DIRECT EVALUATION OF BOUNDARY STRESSES IN THE 3D BEM OF ELASTOSTATICS

In this paper, a method for the evaluation of boundary stresses direct ly from the BEM solution of elastostatic problems using the static bou ndary integral equation is presented. The technique is valid for corne rs and edges as well as smooth points on the boundary, and involves de fining a new interpolation function for continuous elements which inco rporate certain continuity conditions arising from the hypersingular n ature of the integrals involved. An integration technique based on the singularity subtraction method using series expansions is adopted for the hypersingular intergrals. Results are shown to be more accurate t han those obtained with conventional techniques. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.