A new boundary integral equation for notch problem of antiplane elasticity

In this paper the notch problem of antiplane elasticity is discussed and a new boundary integral equation is formulated. In the problem, the distributed dislocation density is taken to be the unknown function. Unlike the usual choice, the resultant force function is taken as the right hand term of the integral equation; therefore, a new boundary integral equation for the notch problem of antiplane elasticity with a weaker singular kernel (logarithmic) is obtained. After introducing a particular fundamental solution of antiplane elasticity, the notch problem for the half-plane is discussed and the relevant boundary integral equation is formulated. The integral equations derived are compact in form and convenient for computation. Numerical examples demonstrated that high accuracy can be achieved by using the new boundary equation.