A direct traction BIE approach for three-dimensional crack problems

A boundary element (BE) approach based on the traction boundary integral equation for the general solution of three-dimensional (3D) crack problems is presented. The hypersingular and strongly singular integrals appearing in the formulation are analytically transformed to yield line and surface integrals which are at most weakly singular. Regularization and analytical transformation of the boundary integrals is done prior to any boundary discretization. The integration process does not require of any change of coordinates and the resulting integrals can be numerically evaluated in a simple and efficient way. In order to show the generality, simplicity and robustness of the proposed approach, different flat and curved crack problems in infinite and finite domains are analyzed. A simple BE discretization strategy is adopted. The results obtained using rather course meshes are very accurate. The emphasis of this paper is on the effective application of the proposed BE approach and it is pretended to contribute to the transformation of hypersingular boundary element formulation in something as clear, general and easy to handle as the classical formulation but much better suited for fracture mechanics problems.     

Boundary element formulation for 3D transversely isotropic cracked bodies

The boundary traction integral representation is obtained in elasticity when the classical displacement representation is differentiated and combined according to Hooke's law. The use of both traction and displacement integral representations leads to a mixed (or dual) formulation of the BEM where the discretization effort for crack problems is much smaller than in the classical formulation. A boundary element analysis of three‐dimensional fracture mechanics problems of transversely isotropic solids based on the mixed formulation is presented in this paper. The hypersingular and strongly singular kernels appearing in the formulation are regularized by using two terms of the displacement series expansion and one term of the traction expansion, at the collocation point. All the remaining integrals are analytically evaluated or transformed by means of Stokes' theorem into regular or weakly singular integrals, which are numerically computed. The method is general and can be used for elements of any shape including quarter‐point crack front elements. No change of co‐ordinates is required for the integration. The formulation as presented in this paper is something as clear, general and easy to handle as the classical BE formulation. It is used in combination with three‐dimensional quadratic and quarter‐point elements to obtain accurate results for several different crack problems. Cracks in boundless and finite transversely isotropic domains are studied. The meshes are simple and include only discretization of the crack and the external boundary. The obtained results are in good agreement with those existing in the literature. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

HYPERSINGULAR BEM FOR TRANSIENT ELASTODYNAMICS

The topic of hypersingular boundary integral equations is a rapidly developing one due to the advantages which this kind of formulation offers compared to the standard boundary integral one. In this paper the hypersingular formulation is developed for time-domain antiplane elastodynamic problems. Firstly, the gradient representation is found from the displacement one, removing the strong singularities (Dirac's delta functions) which arise due to the differentiation process. The gradient representation is carried to the boundary through a limiting process and the resulting equation is shown to be consistent with the static formulation. Next, the numerical treatment of the traction boundary integral equation and its application to crack problems are presented. For the boundary discretization, conforming quadratic elements are tested, which are introduced in this paper for the first time, and it is shown that the results are very good in spite of the lesser number of unknowns of this approach in comparison to the non-conforming element alternative. A procedure is devised to numerically perform the hypersingular integrals that is both accurate and versatile. Several crack problems are solved to show the possibilities of the method. To this end both straight and curved elements are employed as well as regular and distorted quarter point elements.     

A general regularization of the hypersingular integrals in the symmetric Galerkin boundary element method

The symmetric Galerkin boundary element method is used to solve boundary value problems by keeping the symmetric nature of the matrix obtained after discretization. The matrix elements are obtained from a double integral involving the double derivative of Green's operator, which is highly singular. The paper presents a regularization of the hypersingular integrals which depend only on the properties of Green's tensor. The method is presented in the case of Laplace's operator, with an example of application. The case of elasticity is finally addressed theoretically, showing an easy extension to any case of anisotropy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Evaluation of supersingular integrals: second‐order boundary derivatives

The boundary integral representation of second‐order derivatives of the primary function involves second‐order (hypersingular) and third‐order (supersingular) derivatives of the Green's function. By defining these highly singular integrals as a difference of boundary limits, interior minus exterior, the limiting values are shown to exist. With a Galerkin formulation, coincident and edge‐adjacent supersingular integrals are separately divergent, but the sum is finite, while the individual hypersingular integrals are finite. Moreover, the cancellation of the supersingular divergent terms only requires a continuous interpolation of the surface potential, and there is no continuity requirement on the surface flux. The algorithm is efficient, the non‐singular integrals vanish and the singular integrals are computed entirely analytically, and accurate values are obtained for smooth surfaces. However, it is shown that a (continuous) linear interpolation is not appropriate for evaluation at boundary corners. Published in 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SOLVING TRANSIENT DYNAMIC CRACK PROBLEMS BY THE HYPERSINGULAR BOUNDARY ELEMENT METHOD

