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Int. J. Mech. Sci. Vol. 20, pp.

625-639

0020-740317810901-0625/$02.0010

Pergamon Press Ltd., 1978. Printed in Great Britain

THE BOUNDARY ELEMENT IN E L A S T I C I T Y

METHOD

E. ALARCON, C. BREBBIAt a n d J. DOMINGUEZ University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain


(Received 31 October 1977; in revised form 28 March 1978)

Summary--This paper describes the application of the boundary element method in elasticity starting by discussing the basic weighted residual expressions. Boundary elements of different orders are presented and discussed, together with the numerical integration schemes. The relationships are presented for three dimensional elasticity and specialized to the two dimensional case. Results are presented and discussed, specially in relation to finite elements and other "domain" type techniques. NOTATION stress components body forces components displacement components displacement components of fundamental solution surface traction components surface traction components of fundamental solution direction cosines of normal with respect to x~ axis strain components Dirac delta function integration domain boundary of domain displacement components of fundamental solution for a load on ' T ' direction surface traction components of fundamental solution for a load on ' T ' direction displacement vector at point i displacement vector at any point on boundary F traction vector at any point on boundary F body force vector at any point in domain ft traction influence matrix for the fundamental solution displacement influence matrix for the fundamental solution interpolation functions nodal unknowns vectors for displacements and tractions boundary element matrices defined by equation (27) final matrices after boundary conditions have been applied (see equation 28)

O'jk

bk
Ilk

Pk p*
ni Ai

fi F

u~
P tk ni u

p b P
n*

u ~, p~

H, G and B A, F and B

INTRODUCTION

Boundary solution techniques are becoming increasingly popular with engineers and
have been applied for the solution of two and three dimensional potential and elasticity problems. The most frequently used method works with the fundamental s o l u t i o n (i.e. s o l u t i o n of t h e g o v e r n i n g e q u a t i o n s ) as an i n f l u e n c e f u n c t i o n a n d t r i e s to m a k e it s a t i s f y t h e b o u n d a r y c o n d i t i o n s o f the p r o b l e m . N u m e r o u s p a p e r s h a v e b e e n p u b l i s h e d in r e c e n t y e a r s o n this t y p e o f b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t s . !-9 T h e s e m e t h o d s a r e p r e s e n t e d u n d e r d i f f e r e n t n a m e s s u c h as " b o u n d a r y i n t e g r a l e q u a t i o n m e t h o d s " , " b o u n d a r y i n t e g r a l s o l u t i o n s " , etc. In its m o s t g e n e r a l f o r m this t e c h n i q u e c o n s i s t s of s u b d i v i d i n g the b o u n d a r y o f t h e r e g i o n u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n into a s e r i e s o f e l e m e n t s ; h e n c e the n a m e " b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t m e t h o d " s e e m s m o r e a p p r o p r i a t e a n d is t h e o n e u s e d h e r e . It is s h o w n in t h e p r e s e n t p a p e r t h a t t h e t e c h n i q u e c a n b e g e n e r a l i z e d a n d p r e s e n t e d as a w e i g h t e d r e s i d u a l t e c h n i q u e . In this w a y its r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h o t h e r m e t h o d s o f a n a l y s i s , s u c h as finite e l e m e n t s , b e c o m e s c l e a r a n d it is p o s s i b l e to attempt their combination. I n this p a p e r t h e t e c h n i q u e will b e d e s c r i b e d f o r t h r e e a n d t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l elasticity problems. For these cases a singularity appears when the equation using the *Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Southampton, England. 625

626

E. ALARCON et al.

f u n d a m e n t a l s o l u t i o n is p a r t i c u l a r i z e d o n t h e b o u n d a r y . A w a y is p r e s e n t e d in this p a p e r to i n t e g r a t e t h e f u n d a m e n t a l s o l u t i o n o n t h e b o u n d a r y in a s i m p l e w a y , a l t h o u g h it is a l s o p o i n t e d o u t t h a t b e c a u s e o f rigid b o d y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s it is n o t n e c e s s a r y to determine the value of the integral. The paper starts by discussing the basic weighted residual expressions for threed i m e n s i o n a l e l a s t i c i t y i n d i c a t i n g t h e t y p e o f f u n d a m e n t a l s o l u t i o n to b e u s e d . ~A~ B o u n d a r y e l e m e n t s o f d i f f e r e n t o r d e r (i.e. c o n s t a n t , l i n e a r a n d q u a d r a t i c ) a r e p r e s e n ted and discussed, together with the numerical integration schemes. The relationships a r e s p e c i a l i z e d to t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l e l a s t i c i t y w h e r e t h e f o r m u l a t i o n is s e e n in m o r e d e t a i l . R e s u l t s o b t a i n e d a p p l y i n g a t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m a r e finally s h o w n a n d d i s c u s s e d , s p e c i a l l y in r e l a t i o n to finite e l e m e n t s . BASIC RELATIONSHIPS The principle of virtual displacements for linear elastic problems can be written as

