On boundary elements for Reissner's plate theory

Abstract A direct boundary element formulation for Reissner's plate bending theory is reviewed and found to be also applicable to external problems in infinite plates. The formulation bears close resemblance with the standard plane strain boundary element implementation producing singular integrals of the same order. The numerical implementation is carried out for quadratic elements with complete freedom of local nodal positioning within the elements (i.e. continuous, discontinonuous and semi-continuous elements are used, including the possibility of double nodes). Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the procedure.