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A marked characteristic of rubber‐like materials is the nearly incompressible behaviour. This type of behaviour is best modelled by mixed finite elements with separate interpolation functions for the displacements and the pressure. In this contribution the performance of three‐dimensional elements is investigated using a two‐tiered strategy. First, the ability of some linear and quadratic three‐dimensional elements to deform correctly under nearly isochoric conditions is estimated using the well‐known constraint‐counting method, in which the ratio of the number of degrees‐of‐freedom over the number of kinematic constraints present in the finite element mesh is determined. Next, the performance of the elements is assessed by numerical simulations for three cuboidal rubber blocks with different shape factors. The results turn out to be quite sensitive with respect to the ratio of the number of degrees‐of‐freedom over the number of kinematic constraints, since too many pressure degrees‐of‐freedom make the element overstiff, while too few pressure degrees‐of‐freedom may cause the occurrence of spurious kinematic modes. This observation appears to be not only valid for the global structural behaviour, but also with respect to the specific parts in the structure, where the above‐mentioned ratio is different from the global number, e.g., in corners of the structure.

The purpose of this paper is to present a new numerical model based on a combined finite-discrete element method, capable of predicting the behaviour of reinforced concrete structures under dynamic load up to failure.

An embedded model of reinforcing bars is implemented in combined finite-discrete element code. Cracking of the structure was enabled by a combined single and smeared crack model. The model for reinforcing bars was based on an approximation of the experimental curves for the bar strain in the crack. The developed numerical model includes interaction effects between reinforcement and concrete and cyclic behaviour of concrete and steel during dynamic loading.

The findings provide a realistic description of cracking in the concrete structure, where all non-linear effects are realized in joint elements of the concrete and reinforcing bars. This leads to a robust and precise model for non-linear analysis of reinforced concrete structures under dynamic load.

This paper presents new robust finite-discrete element numerical model for analysis and prediction of the collapse of reinforced concrete structures. The model is capable of including the effects of dynamic loading on the structures, both in the linear-elastic range, as well as in the non-linear range including crack initiation and propagation, energy dissipation due to non-linear effects, inertial effects due to motion, contact impact, and the state of rest, which is a consequence of energy dissipation in the system.

This paper aims to propose a new robust membrane finite element for the analysis of plane problems. The suggested element has triangular geometry. Four nodes and 11 degrees of freedom (DOF) are considered for the element. Each of the three vertex nodes has three DOF, two displacements and one drilling. The fourth node that is located inside the element has only two translational DOF.

The suggested formulation is based on the assumed strain method and satisfies both compatibility and equilibrium conditions within each element. This establishment results in higher insensitivity to the mesh distortion. Enforcement of the equilibrium condition to the assumed strain field leads to considerably high accuracy of the developed formulation.

To show the merits of the suggested plane element, its different properties, including insensitivity to mesh distortion, particularly under transverse shear forces, immunities to the various locking phenomena and convergence of the element are studied. The obtained results demonstrate the superiority of the suggested element compared with many of the available robust membrane elements.

According to the attained results, the proposed element performs better than the well-known displacement-based elements such as linear strain triangular element, Q4 and Q8 and even is comparable with robust modified membrane elements.

The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to derive a consistent model free-surface runup flow problems over deformable beds. The authors couple the nonlinear one-dimensional shallow water equations, including friction terms for the water free-surface and the two-dimensional second-order solid elastostatic equations for the bed deformation. Second, to develop a robust hybrid finite element/finite volume method for solving free-surface runup flow problems over deformable beds. The authors combine the finite volume for free-surface flows and the finite element method for bed elasticity.

The authors propose a new model for wave runup by static deformation on seabeds. The model consists of the depth-averaged shallow water system for the water free-surface coupled to the second-order elastostatic formulation for the bed deformation. At the interface between the water flow and the seabed, transfer conditions are implemented. Here, hydrostatic pressure and friction forces are considered for the elastostatic equations, whereas bathymetric forces are accounted for in the shallow water equations. As numerical solvers, the authors propose a well-balanced finite volume method for the flow system and a stabilized finite element method for elastostatics.

The developed coupled depth-averaged shallow water system and second-order solid elastostatic system is well suited for modeling wave runup by deformation on seabeds. The derived coupling conditions at the interface between the water flow and the bed topography resolve well the condition transfer between the two systems. The proposed hybrid finite volume element method is accurate and efficient for this class of models. The novel technique used for wet/dry treatment accurately captures the moving fronts in the computational domain without generating nonphysical oscillations. The presented numerical results demonstrate the high performance of the proposed methods.

Enhancing modeling and computations for wave runup problems is at an early stage in the literature, and it is a new and exciting area of research. To the best of our knowledge, solving wave runup problems by static deformation on seabeds using a hybrid finite volume element method is presented for the first time. The results of this research study, and the research methodologies, will have an important influence on a range of other scientists carrying out research in related fields.