fo

-p~)uk dF (trik.j + bk)uk dO = * ff.2 (pk - *

(1)

where u* are the virtual displa.cements identically satisfying the homogeneous boundary conditions ti~"=-0 on Ft. If we now interpret Uk as weighting functions which do not satisfy these conditions on F~ the expression can be written as

p '~ = n;o'ki
are the surface forces o r tractions c o r r e s p o n d i n g to the u* system, ns are the direction cosines of the

normal with respect to xs axis. We will assume that the strain-displacement relationships are linear, i.e. ~;;=2\axs and
it = 2 \ dxs

8x,/

_l (0u ~ + a__C~ axi /

(3)

and that the material properties are also linear, i.e. in tensor form
or#
__
-

dis ~kt,

kl

O'si = d is ~kl.

kl

(4)

Integrating by parts once more and using the reciprocity relation

f ~,k''k dO = f tr'k'ik dfl


one obtains

In bku: d O -

In

d O = - fr20,u* d r - fr, pkU: dF+

fr,

dF.

Integrating by parts once more one obtains O'sk.Sl~k df! 2Pku k dF fo bku~ dO + fo* =- fr-* fr pku* dF + fr- *dF+ Jr., f Ukp k*dF.
~ Ukpk

(5)

One now looks for fundamental solutions satisfying the equilibrium equations, usually of the type
O'~k,S + A / = 0

(6)

where A/ is the Dirac delta function and represents a unit load at i in the 1 direction. This type of solution will produce for each direction "1" the following equation

ul' +

fr

iikp* dF +

fr

2 ukp

* dF = k

fo bku * dO + fr

I PkU k

* dF +

PkIIk dF. fr-*


".

(7)

u/ represents the displacement at i in the " l " direction.

The boundary element method in elasticity In general we can write for the point " i "

627

u,' + frU,p~ dF= /rPkU~idF + [.,bku~ df~

(8)

where F = Ft + F2. Note that u* and p* are the fundamental solutions, i.e. the displacements and tractions due to a unit concentrated load at the point " i " in the " / " direction. If we consider unit forces acting in the three directions, expression (8) can be written as

uli + frUWt* dF= frPkUl*kdF+ frbkU~*dD,


* .

(9)

where p t, and u a represent the tractions and displacements in the k direction due to unit forces acting in the direction I. Equation (9) is valid for the particular point " i " where these forces are applied.

FUNDAMENTAL SOLUTIONS The fundamental solution for a three dimensional isotropic body is"

"
ujk = 161rG , P~k 8~(]1

- v)r (3--4v)Aik +0Xl

OxkJ [0rf( 1 Or Orl ~)r21an[ -2~)a'*+37x~Tx~/-(1-2~)

0r0 l

{Or _00_~kn,}] 7x~ nk

(10)

where n is the normal to the surface of the body, A~k is the Kronecker delta, r is the distance from the point of application of the load to the point under consideration and nk are the direction cosines (see Fig. 1). For two dimensional isotropic plane strain case the solution is , utk , P,k 1 [ (1) +or O.~xk ] 8 r G ( 1 - v) ( 3 - 4 v ) ln At~ Oxl

Or 1 v~r~n ~ (!. l l -2v)Akl + 2 4~r(l -

dr Orl 1 ar ar ~Xk~Xll--(--2v)(~xln.--~xn,)].
1"

(11)

X ,u 3

///,.~.,./~

<

~ , / \\
",/"PO,NT X

/
X1 ,U 1 I X3 POINT S ~ t

X2 ,U2

SURFACE FORCES AT K DUE TO t UNIT LOAD AT i ACTING IN THE P1"2 [R, DIRECTION

i~

2 UNIT LOAD IN X! DIRECTION

X1

FIG. 1. Three-dimensional case.

MS Vol. 20, No. 9---F

628

E. ALARCON et al.

BOUNDARY POINT Equation (9) will now be specialized for the boundary. Consider that the boundary is smooth and of the type F2 at the point "i'" (the same will apply for Ft boundary). The first integral in equation (9) can now be written into two parts,

ukp* dF =
2

dr(2

,)

ttkplk dF +

ukpt k d r .

