Michał GUMINIAK

The Boundary Element Method (BEM) although it is slightly younger than the commonly used finite element method, it already has a long history. The BEM is treated as completely independent numerical tool very useful in many scientific and engineering analysis and practically irreplaceable in selected problems involving infinite or semi-infinite media. The use of the BEM requires knowledge of the so-called fundamental solution or a set of fundamental solutions. Often, fundamental solutions are inherently complicated and not always suitable for numerical application. Then the problem can be formulated in two steps using the Analog Equation Method (AEM), which, when combined with the BEM, becomes a very powerful numerical tool.

The BEM approach is an excellent way to solve, for example, structure-fluid interaction problems, also in conjunction with the classical finite element method (FEM). The BEM approach can work very well coupled with the finite difference method (FDM) too. The BEM is still being used and developed, as evidenced by the constant publication of new scientific publications in this field. This method has also seen many application developments. Commercial and strictly scientific software for the BEM has been created and is still developed.

The conference will be a great place to exchange thoughts and experiences of many scientists specializing in application of the BEM and a common ground for mathematicians and engineers.

All contributions related to the use of BEM for modeling and solving mathematical and engineering problems are kindly welcome at this mini-symposium. Applications of the BEM for structural and fluid mechanics are especially welcome. The following subtopics will be considered in particular:

• Engineering applications of BEM for structural mechanics;
• Engineering applications of BEM for fluid mechanics;
• The BEM for selected problems of fluid-structure interactions;
• Derivations of fundamental solutions;
• Coupled FEM-BEM and FDM-BEM approaches for structural mechanics;
• Hyper-singular formulations and its application to selected engineering problems;
• The AEM coupled with the BEM;
• Collocation approaches in boundary value problems;
• Other BEM applications related to the main topic.

Keywords: boundary element method; fundamental solutions; mathematics; structural mechanics; fluid mechanics; fluid-structure interactions; theory of elasticity and plasticity

Robert CICHOWICZ, Lodz University of Technology, Poland

Marcin KONIORCZYK, Lodz University of Technology, Poland

Heat and mass transfer analysis has applications in many fields of science and engineering, which is why, for over 100 years, we have observed significant interest in this area, and the number of research devoted to these issues has been rapidly increasing. Research focuses on heat transfer in building components, soils, indoor spaces, urban agglomerations, and sees and oceans (currents). Studies address the optimization of energy demand in buildings, the application of technologies that improve thermal comfort (e.g., PCM), and the reduction of the impact of so-called heat islands in built-up areas. Mass transfer research provides information on pollutants moving through soils, air inside rooms and in the surroundings, and the movement of viruses and bacteria. Frequently, the formulated balance equations must be supplemented with the description of chemical reactions or physical processes, such as steel corrosion, ice freezing, phase transitions, etc.

Heat and mass transfer problems are complex, often coupled, and require analysis of these phenomena at multiple scales. The formulated equilibrium/balance equations form a system of partial differential equations. Depending on the problem, only an approximate solution can be obtained using numerical methods, such as the finite element method, finite difference method, finite volume method, artificial intelligence ANN, GA, EA, and also many others.

All contributions related to the application of numeric method for theoretical and practical analysis of heat and mass transfer are kindly welcome at this mini-symposium. Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

• modelling of conductive, convective and radiative heat transfer,
• moisture transfer in porous materials,
• contamination migration in soil,
• air contaminant and heat transport,
• methods and systems of air pollution monitoring,
• air quality management;
• modeling and evaluation of air pollution,
• phase change materials to improve the thermal performance for various types of applications,
• stochastic approach to heat and mass transport,
• the influence of deterioration processes on mass transport in materials,
• freezing/melting, crystallization/dissolution,
• air, contaminant, heat and vapor transport in multilayer envelopes.

János LÓGÓ, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary

Tomasz SOKÓŁ, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland

The design of engineering structures is inherently linked to their optimization in order to provide safe but at the same time economical solutions. Optimization, as a tool supporting design, has been used for many years, but in practice it is mainly implemented by dimensioning individual components, for example concerning the cross-sections of beams or their reinforcement. Currently, we can observe increasingly wider applications not only in the field of sizing but also structural shape and topology optimization, which results from the rapid development of various optimization method/techniques and the increase in the computing power of modern computers. Structural optimization is currently a very broad field of knowledge covering various approaches, with differently defined objective functions and constraints, using continuum or discrete formulations, and finally with a huge number of possible and constantly developed optimization methods, usually specialized in solving the particular class of problems.

