An isogeometric design-through-analysis methodology based on adaptive hierarchical refinement of NURBS, immersed boundary methods, and T-spline CAD surfaces

Dominik Schillinger, Luca Dedè, Michael A. Scott, John A. Evans, Michael J. Borden, Ernst Rank, Thomas J.R. Hughes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

427 Scopus citations

Abstract

We explore hierarchical refinement of NURBS as a basis for adaptive isogeometric and immersed boundary analysis. We use the principle of B-spline subdivision to derive a local refinement procedure, which combines full analysis suitability of the basis with straightforward implementation in tree data structures and simple generalization to higher dimensions. We test hierarchical refinement of NURBS for some elementary fluid and structural analysis problems in two and three dimensions and attain good results in all cases. Using the B-spline version of the finite cell method, we illustrate the potential of immersed boundary methods as a seamless isogeometric design-through-analysis procedure for complex engineering parts defined by T-spline CAD surfaces, specifically a ship propeller and an automobile wheel. We show that hierarchical refinement considerably increases the flexibility of this approach by adaptively resolving local features.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)116-150
Number of pages35
JournalComputer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
Volume249-252
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2012

Keywords

  • Adaptivity with NURBS
  • Finite cell method
  • Hierarchical refinement
  • Immersed boundary analysis
  • Isogeometric analysis
  • T-spline CAD surfaces

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