Abstract
In the 3-dimensional distinct element method (DEM), equations of translational and rotational motions have to be solved. In this paper, a new time integration scheme for the rotational equation of motion based on the leap-frog method is proposed. The proposed method does not need assuming initial values or iterative calculations which is required for the previous proposed leap-frog-based scheme. A free vibration responses of an elastic masonry wall are computed using three time integration schemes, namely, the Euler scheme, previously proposed leap-frog-based scheme and the proposed scheme in order to confirm the validity of the proposed scheme. The validity is also confirmed by comparing the results with those by the finite element method (FEM). Vibration responses computed by the proposed scheme shows good agreement with those by the FEM. It is verified that the proposed scheme is superior to two schemes in the stability, time efficiency and accuracy.
