Abstract: | A time‐convolutive variational hypersingular integral formulation of transient heat conduction over a 2‐D homogeneous domain is considered. The adopted discretization leads to a linear equation system, whose coefficient matrix is symmetric, and is generated by double integrations in space and time. Assuming polynomial shape functions for the boundary unknowns, a set of compact formulae for the analytical time integrations is established. The spatial integrations are performed numerically using very efficient formulae just recently proposed. The competitiveness from the computational point of view of the symmetric boundary integral equation approach proposed herein is investigated on the basis of an original computer implementation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |