The boundary node method for three-dimensional linear elasticity

The Boundary Node Method (BNM) is developed in this paper for solving three -dimensional problems in linear elasticity. The BNM represents a coupling b etween Boundary Integral Equations (BIE) and Moving Least-Squares (MLS) int erpolants. The main idea is to retain the dimensionality advantage of the f ormer and the meshless attribute of the later. This results in decoupling o f the 'mesh' and the interpolation procedure. For problems in linear elasti city, free rigid-body modes in traction prescribed problems are typically e liminated by suitably restraining the body. However, an alternative approac h developed recently for the Boundary Element Method (BEM) is extended in t his work to the BNM. This approach is based on ideas from linear algebra to complete the rank of the singular stiffness matrix. Also, the BNM has been extended in the present work to solve problems with material discontinuiti es and a new procedure has been developed for obtaining displacements and s tresses accurately at internal points close to the boundary of a body. Copy right (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.