The purpose of this text is to present and demonstrate the use of finite
element based methods for the solution of problems involving plasticity. As
well as the conventional quasi-static incremental theory of plasticity, attention
is given t o the slow transient phenomenon of elasto-viscoplastic behaviour
and also t o dynamic transient problems. We make no pretence that the text
provides a complete treatment of any of these topics but rather we see it as
- a n attempt to present numerical solution techniques, which have been well
tried and tested, for selected important areas of application.