ABSTRACT
The displacement function can then be used to formulate the stiffness matrix of a finite prism. The finite strip method is best suited to structures with variable thicknesses or with holes in the cross-section, such as voided slabs or thick-walled box girder bridges. The investigation of local stresses at web and flange junctions, which normally would not be justified because of the high cost of a full three-dimensional finite element analysis, can now be carried out at moderate cost. The finite layer method is also widely applied to the analysis of geotechnical problems in which one can assume that the soil is layered in nature and that the displacements as well as stresses take up zero value at sufficiently large distance away from the loading zone. In the finite layer model, the strain matrix of a three-dimensional solid can be obtained by substituting the displacement functions and carrying out the appropriate differentiation.
