An iterative approach to dynamic elastic-plastic analysis

The step-by-step analysis of structures constituted by elastic-plastic fini te elements, subjected to an assigned loading history, is here considered. The structure malt possess dynamic and/or not dynamic degrees-of-freedom As it is well-known at each step of analysis the solution of a linear complem entarity problem is required. An iterative method devoted to solving the re levant linear complementarity problem is presented. It is based on the recu rsive solution of a linear complementarity problem in which the constraint matrix is block-diagonal and deduced from the matrix of the original linear complementarity problem. The convergence of the procedure is also proved. Some particular cases are examined. Several numerical applications conclude the paper.