Computational mechanics and applications

Welcome!

Here you can find information about the research projects conducted by Prof. Alfredo Gay Neto, co-workers and supervised students at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Please, scroll down to see details of research areas and specific projects.

You can contact Prof. Alfredo Gay Neto directly by e-mail at: alfredo.gay@usp.br.

Research areas

New formulations on computational contact mechanics

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The objective is to develop new mathematical formulations to consider contact interaction between bodies. On the finite element modeling context, we have already developed models for beam-to-beam and beam-to-shell interactions.

We also develop models for contact interaction of rigid-rigid bodies and rigid-flexible bodies. An in-house finite element platform (Giraffe) comprises all our contact models.

Railway engineering modeling

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Here one ot the targets is to develop our own wheel-rail contact models. The interest is in studying the influence of geometric profiles of wheel-rail on contact bahavior and its consequences, such as crack initiation. Computational tools are continuously developed on this study.

We are also studying mechanical behavior of railway ballast. For that, a discrete element model is being used.

Offshore engineering modeling

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We investigate the global mechanical behavior of offshore risers (for oil exploitation). Static and dynamic analysis are performed, considering the floating unit movements, sea current loads and the contact between the risers and the seabed. Moreover, we have developed a tool for analysis of an entire mooring system, which is under continuous updating.

Another topic of interest is the local mechanical behavior of flexible pipes. For that, we have experience on collapse and burst models, using ANSYS software.

Wind turbine modeling

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We are investigating the mechanical behavior of wind turbines. The wind turbine blades and the tower are analyzed employing quasi-static or dynamic time domain models. We also make models for the whole system considering finite element beams together with rigid bodies, composing a rigid-flexible multibody model. Simulations are done using Giraffe platform.

We are interested on onshore and offshore (floating) wind turbines. Ongoing works are aeroelasticity studies of wind turbine blades and study of composite material failures.

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Giraffe platform

Giraffe is the acronym of “Generic Interface Readily Accessible for Finite Elements”. It is a platform coded using C++ language, with the objective of generating a base-interface to be used by researchers to implement their own finite element formulations. “Giraffe Project” was started on 2014 by Prof. Alfredo Gay Neto, at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Giraffe platform was thought for geometrically-nonlinear applications. We have already implemented, among others, the following resources:

  • Geometrically-exact beam element
  • Geometrically-exact shell element
  • Geometrically-exact truss and spring elements
  • Rigid body element
  • Hinge, universal and spherical joints
  • Node-surface contact formulation
  • Master-master contact formulation (between surfaces and their degenerations)

Useful links for Giraffe software:

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About me

I am a Mechanical Engineer at Polytechnic School at the University of São paulo (2006) and Doctor of Sciences at the same institution (2012). I developed a post-doc at the same institution (2012-2014), with a part-time at Leibniz Universität-Hannover, Germany (2013). My research is based on developing computational mechanics models and applying them to practical problems. My main background is related to contact problems modeling.

Since 2014 I work at the University of São Paulo, as Assistant Professor. On 2018 I became Associate Professor at the same institution, when I defended my Habilitation Thesis.

In this website I show an overview of my areas of interest on research, such as some projects. In case of interest in some topic, please contact me by e-mail: alfredo.gay@usp.br.

Useful links for academic information:

Publications A full list of publications is provided in my Lattes Curriculum link: Lattes Curriculum