A fast multipole boundary element method based on the improved Burton–Miller formulation for three-dimensional acoustic problems

A fast multipole boundary element method (FMBEM) based on the improved Burton–Miller formulation is presented in this paper for solving large-scale three-dimensional (3D) acoustic problems. Some improvements can be made for the developed FMBEM. In order to overcome the non-unique problems of the conventional BEM, the FMBEM employs the improved Burton–Miller formulation developed by the authors recently to solve the exterior acoustic problems for all wave numbers. The improved Burton–Miller formulation contains only weakly singular integrals, and avoids the numerical difficulties associated to the evaluation of the hypersingular integral, it leads to the numerical implementations more efficient and straightforward. In this study, the fast multipole method (FMM) and the preconditioned generalized minimum residual method (GMRES) iterative solver are applied to solve system matrix equation. The block diagonal preconditioner needs no extra memory and no extra CPU time in each matrix–vector product. Thus, the overall computational efficiency of the developed FMBEM is further improved. Numerical examples clearly demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency and applicability of the FMBEM based on improved Burton–Miller formulation for large-scale acoustic problems.     

A low-frequency fast multipole boundary element method based on analytical integration of the hypersingular integral for 3D acoustic problems

A low-frequency fast multipole boundary element method (FMBEM) for 3D acoustic problems is proposed in this paper. The FMBEM adopts the explicit integration of the hypersingular integral in the dual boundary integral equation (BIE) formulation which was developed recently by Matsumoto, Zheng et al. for boundary discretization with constant element. This explicit integration formulation is analytical in nature and cancels out the divergent terms in the limit process. But two types of regular line integrals remain which are usually evaluated numerically using Gaussian quadrature. For these two types of regular line integrals, an accurate and efficient analytical method to evaluate them is developed in the present paper that does not use the Gaussian quadrature. In addition, the numerical instability of the low-frequency FMBEM using the rotation, coaxial translation and rotation back (RCR) decomposing algorithm for higher frequency acoustic problems is reported in this paper. Numerical examples are presented to validate the FMBEM based on the analytical integration of the hypersingular integral. The diagonal form moment which has analytical expression is applied in the upward pass. The improved low-frequency FMBEM delivers an algorithm with efficiency between the low-frequency FMBEM based on the RCR and the diagonal form FMBEM, and can be used for acoustic problems analysis of higher frequency.     

Regularization of hypersingular integrals in 3-D fracture mechanics: Triangular BE,and piecewise-constant and piecewise-linear approximations

In this article the hypersingular integrals that arise when boundary integral equation (BIE) methods are used to solve fracture mechanics problems are considered. An approach for hypersingular integral regularization is based on the theory of distribution and Green's theorems. This approach is applied for regularization of the hypersingular integrals over triangular boundary elements (BEs) for the case of piecewise-constant and piecewise-linear approximations. The hypersingular integrals are transformed into regular contour integrals that can be easily calculated analytically.     

An adaptive fast multipole boundary element method for three-dimensional acoustic wave problems based on the Burton–Miller formulation

The high solution costs and non-uniqueness difficulties in the boundary element method (BEM) based on the conventional boundary integral equation (CBIE) formulation are two main weaknesses in the BEM for solving exterior acoustic wave problems. To tackle these two weaknesses, an adaptive fast multipole boundary element method (FMBEM) based on the Burton–Miller formulation for 3-D acoustics is presented in this paper. In this adaptive FMBEM, the Burton–Miller formulation using a linear combination of the CBIE and hypersingular BIE (HBIE) is applied to overcome the non-uniqueness difficulties. The iterative solver generalized minimal residual (GMRES) and fast multipole method (FMM) are adopted to improve the overall computational efficiency. This adaptive FMBEM for acoustics is an extension of the adaptive FMBEM for 3-D potential problems developed by the authors recently. Several examples on large-scale acoustic radiation and scattering problems are presented in this paper which show that the developed adaptive FMBEM can be several times faster than the non-adaptive FMBEM while maintaining the accuracies of the BEM.     

The development of the pFFT accelerated BEM for 3-D acoustic scattering problems based on the Burton and Miller's integral formulation

The precorrected-FFT acceleration technique is successfully applied in the boundary element method for the simulation of 3-D acoustic scattering problems. The composite Helmholtz integral equation presented by Burton and Miller is employed to overcome the nonuniqueness problem occurring in the simulation of exterior acoustic problems by the boundary element method. Since the triangular constant element is employed, the hypersingular boundary integral equation is reduced into a weakly singular boundary integral equation with the application of a modified Burton and Miller's formulation. The computational cost, the consumed memory and the convergence of the current method are demonstrated and analyzed through the simulation of a plane acoustic wave scattering from a rigid sphere and from an axisymmetrical rigid structure.     

