Saint John Paul II and India map

Here is a nice map that shows some places in India that have something to do with Saint John Paul II. Click on the icons for trivia about the connection to John Paul.



John Paul II had a special love for India and India loved him too. He visited India twice.

Translation of a research paper into English

A New Theory for Preparing Models in Order to Analyse Engineering Structures

D. Simoes and Prof. T. A. Jadhav (both affiliated with Sinhgad College, Pune)

Note: This is a translation into English of this research paper

Abstract
In this paper, a new theory for preparing models by using  'finite elements'  is described, in which the integration is performed at the corner points of the element, instead of points in the interior. A user subroutine (UEL) in the Fortran programming language was written in order to test a new formulation in the finite element software Abaqus. Some test cases were analysed and the results were presented.

1. Introduction

I shall begin by explaining how the technique that is known as the 'Finite Element Method' (FEM) was invented years ago:

Figure 1. The invention of FEM

Figure 1 contains an accurate description of FEM, except that I did not invent it.

The way in the equations for calculating the stresses and displacements in an element (i.e. a single rectangle, in this case) are written and simplified is called as the 'finite element formulation'

Ever since research into finite element formulations began in the 1970s, the numerical integration (remember your calculus?) has been performed at some points in the interior of the element, because it's easier that way. However, performing the integration at the corners of the element (called 'nodes') has some advantages of its own and the first descriptions about this approach have been around since around 2000.

There's this awesome software called Abaqus that solves problems based on FEM. It contains element formulations already coded in. In case you're finding life boring and are not satisfied with the mundane, there's a feature known as the 'User ELement' or UEL, that lets you code your own element formulation and make Abaqus use it.

Figure 2. Sometimes when you are bored, one does something challenging, like writing an Abaqus UEL

In this paper we describe a formulation proposed by two awesome-sauce researchers, G. Castellazzi and P. Krysl. We then implement a new type of element, somewhat based on this approach, in Abaqus by writing a user subroutine (UEL).

We assume that the structures we are trying to model follow the Mindlin-Reissner plate theory.

2. Element formulation

After a series of several mind-bending-extremely-complex-equations-that-I-find-difficult-to-understand-myself, we arrive at

Figure 3 explains the indices:

Figure 3. Nodal patch illustrated for various mesh configurations

This, simply put, says that it is possible to approximate the strain at a node, by the weighted average of the strains of all the elements connected to that node, not without a few caveats, disclaimers and exceptions.

3. Abaqus implementation

At this interesting stage, I raise the stakes and put on my programmer's hat above my FEM hat (did you notice the watermelon above the gas cylinder in figure 2?).

We made several approximations and simplifications in the element formulation to get around the limitations of the Abaqus UEL, and write a FORTRAN code for the element formulation. We then prepared two simple FEM models (figures 4 and 5) and used these two as guinea pigs to try out the element formulation.

Figure 4. Simply supported plate with concentrated load

Figure 5. Clamped strip

4. Results

The table below shows the comparison between the results obtained in the two FEM models using the known formulae for the exact value of the displacement, the inbuilt element formulation in Abaqus, and the formulation that we coded in the UEL.

Table 1. Displacement results of test cases

Test case	Exact displacement	Abaqus inbuilt elements	New formulation UEL
Figure 5. Simply supported plate	0.021138	0.021502	0.014779
Figure 6. Clamped strip	29.468	28.894	24.224

5. Conclusion

As can be seen from the table, our code for the UEL formulation sucks. We would like to shift the blame to the the assumptions made in order to implement in Abaqus UEL, and due to the research being at an initial stage. What other researchers can learn from our mistakes is that Abaqus UEL is not suitable for implementing formulations that involve nodal integrations. To paraphrase Edison, we have not failed to implement this formulation accurately in Abaqus, but we have found one way that won't work. At least we have now learnt more about element formulations and Abaqus than we knew earlier.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the helpful people at Faurecia for permitting the use of their resources in order to run some of the simulations. We would also like to thank you, our families and friends who are always there for us. Science rocks, and praise God for that! :)

How lucky are you?

Something to ponder:

• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
• If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
• If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
• If you can go to church without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
• Only one in a hundred people receive a college education.
• Only one in a hundred people own a computer.
• If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

As you read this and are reminded how life is in the rest of the world, remember just how blessed you really are!

Have you tried everything?

This story is from a sermon preached by a priest in my church. I don't remember which of the priests it was, but this is a thought-provoking story about God's fatherly love for us.

Once, a man bought his son a model train set as a gift. The lad was overjoyed with his new gift. The trains ran on batteries, and when running, the light on the engine lit and smoke came out from the chimney. It even had stations and signals. The boy spent many hours happily playing with the train set, rearranging the tracks in different layouts and making the train start and stop at the stations.

One day, the engine stopped working. The boy was heartbroken. He decided to fix the engine. He brought out his geometry set and tried to repair the engine with his scale, compass, pencil and other instruments. The father was watching his futile attempts. The boy then brought a box of tools and tinkered around with the screwdriver and pliers, but to no avail. By now, the boy was almost in tears.

