A new multi-solution approach suitable for structural identification problems

In this paper. a multi-solution strategy aimed at greatly decreasing the cost of structural identification problems is proposed. It is based on the large time increment method and on the possibility offered by this approach to obtain a family of admissible displacement and stress fields in order to solve a nonlinear time-dependent problem. This technique relies on a time and space decomposition of the solution. It has been extended to solve at a low cost, the inverse problem of identification. for various techniques. In particular. it has been adapted to the minimization of the gradient of the gap between test and simulation. In this first attempt. it is applied to the simple case of bending of an elastic-viscoplastic beam. The issue of the numerical efficiency of this type of strategy is studied, (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.