ON THE EVALUATION OF THE STRESSES IN THE BEM FOR REISSNER PLATE-BENDING PROBLEMS

This paper deals with the evaluation of the boundary and internal stre sses in the boundary element method (BEM) for plate-bending analysis. The Reissner plate theory is employed as the general plate-bending the ory for modelling both thin and thick plates. Two methods are discusse d for the evaluation of boundary stresses. The first is based on the l ocal boundary tractions and strains, and the other is based on the dir ect evaluation of the stress tensor using the stress integral equation . The proposed methods can be used as postprocessing procedures for th e BEM solution. The evaluation of three-dimensional (3-D) internal str esses through the plate thickness is also discussed and compared with the 3-D boundary element solutions. Numerical examples are presented t o demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed methods. (C) 1997 by Elsevi er Science Inc.