A three-dimensional boundary element formulation for the elastoplastic analysis of cracked bodies

In this paper a general boundary element formulation for the three-dimensional elastoplastic analysis of cracked bodies is presented. The non-linear formulation is based on the Dual Boundary Element Method. The continuity requirements of the Þeld variables are fulÞlled by a discretization strategy that incorporates continuous, semi-discontinuous and discontinuous boundary elements as well as continuous and semidiscontinuous domain cells. Suitable integration procedures are used for the accurate integration of the Cauchy surface and volume integrals. The explicit version of the initial strain formulation is used to satisfy the non-linearity. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed method.