Natural neighbor Galerkin method for deflection analysis of inflatable structures
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to extend the application of natural neighbor Galerkin Method (NNGM) to deflection analysis of inflatable structures such as new and modern textile structures under arbitrary conditions. Design/methodology/approach - Inflatable structures have a proper mechanical strength when they are inflated at different pressures. NNGM or natural element method (NEM) is defined as a new meshfree method based on the natural neighbor interpolation to analyze the deflections of these structures under arbitrary pressures, load and support conditions. The whole interpolation is built with regard to the natural neighbor nodes and Voronoi tessellation of the given point. Findings - The performance of NNGM is investigated in the deflection analysis of inflatable tubes and panels. The excellent agreement between the presented modeling and analytical results and also finite element solutions and experiment are observed. Originality/value - Despite the wide usage of NNGM in many engineering problems, this comparison shows the other aspect of application of NNGM in the deflection analysis of inflatable structures, not previously examined.
galerkin method textile testing