A finite element procedure is presented for finite deformation analysis of continuum structures with time-dependent anisotropic elastic-plastic material behavior. An updated Lagrangian formulation is used to describe the kinematics of deformation. Anisotropic constitutive relations are referred, at each material point, to a set of three mutually orthogonal axes which rotate as a unit with an angular velocity equal to the spin at the point. The time-history of the solution is generated by using a linear incremental procedure with residual force correction, along with an automatic time step control algorithm which chooses time step sizes to control the accuracy and numerical stability of the solution.

ACCEPT is a three-dimensional finite element computer program for analysis of large-deformation elastic-plastic-creep response of Zircaloy tubes subjected to temperature, surface pressures, and axial force. A twenty-mode, tri-quadratic, isoparametric element is used along with a Zircaloy materials model. A linear time-incremental procedure with residual force correction is used to solve for the time-dependent response. The program features an algorithm which automatically chooses the time step sizes to control the accuracy and numerical stability of the solution. A contact-separation capability allows modeling of interaction of reactor fuel rod cladding with fuel pellets or external supports.