ABSTRACT
The reader is probably well aware of the fact that in the last 40-50 years or so the most successful approximate technique for engineering problemsolving has been the so-called finite element method (FEM). Since, moreover, the method has solid mathematical foundations and is particularly well suited for computer implementation, and more and more computationally sophisticated procedures are being developed, it is easy to predict that this current state of affairs is probably not going to change for many years to come. Finite element codes were initially developed for structural mechanics applications, but their versatility soon led analysts to recognise that these same techniques could be applied with prot to a much larger number of problems covering almost the entire spectrum of engineering disciplines – statics, dynamics, heat transfer, uid ow, just to name a few.
