AbstractThe idea of using a thin solid element, called a thin‐layer element, in soil‐structure interaction and rock joints is proposed. A special constitutive model is used and various deformation modes such as no slip, slip, debonding and rebonding are incorporated. The shear stiffness is found from special laboratory tests and the normal stiffness is assumed to be composed of participation of the thin‐layer element and the adjoining solid elements. A parametric study shows that the thickness of the thin‐layer element can be such that the ratio of thickness to (mean) dimension of the adjacent element is in the range of 0.01 to 0.1. A number of simple and practical problems are solved to illustrate the success of the thin‐layer element for soil‐structure interacti