Publications

The application of the finite element method to problems in non-Newtonian fluid mechanics is described. The formulation of the basic equations is presented for both inelastic and viscoelastic constitutive models. Solution algorithms for treating the material nonlinearities associated with inelastic fluids are described; typical solution procedures for the implicit stress-rate equations of viscoelastic fluids are also presented. Methods for the simulation of various types of free-surface flows are also outlined. Simple example analyses are included for both types of fluid models.

Computational mechanics simulation capability via the finite element method is being integrated into the FASTCAST project to allow realistic analyses of investment casting problems. Commercial and in-house software is being coupled to new, solid model based mesh generation capabilities to provide improved access to fluid, thermal and structural simulations. These simulations are being used for the validation of complex gating designs and the study of fundamental problems in casting.

The MERLIN 2 program is designed to transfer data between finite element meshes of arbitrary geometry. The program is structured to accurately interpolate previously computed solutions onto a given mesh and format the resulting data for immediate use in another analysis program. Data from either two-dimensional or three-dimensional meshes may be considered. The theoretical basis and computational algorithms used in the program are described and complete user instructions are presented. Several example problems are included to demonstrate program usage. 13 refs. 15 figs.