A new boundary element method formulation for three dimensional problems in linear elasticity (Q1088489)

A new boundary element method (BEM) formulation for planar problems of linear elasticity has been proposed recently. This formulation uses a kernel which as a weaker singularity relative to the corresponding kernel in the standard formulation. The most important advantage of the new formulation, relative to the standard one, is that it delivers stresses accurately at internal points that are extremely close to the boundary of a body. A corresponding BEM formulation for three dimensional problems of linear elasticity is presented in this paper. This formulation is derived through the use of Stokes' theorem and has kernels which are only 1/r singular (where r is the distance between a source and a field point) for the displacement equation. The standard BEM formulation for three- dimensional elasticity problems has a kernel which is \(1/r^ 2\) singular.