Three-dimensional unsteady thermal stress analysis by triple-reciprocity boundary element method

The conventional boundary element method (BEM) requires a domain integral in unsteady thermal stress analysis with heat generation and/or an initial temperature distribution. In this paper, it is shown that the three-dimensional unsteady thermal stress problem can be solved effectively using the triple-reciprocity boundary element method without internal cells. In this method, the distributions of heat generation and initial temperature are interpolated using integral equations and higher order time-dependent fundamental solutions. A new computer program was developed and applied for solving several test problems.