Boundary element analysis of multi-thickness shear-deformable slabs without sub-regions

In this paper, a new boundary element formulation is developed for the analysis of multi-thickness slabs. The shear deformable plate bending theory is employed. The additional thickness is added to the plate using additional stiffness matrix. A new systematic methodology for deriving stiffness matrix of additional thicknesses or drops is presented. The formulation is implemented into a computer code and several examples are considered to demonstrate the validity of the presented formulation.