A node-centric indirect boundary element method: three-dimensional displacement discontinuities

An indirect boundary element formulation based on unknown physical values, defined only at the nodes (vertices) of a boundary discretization of a line ar elastic continuum, is introduced. As an adaptation of this general frame work, a linear displacement discontinuity density distribution using a flat triangular boundary discretization is considered. A unified element integr ation methodology based on the continuation principle is introduced to hand le regular as well as near-singular and singular integrals. The boundary fu nctions that form the basis of the integration methodology are derived and tabulated in the appendix for linear displacement discontinuity densities. The integration of the boundary functions is performed numerically using an adaptive algorithm which ensures a specified numerical accuracy. The appli cations include verification examples which have closed-form analytical sol utions as well as practical problems arising in rock engineering. The node- centric displacement discontinuity method is shown to be numerically effici ent and robust for such problems. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Lt d. All rights reserved.