Functions as a self-study guide for engineers and as a textbook for nonengineering students and engineering students, emphasizing generic forms of differential equations, applying approximate solution techniques to examples, and progressing to specific physical problems in modular, self-contained chapters that integrate into the text or can stand alone! This reference/text focuses on classical approximate solution techniques such as the finite difference method, the method of weighted residuals, and variation methods, culminating in an introduction to the finite element method (FEM). Discusses the general notion of approximate solutions and associated errors! With 1500 equations and more than 750 references, drawings, and tables, Introduction to Approximate Solution Techniques, Numerical Modeling, and Finite Element Methods: -Describes the approximate solution of ordinary and partial differential equations using the finite difference method -Covers the method of weighted residuals, including specific weighting and trial functions -Considers variational methods -Highlights all aspects associated with the formulation of finite element equations -Outlines meshing of the solution domain, nodal specifications, solution of global equations, solution refinement, and assessment of results Containing appendices that present concise overviews of topics and serve as rudimentary tutorials for professionals and students without a background in computational mechanics, Introduction to Approximate Solution Techniques, Numerical Modeling, and Finite Element Methods is a blue-chip reference for civil, mechanical, structural, aerospace, and industrial engineers, and a practical text for upper-levelundergraduate and graduate students studying approximate solution techniques and the FEM.

Soil Constitutive Models: Evaluation, Selection, and Calibration brings together papers by nineteen of the most significant constitutive modelers in the world today. The papers in this ""ASCE Geotechnical Special Publication"" are focused on existing widely accepted soil constitutive models, from simple to complex, and they present the overall model framework, calibration procedures, and possible implementation. As a guide to the reader, an overview paper discusses features of different classes of soil models, and their advantages and disadvantages. For many models in this book and in the literature, these features are tabulated in a series of tables. The models are then categorized in terms of their completeness with respect to eight different model capabilities. This book has been prepared for soil constitutive modelers and practitioners who want to learn more about the underlying principles, calibration methods and implementation issues of many different proven soil models. The overview paper is especially helpful to those who are not experienced constitutive modelers to understand the different components of soil models and their effect on predictions. This book provides a basis for making the appropriate decision on the selection of a soil constitutive model for any particular geotechnical engineering application.