Application of h-adaptive FE method for dynamic analysis of geotechnical problems

h-adaptive finite element procedures automatically change and optimise the density of a finite element mesh in a region to obtain a more accurate solution or to avoid mesh distortion in large deformation problems. These goals are usually achieved by generating a new finite element mesh over the integration domain based upon an error estimation or a distortion criterion. In this study an h-adaptive finite element method is suggested to solve dynamic problems of geomechanics involving large deformations. This hadaptive technique is based upon an implicit Updated-Lagrangian method, in which mesh distortion and entanglement of elements are intrinsic pitfalls. A summary of the h-adaptive technique is presented by introducing its important aspects such as error estimation, remapping of time-dependent state variables, and dynamic equilibrium checks. The efficiency and robustness of the method is demonstrated by considering numerical examples characterised by inertia forces and large deformations.