A High-Precision Inverse Finite Element Method for Shape Sensing and Structural Health Monitoring.

Area of Science:

• Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
• Computational Mechanics
• Structural Health Monitoring

Background:

• Deep-sea resource exploitation increases ship operational demands in challenging marine environments.
• Structural failures in ships pose significant risks to crew safety and operational costs.
• Real-time structural health monitoring (SHM) is crucial for ensuring ship integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a high-precision inverse finite element method (iFEM) for accurate displacement reconstruction in curved shell structures.
• To address limitations of existing iFEM methods, such as element distortion in complex geometries.
• To improve the reliability of SHM systems for marine applications.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a novel iFEM approach for curved shells without altering element displacement modes or mesh complexity.
• Implemented a calculation modification based on establishing a local coordinate system at Gaussian integration points.
• Modified stiffness integration within the iFEM framework.

Main Results:

• The high-precision iFEM effectively reduced displacement reconstruction errors compared to traditional methods.
• Numerical examples validated the method's capability in handling curved shell structures.
• The proposed iFEM demonstrated robust performance suitable for practical engineering applications.

Conclusions:

• The developed high-precision iFEM offers a significant advancement for SHM in marine structures.
• This method enhances the accuracy of displacement reconstruction for complex curved shells.
• The findings support improved safety and cost-efficiency in ship structural monitoring.