A boundary element method for three-dimensional elastoplastic problems

An efficient boundary element method (BEM) formulation for three-dimensiona l elastoplasticity is presented in this paper. The BEM formulation for nonl inear problems requires discretization of the surface as well as part of th e volume. In this paper nine-noded quadrilateral elements are used for mode lling the surface and 27-noded brick elements for the volume. Particular at tention is paid to the accurate evaluation of the Cauchy principal value vo lume integrals appearing in the interior stress calculations. An explicit i nitial strain formulation is used to satisfy the nonlinearity. The accuracy of the proposed method is demonstrated by solving a number of benchmark pr oblems.