Finite element analysis of a holonomic elastic-plastic problem

SummaryA thorough analysis of the finite element method is given for a holonomic elastic-plastic problem. An inequality of the Cea's lemma type is proved, which is the basis of error estimates for various finite element solutions. Difficulty caused by a non-differentiable term in the problem can be overcome by using two convergent procedures, an iterative procedure and a regularization procedure. An a-posteriori quantitative error estimate is derived for the regularized solution.