نشریه روش های عددی در مهندسی
سال چهل و یکم شماره 1 (تابستان 1401)

Peridynamics is a nonlocal version of the continuum mechanics, in which partial differential equations are replaced by integro-differential ones. Due to not using spatial derivatives of the field variables, it can be applied to problems with discontinuities. In the primary studies, peridynamics has been used to simulate crack propagation in brittle materials. With proving the capabilities of peridynamics, the idea of using this theory to simulate crack propagation in quasi-brittle materials and plastic behavior has been proposed. To this end, formulations and models based on peridynamics have been developed. Meanwhile, the high computational cost of peridynamic methods is the main disadvantage of this theory. With the development of peridynamic methods and introduction of hybrid methods based on peridynamics and local theories, the computational cost of peridynamic methods has been reduced to a large extent. This paper introduces peridynamics and the models based on it. To this end, we first review peridynamics, its formulations, and the methods based on it. Then we discuss the modeling of quasi-brittle materials, simulation of plastic behavior and employing the differential operators in this theory.

In this paper, dynamic instability due to parametric and external resonances of moderately thick functionally graded rectangular plates, under successive moving masses, is examined. Plate mass per unit volume and Young’s modulus are assumed to vary continuously through the thickness of the plate and obey a power-law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituent. The considered rectangular plates have two opposite simply supported edges while all possible combinations of free, simply supported and clamped boundary conditions are applied to the other two edges. The governing coupled partial differential equations of the plate are derived based on the first-order shear deformation theory with consideration of the rotational inertial effects and the transverse shear stresses. All inertial components of the moving masses are considered in the dynamic formulation. Using the Galerkin procedure, the partial differential equations are transformed into a set of ordinary differential equations with time-dependent coefficients. The Homotopy Analysis Method (HAM) is implemented as a semi-analytical method to obtain stable and unstable zones and external resonance curves in a parameters space. The effects of the index of volume fraction, thickness to length ratio, and different combinations of the boundary conditions on the dynamic stability of the system are also investigated. The results indicate that decreasing the index of volume fraction, increasing thickness to length ratio, and higher degree of edge constraints (respectively from free to simply-supported to clamped) applied to the other two edges of the plate shift up the instability region and resonance curves in the parameters plane and, from a physical point of view, the system becomes more stable. In addition to using numerical simulations of the plate midpoint displacement, Floquet theory is also employed to validate the HAM results. Finally, the results of this study, in a particular case, are compared and validated with the results of other works.

In this paper, static buckling of homogeneous beams coated by a functionally graded porous layer with different boundary conditions is investigated based on the Timoshenko beam theory. The principle of virtual work has been used to obtain the governing equations. Two different methods, namely analyticalsolution and numerical solution are used to solve the governing equations and extract the buckling force. The governing equations are coupled as a series of ordinary differential equations. In the analytical solution, these equations are first uncoupled using a series of mathematical operations, and are then solved. The obtained solution has a series of parameters and unknown constants. Using the boundary conditions at the boundaries of the beam, a homogeneous system of equations is extracted, from which the axial buckling force is obtained. In the numerical solution, the generalized differential quadrature method is used to solve the static equations. Finally, the numerical results are presented and the effects of various parameters such as thickness to beam length ratio, porous layer thickness, porosity parameter, etc. on the buckling of the beam are investigated. Comparison of the results obtained from the two analytical and numerical solution methods confirms the accuracy and validity of both methods.

According to the declining trend of fossil fuel resources and the need to use renewable energies, appropriate research should be conducted for technical and functional studies in this regard. Therefore, in this research, a tubular PEM fuel  cell as a suitable energy source with three-dimensional geometry has been numerically simulated and investigated. For a comprehensive study, the equations of continuity, momentum, energy, stress-strain, and fluid-solid-heat interaction at steady state are defined, coupled together, and then solved by a finite element numerical code. Assuming the cell voltage changes from 0.95 to 0.4 volts, the passage of compressible fuel and air through the channels and porous media of the electrode and catalyst, and also about 6 degrees increase in the average cell temperature, causes approximately 35 nm displacement in different parts. These displacements, due to fluid-solid-heat interactions, cause thermal and mechanical stresses. The maximum stress is about 3500 kN/m2  in the electrolyte due to its displacement limit (average displacement 12.8 nm). Then the relation of voltage variation with current density, stress, fuel flow rate, displacement and fuel cell temperature was shown. Also the results showed that the assumption of fluid-solid-heat interaction reduces the fuel cell power density by about 3%. Finally, the effect of different parameters such as fuel and air channel radius, electronic and ionic conductivity were investigated. For example, at a voltage of 0.4 volt, 20 percent reduction in the radius of air or fuel channels, or 100 percent increase in the electron or ionic conductivity, increases the electrical current density by about 2.17, 0.05, 3.69, and 40 percent, respectively.

