A Global-Local Strategy for the Elastoplastic Analysis of Complex Metallic Structures via Component-Wise Approach

Abstract

A global-local approach has been developed for the elasto-plastic analysis of thin-walled metal structures, which interfaces between commercial finite element software and advanced structural theories based on the Carrera Unified Formulation (CUF). The structure is modeled in CUF using the Component-Wise approach where Lagrange polynomials enhance the cross-section kinematics of the beam element. The von Mises constitutive model with isotropic work hardening is used to describe the material nonlinearity. Two types of the global-local approach have been discussed: (1) elastoplasticity is considered in both global and local analyses, and (2) a linear global analysis is followed by a nonlinear local analysis. It is shown that the second version maintains the accuracy of the solution for cases where the plastic zone is localized within the structure. The described approach results in a significant reduction in the computational size of the problem, compared to standard 3D finite element analysis.