Abstract: Large strain problems of mechanics like plastic forming or granular flow problems are still difficult to solve although many well-developed computational techniques are available. Some of these techniques are not efficient in the case of problems where large strains appear. For example, the finite element method when formulated in the pure Lagrangian format fails due to large distortions of the element mesh used. On the other hand, the finite element method is not effective in the case of free surface problems when formulated in the purely Eulerian format. Point-based methods, also known as meshless methods, which have been intensely studied recently, can handle problems with large strains efficiently. Among other point-based methods, the material point method (MPM), shows its effectiveness in analyses of large strain problems. The material point method can be regarded as an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation of the finite element method. The computational element mesh of the Eulerian type used in MPM can be defined in an arbitrary way which means that the problem of excessive mesh distortions is avoided. The results of analyses related to problems of plastic forming, geomechanics and granular flow will be shown.

Brief Biography of the Speaker:
Address: Chair of Mechanics of Materials, Technical University of Lodz, Al. Politechniki 6, 90-924 Lodz, Poland, e-mail: zwi@p.lodz.pl.
Education:
1974-1979: Technical University of Lodz, Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, M.Sc. in civil engineering.
1987: Ph.D. Thesis: Duality in finite element method and its applications to some linear and non-linear problems of mechanics of composite materials, Technical University of Lodz.
2000: Dr.Sc. Thesis (Habilitation Thesis): Application of the finite element method to some non-linear problems of solid mechanics. Technical University of Lodz.
Professional experience:
1979-2009: Technical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland. Current position: Associate Professor, Head of Chair of Mechanics of Materials, Technical University of Lodz, Poland.
1992-1994: Visiting Researcher, Division of Structural Mechanics, Lulea University of Technology, Lulea, Sweden.
1997-1998: Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejon, Republic of Korea.
09-10.2004: Visiting Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejon, Republic of Korea.
2006-2008: Visiting Professor, several 3-week visits, Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Germany.
Research areas:
Computational methods in mechanics especially the finite element method; equilibrium model of the finite element method; material point method (arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation of the finite element method); theory of plasticity and viscoplasticity; mechanics of composite materials; finite element modelling of motion of granular material in a silo; large strain engineering problems; a posteriori error estimation for approximate solutions to boundary value problems of mechanics; gradient and stress fields recovery.