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Wind turbines are of growing importance for the production of renewable energy. The kinetic energy of the blowing air induces a rotary motion and is thus converted into electricity. From the mechanical point of view the complex dynamics of wind turbines become a matter of interest for structural optimization and optimal control in order to improve stability and energy efficiency. The purpose of this paper therefore is to present a mechanical model of a three‐blade wind turbine with a momentum and energy conserving time integration of the system.

The authors present a mechanical model based upon a rotationless formulation of rigid body dynamics coupled with flexible components. The resulting set of differential‐algebraic equations will be solved by using energy‐consistent time‐stepping schemes. Rigid and orthotropic‐elastic body models of a wind turbine show the robustness and accuracy of these schemes for the relevant problem.

Numerical studies prove that physically consistent time‐stepping schemes provide reliable results, especially for hybrid wind turbine models.

The application of energy‐consistent methods for time discretization is intended to provide computational robustness and to reduce the computational costs of the dynamical wind turbine systems. The model is aimed to give a first access into the investigation of fluid‐structure interaction for wind turbines.

Continuum‐atomistic modeling denotes a mixed approach combining the usual framework of continuum mechanics with atomistic features like e.g. interaction potentials. Thereby, the kinematics are typically characterized by the so called Cauchy‐Born rule representing atomic distance vectors in the spatial configuration as an affine mapping of the atomic distance vectors in the material configuration in terms of the local deformation gradient. The application of the Cauchy‐Born rule requires sufficiently homogeneous deformations of the underlying crystal. The model is no more valid if the deformation becomes inhomogeneous. By virtue of the Cauchy‐Born hypothesis, a localization criterion has been derived in terms of the loss of infinitesimal rank‐1 convexity of the strain energy density. According to this criterion, a numerical yield condition has been computed for two different interatomic energy functions. Therewith, the range of the Cauchy‐Born rule validity has been defined, since the strain energy density remains quasiconvex only within the computed yield surface. To provide a possibility to continue the simulation of material response after the loss of quasiconvexity, a relaxation procedure proposed by Tadmor et al. [1] leading necessarily to the development of microstructures has been used. Alternatively to the above mentioned criterion, a stability criterion has been applied to detect the critical deformation. For the study in the postcritical region, the path‐change procedure proposed by Wagner and Wriggers [2] has been adapted for the continuum‐atomistics and modified.

The computation of structures moving in central force fields generally requires long‐time integration including geometrically nonlinear behavior (large rotations) as such, e.g. satellite structures move for a long time. To achieve a numerically stable computation the energy momentum method which fulfills linear and angular momentum as well as energy conservation within the time step is chosen for the time integration. The focus in the contribution is on Hamiltonian systems. A formulation for the gravitational force in a central force field as external force on a rigid or flexible satellite is given. The presented formulation enables the computation of the exact spatial distribution of the gravitational forces acting on a structure using the FE‐discretization which is necessary to analyze, e.g. the orientation of a satellite in a gravitational field. The fulfillment of the conservation laws within the time step is proved. The necessity for considering the spatial distribution of the gravitational forces is discussed based on numerical examples.

The paper aims to integrate central ideas about corporate ethics into an overall framework of corporate governance in modern market economies. A proposal for an adequate understanding of corporate ethics is outlined and, with this understanding as a background, problems of justification and implementation of corporate ethics are to be discussed.

In its philosophical part, the paper draws heavily on ideas developed around the German philosophical school of “methodological constructivism” (not to be confused with “radical constructivism”) which goes back to the works of Lorenzen, Mittelstraß, Kambartel, Gethmann, Janich, Wohlrapp et al. and which unfolds and defends a concept which C.F. Gethmann proposed to designate as “cultural pragmatism” as against the concept of “natural pragmatism” which originated in the USA. In its management part the paper relies on an interpretive approach to understand (reconstruct) the “raison d'être” of the private corporation in today's market economies and its implications for management and management theory.

The process of justification of norms, intended to give useful orientation to our common life, must start on the pragmatic (instead of the semantic) level by reconstructing those basic differences and notions which have (thus far) proven as being successful for the coordination human actions. This is in our case the difference between peaceful conflict resolution (which is dialogic in character) and the use of power (in its manyfold forms). Corporate ethics is, thus, understood here as a dialogical concept which contributes to the public interest (and national law) of making peace in and between societies more stable, and this by peacefully solving such conflicts with corporate stakeholders which result (or may result) from the choice of means (strategy) with which a corporation tries to make profits. It is in this capacity that corporate ethics adds a second dimension to the economic responsibility of management of private corporations which is to make sufficient profits (for the firm to survive under competitive conditions). This second dimension is part of what is called today corporate social responsibility. Integrating corporate ethics into the management process (planning, organizing, staffing, directing, control) requires that the principle of “primacy of corporate ethics” dominates all decisions and activities of the corporation, especially in dilemma situations.

