IMPROVED ALGORITHM FOR NON-LINEAR ANALYSIS BY THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD. PROCEEDINGS OF THE SIXTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NUMERICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, 11-15 APRIL 1988, INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA. VOLUMES 1 - 3

This paper reviews and describes some basic resolution methods for non linear finite element analysis using the displacement formulation. These methods are applied to elastoplastic analysis in small deformations. A number of applications are presented to show that significant improvements can be made using the d-f-p method combined with the initial stress method: these applications show that convergence is obtained three or four times faster than with the initial stress method. The d-f-p scheme used appears as the most accurate, stable and time saving solution. Moreover, it is very simple to implement it in an existing finite element code. (Author/TRRL)