The role of preconditioning in the solution to FE coupled consolidation equations by Krylov subspace methods

The repeated solution in time of the linear system arising from the finite element integration of coupled consolidation equations is a major computational effort. This system can be written in either a symmetric or an unsymmetric form, thus calling for the implementation of different preconditioners and Krylov subspace solvers. The present paper aims at investigating when either a symmetric or an unsymmetric approach should be better used. The results from a number of representative numerical experiments indicate that a major role in selecting either form is played by the preconditioner rather than by the Krylov subspace method itself. Two other important issues addressed are the size of the time integration step and the possible lumping of the flow capacity matrix. It appears that ad hoc block constrained preconditioners provide the most robust algorithm independently of the time step size, lumping, and symmetry. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A mixed finite element method for the solution of the magnetostatic problem with highly discontinuous coefficients in 3D

This paper present a new a mixed finite element method for the simulation of magnetostatic problems with highly discontinuous permeability. The method is derived from the well studied mixed formulation for the div-grad system that is known to be accurate for very large discontinuities. The method robustness is demonstrated on a test model problem.     

一种高性能迭代预处理方法及其在岩土工程中的应用

岩土工程建设的发展极大地促进了三维数值模拟的应用。大规模三维有限元计算需要求解一系列大型线性方程组,这些线性方程组的求解直接影响着整个有限元计算的效率。复杂岩土工程问题通常涉及多相和多体耦合相互作用,各相之间或不同固体材料之间性质差别显著,可能导致Krylov子空间迭代法收敛缓慢,甚至求解失败。为了提高Krylov子空间迭代法的求解效率和可靠性,提出一种新的高效预处理技术,通过算例验证了所提出的分区块迭代预处理方法的有效性。     

Iteratively coupled solution strategies for a four‐field mixed finite element method for poroelasticity

In this paper, we consider numerical algorithms for modeling of the time‐dependent coupling between the fluid flow and deformation in elastic porous media. Here, we employ a four‐field formulation which uses the total stress, displacement, flux, and pressure as its primary variables and satisfies Darcy's law and linear elasticity in mixed weak form. We present four different iteratively coupled methods, known as drained, undrained, fixed‐strain, and fixed‐stress splits, in which the diffusion operator is separated from the elasticity operator and the two subproblems are solved in a staggered way while ensuring convergence of the solution at each time step. A‐priori convergence results for each iterative coupling which differs from those found when using a traditional two‐field or three‐field formulation are presented. We also present some numerical results to support the convergence estimates and to show the accuracy and efficiency of the algorithms. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A modified Jacobi preconditioner for solving ill‐conditioned Biot's consolidation equations using symmetric quasi‐minimal residual method

This paper identifies imbalanced columns (or rows) as a significant source of ill‐conditioning in the preconditioned coefficient matrix using the standard Jacobi preconditioner, for finite element solution of Biot's consolidation equations. A simple and heuristic preconditioner is proposed to reduce this source of ill‐conditioning. The proposed preconditioner modifies the standard Jacobi preconditioner by scaling the excess pore pressure degree‐of‐freedoms in the standard Jacobi preconditioner with appropriate factors. The performance of such preconditioner is examined using the symmetric quasi‐minimal residual method. To alleviate storage requirements, element‐by‐element iterative strategies are implemented. Numerical experiment results show that the proposed preconditioner reduces both the number of iteration and CPU execution time significantly as compared with the standard Jacobi preconditioner. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spectral analysis of nonlocal regularization in two‐dimensional finite element models

