ABSTRACT
Substructured analysis refers to those methods of numerical analysis in which one subdivides the domain under consideration (structure, soil, etc.) into subdomains called substructures, uses proper numerical methods of analysis for each substructure, and then connects these component analyses together to investigate the behaviour of the whole system. There are several reasons why this method is useful. For example, this method is considered to increase the numerical accuracy when one analyses a slender structure by the boundary integral equation method (BIEM) even when the structure is mechanically homogeneous (Lachat and Watson, 1976). In this chapter, however, we are more interested in the use of the substructure method in the analysis of a system composed of substructures having a variety of mechanical and geometrical properties.