(12)

Let us now consider the second integral for the case ~ 0 (Fig. 2) and call it I for simplicity

,~ l=lim{fsUkp*dS}=l!m{--fsUk[{(l Or Or 1

2V)Aik

+ 3

ar ar ~Xt ~XkJ

Note that ~ --- r. Consider the Fig. 3 where for simplicity a polar system of coordinates is used. For this particular case the second term in equation (13) will disappear as

Or

Or nk--~xkn~

Or Or aXl aXk

Or Or OXk aXt

0.

(14)

Hence we only need to consider the first term in the integral, i.e. I=limc

f - f,s tUk f (1-2v)A,k +30r Or~ diP ] ~x~xkJ81r(l-v)r2J"


ele~+3u:ete2+3u3ele3}
sin 0 d0d~b~ 8~--~-~-~ J'

(15)

This can be expanded taking into account the geometric relationships shown in Fig. 3, e.g. when I = 1
I =lim

{fs
-

{u~ ( 1 - 2 v ) + 3 u ,

(16)

FIG. 2. Hemisphere assumed on the boundary for integration.

/-

-71

'J
I I I r cos@ ~ I / ' "'-~..e #X1

I I t/

cos e -'- X2

r s l N e SlNO =r

7'
dT' - r 2 SIN e d e d

e=ar

.'.

et= SINe 0060 02= SINe SIN e3= COS e

FIG. 3. Geometry definitions.

T h e b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t m e t h o d in elasticity Note that the integral is n o w i n d e p e n d e n t of " r " and can be e x p r e s s e d in t e r m s of ~b and O only

629

f2~f.,2
I = JO JO

{m (I - 2 u ) + 3m sin 2 0 cos 2 ~ + 3u2 sin 2 0 cos ~b sin ~b sin 0 dO d~b 8r(1 - ~,)
(17)
"

+ 3U3 sin 0 cos 0 cos ~}

After integration we find that s o m e of the integrals are zero and the final result is

I =
= --

81r(1-

1 v)[(l_2u)21r+27r]u /
1 i =~U 1

4(1 8(1 :))U,'

(18)

T h e s a m e can be s h o w n to apply for l = 2 and l = 3. This result can t h e n be written as,

,im{f r
T h e integral f pk ult; d r can also be written
F2
_

.~o;~ dr}=--~.
dF + dF

(19)

f - ,Pku Ik f -PkU , tk
J r(2-c)

but it can be easily s h o w n that

pt;Utk dF = 0
and therefore this integral does not introduce any new terms. Similar result would be obtained for the F~ part of the b o u n d a r y . H e n c e w h e n the point " i " b e c o m e s a b o u n d a r y point on a s m o o t h b o u n d a r y we can write

~ ut

jr2 U~Pl~

J F2

Jl~

For the case of being n o n - s m o o t h boundaries the evaluation of the integral on F, is more difficult and a result different from - ~ is obtained. Fortunately, explicit calculation of this value is not n e c e s s a r y as it can be obtained using the rigid body motions. In general we will have a c z coefficient for a point on a n o n - s m o o t h b o u n d a r y , such that equation (20) can be written

c~u/ + ( u k p t*kd r = r p kUt*kd F + ( b k u * d I l . Jr 30 Jr


where F = F~ + F2.

(21)

BOUNDARY ELEMENTS It is now more c o n v e n i e n t to work with matrices than to carry on with the indicial notation. We can define the following:
Ui

{,}
u2
U3

d i s p l a c e m e n t vector at point "i" with c o m p o n e n t s in x, x2 x3 directions.

u = d i s p l a c e m e n t vector at any point on b o u n d a r y F. p = 02 P3 b = tractions at a n y point on b o u n d a r y F.

b2 = body forces at any point in d o m a i n fl. b


*7

p* = .03~ o~',

'p.

oI'2 0~2

p ~2 0 ~3/matri x w h o s e coefficients, Ptk, are the forces in k direction due to a unit force at " i " acting
0
23 P~'3J in the " l " direction.

u*

I-,.,*, = | u'~ u *
L.*,
u*2

13

., u

matrix w h o s e coefficients Uk are the d i s p l a c e m e n t s in the " k " direction due to a unit force at z acting m the ' 1 direction.

630

E. ALARCON

et al.
(22)

Equation (21) can now be expressed in matrix form as follows c~uZ + f r p*u dF = f r u*p dF + fn u*b dfl.

We can assume that the boundary is divided into elements (Fig. 4) and that the u and p functions can be approximated on each element using the following interpolation functions

(23)

Note that we have assumed the same functions for u and p. In general they may not be the same and it may be more consistent to take the functions for p of one order less than those for u. The functions can be considered as the standard two dimensional finite element type functions (see Refs. 2 and 3). u ~ and p" are the nodal displacements and tractions and are unknown. We can now substitute those functions into (22) to obtain for a particular nodal point.

c~u~+~_+t {fr P*dprdF}u~=~ {fr U*~rdF}p~+ M~=~ {fa u*bdfl}.


