Premium
3D NURBS‐enhanced finite element method (NEFEM)
Author(s) -
Sevilla Ruben,
FernándezMéndez Sonia,
Huerta Antonio
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.421
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1097-0207
pISSN - 0029-5981
DOI - 10.1002/nme.3164
Subject(s) - finite element method , boundary representation , boundary (topology) , interpolation (computer graphics) , representation (politics) , cartesian coordinate system , domain (mathematical analysis) , computer science , mathematics , extension (predicate logic) , geometry , cad , algorithm , mathematical analysis , engineering drawing , structural engineering , engineering , artificial intelligence , image (mathematics) , politics , law , political science , programming language
This paper presents the extension of the recently proposed NURBS‐enhanced finite element method (NEFEM) to 3D domains. NEFEM is able to exactly represent the geometry of the computational domain by means of its CAD boundary representation with non‐uniform rational B‐splines (NURBS) surfaces. Specific strategies for interpolation and numerical integration are presented for those elements affected by the NURBS boundary representation. For elements not intersecting the boundary, a standard finite element rationale is used, preserving the efficiency of the classical FEM. In 3D NEFEM special attention must be paid to geometric issues that are easily treated in the 2D implementation. Several numerical examples show the performance and benefits of NEFEM compared with standard isoparametric or cartesian finite elements. NEFEM is a powerful strategy to efficiently treat curved boundaries and it avoids excessive mesh refinement to capture small geometric features. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.