An empirical error analysis of the boundary element method applied to Laplace's equation

Abstract

Results of an empirical error analysis of the boundary element method (based on collocation of the integral equation) are reported. The experiments involve solving the two-dimensional Laplace problem exterior to a circle and square, using both the direct and indirect methods. The effect of approximating to both the geometry of the boundary and to the boundary functions is considered. The error is investigated on the boundary and in the exterior domain.