Strain‐softening in geomaterials often leads to ill‐posed boundary‐valued problems (BVP), which cannot be solved with finite element methods without introducing some kind of regularization such as nonlocal plasticity. Hereafter we propose to apply spectral analysis for testing the performance of nonlocal plasticity in regularizing ill‐posed BVP and producing mesh‐independent solutions when local plasticity usually fails. The spectral analysis consists of examining the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the global tangential stiffness matrix of the incremental equilibrium equations. Based on spectral analysis, we propose a criterion for passing or failing the test of constitutive regularization in the context of BVP. If the eigenvalues of the tangential operator are all positive then the regularization succeeds, otherwise it fails and may not prevent artificial mesh‐dependent solutions from appearing. The approach is illustrated in the particular case of a biaxial compression with strain‐softening plasticity. In this particular case, local softening plasticity is found to produce negative eigenvalues in the tangential stiffness matrix, which indicates ill‐posed BVP. In contrast, nonlocal softening plasticity always produces positive eigenvalues, which regularizes ill‐posed BVP. The dominant eigenvectors, which generate localized deformation patterns, have a bandwidth independent of mesh size, provided that the mesh is fine enough to capture localization. These mesh‐independent eigenmodes explain why nonlocal plasticity produces numerical solutions that are mesh‐independent. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biot固结有限元方程组的病态规律分析

针对Biot固结有限元方程组的病态问题，采用正交试验和量纲分析法探讨病态性的变化规律及其影响因素。主要考虑单元平均尺寸、时间步长、压缩性和渗透性等4个因素的影响。分别提出2组相互独立的相似准则，在此基础上得到2个新的无量纲量，并将其用于分析Biot固结有限元方程组系数矩阵的条件数的变化规律。结合算例进行参数分析结果表明，对病态程度的敏感性由大到小依次为单元平均尺寸、时间步长、压缩性和渗透性；单元平均尺寸太小会使病态加剧；随着2个无量纲量的增大，病态程度呈现单调增加的趋势。其结果为深化对Biot固结数值分析病态问题的认识提供有益参考。     

压力溶解对颗粒聚集岩体中热-水-应力耦合作用的弹塑性有限元分析

将Taron等提出的颗粒聚集体的压力溶解模型引入笔者所研制的孔隙介质热-水-应力耦合有限元程序中,并使用摩尔-库仑准则,针对一个假设的实验室尺度且位于饱和石英颗粒聚集岩体中的高放废物地质处置库模型,拟定弹性分析和弹塑性分析两种计算工况,进行4 a处置时段的数值模拟,考察了岩体中的温度、颗粒界面水膜及孔隙中的溶质浓度、迁移和沉淀质量、孔隙率及渗透系数、孔隙水压力、地下水流速和应力及塑性区的变化、分布情况。结果主要显示：弹塑性分析中由于应力调整和增大了分子扩散系数,使得塑性区的颗粒介质的溶解、迁移和沉淀有明显的变化,并对渗流场（孔隙水压力及流速）和应力场产生显著的影响。但两种工况弹性区中的颗粒介质的溶解、迁移和沉淀差别较小。     

浅埋隧道掌子面稳定性二维自适应上限有限元分析

为研究浅埋隧道掌子面稳定性及获取精细化的破坏模式,提出了一种上限有限元非结构化网格自适应加密策略。以单元耗散能权重指标作为网格自适应加密评判准则,该策略同时兼顾了单元尺度与塑性应变。应用高阶的6节点三角形单元并建立上限有限元线性规划模型,以多次反复计算和网格加密的方式实现了二维自适应上限有限元分析并编制了计算程序。利用条形基础地基极限承载力课题,从上限解精度和网格加密形态方面验证了该程序的有效性。针对浅埋隧道掌子面稳定性问题,展开多参数条件下的自适应上限有限元计算,分析了网格加密过程中单元总数与上限解精度的关系,列出不同隧道埋深和内摩擦角对应的隧道掌子面稳定性临界值的上限解,揭示出掌子面稳定性变化规律及精细化的破坏模式。     

Coupled discrete element and finite volume solution of two classical soil mechanics problems

One dimensional solutions for the classic critical upward seepage gradient/quick condition and the time rate of consolidation problems are obtained using coupled routines for the finite volume method (FVM) and discrete element method (DEM), and the results compared with the analytical solutions. The two phase flow in a system composed of fluid and solid is simulated with the fluid phase modeled by solving the averaged Navier–Stokes equation using the FVM and the solid phase is modeled using the DEM. A framework is described for the coupling of two open source computer codes: YADE-OpenDEM for the discrete element method and OpenFOAM for the computational fluid dynamics. The particle–fluid interaction is quantified using a semi-empirical relationship proposed by Ergun [12]. The two classical verification problems are used to explore issues encountered when using coupled flow DEM codes, namely, the appropriate time step size for both the fluid and mechanical solution processes, the choice of the viscous damping coefficient, and the number of solid particles per finite fluid volume.     

