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Structural stress and strain in the key components of aircraft structure is important for structural health monitoring and strength assessment. However, the measure of dynamic strain is often difficult to implement because of the complex test equipment and inconvenient measure points, especially in flight test. This study aims to propose an algorithm of dynamic strain estimation using the acceleration response in time domain to simplify the measure of dynamic strain.

The relationship between the strain and acceleration response is established through the sinusoidal response or modal analysis, which is insensitive to the excitation position and form. A band-pass filter is used to obtain the modal acceleration response, and a filter frequency band selection method is proposed. Then, the dynamic strain at the concerned points can be estimated based on the modal superposition principle.

Simulation and experiment are implemented to validate the applicability and effectiveness of the strain estimation method. The estimated strain results agree well with numerical simulation as well as the experimental results. The simplicity and accuracy of the strain estimation method show practicability for dynamic strength and fatigue analysis in engineering applications.

An algorithm of dynamic strain estimation using the acceleration response in time domain is developed. A band-pass filter is used to obtain the modal acceleration response, and a filter frequency band selection method is proposed. The dynamic strain at the concerned points can be estimated based on the modal superposition principle.

There has been interest recently in analysing soil, ceramic powders and other materials on the microscopic level so that macroscopic phenomena, such as failure, can be related to microscopic properties. The discrete element method provides a numerical tool for conducting such analyses. Here the basic theory behind the method is reviewed and various formulations derived from a finite element basis. The automatic detection of contact surfaces between bodies is a major problem in analysing the interaction of numerous bodies, common to both finite elements and discrete elements. Various approaches to geometric contact detection and the need for efficient algorithms and data structures utilizing recent developments in the field of computer graphics and solid modelling are discussed. Examples are given of the collapse of a soil embankment, penetration of a projectile into a soil and the large deformation of a space structure.

The purpose of this work is to optimize the monitoring of vibrations on dynamometric test rigs for railway brakes. This is a quite demanding application considering the continuous increase of performances of high-speed trains that involve higher testing specifications for brake pads and disks.

In this work, authors propose a mixed approach in which relatively simple finite element models are used to support the optimization of a diagnostic system that is used to monitor vibration levels and rotor-dynamical behavior of the machine. The model is calibrated with experimental data recorded on the same rig that must be identified and monitored. The whole process is optimized to not interfere with normal operations of the rig, using common inertial sensor and tools and are available as standard instrumentation for this kind of applications. So at the end all the calibration activities can be performed normally without interrupting the activities of the rig introducing additional costs due to system unavailability.

Proposed approach was able to identify in a very simple and fast way the vibrational behavior of the investigated rig, also giving precious information concerning the anisotropic behavior of supports and their damping. All these data are quite difficult to be found in technical literature because they are quite sensitive to assembly tolerances and to many other factors. Dynamometric test rigs are an important application widely diffused for both road and rail vehicles. Also proposed procedure can be easily extended and generalized to a wide value of machine with horizontal rotors.

Most of the studies in literature are referred to electrical motors or turbomachines operating with relatively slow transients and constant inertial properties. For investigated machines both these conditions are not verified, making the proposed application quite unusual and original with respect to current application. At the same time, there is a wide variety of special machines that are usually marginally covered by standard testing methodologies to which the proposed approach can be successfully extended.

This paper aims to present a fast and effective approach to tackle complex fluid structure interaction problems that are relevant for the aeronautical design.

High fidelity computer-aided engineering models (computational fluid dynamics [CFD] and computational structural mechanics) are coupled by embedding modal shapes into the CFD solver using RBF mesh morphing.

The theoretical framework is first explained and its use is then demonstrated with a review of applications including both steady and unsteady cases. Different flow and structural solvers are considered to showcase the portability of the concept.

The method is flexible and can be used for the simulation of complex scenarios, including components vibrations induced by external devices, as in the case of flapping wings.

The computation mesh of the CFD model becomes parametric with respect to the modal shape and, so, capable to self-adapt to the loads exerted by the surrounding fluid both for steady and transient numerical studies.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the fatigue process through the dynamic analysis of the global structural model and local static sub-modelling in a critical detail using the hot-spot stress approach. The detail was studied in three different positions at the “Alcácer do Sal” access viaduct, and the methodologies from the IIW and Eurocode EN 1993-1-9 were compared.

In this study, the fatigue life process based on the hot-spot stress approach was evaluated using a global dynamic analysis and a local sub-modelling based on a static analysis of welded connections in the “Alcácer do Sal” railway structure, Portugal, taking into consideration the recommendations from IIW and Eurocode EN 1993-1-9. The hot-spot stresses were calculated through the static analysis of the sub-model of the welded connection for each vibration mode with the aim to obtain the temporal stresses using the modal coordinates and modal stresses of the extrapolation points. The Ansys® and Matlab® softwares were used for the numerical analysis and the hot-spot stress calculations, respectively.

The proposed methodology/approach to obtain fatigue assessment is based on the modal analysis of the global structural model and local static sub-modelling. The modal analysis was used to extract the boundary conditions to be used in the local model to determine the temporal stresses of the extrapolation points. Based on the modal superposition method, the stresses as function of time were obtained for fatigue life evaluation of a critical detail by the hot-spot stress approach. The detail was studied in three different positions.