The paper is part of the old dispute (in management theory, company law, etc.) about the “modern corporation and private property” stimulated (anew) through the seminal work of Berle/Means as early as 1932 and, later on, through institutional economics (“corporate governance”). It contributes to this discussion the proposal to integrate some (new) philosophical ideas of “cultural pragmatism” (a term proposed by the German philosopher C.F. Gethmann to mark the difference to the well‐known “natural pragmatism” which originated in the USA) into management theory; moreover, some steps are made towards a conceptional framework of corporate ethics with the aim in mind to gain a new understanding of the relationship between private business and the public interest.

The objective of this work is to develop an element technology to recover the plane stress response without any plane stress specific modifications in the large strain regime. Therefore, the essential feature of the proposed element formulation is an interface to arbitrary three‐dimensional constitutive laws. The easily implemented and computational cheap four‐noded element is characterized by coarse mesh accuracy and the satisfaction of the plane stress constraint in a weak sense. A number of example problems involving arbitrary small and large strain constitutive models demonstrate the excellent performance of the concept pursued in this work.

It has been usual to prefer an enrichment pattern independent of the mesh when applying singular functions in the Generalized/eXtended finite element method (G/XFEM). This choice, when modeling crack tip singularities through extrinsic enrichment, has been understood as the only way to surpass the typical poor convergence rate obtained with the finite element method (FEM), on uniform or quasi-uniform meshes conforming to the crack. Then, the purpose of this study is to revisit the topological enrichment strategy in the light of a higher-order continuity obtained with a smooth partition of unity (PoU). Aiming to verify the smoothness' impacts on the blending phenomenon, a series of numerical experiments is conceived to compare the two GFEM versions: the conventional one, based on piecewise continuous PoU's, and another which considers PoU's with high-regularity.

The stress approximations right at the crack tip vicinity are qualified by focusing on crack severity parameters. For this purpose, the material forces method originated from the configurational mechanics is employed. Some attempts to improve solution using different polynomial enrichment schemes, besides the singular one, are discussed aiming to verify the transition/blending effects. A classical two-dimensional problem of the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) is solved, considering the pure mode I and the mixed-mode loadings.

The results reveal that, in the presence of smooth PoU's, the topological enrichment can still be considered as a suitable strategy for extrinsic enrichment. First, because such an enrichment pattern still can treat the crack independently of the mesh and deliver some advantage in terms of convergence rates, under certain conditions, when compared to the conventional FEM. Second, because the topological pattern demands fewer degrees of freedom and impacts conditioning less than the geometrical strategy.

Several outputs are presented, considering estimations for the J–integral and the angle of probable crack advance, this last computed from two different strategies to monitoring blending/transition effects, besides some comments about conditioning. Both h- and p-behaviors are displayed to allow a discussion from different points of view concerning the topological enrichment in smooth GFEM.

This paper aims to develop a finite element analysis strategy, which is suitable for the analysis of progressive failure that occurs in pressure-dependent materials in practical engineering problems.

The numerical difficulties stemming from the strain-softening behaviour of the frictional material, which is represented by a non-associated Drucker–Prager material model, is tackled using the Cosserat continuum theory, while the mixed finite element formulation based on Hu–Washizu variational principle is adopted to allow the utilization of low-order finite elements.

The effectiveness and robustness of the low-order finite element are verified, and the simulation for a real-world landslide which occurred at the upstream side of Carsington embankment in Derbyshire reconfirms the advantages of the developed elastoplastic Cosserat continuum scheme in capturing the entire progressive failure process when the strain-softening and the non-associated plastic law are involved.

The permit of using low-order finite elements is of great importance to enhance computational efficiency for analysing large-scale engineering problems. The case study reconfirms the advantages of the developed elastoplastic Cosserat continuum scheme in capturing the entire progressive failure process when the strain-softening and the non-associated plastic law are involved.

The purpose of this paper is to present a new simplified local remeshing procedure for the study of discrete crack propagation in finite element (FE) mesh. The proposed technique accounts for the generation and propagation of crack‐like failure within an FE‐model. Beside crack propagation, the technique enables the analysis of fragmentation of initially intact continuum. The capability of modelling fragmentation is essential in various structure‐structure interaction analyses such as projectile impact analysis and ice‐structure interaction analysis.

The procedure combines continuum damage mechanics (CDM), fictitious crack approach and a new local remeshing procedure. In the approach a fictitious crack is replaced by a discrete crack by applying delete‐and‐fill local remeshing. The proposed method is independent of mesh topology unlike the traditional discrete crack approach. The procedure is implemented for 3‐D solid elements in commercial finite element software Abaqus/Explicit using Python scripting. The procedure is completely automated, such that crack initiation and propagation analyses do not require user intervention. A relatively simple constitutive model was implemented strictly for demonstrative purposes.

