Bringing together researchers and practicing engineers, this volume reviews and discusses research advancements and assesses the applicability and robustness of methods and models for the analysis of complex concrete, reinforced concrete and/or prestressed concrete structures in engineering practice. The book include research results and concepts which have proved themselves as robust, so that they can be applied to a reliable, high-quality analysis and design of concrete structures - in particular the safety critical structures - and/or become adopted in the codes of practice or...

The advent of the digital computer has given great impetus to the development of modern discretization methods in structural mechanics. The young history of the finite element method (FEM) reflects the dramatic increase of computing speed and storage capacity within a relatively short period of time. The history of the boundary element method (BEM) is still younger. Presently, intense scientific efforts aimed at extending the range of application of the BEM can be observed. More than 10 years ago, O.C. Zienkiewicz and his co-workers published the first papers on the coupling of FE and BE...