Abstract— The subject of hypersingular boundary integral equations is a rapidly developing topic due to the advantages which this kind of formulation offers compared to the standard boundary integral method. The hypersingular formulation is particularly well suited for fracture mechanics problems, where there are important gradients of the stress field and singularities. This formulation for time domain antiplane problems has been recently addressed by the authors and in the present paper, the formulation for time domain plane problems is presented and applied for the first time. A mixed Boundary Element approach based on the standard integral equation and the hypersingular integral equation is developed. The mixed formulation allows for a very simple discretization of the problem, where no subregion is needed. Conforming quadratic elements are used for the crack and the external boundaries. The hypersingular integral equation is used for collocation points within the crack elements, while the standard integral representation is used for the external boundaries. Several examples with different crack geometries are studied to illustrate the possibilities of the method. The Stress Intensity Factor (S.I.F.) is very accurately computed from the crack tip opening displacements along the crack tip element. The results show that the proposed approach for S.I.F. evaluation is simple and produces accurate solutions.     

Hypersingular quarter-point boundary elements for crack problems

The present paper deals with the study and effective implementation for Stress Intensity Factor computation of a mixed boundary element approach based on the standard displacement integral equation and the hypersingular traction integral equation. Expressions for the evaluation of the hypersingular integrals along general curved quadratic line elements are presented. The integration is carried out by transformation of the hypersingular integrals into regular integrals, which are evaluated by standard quadratures, and simple singular integrals, which are integrated analytically. The generality of the method allows for the modelling of curved cracks and the use of straight line quarter-point elements. The Stress Intensity Factors can be computed very accurately from the Crack Opening Displacement at collocation points extremely close to the crack tip. Several examples with different crack geometries are analyzed. The computed results show that the proposed approach for Stress Intensity Factors evaluation is simple, produces very accurate solutions and has little dependence on the size of the elements near the crack tip.     

Boundary element analysis of Kirchhoff plates with direct evaluation of hypersingular integrals

The typical Boundary Element Method (BEM) for fourth‐order problems, like bending of thin elastic plates, is based on two coupled boundary integral equations, one strongly singular and the other hypersingular. In this paper all singular integrals are evaluated directly, extending a general method formerly proposed for second‐order problems. Actually, the direct method for the evaluation of singular integrals is completely revised and presented in an alternative way. All aspects are dealt with in detail and full generality, including the evaluation of free‐term coefficients. Numerical tests and comparisons with other regularization techniques show that the direct evaluation of singular integrals is easy to implement and leads to very accurate results. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New variable transformations for evaluating nearly singular integrals in 2D boundary element method

This work presents a further development of the distance transformation technique for accurate evaluation of the nearly singular integrals arising in the 2D boundary element method (BEM). The traditional technique separates the nearly hypersingular integral into two parts: a near strong singular part and a nearly hypersingular part. The near strong singular part with the one-ordered distance transformation is evaluated by the standard Gaussian quadrature and the nearly hypersingular part still needs to be transformed into an analytical form. In this paper, the distance transformation is performed by four steps in case the source point coincides with the projection point or five steps otherwise. For each step, new transformation is proposed based on the approximate distance function, so that all steps can finally be unified into a uniform formation. With the new formulation, the nearly hypersingular integral can be dealt with directly and the near singularity separation and the cumbersome analytical deductions related to a specific fundamental solution are avoided. Numerical examples and comparisons with the existing methods on straight line elements and curved elements demonstrate that our method is accurate and effective.     

On hypersingular surface integrals in the symmetric Galerkin boundary element method: application to heat conduction in exponentially graded materials

A symmetric Galerkin formulation and implementation for heat conduction in a three‐dimensional functionally graded material is presented. The Green's function of the graded problem, in which the thermal conductivity varies exponentially in one co‐ordinate, is used to develop a boundary‐only formulation without any domain discretization. The main task is the evaluation of hypersingular and singular integrals, which is carried out using a direct ‘limit to the boundary’ approach. However, due to complexity of the Green's function for graded materials, the usual direct limit procedures have to be modified, incorporating Taylor expansions to obtain expressions that can be integrated analytically. Several test examples are provided to verify the numerical implementation. The results of test calculations are in good agreement with exact solutions and corresponding finite element method simulations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An efficient method to evaluate hypersingular and supersingular integrals in boundary integral equations analysis