A quasistatic analysis of a plate on consolidating layered soils by analytical layer‐element/finite element method coupling

In this paper, a coupling method between finite element and analytical layer‐elements is utilized to analyze the time‐dependent behavior of a plate of any shape and finite rigidity resting on layered saturated soils. Based on the integral transform techniques together with the aid of an order reduction method, an analytical layer‐element solution is derived from the governing equations for three‐dimensional Biot consolidation with respect to a Cartesian coordinate system and then extended to be the fundamental solution for the layered saturated soil under a point load. The Mindlin plate is modeled by eight‐noded isoparametric elements. The governing equations of the interaction between soil and plate in the Laplace‐Fourier transformed domain are deduced by referring to the coupling theory of FEM/BEM, and the final solution is obtained by applying numerical inversion. Numerical examples concerned with the time‐dependent response of a plate are performed to demonstrate the influence of soil and plate properties on the interaction process. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three‐dimensional finite element analyses of passive pile behaviour

Piles may be subjected to lateral soil pressures as a result of lateral soil movements from nearby construction‐related activities such as embankment construction or excavation operations. Three‐dimensional finite element analyses have been carried out to investigate the response of a single pile when subjected to lateral soil movements. The pile and the soil were modelled using 20‐node quadrilateral brick elements with reduced integration. For compatibility between the soil–pile interface elements, 27‐node quadrilateral brick elements with reduced integration were used to model the soil around the pile adjacent to the soil–pile interface. A Mohr–Coulomb elastic–plastic constitutive model with large‐strain mode was assumed for the soil. The analyses indicate that the behaviour of the pile was significantly influenced by the pile flexibility, the magnitude of soil movement, the pile head boundary conditions, the shape of the soil movement profile and the thickness of the moving soil mass. Reasonable agreement is found between some existing published solutions and those developed herein. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

某高层建筑基坑塌方分析及极限分析有限元法模拟

某高层建筑基坑在施工过程中由于没有严格按照设计施工、基坑边坡土层没有完全封闭、边坡顶部和底部裸露,致使雨水从坡顶排水沟下部渗到边坡面层内,经雨水浸泡后的土体抗剪强度降低,大量土块失稳落下,喷射混凝土面层内形成了大片空洞,锚索的预应力损失,最终导致整个面层坠下,造成塌方事故。采用二分法改进的极限分析有限元法对该基坑边坡进行模拟,得到了基坑边坡的安全系数和滑动面,用二分法对土体强度参数进行折减,提高了极限分析有限元法的求解效率。     

基于线性规划模型的极限分析上限有限元的实现

极限分析上限有限元法常利用三角形常应变率单元和摩尔-库仑屈服函数线性化的方法,以形成较易求解的线性规划模型。然而为满足计算精度,需引入大量的优化变量,增加了计算和存储的难度。为此,基于线性规划模型,利用MATLAB编制极限分析上限有限元程序,针对线性规划模型等式约束矩阵的高度稀疏性的特点,以稀疏矩阵的方式存储,从而在一定程度上解决了上述问题,使得上限有限元法能处理较大规模的岩土工程稳定性问题。以条形基础地基承载力课题为例进行算例分析,验证该方法的有效性,同时讨论了模型网格单元和塑性乘子数目对计算结果精度的影响。     

一种二阶锥线性化方法在上限有限元中的应用研究

对于平面应变条件下岩土稳定性分析,基于线性规划的上限有限元需对常用的摩尔-库仑屈服准则形成的二阶锥约束进行线性化,直接地处理方法是以外接多边形替代锥体投影形成的圆域。为了提高线性化精度往往需直接增加外接多边形边数,从而造成线性规划模型中决策变量包含大量的塑性乘子变量,使计算难度大为增加甚至变得不可行。为此,引入Ben-Tal和Nemirovsky提出的一种二阶锥线性化方法,并将其嵌入到自编的上限有限元程序。经算例分析发现,该法与外接多边形线性化方法所获计算结果相互印证,且其通过适量的增加决策变量和等式约束数目,能保证摩尔-库仑屈服准则线性化精度,同时形成的线性规划规模更小,可望应用于基于线性规划模型的上限有限元中。     