A wideband FMBEM for 2D acoustic design sensitivity analysis based on direct differentiation method

This paper presents a wideband fast multipole boundary element method (FMBEM) for two dimensional acoustic design sensitivity analysis based on the direct differentiation method. The wideband fast multipole method (FMM) formed by combining the original FMM and the diagonal form FMM is used to accelerate the matrix-vector products in the boundary element analysis. The Burton–Miller formulation is used to overcome the fictitious frequency problem when using a single Helmholtz boundary integral equation for exterior boundary-value problems. The strongly singular and hypersingular integrals in the sensitivity equations can be evaluated explicitly and directly by using the piecewise constant discretization. The iterative solver GMRES is applied to accelerate the solution of the linear system of equations. A set of optimal parameters for the wideband FMBEM design sensitivity analysis are obtained by observing the performances of the wideband FMM algorithm in terms of computing time and memory usage. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the efficiency and validity of the proposed algorithm.     

hp Fast multipole boundary element method for 3D acoustics

A fast multipole boundary element method (FMBEM) extended by an adaptive mesh refinement algorithm for solving acoustic problems in three‐dimensional space is presented in this paper. The Collocation method is used, and the Burton–Miller formulation is employed to overcome the fictitious eigenfrequencies arising for exterior domain problems. Because of the application of the combined integral equation, the developed FMBEM is feasible for all positive wave numbers even up to high frequencies. In order to evaluate the hypersingular integral resulting from the Burton–Miller formulation of the boundary integral equation, an integration technique for arbitrary element order is applied. The fast multipole method combined with an arbitrary order h‐p mesh refinement strategy enables accurate computation of large‐scale systems. Numerical examples substantiate the high accuracy attainable by the developed FMBEM, while requiring only moderate computational effort at the same time. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundary integral equations for thin bodies

A boundary integral equation formulation for thin bodies which uses CBIE (conventional BIE) only is well known to be degenerate. A mixed formulation for a thin rigid scatterer which combines CBIE and HBIE (hypersingular BIE) is motivated by examining the discretized form of the integral equations, and this formulation is shown to be non-degenerate for thin non-rigid inclusion problems. A near-singular integration procedure, useful for singular integrals as well, is presented. Finally, numerical examples for acoustic wave scattering from rigid and soft scatterers are presented.     

Some identities for fundamental solutions and their applications to weakly-singular boundary element formulations

Some integral identities for the fundamental solutions of potential and elastostatic problems are established in this paper. With these identities it is shown that the conventional boundary integral equation (BIE), which is generally expressed in terms of singular integrals in the sense of the Cauchy principal value (CPV), and the derivative BIE, which is similarly expressed in terms of hypersingular integrals in the sense of the Hadamard finite-part (HFP), can both be written as weakly-singular integral equations in a systematic approach. Discretization of the weakly-singular BIE leads to the weakly-singular boundary element formulation equivalent to the method of using the rigid body displacement to determine the diagonal submatrices, which involve the CPV terms and the geometric matrix C, in the conventional BEM. The discretization of the weakly-singular derivative BIE possesses a similar feature, i.e. no CPV and HFP are involved. All these suggest that the practice of calculating CPV or HFP (for boundary integrals) and the geometric matrix C, either analytically or numerically, is unnecessary in the BEM. The approach developed in this paper is applicable to other problems such as plate bending, acoustics and elastodynamics.     

Evaluation of 2‐D Green's boundary formula and its normal derivative using Legendre polynomials,with an application to acoustic scattering problems

This paper presents the non‐singular forms, in a global sense, of two‐dimensional Green's boundary formula and its normal derivative. The main advantage of the modified formulations is that they are amenable to solution by directly applying standard quadrature formulas over the entire integration domain; that is, the proposed element‐free method requires only nodal data. The approach includes expressing the unknown function as a truncated Fourier–Legendre series, together with transforming the integration interval [a, b] to [‐1,1] ; the series coefficients are thus to be determined. The hypersingular integral, interpreted in the Hadamard finite‐part sense, and some weakly singular integrals can be evaluated analytically; the remaining integrals are regular with the limiting values of the integrands defined explicitly when a source point coincides with a field point. The effectiveness of the modified formulations is examined by an elliptic cylinder subject to prescribed boundary conditions. The regularization is further applied to acoustic scattering problems. The well‐known Burton–Miller method, using a linear combination of the surface Helmholtz integral equation and its normal derivative, is adopted to overcome the non‐uniqueness problem. A general non‐singular form of the composite equation is derived. Comparisons with analytical solutions for acoustically soft and hard circular cylinders are made. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identities for the fundamental solution of thin plate bending problems and the nonuniqueness of the hypersingular BIE solution for multi-connected domains