The man then asked him "Son, did you try using everything you have to repair the train?"

The boy replied "Yes, dad"

"Have you really tried everything?"

"Yes", the boy replied again.

The father then tenderly put his arm around his son and asked him:

"Did you try using me?"

Like the little boy, so many times in our lives, we try to solve our problems ourselves, without asking help from God, our loving and caring Father. God is always ready to help us and will always do what is best for us, if only we trust in Him.

Yeh Honsla

This is a song from the soundtrack of the 2006 Hindi film Dor. The music by the Salim-Sulaiman duo is based on Rajasthani folk music.

The lyrics of this song by Mir Ali Hussain are some of the most inspirational and powerful ever, and the poetry is excellent. The lyrics make this song nothing short of an anthem and give it a hymn-like status.

The soulful performance of the song by Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan really moves you if you understand the words. This is one song that motivates me when I'm down.

Here are the lyrics of the song in Hindi:

Yeh Hosla Kaise Jhuke,
Yeh Aarzoo Kaise Ruke?

Manzil Muskil To Kya,
Bundla Sahil To Kya,
Tanha Ye Dil To Kya?

Raah Pe Kante Bikhre Agar,
Uspe To Phir Bhi Chalna Hi Hai,
Shaam Chupale Suraj Magar,
Raat Ko Ek Din Dhalana Hi Hai

Rut Ye Tal Jayegi,
Himmat Rang Layegi,
Subha Phir Aayegi

Hogi Hame Jo Rehmat Adaa,
Dhup Kategi Saaye Tale,
Apni Khuda Se Hai Ye Dua,
Manzil Lagale Humko Gale

Jurrat Sau Baar Rahe,
Uncha Iqraar Rahe,
Zinda Har Pyar Rahe

Here is my translation of the song into English. This is more of an equivalence translation than a literal translation.

How can we be discouraged,
How can this longing cease?

No matter how difficult the goal is,
No matter if the shore is out of sight,
No matter if we’re alone

Even though the path is scattered with thorns,
It still has to be traveled
Even though evening has hidden the sun,
The night must pass someday

This season will end,
We will reap the rewards of our courage,
Morning will come again

When we are blessed,
The sun will shine through the shadows
We pray to our God
That our goal may embrace us

May we dare a hundred times,
May we uphold our pledge,
May every love remain alive

I'm sure you will agree that this is really motivating stuff.

Tips for life

Please note that I don't necessarily agree entirely with all of these.

• Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
• When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
• Follow the three R's: Respect for self, respect for others and responsibility for all your actions.
• Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
• Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
• When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
• Spend some time alone every day.
• Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
• Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
• Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
• A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
• In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
• Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
• Be gentle with the earth.
• Once a year, go some place you've never been before.
• Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
• Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
• Give people more than they expect. Do so cheerfully.
• Memorize your favorite poem.
• When you say, "I love you," mean it.
• When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
• Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
• Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
• In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
• Don't judge people by their relatives.
• Talk slowly, think quickly.
• When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
• Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
• Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
• Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.
• Don't trust a man/woman who doesn't close his/her eyes when you kiss.
• If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
• Remember that your character is your destiny.
  
  

Sunset on Mars

On May 19th, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera (Pancam) mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover's 489th martian day, or sol. Spirit was commanded to stay awake briefly after sending that sol's data to the Mars Odyssey orbiter just before sunset. This small panorama of the western sky was obtained using Pancam's 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer color filters. This filter combination allows false color images to be generated that are similar to what a human would see, but with the colors slightly exaggerated. In this image, the bluish glow in the sky above the Sun would be visible to us if we were there, but an artifact of the Pancam's infrared imaging capabilities is that with this filter combination the redness of the sky farther from the sunset is exaggerated compared to the daytime colors of the martian sky. Because Mars is farther from the Sun than the Earth is, the Sun appears only about two-thirds the size that it appears in a sunset seen from the Earth. The terrain in the foreground is the rock outcrop "Jibsheet," a feature that Spirit has been investigating for several weeks (rover tracks are dimly visible leading up to "Jibsheet"). The floor of Gusev crater is visible in the distance, and the Sun is setting behind the wall of Gusev some 80 km (50 miles) in the distance.

This mosaic is yet another example from MER of a beautiful, sublime martian scene that also captures some important scientific information. Specifically, sunset and twilight images are occasionally acquired by the science team to determine how high into the atmosphere the martian dust extends, and to look for dust or ice clouds. Other images have shown that the twilight glow remains visible, but increasingly fainter, for up to two hours before sunrise or after sunset. The long martian twilight (compared to Earth's) is caused by sunlight scattered around to the night side of the planet by abundant high altitude dust. Similar long twilights or extra-colorful sunrises and sunsets sometimes occur on Earth when tiny dust grains that are erupted from powerful volcanoes scatter light high in the atmosphere.