This book provides a detailed description of fast boundary element methods, all based on rigorous mathematical analysis. In particular, the authors use a symmetric formulation of boundary integral equations as well as discussing Galerkin discretisation. All the necessary related stability and error estimates are derived. The authors therefore describe the Adaptive Cross Approximation Algorithm, starting from the basic ideas and proceeding to their practical realization. Numerous examples representing standard problems are given.

This book presents and explains a general, efficient, and elegant method for solving the Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin boundary value problems for the extensional deformation of a thin plate on an elastic foundation. The solutions of these problems are obtained both analytically—by means of direct and indirect boundary integral equation methods (BIEMs)—and numerically, through the application of a boundary element technique. The text discusses the methodology for constructing a BIEM, deriving all the attending mathematical properties with full rigor. The model investigated in the book can serve as a template for the study of any linear elliptic two-dimensional problem with constant coefficients. The representation of the solution in terms of single-layer and double-layer potentials is pivotal in the development of a BIEM, which, in turn, forms the basis for the second part of the book, where approximate solutions are computed with a high degree of accuracy. The book is intended for graduate students and researchers in the fields of boundary integral equation methods, computational mechanics and, more generally, scientists working in the areas of applied mathematics and engineering. Given its detailed presentation of the material, the book can also be used as a text in a specialized graduate course on the applications of the boundary element method to the numerical computation of solutions in a wide variety of problems.

This book presents and explains a general, efficient, and elegant method for solving the Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin boundary value problems for the extensional deformation of a thin plate on an elastic foundation. The solutions of these problems are obtained both analytically—by means of direct and indirect boundary integral equation methods (BIEMs)—and numerically, through the application of a boundary element technique. The text discusses the methodology for constructing a BIEM, deriving all the attending mathematical properties with full rigor. The model investigated in the book can serve as a template for the study of any linear elliptic two-dimensional problem with constant coefficients. The representation of the solution in terms of single-layer and double-layer potentials is pivotal in the development of a BIEM, which, in turn, forms the basis for the second part of the book, where approximate solutions are computed with a high degree of accuracy. The book is intended for graduate students and researchers in the fields of boundary integral equation methods, computational mechanics and, more generally, scientists working in the areas of applied mathematics and engineering. Given its detailed presentation of the material, the book can also be used as a text in a specialized graduate course on the applications of the boundary element method to the numerical computation of solutions in a wide variety of problems.

The computational power currently available means that practitioners can find extremely accurate approximations to the solutions of more and more sophisticated mathematical models-providing they know the right analytical techniques. In relatively simple terms, this book describes a class of techniques that fulfill this need by providing closed-form solutions to many boundary value problems that arise in science and engineering. Boundary integral equation methods (BIEM's) have certain advantages over other procedures for solving such problems: BIEM's are powerful, applicable to a wide variety of situations, elegant, and ideal for numerical treatment. Certain fundamental constructs in BIEM's are also essential ingredients in boundary element methods, often used by scientists and engineers. However, BIEM's are also sometimes more difficult to use in plane cases than in their three-dimensional counterparts. Consequently, the full, detailed BIEM treatment of two-dimensional problems has been largely neglected in the literature-even when it is more than marginally different from that applied to the corresponding three-dimensional versions. This volume discusses three typical cases where such differences are clear: the Laplace equation (one unknown function), plane strain (two unknown functions), and the bending of plates with transverse shear deformation (three unknown functions). The author considers each of these with Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin boundary conditions. He subjects each to a thorough investigation-with respect to the existence and uniqueness of regular solutions-through several BIEM's. He proposes suitable generalizations of the concept of logarithmic capacity for plane strain and bending of plates, then uses these to identify contours where non-uniqueness may occur. In the final section, the author compares and contrasts the various solution representations, links them by means of boundary operators, and evaluates them for their suitability for

In 1979, I edited Volume 18 in this series: Solution Methods for Integral Equations: Theory and Applications. Since that time, there has been an explosive growth in all aspects of the numerical solution of integral equations. By my estimate over 2000 papers on this subject have been published in the last decade, and more than 60 books on theory and applications have appeared. In particular, as can be seen in many of the chapters in this book, integral equation techniques are playing an increas ingly important role in the solution of many scientific and engineering problems. For instance, the boundary element method discussed by Atkinson in Chapter 1 is becoming an equal partner with finite element and finite difference techniques for solving many types of partial differential equations. Obviously, in one volume it would be impossible to present a complete picture of what has taken place in this area during the past ten years. Consequently, we have chosen a number of subjects in which significant advances have been made that we feel have not been covered in depth in other books. For instance, ten years ago the theory of the numerical solution of Cauchy singular equations was in its infancy. Today, as shown by Golberg and Elliott in Chapters 5 and 6, the theory of polynomial approximations is essentially complete, although many details of practical implementation remain to be worked out.

This book provides an extensive introduction to the numerical solution of a large class of integral equations.

The computational power currently available means that practitioners can find extremely accurate approximations to the solutions of more and more sophisticated mathematical models-providing they know the right analytical techniques. In relatively simple terms, this book describes a class of techniques that fulfill this need by providing closed-form solutions to many boundary value problems that arise in science and engineering. Boundary integral equation methods (BIEM's) have certain advantages over other procedures for solving such problems: BIEM's are powerful, applicable to a wide variety of situations, elegant, and ideal for numerical treatment. Certain fundamental constructs in BIEM's are also essential ingredients in boundary element methods, often used by scientists and engineers. However, BIEM's are also sometimes more difficult to use in plane cases than in their three-dimensional counterparts. Consequently, the full, detailed BIEM treatment of two-dimensional problems has been largely neglected in the literature-even when it is more than marginally different from that applied to the corresponding three-dimensional versions. This volume discusses three typical cases where such differences are clear: the Laplace equation (one unknown function), plane strain (two unknown functions), and the bending of plates with transverse shear deformation (three unknown functions). The author considers each of these with Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin boundary conditions. He subjects each to a thorough investigation-with respect to the existence and uniqueness of regular solutions-through several BIEM's. He proposes suitable generalizations of the concept of logarithmic capacity for plane strain and bending of plates, then uses these to identify contours where non-uniqueness may occur. In the final section, the author compares and contrasts the various solution representations, links them by means of boundary operators, and evaluates them for their suitability for