Shape functions for polygonal domains with interior nodes

The presented formulation follows in a series of publications which outline a method for constructing test functions which satisfy essential edge conditions exactly. The method promises a complete solution, satisfying all of the requirements of a Ritz coordinate function. The influence of interior points on the domain solution is included in this construction. Similar to conformal bubble functions, the test functions are zero along the boundary and single valued only at the points they describe. Unlike the bubble function construction, the interior points can be located at any desired point in the domain. The resulting set of trial functions can satisfy the required global conditions including the exact reproduction of constant and linear fields. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.