A combined boundary element and finite element solution of slab and slab-on-girder bridges

Abstract

The boundary element method (BEM) has been shown by many researchers to be an efficient numerical tool with which to analyse various engineering structures. In particular, the method has been extensively applied to a large number of plate bending problems. The distinct advantage of the method is in the reduction in dimensionality of the problem and, as a consequence of this, both computer time and data preparation are significantly reduced. In this paper, the suitability of a new method combining the advantages of both the BEM and the finite element method (FEM) is studied. The method is first applied to investigate the conventional plate bending problems. After the validity of the method is established it is then extended to analyse the more complicated problems of slabs and slab-on-girder bridges. Through a series of slab-on-girder bridge calculations, it is demonstrated that the method is not only accurate and fast converging but its ease of application and data preparation is not attainable by the ordinary FEM.