THE DUAL BOUNDARY-ELEMENT METHOD IN DYNAMIC FRACTURE-MECHANICS

A boundary element formulation, which does not require domain integration, is presented for a general dynamic crack problem in a linear elastic material. The problem is solved using the dual boundary element method, that is, the displacement equation is applied to one of the crack surfaces and the traction equation to the other. Domain integrals in the elastodynamic equation are transformed into boundary integrals using the dual reciprocity method. As the result of the discretization a set of ordinary differential equations in time is obtained. Several numerical examples are considered, showing good agreement with the results given by other methods.