What is the main difference between implicit and explicit....

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When the problem that you are solving takes into account non
linearities (material or geometrical), then you are dealing with
a set of non linear equations. Meaning that what you assumed as
constant values (stiffness matrix [K] and external loads {f}) in
the linear elastic case, are not anymore. In this case what you
need to do is to apply an incremental approach so as to break
the problem into a solution of many linear problems thus the
reduction of the solution requires to be solve implicitly.

For example if you have a cantilever beam

/|.............................. | P = 100kN
/|_______________________________\/
/|

that has a 100kN concentrated load at its tip, and you want to
account material nonlinearities (through a Plastic Hinge at the
fixed end), then you have to divide the external load (force
control approach) into, let us say, 10 load increments and apply
each load increment at a time (load step). Each load step you
will have to calculate the moment M = P*L at the fixed end and
compare it to the plastic moment Mp (and the calculation of the
corresponding deflection will also result u = K^-1 * f). If the
maximum moment at the fixed end is smaller than the
plastification moment then you are in the elastic region
(explicit solution will give you the desired solution in this
case).
When you enter the plastic region (because the material has
yielded) for the first time, your stiffness matrix will have to
be updated. This is due to the material deterioration at the
area of the plastic hinge. The Young Modules of elasticity E
will change into the hardening modulus Et therefore your
stiffness constants will change accordingly. If the E has a
smaller value now, it means that the stiffness will deteriorate
(its elements will have smaller values). If [K] is softer then
the displacements that you will expect are going to be larger.
In addition to that the internal forces calculation will also
change (Hookes law will no longer be applicable). We also know
that the internal forces has to be equal to the external so as
to achieve an equilibrium. Therefore in the case where you enter
the nonlinear state for the first time, (you solved K u = f by
assuming that the stiffness is elastic but in reality it is
not), you will result unbalanced forces U = Fext - Fint which
must be balanced. This is where the implicit solution starts by
re-solving for the unbalanced forces after you update the
stiffness matrix. This is done internally until the unbalanced
forces are relatively small (convergence criterion). When you
reach convergence you move to the next load step and perform the
same procedure.

If your problem is expected to behave in linear elastic manner,

then explicit can be used (apply the full load in a single step
without checking for plastification).

The advantage of implicit solutions (when you account for

nonlinearities) is their accuracy in terms of mechanical
behavior (you can assess and derive a more realistic behavior
than when you assume that everything is elastic linear); but
suffer in numerical stability (especially when you have high
nonlinearities) thus the user requires a strong theoretical
knowledge to use this type of methods (plus experience).

The above applies for any FEA problem that accounts material or
geometrical nonlinearities (i.e. analysis of ultimate capacity
of a building, crash test of a buss, roof crash test of a car,
etc.). Definitely you will have to consider the physical problem
that you are dealing with and what is the goal of your analysis.
If your goal is to assess the maximum carrying capacity of your
structure then you will have to use nonlinear analysis (static
or dynamic) through the use of an implicit solver.

Explicit means that the solution is performed with direct

iterative calculations and Implicit algorithms mean that the
solution needs to be computed by adding another formulation(s)
since some terms can not be calculated explicitly at the
searched step : this is an indirect calculation.
A Physical Example
An elementary physical problem involving the propagation of a
pressure wave can be used to illustrate the differences between
implicit and explicit methods. Imagine an increase in pressure
is applied to one end of an organ pipe that is closed at the
opposite end. We know that a pressure wave will move down the
pipe and be reflected at the closed end. Given enough time,
pressure waves will travel back and forth in the pipe many times
before the pressure distribution settles down to the constant
value applied at the open end.

If only steady-state results are wanted, then an implicit

solution scheme with lots of damping of the pressure waves
should be used so that steady conditions will be reached as
quickly as possible. In this case the damping incorporated in
the implicit iteration method (i.e., the under-relaxation) is
highly desirable.

If, instead, the transient pressure waves are to be

investigated, then we want the least amount of numerical damping
so that many wave reflections can be accurately followed. This
situation is best treated with an explicit solution method.

Explicit methods require a time-step size that limits the

advance of the pressure step to less than one computational cell
per time step. However, this restriction is related to accuracy
because most difference equations involve quantities from
neighboring cells only. A pressure wave that propagates further
than one cell in one time step would then be moving into regions
that have no defined influence on the pressure. Not only is this
physically unrealistic, it also leads to numerical instability.

Implicit methods, on the other hand, couple all the cells

together through an iterative solution that allows pressure
signals to be transmitted through a grid. The price for this
communication between distantly located cells is a damping or
smoothing of the pressure waves introduced by the under-
relaxation needed to solve the coupled equations.

The choice of whether an implicit versus explicit method should

be used ultimately depends on the goal of the computation. When
time accuracy is important, explicit methods produce greater
accuracy with less computational effort than implicit methods.