Ej = 1 to N indicates summation over the N elements of the surface. Fj is the surface of "j'" element.

NODES B O U N D A R Y ELEMENTS Xa ~ ' ~

X1

FIGURE 40).-'CONSTANT BOUNDARY ELEMENTS

~~

~NODIS

NDARY ELEMENTS

X1

X 2 FIGURE 4b).-LINEARBOUNDARY ELEMENTS ~ ~6~----~~E~ EMENTS

NODES
X3

X1

FIGURE 4cl.-QUADRATIC BOUNDARY ELEMENTS

FIG. 4(a). Three-dimensional body divided into constant boundary elements. (b) Threedimensional body divided into linear boundary elements. (c) Three-dimensional body divided into quadratic boundary elements.

The boundary element method in elasticity

631

Note that we have also considered that the value was divided into M internal cells or elements over which integrals corresponding to the body forces have to be computed. These are not finite elements but simply regions where the integration (usually numerical) is carried out. Once this is done the problem is reduced to a boundary problem. The integrals are generally solved numerically and the functions expressed in some homogeneous system of coordinates such as the e~ system of Fig. 5. The coordinates need to be transformed from the ei system to the global xl system. TRANSFORMATION OF COORDINATES If we transform from the system x~ (Fig. 5) to ~ any function u gives

o. 1 He, p,, a~, ae,ll~/ lo.1 ~,


ax2

Io.l /~/
/a"! t~J

l ae~ ae= lax,


The inverse relationship is

axq/a. / 13n aT gJL~j

ax~

A differential of volume can be written, d(volume) = dfl = magnitude of ~ ae af a f2 = (absolute value of A differential of area (7 = 0 in Fig. 5) will be given by del de2 dn (25a)

IJI) del de2 dn.

af d(area) = ~
where

x a~-~2 d~t de2 = IG[ d61 d~2

(25b)

IG[ = ( g l 2 + g22 + g32) It2

= (ax~ ax. a~ axq

(ax~ ax, ax, a~q

( ax, ax2 ax: ax,'~


g3 = \ael a~2 0~1 a ( 2 ]

Note that xlx2x3 can be defined over an element using interpolation functions and nodal values in the same way as the displacements and tractions were defined. Applying numerical integration equation (24) becomes

,,

-,=1

IGIw'uT't"T

p" +~ s=l

i=1

~ IJlw, u*b,

(26)

1 ~

2 FtG. 5. Coordinates system for a boundary element.

632

E. ALARCON et al.

L, P are the n u m b e r of integration points, w~ is the weight at the integration points, p~ is p* function at the integration points, u~ is u* function at the integration points. Note that the body force term needs also to be integrated numerically but the integral is carried out in the d o m a i n 12 and not only on the F boundary.

SYSTEM OF EQUATIONS Numerical evaluation of equations (26) will produce a s y s t e m of equations for the node under consideration. Repeating for all the nodes gives a final s y s t e m of equations that can be written as
HU
=

GP

(27)

where U are the d i s p l a c e m e n t s and P the values that the distributed tractions take at all the b o u n d a r y nodes. B contains the body forces. Note that n~ values o f displacements and n2 values of tractions are known (n = n~ + n2), hence one has a set of n u n k n o w n s in the above equation. Reordering the equations in the same w a y as for the potential problems, i.e. with the u n k n o w n s on the l.h.s, vector X, we obtain AX = F + B (28)

where X contains the u n k n o w n d i s p l a c e m e n t s and tractions, It is important to point out that the diagonal coefficients in the H matrix can be obtained by applying rigid body conditions. If we a s s u m e to have unit rigid body d i s p l a c e m e n t s in all directions equation (27) becomes
HI = 0 (29)

where I is a unit vector. H e n c e the diagonal t e r m s of H are simply H . = - ~ Hii.


i.j

(30)

Internal points
Once the b o u n d a r y values are k n o w n we can c o m p u t e the internal values of displacements and stresses. T h e displacements at a point are given by (31) or for "1" c o m p o n e n t

ul=frU*pkdF-frP~UkdF+fnbkut*k

dO.

(32)

For an isotropic m e d i u m the stresses can now be calculated by differentiating u at the internal points, i.e.

_ 2Gv .

