On the Structural Analysis Using the Isogeometry Analysis Approach

In the present work, isogeometric analysis in linear elasticity problem is conducted using the basis functions from NURBS. The objectives of isogeometric analysis introduced is to integrate both geometric modeling(CAD) and computational analysis(CAE), and this can be accomplished from direct usage of geometric modeling by NURBS as the computational mesh. The merit of the isogeometry analysis is that NURBS surface are able to represent exact geometry from the control points and knot vectors, and also subsequent refinement is relatively simple relatively. In order to verify the computer codes developed in this study, it has been applied to two structural models of which geometry are simple ; 1) circular cylinder subjected to the constant internal pressure loading, 2) square plate with circular hole at center subjected to uniform tension. The exact solutions of these two models are available. Convergence of the approximate solutions by the present code for the isogeometry analysis are investigated by mesh refinement with inserting knots (h-refinement) and by mesh refinement with order elevation of the basis functions (p-refinement).