Well known examples were simulated to verify the applicability of the method. The simulations revealed the capabilities of the method and reasonable correspondence with reference results was obtained. Material fragmentation was successfully simulated in ice‐structure interaction analysis.

The procedure for modelling discrete crack propagation and fragmentation of initially intact quasi‐brittle materials based on local remeshing has not been presented previously. The procedure is well suited for simulation of fragmentation and is implemented in a commercial FE‐software.

The primary goal of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of meso ethics from a corporate governance perspective, and the strategic process of integration between corporate and individual ethics for the creation of an ethical culture. A secondary aim is to identify the organizational behavior variables that are affected by the ethical congruence between employee ethics and the prevailing corporate ethical climate.

By first situating organizational ethics within the broader phenomenon of business ethics, the authors then more aptly examine corporate ethics at the upper and lower permeable meso boundaries where a shared ethic is negotiated. This conceptual paper tries to capture through a phenomenological approach how strategic governance level (macro) and individual ethics (micro) interact in a complex and dynamic way at the organizational level (meso).

Normative literature suggests that organizations require more than ethical safeguards to ensure ethical conduct. For example, ethics training programs are demanded and perceived as effective by employees. Recent empirical studies on “ethical fit” have converged and support the assertion that it is in an organization's best interest to continually look for ethical congruence between their workforce and the ethical climate that they intentionally foster. Furthermore, these studies show that perceived ethical congruence positively affects an individual's affective commitment to an organization, and reduces turnover intent.

There is a general lack of consensus, cohesion and empiricism in the current literature. Few studies deal with meso ethics, which have wide‐ranging implications for current and future research.

Demand for business ethics is on the rise as is its corporate response commonly defined as corporate social responsibility (CSR). Standard responsive measures taken by executives are shown to generally be unsubstantiated or insufficient for ethical conduct to truly take root in an organization.

The scope of the paper, with its phenomenological approach, identifies the complexities of corporate ethics for academics and managers alike, where traditionally fragmented organizational levels are herein understood to be permeable and dynamic. The meso perspective of this study provides a new foundation for the study of corporate ethics. Its phenomenological approach provides a conceptual common ground and facilitates convergence in the field. Moreover, the conceptual framework of this paper can enable practitioners to formulate the appropriate strategic intent and governance strategy for their organization.

This paper aims to present a nonlocal gradient plasticity damage model to demonstrate the crack pattern of a body, in an elastic and plastic state, in terms of damage law. The main objective of this paper is to reconsider the nonlocal theory by including the material in-homogeneity caused by damage and plasticity. The nonlocal nature of the strain field provides a regularization to overcome the analytical and computational problems induced by softening constitutive laws. Such an approach requires C1 continuous approximation. This is achieved by using an isogeometric approximation (IGA). Numerical examples in one and two dimensions are presented.

In this work, the authors propose a nonlocal elastic plastic damage model. The nonlocal nature of the strain field provides a regularization to overcome the analytical and computational problems induced by softening constitutive laws. An additive decomposition of strains in to elastic and inelastic or plastic part is considered. To obtain stable damage, a higher gradient order is considered for an integral equation, which is obtained by the Taylor series expansion of the local inelastic strain around the point under consideration. The higher-order continuity of nonuniform rational B-splines (NURBS) functions used in isogeometric analysis are adopted here to implement in a numerical scheme. To demonstrate the validity of the proposed model, numerical examples in one and two dimensions are presented.

The proposed nonlocal elastic plastic damage model is able to predict the damage in an accurate manner. The numerical results are mesh independent. The nonlocal terms add a regularization to the model especially for strain softening type of materials. The consideration of nonlocality in inelastic strains is more meaningful to the physics of damage. The use of IGA framework and NURBS basis functions add to the nonlocal nature in approximations of the field variables.

The method can be extended to 3D. The model does not consider the effect of temperature and the dissipation of energy due to temperature. The method needs to be implemented for more real practical problems and compare with experimental work. This is an ongoing work.

The nonlocal models are suitable for predicting damage in quasi brittle materials. The use of elastic plastic theories allows to capture the inelastic deformations more accurately.

The nonlocal models are suitable for predicting damage in quasi brittle materials. The use of elastic plastic theories allows to capture the inelastic deformations more accurately.

The present work includes the formulation and implementation of a nonlocal damage plasticity model using an isogeometric discretization, which is the novel contribution of this paper. An implicit gradient enhancement is considered to the inelastic strain. During inelastic deformations, the proposed strain tensor partitioning allows the use of a distinct potential surface and distinct failure criterion for both damage and plasticity models. The use of NURBS basis functions adds to more nonlocality in the approximation.