A general boundary integral formulation for the numerical solution of plate bending problems

Abstract A direct approach is employed to obtain a general formulation of plate bending problems in terms of a pair of singular integral equations involving displacement, normal slope, bending moment and shear on the plate boundary. These equations are coupled with prescribed boundary conditions involving these same variables furnishing a convenient basis for numerical solution. A simple discretization scheme is described and two model problems treated to illustrate the nature and quality of some typical results.