An efficient algorithm is employed to evaluated hyper and super singular integral equations encountered in boundary integral equations analysis of engineering problems. The algorithm is based on multiple subtractions and additions to separate singular and regular integral terms in the polar transformation domain, primarily established in Refs. (Guiggiani M, Krishnasamy G, Rudolphi TJ, Rizzo FJ. A general algorithm for the numerical solution of hypersingular boundary integral equations. Trans ASME 1992;59:604–614; Guiggiani M, Casalini P. Direct computation of Cauchy principal value integral in advanced boundary element. Int J Numer Meth Engng 1987;24:1711–1720. Guiggiani M, Gigante A. A general algorithm for multidimensional Cauchy principal value integrals in the boundary element method. J Appl Mech Trans ASME 1990;57:906–915). It can be proved that the regular terms have finite analytical solutions in the range of integration, and the singular terms will be replaced by special periodic kernels in the integral equations. The subtractions involve to multiple derivatives of analytical kernels and the additions require some manipulation to separate the remaining regular terms from singular ones. The regular terms are computed numerically. Three examples on numerical evaluation of singular boundary integrals are presented to show the efficiency and accuracy of the algorithm. In this respect, strongly singular and hypersingular integrals of potential flow problems are considered, followed by a supersingular integral which is extracted from the partial differentiation of a hypersingular integral with respect to the source point.     

A two-dimensional time-domain boundary element method for dynamic crack problems in anisotropic solids

A time-domain boundary element method (BEM) for transient dynamic crack analysis in two-dimensional, homogeneous, anisotropic and linear elastic solids is presented in this paper. Strongly singular displacement boundary integral equations (DBIEs) are applied on the external boundary of the cracked body while hypersingular traction boundary integral equations (TBIEs) are used on the crack-faces. The present time-domain method uses the quadrature formula of Lubich for approximating the convolution integrals and a collocation method for the spatial discretization of the time-domain boundary integral equations. Strongly singular and hypersingular integrals are dealt with by a regularization technique based on a suitable variable change. Discontinuous quadratic quarter-point elements are implemented at the crack-tips to capture the local square-root-behavior of the crack-opening-displacements properly. Numerical examples for computing the dynamic stress intensity factors are presented and discussed to demonstrate the accuracy and the efficiency of the present method.     

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.     

Tangential derivative of singular boundary integrals with respect to the position of collocation points

This paper investigates the evaluation of the sensitivity, with respect to tangential perturbations of the singular point, of boundary integrals having either weak or strong singularity. Both scalar potential and elastic problems are considered. A proper definition of the derivative of a strongly singular integral with respect to singular point perturbations should accommodate the concomitant perturbation of the vanishing exclusion neighbourhood involved in the limiting process used in the definition of the integral itself. This is done here by esorting to a shape sensitivity approach, considering a particular class of infinitesimal domain perturbations that ‘move’ individual points, and especially the singular point, but leave the initial domain globally unchanged. This somewhat indirect strategy provides a proper mathematical setting for the analysis. Moreover, the resulting sensitivity expressions apply to arbitrary potential-type integrals with densities only subjected to some regularity requirements at the singular point, and thus are applicable to approximate as well as exact BEM solutions. Quite remarkable is the fact that the analysis is applicable when the singular point is located on an edge and simply continuous elements are used. The hypersingular BIE residual function is found to be equal to the derivative of the strongly singular BIE residual when the same values of the boundary variables are substituted in both SBIE and HBIE formulations, with interesting consequences for some error indicator computation strategies. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three-dimensional boundary element analysis of electromagnetic wave scattering by penetrable bodies

A frequency domain boundary element methodology of solving three dimensional electromagnetic wave scattering problems by dielectric particles is reported. The method utilizes a computationally attractive surface integral equation containing only weakly and strongly singular integrals in the contrast to most formulations involving not only strongly singular but hypersingular integrals as well. The main advantage of this integral equation is the fact that its strongly singular part is similar to the one appearing in the corresponding integral equation of dynamic elasticity. Thus, well known advanced integration techniques used successfully in elastic scattering problems can be directly applied to the present analysis. Both continuous and discontinuous quadratic elements are employed in order to accurately treat dielectric scatterers with smooth and piecewise smooth boundaries. Numerical examples dealing with three dimensional electromagnetic wave scattering problems demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed boundary element formulation.     

A general algorithm for the numerical evaluation of nearly singular boundary integrals of various orders for two- and three-dimensional elasticity

 A general algorithm of the distance transformation type is presented in this paper for the accurate numerical evaluation of nearly singular boundary integrals encountered in elasticity, which, next to the singular ones, has long been an issue of major concern in computational mechanics with boundary element methods. The distance transformation is realized by making use of the distance functions, defined in the local intrinsic coordinate systems, which plays the role of damping-out the near singularity of integrands resulting from the very small distance between the source and the integration points. By taking advantage of the divergence-free property of the integrals with the nearly hypersingular kernels in the 3D case, a technique of geometric conversion over the auxiliary cone surfaces of the boundary element is designed, which is suitable also for the numerical evaluation of the hypersingular boundary integrals. The effects of the distance transformations are studied and compared numerically for different orders in the 2D case and in the different local systems in the 3D case using quadratic boundary elements. It is shown that the proposed algorithm works very well, by using standard Gaussian quadrature formulae, for both the 2D and 3D elastic problems. Received: 20 November 2001 / Accepted: 4 June 2002 The work was supported by the Science Foundation of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Education.     

