An Explicit Finite Element Method for Thermal Simulations of Buildings with Phase Change Materials

The thermal performance of building envelopes is essential for building thermal comfort and the reduction of building energy requirements. Phase change materials (PCMs) implemented in building envelopes can improve thermal performance. An explicit finite element method (ex-FEM) has been developed based on a previous study to investigate the heat transfer performance through building walls with installed PCMs. For verification, we introduce an electrical circuit analogy (ECA) method. For model validation, at first, COMSOL is used. For comparison, data were collected from experiments using a small hotbox, part of the sides are covered by PCMs with different configurations. This work shows how the ex-FEM model can predict the wall’s temperature profile with and without incorporated PCM. With the implementation of PCMs, the work problematizes unpredictable influences for modeling. In addition, the study introduces results from simulations of sequencing of PCM layers in wall construction.

Size Effect of Shear Strength of Recycled Concrete Beam without Web Reinforcement: Testing and Explicit Finite Element Simulation

Recycled concrete is a form of low-carbon concrete with great importance. The explicit finite element method is an economical and feasible method for analyzing static concrete structures, such as those made of recycled concrete. The shear strength of regular concrete beams has size effects. In this study, a group of physical tests on the size effect of the shear strength of recycled concrete beams without web reinforcement was carried out under the condition of a constant shear span ratio. The research results show that the shear strength of the test beam generally decreases with the increase in beam section height, and a regression formula of the shear strength was obtained, which can formulate this effect. The rationale and feasibility of the explicit finite element method solving the ultimate load of concrete structures (which can derive the shear strength) were briefly demonstrated, and an explicit finite element simulation of test beams was carried out. Results showed an obvious and phenomenologically regular size effect of the shear strength of recycled concrete beams without web reinforcement, which can be simulated by the explicit finite element method. This research aims to promote the study of low-carbon recycled concrete structures to a certain extent and encourage the application of economic explicit finite element methods for the static analysis of concrete structures.

The transient response of high-speed wheel/rail rolling contact on “roaring rails” corrugation

A high-speed wheel/rail finite element model is developed to focus on the non-steady-state rolling contact. The wheel/rail contact is solved based on the surface-to-surface contact algorithm, and the explicit finite element method is used to simulate the dynamic high-speed wheel/rail rolling contact. Considering the track–vehicle coupling system dynamics and the wheel/rail geometric nonlinearities, the wheel/rail contact on the short wave rail corrugation under the high-frequency vibration and the influence of train passing frequency on the track–vehicle system dynamics are studied. The explicit finite element method can be used to simulate the non-steady-state rolling contact process of the high-speed wheel/rail. After the initial load condition, the wheel/rail contact state tends to be stable in a short period of time. The short wave corrugation causes the high-frequency vibration of the track–vehicle system; the slightly advanced phase of the wheel/rail contact force promotes the development of rail corrugation in the rolling direction. When the train passing frequency is close to the rail pinned–pinned frequency, the pinned–pinned resonance occurs. The overall vibration near the fastening is relatively large and accelerates the damage of components. The longitudinal force is clearly affected by the traction torque with a periodic wheel/rail stick-slip vibration. The pinned–pinned resonance will promote the sliding wear at the wave trough near the fastening and it will become severe with the increase of the traction.