Out+,-,{dui
U~x~

'-l----Z-~vai'~xt After carrying out the differentiation we obtain


_

+.L~

0u

Oxi)

(33)

cr,j - Jr ~1 ---Z~ a' ~

r f 2o

. 0u,t + o ( 0 . , : +
\ ax~

+fot

ox, / j_k dr

2Gv . Out*+~[Ou~,k , OU*,k~lk i1--Z-~va,,--~xl o~--~x -r-~Xi llVk dO apjk 0_ ~*] ; u , a A.a * + G(,Opik *+p " ,gXl \ Oxi axl / J
dr. (34)

_ fr ~ 2Gu

[l-2v

All derivatives are taken at the internal points. Taking into a c c o u n t the w a y the derivatives of r are calculated (Fig. 6) we can reduce this expression to

o.# = frDkiipk d F - frSk#uk dI~ + foDk#bk dl'~


where the third order tensor c o m p o n e n t s D~# and Sk~i are Dk,j = ~ { ( 1 - 2 v ) { A J j + Akjr.i -- A#rk} + ~3r.ir.irk} 4azr(1 -- v)
I

(35)

(36)

Skii = ~-~ {/3 ~-~n[(1 - 2v)aiir.a + v(alar,j + ajar i) - yr.lr.ir.k]

ar

+ flv(a,irir.k + a,irlr.a) + (1 -- 2v)(~a,kr.ir i + a,iA ~ + a,iAik) --(1 -- 4v)a,kA# 4acr(l -- v)"

137)

T h e b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t m e t h o d in elasticity

633

r
or -Xi B --

Xi P

x'L_
XI

l ._J
~.P -aclB

'

OXi

~ B : BOUNDARY POINT COORDINATES IN 'i' DIRECTION I ZP : POINT P COORDINATES IN 'i' DIRECTION


I

FIG. 6. Derivatives definition.

T h e above formulae apply for two and three dimensional cases, i.e. (i) 3' = 4. (ii) a = 2;/3 = 3; 3' = 5.

For threedimensions: Two-dimensionalcase

Fortwo dimensions:a

= 1 ;/3 = 2;

W e will now apply the b o u n d a r y element in two dimensional elasticity. T h e basic relationships and governing equations are the s a m e as p r e s e n t e d and the f u n d a m e n t a l solution for isotropic plane strain is as given by equations (11). T h e main difference is that the matrices and vectors of f o r m u l a (22) are now the following for the f u n d a m e n t a l solution.

*=r"":q. LP21 P22J'


, p=

.*=r"i' n:21 L/A2| u*2/"


,

(38)

T h e u n k n o w n displacements and tractions and the k n o w n b o d y forces are u= (39)

U2

P2

[b2J"

T h e basic b o u n d a r y equation (21) can be written as,

ciC+frP*UdF=fru*pdr+f u*bdfl.

(40)

T h e c i c o n s t a n t s are generally determined from the rigid body conditions as indicated. L e t u s n o w consider the case of having c o n s t a n t elements (Fig. 7) e a c h of t h e m with a node at the middle. T h e values of p and u are a s s u m e d to be c o n s t a n t on each e l e m e n t and equal to the value at the mid-node of the element. H e n c e equation (40) b e c o m e s

#u~+~ {fr P*dF}u~=~ {f u* dF}pj+f u*bdl)

(41)

where uj a n d Pi are the d i s p l a c e m e n t and traction vectors at the element " j " . Note that in addition it is c o n v e n i e n t to define internal cells for integration of the b o d y forces. T h e s e cells are u s e d only for the numerical integration of the b o d y force t e r m s and should not be c o n f u s e d with finite elements. If there are M of t h e s e cells we can write

fau*bd"= ~, {p~__ (u*b)pwp }A,.= bi


NODES

(42)

E L E M E ~ I P 2

'U2

X1

INTERNAL CELLS USED FOR THE INTEGRATION OF BODY FORCETERMS"

FIG. 7. T w o - d i m e n s i o n a l b o d y divided into b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t s and internal elements.

634

E. ALARCON et al.

where % are the weighting coefficients for the numerical integration and Am is the area of the element u n d e r consideration. Evaluation of the body force t e r m s produces a vector b. Equation (41) c o r r e s p o n d s to a particular node "i". The terms fr~ P* dF and fri u* dF relate the "'i" node with the s e g m e n t "j'" over which the integral is carried out. We call these integrals I?i~j and G~i and they are now 2 2 matrices. H e n c e one has

ClU' + ~ H#uj = ~ G#p, + b'.


i=l i=l

(43)

This equation relates the value of u at mid-node "i" with the values of u ' s and p ' s at all the nodes on the boundary, including " i " . O n e can write equation (43) for each " i " node obtaining 2 x n equations where n is the total n u m b e r of nodes. Let us now call

Hii = Hii Hii : I-lii + C'

when i ~ j when i = j

(44)

where c ~ is a coefficient matrix due to the b o u n d a r y geometry, i.e.

with c ~ = 0.5 for s m o o t h boundaries. H e n c e equation (43) can be written as

~_~ Hijnj
i=t

=f. GiiPi + bi.


j=l

(46)

T h e whole set of equations for the n b o u n d a r y nodes can be e x p r e s s e d in matrix form as

HU = GP+ B.
After applying the b o u n d a r y conditions, equations (47) b e c o m e AX = F + B.

