A new hybrid finite element approach for three-dimensional elastic problems

Abstract

A new fundamental solution based finite element method (HFS-FEM) is presented for analyzing three-dimensional (3D) elastic problems with body forces in this paper. It begins with deriving formulations of 3D HFS-FEM for elastic problems without body force and then the body force term is handled by means of the method of particular solution and radial basis function approximation. In our analysis, the homogeneous solution is obtained using the proposed HFS-FEM and the particular solution associated with the body force is approximated by radial basis functions. Several standard tests and numerical examples are considered to assess the capability and performance of the proposed method and elements. It is found that, comparing with conventional FEM (ABAQUS), the proposed method can achieve higher accuracy and efficiency when same element meshes are used. It is also found that the elements associated with this method are not very sensitive to mesh distortion and can be employed for problems involving nearly incompressible materials. This new method seems to be promising to deal with problems involving generalized body force, complex geometry, stress concentration and multi-materials.