An efficient nonlinear octree SBFEM and its application to complicated geotechnical structures

An efficient nonlinear octree scaled boundary finite element method (SBFEM) is proposed to improve the ability of the SBFEM to analyse complicated structures. The polygon boundaries are directly solved using a pre-calculated mean-value interpolation. The nonlinearity can be considered via an internal quadratic tetrahedral integral scheme. Three simulations are performed to evaluate the accuracy, versatility, flexibility and high efficiency of the method. The difficulties of automatic modelling for both layered construction and material partitioning are eliminated using the octree meshing algorithm. The proposed method can serve as a powerful technique for the rapid design and analysis of geotechnical structures.