(47)

(49)

Internal points
O n c e the values of d i s p l a c e m e n t s and tractions are k n o w n on the b o u n d a r y one can calculate the d i s p l a c e m e n t s and s t r e s s e s at any interior point, i.e.

ui = /ru*pdF- frP*UdF + fabu* df~


(50)

.~. =/r D,ipdr-/r S,,udr +/o".b da


or using numerical integration
U i --

- ~, {/r~u dr}pk-~, {fr P* dr}uk + ~=,{/~ u" d~}b'


*

(51)

where

D,,=[D,j
Si, : [Slij

D2,,],
S2ij],

P = f]~p,}
LP2J U ~- ~ld,~. tu2J (52)

T h e values of D and S have been given in equations (36) and (37), the two-dimensional as well as the three-dimensional case.

Integration
T h e integrals for Hii and G# have been calculated e v e r y w h e r e using four points G a u s s formulae, e x c e p t for the case i = j. As we know the values of H , are then simple to calculate body considerations but G~ would need to be c o m p u t e d using a logarithmically weighted integration f o r m u l a but, although numerical integration is generally more convenient, it is not calculate Gii analytically for the isotropic two-dimensional case. quadrature using rigid numerical difficult to

Applications
A c o m p u t e r program was developed using c o n s t a n t elements and applied to solve a series of two dimensional examples. T h e program w h i c h is very simple is described in detail in Ref. (14).

The b o u n d a r y element m e t h o d in elasticity

635

Example 1. Circular cavity


This e x a m p l e s h o w s the application of b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t s for the case of a circular cavity u n d e r internal p r e s s u r e in an infinite m e d i u m . For this type of problem finite e l e m e n t s are not appropriate since they do not r e p r e s e n t well the infinite domain. T h e b o u n d a r y has been divided into 24 c o n s t a n t e l e m e n t s and equal n u m b e r of nodes and there are 10 internal n o d e s (see Fig. 8) where displacements and s t r e s s e s are c o m p u t e d . To avoid rigid b o d y motion a series of displacement c o m p o n e n t s were prescribed equal to zero. T h e y are the d i s p l a c e m e n t s in the x~ direction at nodes 12 and 24 and the displacement in the x2 direction at node 18. S y m m e t r i c results were obtained and as it was expected the displacements and stresses decay with increasing distance from the body. The radial stresses at a series of nodal points are s h o w n in Table 1, w h e r e they c o m p a r e well with the exact solution.

Example 2. Circular pipe


T h e following application c o m p a r e s the b o u n d a r y elements against finite e l e m e n t s results and the exact elasticity solution for a 90 s e g m e n t of a pipe under internal p r e s s u r e (Fig. 9). The finite e l e m e n t m e s h s h o w n in Fig. 9 consists of 52 nodes and 76 three-noded elements, whilst the b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t discretization has 26 c o n s t a n t segments. Results were obtained for displacements and circumferential and radial stresses. T h e finite element stresses were c o m p u t e d at the centre of each element. Results for s t r e s s e s are c o m p a r e d in Fig. 10 where the b o u n d a r y element solution agrees very well with the e x a c t solution. T h e a g r e e m e n t between finite elements and the exact results is instead very poor and illustrates the dangers of using this type of element (constant strain) in elasticity. It should be pointed out that b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t s t r e s s e s very close to the b o u n d a r y are also unsatisfactory as is to be expected.

F HOLE

\ \
\

INTERNAL NODES

FIG. 8. Circular cavity under internal pressure. TABLE 1. RADIAL STRESSES AT INTERNAL POINTS Distance to the centre of the cavity 4 6 10 20 50 200 I000

B.E.M. - 57.23 - 25.29 -9.10 - 2.27 - 0-36 - 0-227 X 10-t -0"911 x 10-3

Elasticity theory - 56'25 - 25 -9 - 2,25 - 0.36 - 0,225 X 10-1 - 0 . 9 x 10+3

636
5 I0

E. ALARCON et al.

22

-1 ~

20 7 IS

4 2 3 ~
13

0 45 1 5 2

23 1 24 i 25~ 26,

~ 0
51

I
L ......