A 2D time-domain collocation-Galerkin BEM for dynamic crack analysis in piezoelectric solids

A time-domain boundary element method (TDBEM) for transient dynamic analysis of two-dimensional (2D), homogeneous, anisotropic and linear piezoelectric cracked solids is presented in this paper. The present analysis uses a combination of the strongly singular displacement boundary integral equations (BIEs) and the hypersingular traction boundary integral equations. The spatial discretization is performed by a Galerkin-method, while a collocation method is implemented for the temporal discretization. Both temporal and spatial integrations are carried out analytically. In this way, only the line integrals over a unit circle arising in the time-domain fundamental solutions are computed numerically by standard Gaussian quadrature. An explicit time-stepping scheme is developed to compute the unknown boundary data including the generalized crack-opening-displacements (CODs) numerically. Special crack-tip elements are adopted to ensure a direct and an accurate computation of the dynamic field intensity factors (IFs) from the CODs. Several numerical examples involving stationary cracks in both infinite and finite solids under impact loading are presented to show the accuracy and the efficiency of the developed hypersingular time-domain BEM.     

A hypersingular time‐domain BEM for 2D dynamic crack analysis in anisotropic solids

A hypersingular time‐domain boundary element method (BEM) for transient elastodynamic crack analysis in two‐dimensional (2D), homogeneous, anisotropic, and linear elastic solids is presented in this paper. Stationary cracks in both infinite and finite anisotropic solids under impact loading are investigated. On the external boundary of the cracked solid the classical displacement boundary integral equations (BIEs) are used, while the hypersingular traction BIEs are applied to the crack‐faces. The temporal discretization is performed by a collocation method, while a Galerkin method is implemented for the spatial discretization. Both temporal and spatial integrations are carried out analytically. Special analytical techniques are developed to directly compute strongly singular and hypersingular integrals. Only the line integrals over an unit circle arising in the elastodynamic fundamental solutions need to be computed numerically by standard Gaussian quadrature. An explicit time‐stepping scheme is obtained to compute the unknown boundary data including the crack‐opening‐displacements (CODs). Special crack‐tip elements are adopted to ensure a direct and an accurate computation of the elastodynamic stress intensity factors from the CODs. Several numerical examples are given to show the accuracy and the efficiency of the present hypersingular time‐domain BEM. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

NON-SINGULAR SOMIGLIANA STRESS IDENTITIES IN ELASTICITY

The paper presents two fully equivalent and regular forms of the hypersingular Somigliana stress identity in elasticity that are appropriate for problems in which the displacement field (and resulting stresses) is C^1,α continuous. Each form is found as the result of a single decomposition process on the kernels of the Somigliana stress identity in three dimensions. The results show that the use of a simple stress state for regularization arises in a direct manner from the Somigliana stress identity, just as the use of a constant displacement state regularization arose naturally for the Somigliana displacement identity. The results also show that the same construction leads naturally to a finite part form of the same identity. While various indirect constructions of the equivalents to these findings are published, none of the earlier forms address the fundamental issue of the usual discontinuities of boundary data in the hypersingular Somigliana stress identity that arise at corners and edges. These new findings specifically focus on the corner problem and establish that the previous requirements for continuity on the densities in the hypersingular Somigliana stress identity are replaced by a sole requirement on displacement field continuity. The resulting regularized and finite part forms of the Somigliana stress identity leads to a regularized form of the stress boundary integral equation (stress-BIE). The regularized stress-BIE is shown to properly allow piecewise discontinuity of the boundary data subject only to C^1,α continuity of the underlying displacement field. The importance of the findings is in their application to boundary element modeling of the hypersingular problem. The piecewise discontinuity derivation for corners is found to provide a rigorous and non-singular basis for collocation of the discontinuous boundary data for both the regularized and finite part forms of the stress-BIE. The boundary stress solution for both forms is found to be an average of the computed stresses at collocation points at the vertices of boundary element meshes. Collocation at these points is shown to be without any unbounded terms in the formulation thereby eliminating the use of non-conforming elements for the hypersingular equations. The analytical findings in this paper confirm the correct use of both regularized and finite part forms of the stress-BIE that have been the basis of boundary element analysis previously published by the first author of the current paper.