Implicit BEM formulations for usual and sensitivity problems in elasto-plasticity using the consistent tangent operator concept

This paper presents boundary element method (BEM) formulations for usual and sensitivity problems in (small strain) elasto-plasticity using the concept of the local consistent tangent operator (CTO). “Usual” problems here refer to analysis of nonlinear problems in structural and solid continua, for which Simo and Taylor first proposed the use of the CTO within the context of the finite element method (FEM). A new implicit BEM scheme for such problems, using the CTO, is presented first. A formulation for sensitivity analysis follows. It is shown that the sensitivity of the strain increment, associated with an infinitesimal variation of some design parameter, solves a linear problem which is governed by the (converged value of the) same global CTO as the one that appears in the usual problem. Numerical results for both usual and sensitivity problems are shown for a one-dimensional example. They demonstrate the effectiveness of the present approach. In particular, accurate sensitivities with respect to material parameters (e.g., exponent of the power-type hardening law) are obtained even with few integration cells and for large load increments.