ABSTRACT
Adaptive analysis, which is a new modern way of numerical computation, has obtained great achievements in mechanics and engineering. Finite Element Method of Lines (FEMOL) is a general and powerful semi-analytical and semi-discretized method for 2D and 3D problems. In the past year, adaptive FEMOL, as a new modern numerical methodology, has been successfully applied in 2D layered elastic model for asphalt pavement structure with finite region. In order to successfully implement adaptive analysis for various kinds of asphalt pavement structures with various material features in various working states, the effective adaptive strategy for problems with infinite region is necessary and much required. Based on the construction of infinite elements in FEMOL, a self-adaptive strategy was proposed in which a new approach of mesh refinement implemented on so-called “element groups” was established for half-space layered elastic problems. Taking a sixed layered elastic pavement structure as the example, the strategy was presented and the corresponding numerical results were given, which yielded displacement solution that satisfied the user specified tolerance, stress solution that was super-convergent, and optimum mesh that was adaptively and automatically generated. The method is feasible, reliable and easy to be expanded to nonlinear and 3Danalysis.
