Direct use of radial basis interpolation functions for modelling source terms with the boundary element method

Abstract

In this paper a new technique is presented for transforming the domain integral related to the source term that characterizes the Poisson Equation, within the scope of the boundary element method, for two-dimensional problems. Similarly to the Dual Reciprocity Technique, the proposed scheme avoids domain discretization using primitive radial basis functions; however, it transforms the domain integral into a single boundary integral directly. The proposed procedure is simpler, more versatile and some useful and modern techniques related to radial basis function theory can be applied. Numerical tests show the accuracy of the proposed technique for a simple class of complete radial interpolation functions, pointing out the importance of internal poles and the potential of applying fitting interpolation schemes to minimize the computational storage, particularly considering more complex future approaches, in which a mass matrix may be generated. For the analysis of the accuracy and convergence of the proposed method, results are compared with those obtained using Dual Reciprocity, using known analytical solutions for reference.