Updates on trimmed IGA B-Spline Solids

Recently, trimmed Isogeometric B-Spline solid elements have been introduced in Ansys LS-DYNA ® nonlinear dynamics structural simulation software [1]. The numerical analysis methodology Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) dates to the paper by Hughes et al. [2] in 2005. While in standard Finite Element Analysis (FEA) polynomial basis functions are typically used for the discretization of the geometry and the unknown fields, IGA aims to use the same shape functions employed in the Computer Aided Design (CAD) environment for numerical analysis. This paper reviews the main ideas and concepts of the trimmed IGA B-spline solid finite elements in LS-DYNA and provides an update on the available capabilities. The current modeling workflow for these new element types will be first introduced. Modeling strategies for boundary conditions, contact and connections, and in-core refinement possibilities will be presented, and some recommendations and best practices will be discussed. The potential benefits of this new type of solid finite elements will be illustrated by two numerical examples. The paper closes with a summary and an outlook on future development activities.