A BEM–FEM convolutional approach to the unilateral contact problem of seismic soil–pipeline interaction

Abstract

A numerical approach is presented for seismic soil–pipeline interaction considered as an inequality problem of structural engineering. Thus the unilateral contact conditions due to tensionless and elastoplastic softening–fracturing behaviour of the soil as well as gapping are taken into account. The numerical approach is based on a double discretization, on a Laplace transformation of the equality problem conditions to convolutional ones and on mathematical programming. The number of problem unknowns is therefore significantly reduced and a non-convex linear complementarity problem is solved in each time step.