AN OBJECT-ORIENTED IMPLEMENTATION OF STRUCTURAL PATH-FOLLOWING

The paper describes an object-oriented implementation in C++ of struct ural path-following. The necessary parts leading to the full implement ation are shown, starting from a matrix class library used as a founda tion for all matrix computations. The paper continues by describing a module containing common finite element algorithms needed for the mode ling of general structures with arbitrary constraints. The path-follow ing algorithms are contained in a separate module. The default algorit hms are briefly explained and it is shown how these can be redefined ( through inheritance) by algorithms better suited for a specific proble m. It is shown how the two modules are integrated into a general path- following implementation. Finally, some numerical examples, showing th e efficiency of the implementation and simplicity of using it, are pre sented. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.