Unconfined seepage analysis in earth dams using smoothed fixed grid finite element method

One major difficulty in seepage analyses is finding the position of phreatic surface which is unknown at the beginning of solution and must be determined in an iterative process. The objective of the present study is to develop a novel non‐boundary‐fitted mesh finite‐element method capable of solving the unconfined seepage problem in domains with arbitrary geometry and continuously varied permeability. A new non‐boundary‐fitted finite element method named as smoothed fixed grid finite element method (SFGFEM) is used to simplify the solution of variable domain problem of unconfined seepage. The gradient smoothing technique, in which the area integrals are transformed into the line integrals around edges of smoothing cells, is used to obtain the element matrices. The solution process starts with an initial guess for the unknown boundary and SFGFEM is used to approximate the field variable. The boundary shape is then modified to eventually satisfy nonlinear boundary condition in an iterative process. Some numerical examples are solved to evaluate the applicability of the proposed method and the results are compared with those available in the literature. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Iterative analysis of pore‐dynamic models discretized by finite elements

This work proposes an iterative procedure to analyze dynamic linear/nonlinear fully saturated porous media considering time‐domain finite element discretization. In this iterative approach, each phase of the coupled problem is treated separately, uncoupling the governing equations of the model. Thus, simpler, smaller, and better conditioned systems of equations are obtained, rendering more attractive techniques. A relaxation parameter is introduced in order to improve the efficiency and robustness of the iterative solution, and an expression to compute optimal values for the relaxation parameter is discussed. At the end of the paper, numerical examples are presented, illustrating the effectiveness and potentialities of the proposed methodology. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison between iterative solution of symmetric and non‐symmetric forms of Biot's FEM equations using the generalized Jacobi preconditioner

Finite element discretization of Biot's consolidation equations can produce a symmetric indefinite system (commonly used in geomechanics) or a non‐symmetric system. While this difference appears to be minor, however, it will require the selection of entirely different Krylov subspace solvers with potentially significant impact on solution efficiency. The former is solved using the symmetric quasi‐minimal residual whereas the latter is solved using the popular bi‐conjugate gradient stabilized. This paper presents an extensive comparison of the symmetric and non‐symmetric forms by varying the time step, size of the spatial domain, choice of physical units, and left versus left–right preconditioning. The generalized Jacobi (GJ) preconditioner is able to handle the non‐symmetric version of Biot's finite element method equation, although there are no practical incentives to do so. The convergence behaviour of GJ‐preconditioned systems and its relation to the spectral condition number or the complete spectrum are studied to clarify the concept of ill‐conditioning within the context of iteration solvers. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

扩展有限元法节点加强类型的确定

扩展有限元法的网格剖分不需要考虑裂纹的位置,但计算时需根据计算网格和裂纹位置关系确定加强节点和加强类型。一般根据加强单元类型确定加强节点和加强类型。确定加强单元类型,不仅要考虑裂纹位置,还要考虑单元形状。指出现有文献中只考虑裂纹位置根据节点水平集值判别加强单元类型的不足,提出相应的改进方法。对于复杂形状裂纹,采用水平集法确定加强单元类型并不方便;给出了一种确定加强单元类型、加强节点和加强类型的有效方法,即根据裂纹与单元边界交点数和裂纹拐点位置确定加强单元类型,然后根据加强单元类型确定加强节点及加强类型;给出了该方法详细的执行过程。算例分析表明了本文方法的正确性。     

土坡有限元稳定分析若干问题探讨

详细探讨了用有限元方法分析土坡稳定所遇到的问题及处理方法 ,主要包括: 有限元前后处理 ;有限元计算范围及网格划分对计算结果的影响 ;安全系数的定义 ;最危险滑动圆心位置及临界滑动面的形状等问题。