Using the concept of the base forces, a new finite element method （base force element method, BFEM） based on the complementary energy principle is presented for accurate modeling of structures with large displacements and large rotations. First, the complementary energy of an element is described by taking the base forces as state variables, and is then separated into deformation and rotation parts for the case of large deformation. Second, the control equations of the BFEM based on the complementary energy principle are derived using the Lagrange multiplier method. Nonlinear procedure of the BFEM is then developed. Finally, several examples are analyzed to illustrate the reliability and accuracy of the BFEM.
