The finite element and the boundary element methods are the two most important developments in numerical mathematics to occur in this century. Many engineering and mathematics graduate curricula now include a course in boundary element methods. Such a course must cover numerical methods, basic methodology to real problems, and interactive computer usage. Both theory and applications, necessary for applied courses, are available in this new textbook. An Introduction to Boundary Element Methods is logically organized and easy to read. The topics are carefully selected and meticulously presented. Applications are described for use in identifying potential problems and for heat transfer, diffusion equations, linear elasticity, water waves, ocean acoustics, acoustic scattering, aerodynamics, porous media, and simple laminar flows. More than 20 computer subroutines help develop and explain the computational aspect of the subject. Hundreds of figures, exercises, and solved examples supplement text and help clarify important information. The computer programs have been tested on some benchmark problems. Even in single precision the results are more accurate and better than those obtained from available Fortran programs.

Significant developments in the boundary element method during the last two decades have made it a powerful alternative to the domain-type numerical methods of solution such as the finite element method. The advances made in the BEM are more or less due to the innovation of efficient computational techniques by introducing boundary elements for discretization of the boundary integral equations resulting from the so-called direct formulation. BEM has therefore become an efficient tool for optimal design and other inverse problems. These proceedings include discussion of the applications of BEM in mechanical engineering and the principles that have developed to make it an increasingly useful method of problem solving.

This book focuses on the analysis of manufacturing processes and the integration of this analysis into the design cycle. Uniquely, the boundary element method (BEM) is the computational model of choice. This versatile and powerful method has undergone extensive development during the past two decades and has been applied to virtually all areas of engineering mechanics as well as to other fields. Among topics covered are BEM infrastructure, design sensitivity analysis, and detailed discussions of a broad range of manufacturing processes including forming, solidification, machining, and ceramic grinding.

Over the past decades, the Boundary Element Method has emerged as a ver satile and powerful tool for the solution of engineering problems, presenting in many cases an alternative to the more widely used Finite Element Method. As with any numerical method, the engineer or scientist who applies it to a practical problem needs to be acquainted with, and understand, its basic principles to be able to apply it correctly and be aware of its limitations. It is with this intention that we have endeavoured to write this book: to give the student or practitioner an easy-to-understand introductory course to the method so as to enable him or her to apply it judiciously. As the title suggests, this book not only serves as an introductory course, but also cov ers some advanced topics that we consider important for the researcher who needs to be up-to-date with new developments. This book is the result of our teaching experiences with the Boundary Element Method, along with research and consulting activities carried out in the field. Its roots lie in a graduate course on the Boundary Element Method given by the authors at the university of Stuttgart. The experiences gained from teaching and the remarks and questions of the students have contributed to shaping the 'Introductory course' (Chapters 1-8) to the needs of the stu dents without assuming a background in numerical methods in general or the Boundary Element Method in particular.

The Boundary Element Method (BEM) has become established as an effective tool for the solutions of problems in engineering science. The salient features of the BEM have been well documented in the open literature and therefore will not be elaborated here. The BEM research has progressed rapidly, especially in the past decade and continues to evolve worldwide. This Symposium was organized to provide an international forum for presentation of current research in BEM for linear and nonlinear problems in solid and fluid mechanics and related areas. To this end, papers on the following topics were included: rotary wing aerodynamics, unsteady aerodynamics, design and optimization, elasticity, elasto dynamics and elastoplasticity, fracture mechanics, acoustics, diffusion and wave motion, thermal analysis, mathematical aspects and boundary/finite element coupled methods. A special session was devoted to parallel/vector supercomputing with emphasis on mas sive parallelism. This Symposium was sponsored by United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) , NASA Langley Research Center, and the International Association of Boundary Ele ment Methods (lAB EM) . We thank the UTRC management for their permission to host this Symposium. In particular, we thank Dr. Arthur S. Kesten and Mr. Robert E. Olson for their encouragement and support. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Dr. E. Carson Yates, Jr. of NASA Langley, Prof. Luigi Morino, Dr. Thomas A.

Heat transfer problems in industry are usually of a very complex nature, simultaneously involving different transfer modes such as conduction, convection, radiation and others. Because of this, very few problems can be solved analytically and one generally has to resort to numerical analysis. The boundary element method is a numerical technique which has been receiving growing attention for solving heat transfer problems because of its unique ability to confine the discretization process to the boundaries of the problem region. This allows major reductions in the data preparation and computer effort necessary to solve complex industrial problems. The purpose of this book is to present efficient algorithms used in conjunction with the boundary element method for the solution of steady and transient, linear and non-linear heat transfer problems. It represents the state-of-the-art of boundary element applications in the field of heat transfer, and constitutes essential reading for researchers and practising engineers involved with this important topic.

Boundary element methods relate to a wide range of engineering applications, including fluid flow, fracture analysis, geomechanics, elasticity, and heat transfer. Thus, new results in the field hold great importance not only to researchers in mathematics, but to applied mathematicians, physicists, and engineers. A two-day minisymposium Mathematical Aspects of Boundary Element Methods at the IABEM conference in May 1998 brought together top rate researchers from around the world, including Vladimir Maz’ya, to whom the conference was dedicated. Focusing on the mathematical and numerical analysis of boundary integral operators, this volume presents 25 papers contributed to the symposium. Mathematical Aspects of Boundary Element Methods provides up-to-date research results from the point of view of both mathematics and engineering. The authors detail new results, such as on nonsmooth boundaries, and new methods, including domain decomposition and parallelization, preconditioned iterative techniques, multipole expansions, higher order boundary elements, and approximate approximations. Together they illustrate the connections between the modeling of applied problems, the derivation and analysis of corresponding boundary integral equations, and their efficient numerical solutions.

The boundary-element method is a powerful numerical technique for solving partial differential equations encountered in applied mathematics, science, and engineering. The strength of the method derives from its ability to solve with notable efficiency problems in domains with complex and possibly evolving geometry where traditional methods can be d

The mathematical modelling of free and moving boundary problems are an important topic in engineering, industry, technology and theoretical sciences. These models allow us to make calculations involved in phase change transitions of materials due to heat transfer. Boundary layer applications are widespread in research and industry. Boundary Element Methods for Heat Transfer with Phase Change Problems: Theory and Application equips the reader with information about heat transfer problems occurring during phase changes. The book covers several boundary element methods, including methods for phase changes, fixed and moving domains and new approaches. The contents are rounded off with chapters on numerical results and industrial applications. Key features: - Simple, didactic presentation of boundary layer problems for heat transfer problems - Covers a wide range of boundary element methods - Includes methods for fixed and moving domains - Explains industrial applications of the methods - Includes solutions to numerical problems The book serves as a textbook for students of advanced mathematics and engineering. It is also a handbook for researchers working on numerical analysis, who require a focused volume on boundary element methods for heat transfer applications.

The interest in finite element method as a solution technique of the computer age is reflected in the availability of many general and special purpose software based on this technique. This work aims to provide a complete and detailed explanation of the basics of the application areas.