Performance of a p-adaptive finite element method for shakedown analysis

This paper is concerned with the application of the p-version finite element method in carrying out a shakedown analysis. In particular, an adaptive scheme, implemented within the discretized framework of a static approach and mathematical programming, is proposed. The primary motivation of the present work is to overcome the well-known locking behavior caused by the incompressibility constraint that may occur in computational plasticity, and yet is still able to process the underlying nonlinear optimization problem efficiently. Quadrilateral elements and plane problems are specifically considered. A number of examples, some being benchmarks problems, are given to illustrate suitability of the approach.