-R2 7.5

R,

._110 II 12 -i R2

13 |

FIG. 9. Finite element vs boundary element mesh.

lffrl lael

Iffrl \ ~.

EXACT

SOLUTION

FINITE E L E M E N T S BOUNDARY E L E M E N T S

RI

FIG. 10. C o m p a r i s o n of exact solution (

) vs finite e l e m e n t s (O) and b o u n d a r y elements (A).

As a rule this error occurs for all internal points that are situated at a distance from the b o u n d a r y less than half an element length. Although the d i s a g r e e m e n t for s t r e s s e s between both m e t h o d s is large, the displacements agree reasonably well. For instance at finite e l e m e n t s internal n o d e s 26 and 27 we find the following results for the displacement in the xt or x2 direction (note that u, = u2 at 45), Node 26 27 Finite element result 0-157x 10-3 0-124 10-3 B o u n d a r y element result 0.164x 10 3 0.129 10 3

Example 3. Anchor plate The following e x a m p l e s h o w s how the b o u n d a r y element m e t h o d can be applied to study the stress field surrounding an anchor plate. The plate is a s s u m e d to be rigid and e m b e d d e d in an infinite continuum. T h e loading is produced by an anchor cable and equal to P (Fig. 11). The problem was studied analytically using

The boundary element method in elasticity

637

FIG. 11. Anchor plate.

the complex potential method of MuskheliskviliJ 5 The crack was also discretized using boundary elements as shown in Fig. 12. Two boundaries were defined, one the crack boundary divided into 74 elements and an external boundary very far from the crack. This boundary is at radius of 50 crack lengths and is needed in order to restrain rigid body modes. The results obtained using boundary elements can be seen in Figs. 13(a) and 13(b). In the first figure the tractions over the lower surface of the crack (i.e. where the rigid plate is acting) are plotted and their shape and values agree well with the analytical results. Fig. 13(b) shows the internal stresses ru and r22along the axes x~ (i.e. xt = 0). As a comparison the results for an internal point situated at xt = 0 and x2 = 30 mm are presented below. They correspond to a total force of 1000 N in the anchor cable. Analytical solution Boundary element cru = -0.160 ru = -0.200 ~r22= -2-300 ~22 = -2"510 (N/mm 2) (N/mm ~)

The agreement is satisfactory and it points out the convenience of using boundary elements for stress concentration problems such as this. A finite element solution of this problem was not attempted as it was decided that the results would be poor in addition to being very expensive.

CONCLUSIONS Boundary element solutions offer several important advantages over the "domain" t y p e s o l u t i o n s , s u c h as finite e l e m e n t s , finite d i f f e r e n c e s , e t c . T h e m a i n a d v a n t a g e s a r e t h e n e e d to u s e l e s s u n k n o w n s a n d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f o b t a i n i n g m o r e a c c u r a t e r e s u l t s . T h e l a t t e r p o i n t is i m p o r t a n t in t w o a n d t h r e e d i m e n s i o n a l p r o b l e m s w h e r e c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f s t r e s s e s o c c u r s . T h e b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t m e t h o d is a l s o w e l l s u i t e d to s o l v e p r o b l e m s w i t h b o u n d a r i e s at i n f i n i t y , f o r w h i c h t h e c l a s s i c a l " d o m a i n " m e t h o d s a r e obviously unsuitable. T h e b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t m e t h o d c a n b e f o r m u l a t e d in t e r m s o f i n f l u e n c e f u n c t i o n s a n d as s u c h is f r e q u e n t l y f o u n d in t h e l i t e r a t u r e u n d e r t h e g e n e r a l title o f b o u n d a r y i n t e g r a l m e t h o d . T h i s m e t h o d is w e l l k n o w n a n d h a s n o t b e e n d i s c u s s e d h e r e , m a i n l y

'OmmIiiiiiiiiiiiiiill iiii iiiii iiiiiii iiiiiiiiii


I
I 200 mm
FIG. 12. Crack discretization.

