Modelling of localized plastic deformation via the adaptive mesh refinement

The capturing of localized plastic deformation in a finite-element analysis is difficult as discontinuities of displacement occur and these are generally precluded in a standard displacement analysis. In this Paper, an adaptive mixed finite element model is presented in the modelling of strain localization due to material instability. An h-adaptive analysis using element elongation is applied to study the prediction of localization phenomenon and evaluate the ultimate capacity of material. A remeshing strategy is employed to compute the distribution of required element size using the estimated error distribution. Once the new element size and its alignment have been indicated, an automated procedure is used to construct the mesh according to a predetermined size and elongation distribution. The numerical results are obtained for efficacy in the modelling of a vertical-cut and concrete dam.