Quasi-conforming analysis method for trimmed CAD surfaces

In this paper, the quasi-conforming method is introduced for the analysis of trimmed computer aided design (CAD) surfaces. The main benefit of the proposed method is that the boundary curves of elements are adopted for the numerical integration directly. In the quasi-conforming technique, the strains are approximated by using polynomials, and the weighted test functions are used to weaken the strain-displacement equations. The interpolation functions are introduced for strain integration. An appropriate choice of initial strain approximation and weighted test function ensures that inner-field functions are not required for strain integration, and this is used for the analysis of trimmed CAD surfaces. For example, the assumed stress quasi-conforming method is applied for the two-dimensional linear elastic problem. All the element edges are approximated by using quadratic Bezier curves for the conciseness, and this is easily incorporated into existing finite element codes and applied to Dirichlet boundary conditions. Numerical examples indicate the effectiveness and accuracy of the method.