638

E. ALARCON et al.

i
X14---

S
(a)

Tx~
0"22

1N/mm 2

X1
4

CRACK

x;l~,,

f22

(b) FIG. 13(a). Tractions over the lower surface. (b) Stresses in along the axis X~ = 0

The boundary element method in elasticity

639

b e c a u s e t h e w e i g h t e d r e s i d u a l a p p r o a c h is m o r e p o w e r f u l a n d r e l a t e s t h e m e t h o d to more classical engineering techniques. O n e o f t h e m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g f e a t u r e s o f t h e m e t h o d is the s i m p l i c i t y o f t h e i n p u t d a t a r e q u i r e d to r u n a p r o b l e m . T h i s c o n t r a s t s w i t h t h e l a r g e a m o u n t o f d a t a n e e d e d to r u n a finite e l e m e n t p r o g r a m . T h i s is a v e r y i m p o r t a n t p o i n t in p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n s as m a n y m a n - h o u r s a r e l o s t in p r e p a r i n g a n d c h e c k i n g finite e l e m e n t d a t a . T h e a c c u r a c y o f b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t s o l u t i o n s is g e n e r a l l y g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t o f finite e l e m e n t t e c h n i q u e s . C l a s s i c a l finite e l e m e n t r e s u l t s a r e a c c u r a t e f o r t h e d i s p l a c e m e n t s b u t w h e n t h e y a r e d i f f e r e n t i a t e d to o b t a i n s t r e s s e s t h e r e s u l t s a r e m u c h less a c c u r a t e . T h i s p r o b l e m c a n still b e a g g r a v a t e d if s t r e s s c o n c e n t r a t i o n r e g i o n s e x i s t in t h e continuum. Boundary element matrices are generally fully populated which means that the m e t h o d m a y b e less efficient c o m p u t a t i o n a l l y t h a n finite e l e m e n t s o r o t h e r s in c e r t a i n a p p l i c a t i o n s . T o o v e r c o m e this difficulty it h a s b e e n s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e b o d y o u g h t to b e d i v i d e d into d i f f e r e n t r e g i o n s , w h i c h g i v e s a b a n d e d t y p e m a t r i x . T h e s u b - d i v i s i o n o f t h e b o d y is a l s o n e e d e d f o r thin a n d long b o d i e s o r b o d i e s w h i c h h a v e d i m e n s i o n s o f d i f f e r e n t o r d e r in d i f f e r e n t d i r e c t i o n s . In c o n c l u s i o n it c a n b e a s s e r t e d t h a t t h e b o u n d a r y e l e m e n t m e t h o d p r e s e n t s definite a d v a n t a g e s o v e r d o m a i n t y p e t e c h n i q u e s f o r m a n y p r o b l e m s a n d t h a t t h e s e a d v a n t a g e s a r e m o r e e v i d e n t f o r p r o b l e m s w i t h b o u n d a r i e s at infinity. REFERENCES 1. R. BUTTERFIELDand G. R. TOMLIN, Integral techniques for solving zoned anisotropic problems. In Variational Methods In Engineering, Vol. II (Edited by C. Brebbia and H. Tottenham). Southampton University Press (1973). 2. T. A. CRUSE and F. J. RIzzo, A direct formulation and numerical solution of the general transient elastodynamic problem. Part I. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 22, 244 (1968). Part II, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 22, 341 (1968). 3. T. A. CRUSE, Application of the boundary integral equation solution method in solid mechanics. In Variational Methods in Engineering (Edited by C. Brebbia and H. Tottenham). Southampton University Press (1973). 4. J. C. LACHAT, A Further Development of the Boundary Integral Technique for Elastostatics. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Southampton (1975). 5. F. J. RIzzo, An integral equation approach to boundary value problems of classical elastostatics. O. Appl. Math. 25(83) (1967). 6. F. J. ~ z z o and R. SHIpPY, A formulation and solution procedure for the general non-homogeneous elastic inclusion problem. Int. J. Solids Structures 4, 1161 (1968). 7. G. R. TOMLIN,Numerical Analysis of Continuum Problems in Zoned Anisotropic Media. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Southampton (1973). 8. J. O. WATSON,The Analysis of Thick Shells with Holes, by Integral Representation of Displacement. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Southampton (1972). 9. C. BREBBIAand J. DOMINGUEZ,Boundary element methods versus finite elements. Proc. Int. Con[. on Appl. Numerical Modelling, Southampton University (July 1977). 10. C. A. BREBBIA, Weighted residual classification of approximate methods. Appl. Math Model. J. 2(3) (1978). 11. C. A. BREBBIAand J. DOMINGUEZ,The boundary element method for potential problems. Appl. Math. Modelling J. 1(7) (1977). 12. A. LOVE, A Treatise on the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity. Dover, New York (1944). 13. T. A. CRUSE, Numerical soltition in three dimensional elastostatics. Int. J. Solids Structures 5, 1259-1274 (1969). 14. C. A. BREBmA, The Boundary Element Method for Engineers. Pentech, London (1978). 15. N. I. MUSKHELISKVILI,Some Basic Problems of the Mathematical Theory o[ Elasticity. Noordhoff, Leyden (1953).

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