The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

The Finite Element Analysis of Physically and Kinematically Nonlinear Elastic Solids

Kavanagh, Kenneth T.

UCB/SESM-1969/04, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1969-04, 137 pages (500/C23/69/04)

A displacement formulation of the finite element method is applied to the analysis of physically and kinematically elastic solids. Physical nonlinearity is represented by an approximate polynomial form of strain energy function in a region about the natural unstressed state of material. Solutions to nonlinear equations are obtained through a variety of "linearization" techniques. A series of experiments are presented for the experimental characterization of polyurethane foam.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/SEMM/SEMM-69-04.pdf (10 MB)