Keywords

Meshless Methods, RBF, Multiquadrics, Computational Mechanics, Thermofluids

Abstract

In recent history, the area of physics-based engineering simulation has seen rapid increases in both computer workstation performance as well as common model complexity, both driven largely in part by advances in memory density and availability of clusters and multi-core processors. While the increase in computation time due to model complexity has been largely offset by the increased performance of modern workstations, the increase in model setup time due to model complexity has continued to rise. As such, the major time requirement for solving an engineering model has transitioned from computation time to problem setup time. This is due to the fact that developing the required mesh for complex geometry can be an extremely complicated and time consuming task. Consequently, new solution techniques which are capable of reducing the required amount of human interaction are desirable. The subject of this thesis is the development of a novel meshless method that promises to eliminate the need for structured meshes, and thus, the need for complicated meshing procedures. Although the savings gain due to eliminating the meshing process would be more than sufficient to warrant further study, the proposed method is also capable of reducing the computation time and memory footprint compared to similar models solved using more traditional finite element, finite difference, finite volume, or boundary element methods. In particular, this thesis will outline the development of an interactive, meshless, physically accurate modeling environment that provides an extensible framework which can be applied to a multitude of governing equations encountered in computational mechanics and thermofluids. Additionally, through the development of tailored preprocessing routines, efficiency and accuracy of the proposed meshless algorithms can be tested in a more realistic and flexible environment. Examples are provided in the areas of elasticity, heat transfer and computational fluid dynamics.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2007

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Kassab, Alain

Degree

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering

Degree Program

Mechanical Engineering

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0001913

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0001913

Language

English

Release Date

December 2007

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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