Symmetric Galerkin BEM for shear deformable plates

A symmetric Galerkin boundary element formulation is developed for shear deformable plates. A mixed strategy is used for the integration process, i.e. partial regularization using simple solutions followed by a singularity subtraction technique. For the shear equation, full regularization is achieved using new kernel relationships found through a constant shear mode of deformation. Some of the strong singular integrals are avoided altogether by using a modi ed traction obtained through a very simple variable change; appropriate boundary conditions are de ned. Details of the implementation are given and several example problems solved to verify the accuracy of the proposed formulation