There is a basic problem in NATURE of approximation of discontinuity in element using XFEM.I tried to illustrate that below:

for example, If you consider an element with strong discontinuity( like fracture or contact) which usually we use heaviside function as enrichment function. we expect two parts of element deform independently because of nature of problem.



In equation for approximation of this element we have two main parts. First  is 'regular' or 'standard' part which uses the standard shape functions of element and Second is the enriched part.

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University
of Pennsylvania invites applications for a tenure track faculty
position. Applications will be considered from outstanding candidates
in any emerging area of Materials Science and Engineering. Successful
candidates will be committed to excellence in undergraduate and
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Mechanical tension contributes to clustering of neurotransmitter vesicles at presynaptic terminals. 

Scott Siechen, Shengyuan Yang, Akira Chiba and Taher Saif

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,   August 4, 2009   vol. 106   no. 31   12611–12616 

http://www.pnas.org/gca?gca=pnas%3B106%2F31%2F12611&allch= 

If someone knows of books/articles dealing with the meaning of the concept of potential in physics (or concerning the physical bases underlying the energy methods of mechanics) then I would very much appreciate getting to know about these.

0. I was idly thinking about the current H1N1 flue pandemic, and the following things occurred to me. Please note, I know very little about this subject matter. So, please consider descriptions in the following as, at best, tentative.



1. There is a basic difference between how alcohol kills viruses and how salt-water kills bacteria. [Alcohol is used in the hand-cleaners they use in hospitals. Girgling with salt-water is the first line of defense (and an unexpectedly highly effective one) which is well known for millenia.]

Following successful meetings in Lisbon, Toronto and Sitges, Elsevier will host the Fourth International Conference on Engineering Failure Analysis (www.icefa.elsevier.com) at Churchill College in Cambridge from the 4th - 7th July 2010. You are invited to participate in the latest in this important series of conferences, which have established a respected biennial forum for the discussion and dissemination of knowledge and experience in Engineering Failure Analysis.

The eighth biennial Fatigue Damage of Structural Materials conference (www.fatiguedamage.elsevier.com) will once again be held in scenic Cape Cod at The Resort and Conference Center at Hyannis, Hyannis, Massachusetts from the 19 - 24 September 2010. Hyannis is situated on the historic Cape Cod peninsula just 90 minutes from either Logan International Airport (Boston, MA) or TF Green Airport (Providence, RI). 

I was wondering if anyone has solved a “sequentially coupled thermal stress analysis” problem using ABAQUS?

If so, here is what I am looking to solve.

Let’s assume we solved for the temperature (T) as a function of time and space using the transient heat transfer analysis given certain BCs.