The aim of this mini-symposium is to provide a platform for presentation and discussion of theoretical and numerical aspects of structural optimization and for exchange of opinions and experiences in this field. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• size, shape and topology optimization of structures;
• optimization of continuum structures using density based method like SIMP, level-set, etc.;
• optimization of discrete or pseudo-discrete structures like Michell trusses;
• optimization and design of materials and their properties;
• optimization of construction processes;
• robust and reliability-based design optimization;
• uncertainties in optimization;
• optimization of additive manufacturing;
• optimization of different types of structures using parametric FEM modelling;
• optimization of structures subjected to different types of loading: static, kinematic and distortions for one- or multi-load settings;
• structures of minimum volume, compliance or potential energy;
• numerical optimization methods and software;
• multi-criteria optimization problems and methods;
• applications of optimization technology in design practice.

Keywords: Structural shape and topology optimization; optimization and design of materials; one- or multi-load case optimization problems; numerical optimization methods, robust and reliability-based design optimization;

Marcin KAMIŃSKI, Lodz University of Technology, Poland

Probabilistic methods have gained more popularity in various problems of computational mechanics last years and are developing dynamically due to numerous applications in reliability theory. Their contemporary usage with some commercial systems like ANSYS enables relatively easy uncertainty quantification (UQ) in many complex problems of mechanics including multiscale modeling of composite and cellular materials, stochastic dynamics of large scale structures subjected to earthquake and ocean waves or wind excitations, and also viscous damping defined with the use of fractional derivatives. On the other hand, an application of the advanced computer algebra systems with their statistical libraries like MAPLE encourages to development of higher order, more precise or faster probabilistic computer techniques.  Another interesting research avenue is application of the artificial intelligence tools for faster, more automatic and sometimes even more accurate implementations of the stochastic methods, specifically in all these cases, where implicit structural response needs to be approximated with the series of numerical experiments. Probabilistic analysis serves for the reliability studies or failure prediction, so that any new numerical approaches for calculation of the reliability index and probability of failure, specifically in time-dependent case studies are welcome; in this context any environmental uncertain actions are of particular interest.     

This mini-symposium will be a good opportunity to bring together the specialist in probabilistic methods, exchange the new ideas and experience in the area of both probabilistic methods development as well as reliability assessment of the existing engineering structures and stochastic structural health monitoring. An important goal would be to make the UQ analysis more popular in-between the researchers developing deterministic models, and also to attract the PhD students.

All contributions related to the use of various probabilistic methods and algorithms for modeling and solution of the mechanical and civil engineering problems are welcome at this mini-symposium. The following topics will be particularly considered:

• Stochastic Finite Element Method and other similar discrete computer methods;
• application of the artificial intelligence tools for stochastic problems solution;
• fractional calculus application in mechanical problems with uncertainty;
• development of the new mathematical and computer methods in UQ problems;
• error and convergence analysis in stochastic engineering calculus;
• reliability assessment of the existing large scale structures;
• durability prediction of the structures subjected to uncertain conditions or any ageing;
• structural health monitoring of the structures with uncertain parameters;
• application of probabilistic entropy and distance in engineering computations.

Uncertainty quantification in engineering problems of the interest include but are not restricted to

• nonlinear response of materials (hyper-elasticity and so forth) with some uncertainty;
• structural analysis with geometrical nonlinearity (including various imperfections);
• structural optimization of the structures exhibiting or subjected to some uncertainties;
• large scale structures (like towers, masts or buildings) or multi-scale materials;  
• soil deformations and soil-structure interactions.

Keywords: Monte-Carlo simulation; stochastic perturbation method; semi-analytical approaches; Bayesian methods; polynomial chaos expansion; reliability assessment; durability prediction; probabilistic entropy; probabilistic distance; 

Agnieszka Tomaszewska, Gdansk University of Technology, Poland

Kamil Sybilski, Military University of Technology, Poland

Piotr Kowalczyk, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

Mariusz Ptak, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland

The objective of this mini-symposium is to present the latest advancements and foster discussions among researchers engaged in the interdisciplinary field of numerical modelling in biomechanics. The symposium will emphasize research at the intersection of various disciplines, encompassing both fundamental and application-oriented studies, aimed at advancing our understanding of biomechanical phenomena and improving methodologies for applications in medical, rehabilitation, military, clinical trials, and sports domains.

We believe numerical approaches are a key focus, yet the importance of model validation is paramount. Therefore, contributions providing relevant experimental data to complement numerical findings are strongly encouraged. Submissions addressing the material properties of biological systems and presenting modelling results with clear practical applications are particularly welcomed.

