ABSTRACT
Rapid developments of various numerical techniques in engineering analyses have occurred in the last three decades as faster and bigger computers are made available in rapid succession. It is widely acknowledged that the finite element method has dominated the field, but various other methods, such as the finite strip and the boundary element methods, continue to have their own roles to play and have not been outclassed in their more specialized areas. The finite element method, being the most versatile tool, requires discretisation in every dimension of the problems, and, therefore, will generally require more unknowns for approximation than the other methods. Applications of Fourier and Hankel transforms in the analysis of geotechnical problems are examples of the transformation approach. The transformations reduce the governing differential equations for each strip into lower order equations for which solutions can be sought.
