The TR-BDF2 method for second order problems in structural mechanics

Abstract

The application of the TR-BDF2 method to second order problems typical of structural mechanics and seismic engineering is discussed. A reformulation of this method is presented, that only requires the solution of algebraic systems of size equal to the number of displacement degrees of freedom. A linear analysis and numerical experiments on relevant benchmarks show that the TR-BDF2 method is superior in terms of accuracy and efficiency to the classical Newmark method and to its generalizations.