Evaluation of nearly singular integrals in boundary element contour and node methods for three-dimensional linear elasticity

This article addresses the issue of nearly singular integrals that arise in boundary element methods (BEMS) when one tries to evaluate displacements and stresses at points inside a body that lie close to its bounding surface. An efficient new approach is proposed for the evaluation of these integrals. The same issue is then discussed in the context of the boundary contour method (BCM) and the boundary node method (BNM). Finally, numerical results, from both the BCM and the BNM, are presented for an illustrative problem.