Nonhomogeneous nonlocal elasticity: a finite element approach

A variationally consistent finite element approach for solving nonhomogeneous nonlocal elastic 2D boundary value problems is presented and the related computational issues are discussed. The method is developed in the framework of nonlocal integral elasticity grounding on a numerical procedure known, in the relevant literature, as Nonlocal Finite Element Method. The behaviour of the considered nonhomogeneous nonlocal elastic material is described assuming a recently proposed phenomenological strain-difference-based constitutive law. Numerical results, concerning a simple 2D example, are presented and discussed.