One of the most important issues in engineering is to find the optimal global points of the functions used. It is not easy to find such a point in some functions due to the reasons such as large number of dimensions or inability to derive them from the function. Also in engineering modeling, we do not have the relationships of many functions, but we can input and output them as a black box. Therefore, the meta-heuristic algorithms are presented.In this paper, a meta-heuristic algorithm based on the behavior of vortices in fluid physics is presented. Technically, the algorithm is made up of vortices. Each vortex contains some particles. The particles move by the presented rotation matrix. This movement causes the local search. Also by selecting another vortex through the selection algorithm, each vortex attempts to escape the local optima and reach the global optima. The algorithm will explore and exploit the given function using its operators. Another innovation of this paper is the introduction of two new evaluation criteria for optimization algorithms. These two criteria show the behavior and convergence of algorithms along the way to reach the global optimal point or fall into the local optima. The proposed algorithm has been implemented, evaluated and compared with the numerical optimization state of the art algorithms. It was observed that the proposed method was able to achieve better results than most of the other methods in the major of twenty-four standard functions in different dimensions.  (All codes available at http://web.nit.ac.ir/ h.omranpour/.).

In this study, a cold atmospheric He plasma jet is investigated. The jet is of dielectric barrier discharge type, consisting of a dielectric tube with two metal ring electrodes. The continuity, momentum and energy conservation equations as well as the Poisson equation for obtaining the potential and the electric field, accompanied with the ideal gas laws, are used for the simulation. The results show that the electron and ion densities, potential and space charge field, internal energy, temperature and velocity of the electrons increase with time. Moreover, the increment of the plasma length and its forward propagation along the jet axis with time is also observed. Therefore, it is expected that the values of the mentioned quantities increase with time, which results in the increment of the plasma jet length.

In this article, mechanical buckling analysis of tapered beams having constant width and variable thickness, made of two-dimensional functionally graded materials is studied. The beam is assumed to be made of metal and ceramic, where their volume fractions vary in both longitudinal and thickness directions based on the power law. The beam is generally subjected to combined concentrated and distributed axial loads. The set of governing equations are derived using the Principle of Minimum total Potential Energy (PMPE), and are solved numerically using Differential Quadrature Method (DQM) for clamped-free boundary conditions. Convergence and accuracy of the presented solution are confirmed for both cases of concentrated and distributed axial loads. The effects of different parameters on the critical buckling load of the beam for both load cases are studied including geometrical parameters, gradation indices in longitudinal and thickness directions, and variation of thickness. Also buckling analysis of the beam under a combination of concentrated load and distributed axial loads of linear, quadratic and exponential types are investigated. Numerical results show that the highest values of the critical buckling load belong to the linear distributed load, and the lowest value is owned by exponential load.

Accurate modeling of fluidization and heat transfer phenomena in gas-solid fluidized beds is not solely dependent  on the particular selected numerical model and involved algorithms. In fact, choosing the right model for each specific operating condition, the correct implementation of each model, and the right choice of parameters and boundary conditions, determine the accuracy of the results in the evaluation of the performance of fluidized beds. In this research, in order to accurately simulate heat transfer in fluidized beds, important and effective parameters on two-fluid Eulerian model that incorporate the kinetic theory of granular flow were investigated. For this purpose, effects of particle-particle and particle-wall restitution coefficient, specularity coefficient, granular temperature and effective thermal conductivity coefficients determination methods on the numerical solution were evaluated. These investigations were first carried out on heat transfer from hot air to solid particles in an adiabatic fluidized bed, and then on a fluidized bed with constant temperature walls for bubbling and turbulent regimes. Results showed that specularity coefficient and effective thermal conductivity are important parameters in heat transfer process from wall to bed. In this case, the zero value of the specularity coefficient causes the air temperature to increase by about 7 degrees in the bubbling regime and about 5 degrees in the turbulent regime, and its unit value gives the same results with the no-slip condition. In addition, considering the solid and gas material thermal conductivities causes the outlet air temperature to be about 26 degrees higher than the temperature that is obtained by considering the effective thermal conductivity coefficients with standard approach. The partial differential and algebraic form of the conservation equation for the particles kinetic energy show identical results in dense fluidized beds, although considering a constant granular temperature can cause computational errors.

In this paper, a robust optimization method is developed to solve the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) trajectory design problem in the presence of uncertainties using a powerful Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. Given the uncertainties such as uncertainties in the actual values ​​of aerodynamic coefficients, engine thrust, and mass in the ascent phase of a SLV, it is important to achieve an optimal trajectory that is robust to these uncertainties; because it improves the flight performance, reduces the workload of the guidance-control system, and increases the reliability of the satellite. For this purpose, first the optimization problem is considered by using the criterion of minimizing the flight time of the SLV as a cost function, and three-dimensional equations of motion as constraints governing the problem. Then, by adding the mean parameters and the standard deviation of uncertainties in the cost function, a robust optimizer model is developed and the algorithm is used to numerically optimize the model. Monte Carlo's perspective has also been used to analyze the results of uncertainties and their continuous feedback to the optimization model. Finally, the optimal trajectory is obtained that is robust to the uncertainties. The resulting simulation results show the accuracy of this claim.