Bi-expansion approximation of the Bessel functions applied to analytical integration based BEM for Reissner plates Original Research Article

The paper deals with the boundary element analysis of plates modeled by the Reissner theory. The integral equations are obtained in standard fashion, by boundary collocation. The fundamental solution is expressed in terms of modified Bessel functions, using different series expansions for small and large arguments. The transition from one to the other form is regulated by an error-based criterion for selecting the number of terms which have to be used in the series expansion. Attention is paid to the computational aspects influencing the accuracy of the numerical model. The boundary variables are described by using a quadratic B-spline interpolation and the evaluation of the boundary integrals is developed almost entirely in analytical form. Some numerical experiments test and compare the performances of the numerical model. In particular the solution within the boundary layer is studied.