returns a continuous solution for displacements and stress resultants. The continuous solution is defined by a set of generalized coordinates computed in EAC. The theory and the assumptions that determine the continuous solution are also outlined in this memorandum. An example of application of the code is presented and instructions on its usage on the Cyber and the VAX machines have been provided.
A general method of error analysis and correction is investigated for the discrete finite-element results for cylindrical shell structures. The method for error analysis is an adaptation of the method of successive approximation. When applied to the equilibrium equations of shell theory, successive approximations derive an approximate continuous solution from the discrete finite-element results. The advantage of this continuous solution is that it contains continuous partial derivatives of an order higher than the basis functions of the finite-element solution. Preliminary numerical results are presented in this paper for the error analysis of finite-element results for a postbuckled stiffened cylindrical panel modeled by a general purpose shell code. Numerical results from the method have previously been reported for postbuckled stiffened plates. A procedure for correcting the continuous approximate solution by Newton's method is outlined.
An error analysis of results from finite-element solutions of problems in shell structures is further developed, incorporating the results of an additional numerical analysis by which oscillatory behavior is eliminated. The theory is extended to plates with initial geometric imperfections, and this novel analysis is programmed as a postprocessor for a general-purpose finite-element code. Numerical results are given for the case of a stiffened panel in compression and a plate loaded in shear by a 'picture-frame' test fixture.