The mini-symposium invites papers on a broad range of topics, including but not limited to:

• Mechanical characterization of biomaterials and biological tissues;
• Inverse problems in material property identification;
• Numerical modelling of biomaterials and biological tissues;
• Modelling and design of tissue-engineered scaffolds;
• Development and optimization of implants and medical devices, including rapid prototyping;
• Modelling of biological systems at various scales;
• Simulations of human body-device interactions;
• Numerical techniques for computer-assisted surgery and rehabilitation;
• Integration of imaging techniques in biomechanical modelling;
• Experimental methods for validating numerical models;
• Multiscale modelling approaches for biomechanical systems.

Overall, the symposium aims to unite diverse perspectives to address critical challenges and explore innovative solutions in biomechanics through numerical modelling and its integration with experimental and imaging techniques.

Marek Lefik,

Marek Wojciechowski

Over the past few decades algorithms using biologically inspired signal transformation – artificial neural networks (ANN) – have undergone a remarkable and exciting development path from simple algorithms for classification and approximation to deep learning-based procedures whose operation is almost indistinguishable from the assistance of an intelligent being. ANNs have found and continue to see their applications in various fields of civil engineering and mechanics, like composites, structural analysis, geotechnics, and others. In particular, ANNs are used as surrogates of calculations performed by finite element method (FEM) programs when solving inverse problems related to identification of model parameters or designing materials or structures. ANNs are also utilized as an element of constitutive descriptions of heterogeneous, anisotropic materials within the FEM procedure. Real and numerical experiments can serve as a source of ANN training data in these applications and many different learning strategies can be utilized to achieve the best modeling results. Classical ANN architectures, such as feed-forward networks (FFNN) and recurrent networks (RNN), as well as contemporary deep learning models, such as physics-informed neural networks (PINN) or transformer neural networks (TNN), are found to be suitable for engineering applications.

All contributions related to the use of ANNs in numerical modeling of engineering materials are welcome at this mini-symposium. Applications in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering are especially welcome. The following subtopics will be considered in particular:

• Back-calculation and solving inverse problems using ANNs;
• Replacing FEM computations with ANN surrogate models;
• Description of constitutive laws in FEM models using ANNs
• Applications of deep learning algorithms in numerical modeling of engineering materials;
• Site characterization and classification of soils using experimental data and ANNs;
• Expert programs based on ANNs and data mining in engineering;
• Other ANN applications related to the main topic.

Keywords: artificial neural networks; inverse analysis; back-calculation; surrogate models; constitutive modeling; deep learning; finite element method; soil mechanics; geotechnics; composite materials

prof. dr hab. inż. Ewa Błazik-Borowa (Lublin University of Technology)

prof. dr hab. inż. Magdalena Rucka (Gdańsk University of Technology)

prof. dr hab. inż. Wojciech Witkowski  (Gdańsk University of Technology)

With the development of numerical methods and the computational capabilities of computers, the possibilities of studying engineering problems have expanded. Currently, it is possible to model the geometry of objects much more precisely, use complex material models, describe boundary conditions that vary in time, not being limited to the simplifications used in Clapeyron systems.

The observation of simulations results of the behavior of all kinds of objects under the influence of various types of actions and interactions is the basis for describing many physical phenomena. This in turn is the basis for understanding these phenomena, improving the utility features of objects and enabling the prevention of negative effects of all kinds of static and dynamic loads.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• case studies on the principles of creation, calibration and verification of numerical models,
• simulations of the behavior of engineering objects subjected to operational and environmental loads,
• numerical studies of cooperation between objects made of matter in different states,
• ensuring the safety of structures and operation during extreme events,
• numerical issues of fire safety,
• modeling damage and reinforcement of engineering objects and numerical studies of their influence on the behavior of the structures.

Irena JAWORSKA, Sławomir MILEWSKI, Witold CECOT, Cracow University of Technology, Poland 

This minisymposium honors Prof. Janusz Orkisz on his 90th birthday, recognizing his significant contributions to computational mechanics, particularly in the Meshless Finite Difference Method (MFDM).

The focus is on advancements in meshless methods, including but not limited to: MFDM based on both weak and strong formulations, Element Free Galerkin (EFG) methods, Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), Radial Basic Function (RBF) methods, and many others. Topics of interest encompass the development of these methods, a posteriori error estimation, applications in mechanics, and the coupling meshless methods with other techniques such as theoretical-experimental physically based approximations, computational intelligence or optimization.

We invite prof. Janusz Orkisz’s colleagues, students, friends, and the broader community, to celebrate his long and exceptional activity in computational mechanics.

Keywords: meshless; element free; error estimation; hybrid methods