Four integral identities for the fundamental solution of thin plate bending problems are presented in this paper. These identities can be derived by imposing rigid-body translation and rotation solutions to the two direct boundary integral equations (BIEs) for plate bending problems, or by integrating directly the governing equation for the fundamental solution. These integral identities can be used to develop weakly-singular and nonsingular forms of the BIEs for plate bending problems. They can also be employed to show the nonuniqueness of the solution of the hypersingular BIE for plates on multi-connected (or multiply-connected) domains. This nonuniqueness is shown for the first time in this paper. It is shown that the solution of the singular (deflection) BIE is unique, while the hypersingular (rotation) BIE can admit an arbitrary rigid-body translation term in the deflection solution, on the edge of a hole. However, since both the singular and hypersingular BIEs are required in solving a plate bending problem using the boundary element method (BEM), the BEM solution is always unique on edges of holes in plates on multi-connected domains. Numerical examples of plates with holes are presented to show the correctness and effectiveness of the BEM for multi-connected domain problems.     

EVALUATION OF THE STRESS TENSOR IN 3-D ELASTOPLASTICITY BY DIRECT SOLVING OF HYPERSINGULAR INTEGRALS

A 3-D hypersingular Boundary Integral Equation (BIE) of elastoplasticity is derived. Using this formulation the displacement rate gradients and the complete stress tensor on the boundary can be evaluated directly as opposed to the classical approach, where the shape functions derivatives are to be calculated. The regularization of strongly singular and hypersingular boundary integrals, as well as strongly singular domain integrals for a source point positioned on the boundary is carried out in a general manner. Arbitrary types of elements and arbitrary positions of the source point with respect to continuity requirements can be used. Numerical 3-D elastoplastic examples (notch and crack problems) illustrate the advantages of the proposed method.     

A comparison of techniques for overcoming non‐uniqueness of boundary integral equations for the collocation partition of unity method in two‐dimensional acoustic scattering

The Partition of Unity Method has become an attractive approach for extending the allowable frequency range for wave simulations beyond that available using piecewise polynomial elements. The non‐uniqueness of solution obtained from the conventional boundary integral equation (CBIE) is well known. The CBIE derived through Green's identities suffers from a problem of non‐uniqueness at certain characteristic frequencies. Two of the standard methods of overcoming this problem are the so‐called Combined Helmholtz Integral Equation Formulation (CHIEF) method and that of Burton and Miller. The latter method introduces a hypersingular integral, which may be treated in various ways. In this paper, we present the collocation partition of unity boundary element method (PUBEM) for the Helmholtz problem and compare the performance of CHIEF against a Burton–Miller formulation regularised using the approach of Li and Huang. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The first-kind and the second-kind boundary integral equation systems for solution of frictionless contact problems

An original approach to the numerical solution of displacement boundary integral equation (BIE) and traction hypersingular boundary integral equation (HBIE) by the boundary element method (BEM) for contact problems is given. The main point is to show, how the contact conditions are used to formulate the first-kind and the second-kind BIE systems in the case of frictionless two-body elastic contact. The solution of the first-kind BIE is performed by symmetric Galerkin BEM; the second-kind BIE is solved by an appropriate collocation BEM. The contact problem in itself is solved by the method of subsequent approximations of contact region. Both forms of BIE system are compared in several numerical examples. This comparison is made for different kinds of contact problem. The major emphasis is put on the evaluation of contact pressure. The obtained results are compared with referenced numerical and with the analytical ones.     

A SINGLE-DOMAIN BOUNDARY ELEMENT METHOD FOR 3-D ELASTOSTATIC CRACK ANALYSIS USING CONTINUOUS ELEMENTS

A boundary element method is presented for single-domain analysis of cracked three-dimensional isotropic elastostatic solids. A numerical treatment for the hypersingular Boundary Integro-Differential Equation (BIDE) for displacement derivatives is described, in which continuous boundary elements may be used. Hadamard principal values of the hypersingular integrals arising in the formulation are evaluated using polar co-ordinates defined on the tangent planes at the source point, and the free term coefficients are calculated directly using a numerical technique. The forms of the Boundary Integral Equation (BIE) and the BIDE are considered for a source point on the coincident surfaces of a crack, and a scheme is given for defining the Traction Boundary Integral Equation TBIE so that it optimally incorporates the traction information deficient in its complementary partner, the BIE. Numerical results for some example mixed-mode crack problems are presented.     