In the present study, a global-local fatigue methodology based on dynamic analysis of the global structural model and local static sub-modelling of the critical detail using the hot-spot stress approach is proposed. Herein, the modal analysis of the global structural model supported by the modal superposition method was used to obtain the matrix of modal coordinates. The static analysis of the local sub-model for each mode from the modal analysis of global structural model was done to estimate the hot-spot stresses. The fatigue damage calculation was based on S-N curve of the critical detail and rainflow method. The IIW recommendation proved to be more conservative compared to the proposed rules in the Eurocode EN 1993-1-9. The global-local modelling based on dynamic analysis is an important and effective tool for fatigue evaluation in welded joints.

The purpose of this paper is to design a component synthesis method to suppress the vibration of the flexible spacecraft, which has the constant amplitude force/moment actuator.

The authors proposed a method to construct constant amplitude of time delay and composite coefficient sequences based on the principles of the component synthesis vibration suppression (CSVS). The associated design strategy of the CSVS torque control is also developed. The dynamic model consisting of a single axis rotating rigid central body and a fixed flexibility panel is used to validate the proposed method. Constraint modal and free modal method are both tested to analyse the natural frequencies of the panel and dynamic properties of rigid–flexible decoupling system, under the conditions of known and unknown frequencies. The feasibility of constructing CSVS control force based on the constraint modal frequency is also analysed.

The proposed method can suppress multistage vibration and has arbitrary order robustness for each order frequencies simultaneously. Simulation results show that only the duration time of the actuator has to be set for the proposed method, reasonable vibration suppression effect can be achieved.

The method can be used in spacecraft, especially flexible spacecraft to suppress the vibration; the approach is convenient for engineering application and can be easily designed.

The authors proposed a method to construct constant amplitude of time delay and composite coefficient sequences based on the principles of the CSVS.

This paper aims to develop an efficient numerical method for nonlinear transient heat conduction problems with local radiation boundary conditions and nonlinear heat sources.

Based on the physical characteristic of the transient heat conduction and the distribution characteristic of the Green’s function, a quasi-superposition principle is presented for the transient heat conduction problems with local nonlinearities. Then, an efficient method is developed, which indicates that the solution of the original nonlinear problem can be derived by solving some nonlinear problems with small structures and a linear problem with the original structure. These problems are independent of each other and can be solved simultaneously by the parallel computing technique.

Within a small time step, the nonlinear thermal loads can only induce significant temperature responses of the regions near the positions of the nonlinear thermal loads, whereas the temperature responses of the remaining regions are very close to zero. According to the above physical characteristic, the original nonlinear problem can be transformed into some nonlinear problems with small structures and a linear problem with the original structure.

An efficient and accurate numerical method is presented for transient heat conduction problems with local nonlinearities, and some numerical examples demonstrate the high efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method.

The purpose of this paper is to employ analytical and numerical techniques to generate modal displacement data of damaged beams containing very small crack-like surface flaws or slots and to use the data in the development of damage detection methodology. The detection method involves the use of double differentiation of the modal data for identification of the flaw location and magnitude.

The modal displacements of damaged beams are simulated analytically using the Bernoulli-Euler theory and numerically using the finite element method. The principle used in the analytical approach is based on changes in the transverse displacement due to the localized reduction of the flexural rigidity of the beam. Curvature analysis is employed to identify and locate the structural flaws from the modal data. The curvature mode shapes are calculated using a central difference approximation. The effects of random noise on the detectability of the structural flaws are also computed.

The analytical approach is much more robust in simulating modal displacement data for beams with crack-like surface flaws or slots than the finite element analysis (FEA) approach especially for crack-like surface flaws or slots of very small depths. The structural flaws are detectable in the presence of random noise of up to 5 per cent.

Simulating the effects of small crack-like surface flaws is important because it is essential to develop techniques to detect cracks at an early stage of their development. The FEA approach can only simulate the effects of crack-like surface flaws or slots with depth ratio greater than 10 per cent. On the other hand, the analytical approach using the Bernoulli-Euler theory can simulate the effects of crack-like surface flaws or slots with depth ratio as small as 2 per cent.

Extended from the classic Rayleigh damping model in structural dynamics, the Caughey damping model allows the damping ratios to be specified in multiple modes while satisfying the orthogonality conditions. Despite these desirable properties, Caughey damping suffers from a few major drawbacks: depending on the frequency distribution of the significant modes, it can be difficult to choose the reference frequencies that ensure reasonable values for all damping ratios corresponding to the significant modes; it cannot ensure all damping ratios are positive. This paper aims to present a constrained quadratic programming approach to address these issues.

The new method minimizes the error of the structural displacement peak based on the response spectrum theory, while all modal damping ratios are constrained to be greater than zero.

Several comprehensive examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method, and comparisons with existing approaches are provided whenever possible.

The proposed method is highly efficient and allows the damping ratios to be conveniently specified for all significant modes, producing optimal damping coefficients in practical applications.

Gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the theoretical as well as practical points of view. The range of applications of FEMs in this area is wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore aims to give the reader an encyclopaedic view on the subject. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains 2,025 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations dealing with the analysis of beams, columns, rods, bars, cables, discs, blades, shafts, membranes, plates and shells that were published in 1992‐1995.