As known from nearly incompressible elasticity, selective reduced integration (SRI) is a simple and effective method of overcoming the volumetric locking problem in 2D and 3D solid elements. This method of finite elastoviscoplasticity is discussed as are its well‐known limitations. In this context, an isochoric‐volumetric decoupled material behavior is assumed and thus the additive deviatoric‐volumetric decoupling of the consistent algorithmic moduli tensor is essential. By means of several numerical examples, the performance of elements using selective reduced integration is demonstrated and compared to the performance of other elements such as the enhanced assumed strain elements. It is shown that a minor modification, with little numerical effort, leads to rather robust element behaviour. The application of this process to so‐called solid‐shell elements for thin‐walled structures is also discussed.

The paper starts with a review of constitutive equations for rubber‐like materials, formulated in the invariants of the right Cauchy—Green deformation tensor. A general framework for the derivation of the stress tensor and the tangent moduli for invariant‐based models, for both the reference and the current configuration, is presented. The free energy of incompressible rubber‐like materials is extended to a compressible formulation by adding the volumetric part of the free energy. In order to overcome numerical problems encountered with displacement‐based finite element formulations for nearly incompressible materials, three‐dimensional finite elements, based on a penalty‐type formulation, are proposed. They are characterized by applying reduced integration to the volumetric parts of the tangent stiffness matrix and the pressure‐related parts of the internal force vector only. Moreover, hybrid finite elements are proposed. They are based on a three‐field variational principle, characterized by treating the displacements, the dilatation and the hydrostatic pressure as independent variables. Subsequently, this formulation is reduced to a generalized displacement formulation. In the numerical study these formulations are evaluated. The results obtained are compared with numerical results available in the literature. In addition, the proposed formulations are applied to 3D finite element analysis of an automobile tyre. The computed results are compared with experimental data.

This paper aims to describe the formulation of a new finite element by assuming the strain field rather than the displacement field and by using the Reissner–Mindlin plate theory for the free vibration analysis of bending plates. This quadrilateral element consists of four-nodes and twelve degrees of freedom. The suggested element is based on assumed functions of the strain field that satisfy the compatibility equation.

After the proposition of the new element, several numerical tests for plates with regular and distorted meshes are presented to assess the performance of the new element. In addition, a parametric study is carried out to analyze the effects of biaxial loads on the natural frequencies of square plates with various boundary conditions. Detailed discussions are proposed after each benchmark problem.

The formulated element has verified the shear locking test and passes the patch test. The obtained results from the developed element show an excellent accuracy and fast convergence, and the natural frequencies are in excellent agreement when compared with analytical and other available numerical solutions.

The present element is simple in its formulation and has been proven to be applicable to thin or thick plate situations with sufficient accuracy. This element with full integration is free from shear locking, however, the numerical results provided by the standard four-node plate element R4 element show locking phenomena in thin plates. In addition to these features, the imposition of the compatibility conditions and the rigid body modes allow obtaining a finite element with higher-order terms for displacements field, which can increase the performance of the finite elements.

The purpose of this paper is to give a review on the newest developments of high-performance finite element methods (FEMs), and exhibit the recent contributions achieved by the authors’ group, especially showing some breakthroughs against inherent difficulties existing in the traditional FEM for a long time.

Three kinds of new FEMs are emphasized and introduced, including the hybrid stress-function element method, the hybrid displacement-function element method for Mindlin–Reissner plate and the improved unsymmetric FEM. The distinguished feature of these three methods is that they all apply the fundamental analytical solutions of elasticity expressed in different coordinates as their trial functions.

The new FEMs show advantages from both analytical and numerical approaches. All the models exhibit outstanding capacity for resisting various severe mesh distortions, and even perform well when other models cannot work. Some difficulties in the history of FEM are also broken through, such as the limitations defined by MacNeal’s theorem and the edge-effect problems of Mindlin–Reissner plate.

These contributions possess high value for solving the difficulties in engineering computations, and promote the progress of FEM.

A bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the linear and nonlinear, static and dynamic analyses of basic structural elements from the theoretical as well as practical points of view is given. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains 1,726 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations dealing with the analysis of beams, columns, rods, bars, cables, discs, blades, shafts, membranes, plates and shells that were published in 1996‐1999.

A finite element method for the analysis of combined radiative and conductive heat transport in a finite axisymmetric configuration is presented. The appropriate integro‐differential governing equations for a grey and non‐scattering medium with grey and diffuse walls are developed and solved for several model problems. We consider axisymmetric, cylindrical geometries with top and bottom boundaries of arbitrary convex shape. The method is accurate for media of any optical thickness and is capable of handling a wide array of axisymmetric geometries and boundary conditions. Several techniques are presented to reduce computational overhead, such as employing a Swartz‐Wendroff approximation and cut‐off criteria for evaluating radiation integrals. The method is successfully tested against several cases from the literature and is applied to some additional example problems to demonstrate its versatility. Solution of a free‐boundary, combined‐mode heat transfer problem representing the solidification of a semitransparent material, the Bridgman growth of an yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) crystal, demonstrates the utility of this method for analysis of a complex materials processing system. The method is suitable for application to other research areas, such as the study of glass processing and the design of combustion furnace systems.