Trefftz-type boundary elements for the evaluation of symmetric coefficient matrices

Abstract

The classical Trefftz-method can be generalized such that different types of finite elements and boundary elements are obtained. In a Trefftz-type approach we utilize functions which a priori satisfy the governing differential equations. In this paper the systematic construction of singular Trefftz-trial functions for elasticity problems is discussed. For convenience a list of solution representations and particular solutions is given which did not appear together elsewhere. The Trefftz-trial functions with singular expressions on the boundary are constructed such that the physical components (stresses, strains, displacements) remain finite in the solution domain and on the boundary. The unknown coefficients of the linearly independent Trefftz-trial functions for the physical components can be obtained by using a variational formulation. The symmetric coefficient matrix in the discussed procedure can be obtained from the evaluation of boundary integrals. As an application of the proposed boundary element algorithm, the symmetric stiffness matrices of subdomains (finite element domains) are calculated. For the numerical example the solution domain is decomposed into triangular subdomains so that a standard finite element program could be used to assemble the system of equations. The chosen example is meant as a simple test for the proposed algorithm and should not be understood as a proposal for a new triangular finite element. Using the proposed boundary element techniques, symmetric stiffness matrices for irregular shaped subdomains (finite elements) can be derived. However, in order to use the method in a finite element package for the coupling of irregular shaped subdomains some program modifications will be necessary.