Carlo Lovadina

Lourenco Beirao da Veiga, Carlo Lovadina, Alessandro Russo

We analyse the Virtual Element Methods (VEM) on a simple elliptic model problem, allowing for more general meshes than the one typically considered in the VEM literature. For instance, meshes with arbitrarily small edges (with respect to the parent element diameter), can be dealt with. Our general approach applies to different choices of the stability form, including, for example, the "classical" one introduced in [L. Beirao da Veiga, F. Brezzi, A. Cangiani, G. Manzini, L. D. Marini, and A. Russo, Basic principles of virtual element methods, Math. Models Methods Appl. Sci. 23 (2013), no. 1, 199-214], and a recent one presented in [Wriggers, P., Rust, W.T., and Reddy, B.D., A virtual element method for contact, submitted for publication]. Finally, we show that the stabilization term can be simplified by dropping the contribution of the internal-to-the-element degrees of freedom. The resulting stabilization form, involving only the boundary degrees of freedom, can be used in the VEM scheme without affecting the stability and convergence properties. The numerical tests are in accordance with the theoretical predictions.

Edoardo Artioli, Lourenco Beirão da Veiga, Carlo Lovadina et al.

The present paper is the second part of a twofold work, whose first part is reported in [3], concerning a newly developed Virtual Element Method (VEM) for 2D continuum problems. The first part of the work proposed a study for linear elastic problem. The aim of this part is to explore the features of the VEM formulation when material nonlinearity is considered, showing that the accuracy and easiness of implementation discovered in the analysis inherent to the first part of the work are still retained. Three different nonlinear constitutive laws are considered in the VEM formulation. In particular, the generalized viscoplastic model, the classical Mises plasticity with isotropic/kinematic hardening and a shape memory alloy (SMA) constitutive law are implemented. The versatility with respect to all the considered nonlinear material constitutive laws is demonstrated through several numerical examples, also remarking that the proposed 2D VEM formulation can be straightforwardly implemented as in a standard nonlinear structural finite element method (FEM) framework.

Edoardo Artioli, Lourenco Beirao da Veiga, Carlo Lovadina et al.

The present work deals with the formulation of a Virtual Element Method (VEM) for two dimensional structural problems. The contribution is split in two parts: in part I, the elastic problem is discussed, while in part II [3] the method is extended to material nonlinearity, considering different inelastic responses of the material. In particular, in part I a standardized procedure for the construction of all the terms required for the implementation of the method in a code is explained. The procedure is initially illustrated for the simplest case of quadrilateral virtual elements with linear approximation of displacement variables on the boundary of the element. Then, the case of polygonal elements with quadratic and, even, higher order interpolation is considered. The construction of the method is detailed, deriving the approximation of the consistent term, the required stabilization term and the loading term for all the considered virtual elements. A wide numerical investigation is performed to assess the performances of the developed virtual elements, considering different number of edges describing the elements and different order of approximations of the unknown field. Numerical results are also compared with the one recovered using the classical finite element method.

Edoardo Artioli, Stefano de Miranda, Carlo Lovadina et al.

A family of Virtual Element schemes based on the Hellinger-Reissner variational principle is presented. A convergence and stability analysis is rigorously developed. Numerical tests confirming the theoretical predictions are performed.

Edoardo Artioli, Stefano de Miranda, Carlo Lovadina et al.

A dual hybrid Virtual Element scheme for plane linear elastic problems is presented and analysed. In particular, stability and convergence results have been established. The method, which is first order convergent, has been numerically tested on two benchmarks with closed form solution, and on a typical microelectromechanical system. The numerical outcomes have proved that the dual hybrid scheme represents a valid alternative to the more classical low-order displacement-based Virtual Element Method.

Lourenco Beirao da Veiga, Carlo Lovadina, David Mora

A low-order mimetic finite difference (MFD) method for Reissner-Mindlin plate problems is considered. Together with the source problem, the free vibration and the buckling problems are investigated. Full details about the scheme implementation are provided, and the numerical results on several different types of meshes are reported.

Edoardo Artioli, Stefano de Miranda, Carlo Lovadina et al.

Within the framework of the displacement-based Virtual Element Method (VEM) for plane elasticity a significant problem is represented by an accurate evaluation of the stress field. In particular, in the classical VEM formulation, a suitable operator which maps to the strain field is introduced in order to allow the calculation of the stiffness matrix. The stress field is then computed using that strian field, by using the constitutive law. Considering for example a first-order formulation for a homogeneous material, strains are locally mapped onto constant functions, and stresses are accordingly piecewise constant. However, the virtual displacements might engender more complex strain fields for polygons which are not triangles. In this paper, Recovery by Compatibility in Patches is used in order to mitigate such an effect and, thus, enhance the accuracy of the recovered stress field. The procedure is simple, efficient and can be readily implemented in existing codes. Numerical tests confirm the soundness of the proposed approach.