On the Use of Implicit Integration Methods and the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation in the Analysis of Elasto-Plastic Deformation Problems

Abstract

In the general theory of continuum mechanics, the state of rotation and deformation of material points can be uniquely defined from the displacement field by using the nine independent components of the displacement gradients. For this reason, the use of the absolute rotation parameters as nodal coordinates, without relating them to the displacement gradients, leads to coordinate redundancy that leads to numerical and fundamental problems in many existing large rotation finite element formulations. Because of this fundamental problem, special measures that require modifications of the numerical integration methods were proposed in the literature in order to satisfy the principle of work and energy. As demonstrated in this paper, no such measures need to be taken when the finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation is used since the principle of work and energy are automatically satisfied. This formulation does not suffer from the problem of coordinate redundancy and ensures the continuity of stresses and strains at the nodal points. In this study, the use of the implicit integration methods with the consistent Lagrangian elasto-plastic tangent moduli is examined when the absolute nodal coordinate formulation is used. The performance of different numerical integration methods in the dynamic analysis of large elasto-plastic deformation problems is investigated. It is shown that all these methods, in the case of convergence, yield a solution that satisfies the principle of work and energy without the need of taking any special measures. Semi-implicit integration methods, however, can lead to numerical difficulties in the case of very stiff problems due to the linearization made in these methods in order to avoid the iterative Newton--Raphson procedure. It is also demonstrated that the use of the consistent Lagrangian-plastic tangent moduli derived in this investigation using the absolute nodal coordinate formulation leads to better convergence of the iterative Newton--Raphson procedure used in the implicit integration methods.