Explicit evaluation of hypersingular boundary integral equations for acoustic sensitivity analysis based on direct differentiation method

This paper presents a new set of boundary integral equations for three dimensional acoustic shape sensitivity analysis based on the direct differentiation method. A linear combination of the derived equations is used to avoid the fictitious eigenfrequency problem associated with the conventional boundary integral equation method when solving exterior acoustic problems. The strongly singular and hypersingular boundary integrals contained in the equations are evaluated as the Cauchy principal values and Hadamard finite parts for constant element discretization without using any regularization technique in this study. The present boundary integral equations are more efficient to use than the usual ones based on any other singularity subtraction technique and can be applied to the fast multipole boundary element method more readily and efficiently. The effectiveness and accuracy of the present equations are demonstrated through some numerical examples.     

Cauchy principal values and finite parts of boundary integrals—revisited

The relationship between Finite Parts (FPs) and Cauchy Principal Values (CPVs) (when they exist) of certain integrals has been previously studied by Toh and Mukherjee [Toh K-C, Mukherjee S. Hypersingular and finite part integrals in the boundary element method. Int J Solids Struct 1994;31:2299–2312] and Mukherjee [Mukherjee S. CPV and HFP integrals and their applications in the boundary element method. Int J Solids Struct 2000;37:6623–6634, Mukherjee S. Finite parts of singular and hypersingular integrals with irregular boundary source points. Engrg Anal Bound Elem 2000;24:767–776]. This paper continues this study and presents and proves an interesting new relationship between the CPV and FP of certain boundary integrals (on closed boundaries) that occur in Boundary Integral Equation (BIE) formulations of some common Boundary Value Problems (BVPs) in science and engineering.     

Numerical treatment of finite part integrals in 2-D boundary element analysis with application infracture mechanics

For the solution of problems in fracture mechanics by the boundary element method usually the subregion technique is employed to decouple the crack surfaces. In this paper a different procedure is presented. By using the displacement boundary integral equation on one side of the crack surface and the hypersingular traction boundary integral equation on the opposite side, one can renounce the subregion technique.An essential point when applying the traction boundary integral equation is the treatment of the thus arising hypersingular integrals. Two methods for their numerical computation are presented, both based on the finite part concept. One may either scale the integrals properly and use a specific quadrature rule, or one may apply the definition formula for finite part integrals and transform the resulting regular integrals into the usual element coordinate system afterwards. While the former method is restricted to linear or circular approximations of the boundary geometry, the latter one allows for arbitrary curved (e.g. isoparametric) elements. Two numerical examples are enclosed to demonstrate the accuracy of the two boundary integral equations technique compared with the subregion technique.     

Error estimation using hypersingular integrals in boundary element methods for linear elasticity

A natural measure of the error in the boundary element method rests on the use of both the standard boundary integral equation (BIE) and the hypersingular BIE (HBIE). An approximate (numerical) solution can be obtained using either one of the BIEs. One expects that the residual, obtained when such an approximate solution is substituted to the other BIE is related to the error in the solution. The present work is developed for vector field problems of linear elasticity. In this context, suitable ‘hypersingular residuals’ are shown, under certain special circumstances, to be globally related to the error. Further, heuristic arguments are given for general mixed boundary value problems. The calculated residuals are used to compute element error indicators, and these error indicators are shown to compare well with actual errors in several numerical examples, for which exact errors are known. Conclusions are drawn and potential extensions of the present error estimation method are discussed.     

3D acoustic wave simulation using BEM formulations: Closed form integration of singular and hypersingular integrals

Among the obstacles to applying boundary element techniques to three-dimensional wave propagation problems is the difficulty of accurately representing the singular and hypersingular terms at the points of application of the virtual loads. This paper presents the analytical evaluation of the singular and hypersingular integrals for constant boundary elements. First, the singular integral results are compared with those evaluated by means of a Gaussian quadrature scheme, which uses an enormous amount of sampling points. In the case of hypersingular integrals the comparison makes use of the results provided by the method presented by Terai [T. Terai, On calculation of sound fields around three dimensional objects by integral equation methods, J Sound Vib 69 (1980) 71–100.]. An additional verification is performed by comparing the boundary element method (BEM) results with known analytical solutions for cylindrical inclusions.