| Abstract: | In this paper the correspondence principle is used to reduce the equations of viscoelasticity to the equations of elasticity by means of a Laplace transform. The finite element technique is used to approximate these equations in Laplace transform space. The approximating equations are then inverted to obtain a set of simultaneous Volterra integral equations. It is then shown how the introduction of certain auxiliary variables can be used to develop an integration scheme which considerably reduces computer storage requirements. The conditions under which this integration scheme is conditionally stable and unconditionally stable are both investigated and illustrated by means of examples. |
