A convergence analysis of the performance of the DRM-MD boundary integral approach

In this article, we study the performance of the dual reciprocity multi-domains approach (DRM-MD) when the shape functions of the boundary elements, for both the approximation of the geometry and the surface variables of the governing equations, are quadratic functions. A series of tests are carried out to study the consistency of the proposed boundary integral technique. For this purpose a limiting process of the subdivision of the domain is performed, reporting a comparison of the computed solutions for every refining scheme. Furthermore, the DRM-MD is solved in its dual reciprocity approximation using two different radial basis interpolation functions, the conical function r plus a constant, i.e. (1 + r ), and the augmented thin plate spline. Special attention is paid to the contrast between numerical results yielded by the DRM-MD approach using linear and quadratic boundary elements towards a full understanding of its convergence behaviour. Copyright q 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd