Characteristic matrix in the bending plate analysis by SBEM

This paper deals with the thin bending plate analysis by using the symmetric approach of Boundary Element Method (SBEM). A formulation is used in which the plate boundary is discretized into boundary elements and is subjected to appropriate distributions of shear forces and couples, as well as of vertical displacement and rotations. These distributions are the causes and are modelled through appropriate shape functions, whereas the generalized effects are obtained, according to the Galerkin approach, as weighting of the displacements and the rotations, as well as of the shear forces and moments. In the equations system the algebraic operator is a symmetric matrix whose coefficients are defined as double integrals with high order singularities, all computed in closed form.